Day 22 and feeling defeated...

[helsbells]

Hello,

This is the first time I've posted.  Didn't want to but I really want this to work and I'm befuddled as to what is happening.  I'm hoping someone may be able to give me some guidance or suggestions.

I'm on day 22 and my head is still foggy, I'm tired, my skin is feeling itchy and dry and having the closest to a breakout in months and the bags under my eyes and dropped to new depths.  I'm still feeling weaker than I did before I started the program.  Yesterday I was about to rip a new one for anyone who dared look at me the wrong way.  I thought this phase would be well and truly over.  My friend, who said she felt amazing after a couple of weeks, is a bit confused too.

A sample of a typical day's menu:

Breakfast-

coffee with cashew milk, ghee and coconut oil

frittata with veggies, avocado and smoked salmon if I have them to hand

Lunch-

Baked potato - either sweet or white - tuna mayonnaise, lettuce, beetroot

Supper-

Whatever the family wants but a bit changed so I can eat it e.g. bolognese with zucchini spaghetti and veg.  Chicken and roast potatoes etc...

Before bed I have what we lovingly describe in our house as my disgusting drink - maca, cacao and spirulina mixed with water.

 

I just drink kombucha, water and coffee (one or two cups daily).  I stopped drinking kombucha a couple of days ago as my friend thought it could be the sugar that is causing issues.

 

I use a lot of ghee and I'm wondering if maybe I'm making it wrong but I sieve it well using 2 pieces of kitchen paper and the ghee is completely clear once drained.

 

If anyone thinks they know what I'm doing wrong or have any suggestions or tips I really would love to hear from you.

Thanks so much,

Helen

 

[SugarcubeOD]

Hi Helen;

Can you provide portion sizes of your meals?  It's hard to tell by the way you've written it but my guess at this point is that you're probably not eating enough... 

 

[helsbells]

Good morning!

Breakie consists of 3 eggs, spinach, zucchini and capsicum

Lunch - a medium sized white potato or 2 small sweet potatoes with a big lump (enough to cover the two halves of the potato) of tuna with a big dollop of homemade mayo.  the rest of the plate is lettuce, beetroot and olives.

Supper - The meat and veg cover the whole of the plate.  I try and keep to a palm size piece of protein.

The great thing is I don't feel hungry between meals so I can see some positives and at the end of each meal I feel really full.  It's just my irritability and tiredness is starting to get me down - as well as not looking like a glowing replica of Claudia Schiffer yet - well, I'd just be very happy with glowing...  I feel especially sorry for my 3 year old!

Could it be I'm not eating enough fat as it feels like a massive amount?

Thanks.

 

 

[SugarcubeOD]

Hmm... your meals look pretty good... you're not breast feeding still?  Do you drink enough water? (1/2 oz per pound of body weight).  How's your sleep?  Any ongoing medical/health issues?

How much fat do you eat?  Quantify it and we'll see if maybe you could add a bit more but if you're good going 4-5 hours between it might be enough.

[helsbells]

Nope, not breastfeeding.  I think I drink a lot of water but I've just done the math - took a while - and I've found out I need to drink just over 2 litres so I'll make sure I'll do that today and see how I feel tomorrow.

It's really odd as I'm sure I tick all the Whole30 boxes but I must be missing something.  I do try and make sure I eat about a thumb in fat, each meal, over the course of the day but I do find it hard to be exact with the measurements.  

This may sounds very neurotic but I eat loads of tuna, more than I ever have done...could it be something to do with the mercury?  I'm just not sure what else it could be.  I'll start with drinking more water and taking better notes re fat intake and see what happens.

Thanks so much for your help.

[Guest]

Besides the tuna, is there something else that you are eating a lot more of or eating brand new that could be causing a sensitivity? So far on my W30 I've figured out I have a shellfish and eggplant problem, which I never noticed before probably because my body was already over reacting too other things those just blended in with all the rest. 

[Eccentrica]

16 minutes ago, helsbells said:

This may sounds very neurotic but I eat loads of tuna, more than I ever have done...could it be something to do with the mercury?  I'm just not sure what else it could be.  I'll start with drinking more water and taking better notes re fat intake and see what happens.

Thanks so much for your help.

I hope you're able to figure out the problem and fine tune it, so that you're feeling better.

As for the tuna, what kind are you eating? Determining "too much" can be tricky, depending on your body weight and the type of tuna. Chances are, you're probably fine with what you're eating. But if you're eating a lot of just albacore/white tuna, that could be an issue. It's fairly high in mercury. Light varieties are better, with wild-caught skipjack tuna having the lowest mercury of all. A can of albacore can have 3 or even 5 times the amount of mercury of skipjack.

Canned salmon is a great, lower mercury alternative to tuna, if it turns out that you're really concerned about it.

-- signed, someone who eats A LOT of canned fish. (And fresh fish. And dried fish. And fish fish.)
 

[helsbells]

Oh wow, you are all so fantastic!  Thanks for the heads-up, Eccentrica, regarding the better kind of tuna - you made me laugh.  If you eat that much canned fish and you're fine then I feel a bit better about it.  

Georgina2, I'm actually wondering if white potato may be a bit of an issue for me...and also the kombucha - both very sad if true but I'm experimenting at the moment.

SugercubeOD - I've been thinking about what you said about water and I'm wondering if that could be the culprit as I've measured out 2 litres and I don't think I'm drinking that much.  Also, it has been so hot here so I've been sweating bullets - sorry, prob too much information.  My sleep is usually pretty good apart from the occasional trip to the bathroom/letting dog out to go to the bathroom/kiddie having a bad night - that's all been happening before the WHOLE30 though.  No medical issues...everything pretty good, I think. 

Does anyone know of a compliant electrolyte drink recipe?  The ones I've looked at all contain sugar in some form. 

I feel like I have something to work with now so feeling much more positive - THANKS!

[Guest]

About 8 years ago I started getting really sick with GI issues and the doctors couldn't figure out what it was.  Last resort was allergy testing and we found several food allergens, the most surprising of which to me was, Tea!  I had been trying to quit coffee and drinking 4-5 cups a day at work, I was basically poisoning myself. Of course I quit and I got much better.  Years later I tried kombucha as a probiotic on the advice of a friend, not knowing that it is essentially fermented tea (I still have a pet peeve about the labeling of this 'health drink' that doesn't make clear what it really is) and got violently sick.  The moral of the story being, absolutely anything can be an allergen and I'd definitely try taking a break from anything that you suspect could be causing you problems, no matter how unlikely people might think it is.

[jmcbn]

On 07/03/2017 at 3:01 AM, helsbells said:

I'm actually wondering if white potato may be a bit of an issue for me

This is what I thought when I looked at your first post. Potatoes are one of the common culprits for skin issues. I'd look at eliminating those for a few days to see how you go.

As for electrolytes to replace anything lost via sweat just make sure you are salting your food, and you could look for a magnesium supplement with some added calcium, and be sure to eat potassium rich foods such as banana & avocado.

For your tuna worry you can eat a brazil nut or two along side your tuna & the selenium in the brazil nut should counteract any adverse reactions from the mercury exposure, although in all honesty most fish is higher in selenium than it is in mercury anyway.

Hope this helps.

[helsbells]

I was afraid someone would say that  I love my potatoes!  I going to give them up for a couple of days and see how I go.

Thank you for your advice, I never knew that about brazil nuts...I have much to learn.

[BridyKate]

I'm currently on day 22 and feeling defeated as well! I most certainly started to feel the "tiger blood" about a week and a half - two weeks in. But, in the last 3 days, I have felt bloated and sort of feel like I've plateaued. I'm still sleeping fairly well and my energy levels have been consistent - not super high, but definitely a noticeable change since starting Whole 30. 

Although I did have some touch & go moments over the last two days, I am confident that I can handle 8 more days of this and complete the "Whole30" - I know I've come too far to give up now. My problem is, I want to feel successful in this. I feel like i'm just venting, but I figured I would post to see if anyone could provide some insight or words of wisdom

 

Thank you in advance!

[SugarcubeOD]

51 minutes ago, BridyKate said:

I'm currently on day 22 and feeling defeated as well! I most certainly started to feel the "tiger blood" about a week and a half - two weeks in. But, in the last 3 days, I have felt bloated and sort of feel like I've plateaued. I'm still sleeping fairly well and my energy levels have been consistent - not super high, but definitely a noticeable change since starting Whole 30. 

Although I did have some touch & go moments over the last two days, I am confident that I can handle 8 more days of this and complete the "Whole30" - I know I've come too far to give up now. My problem is, I want to feel successful in this. I feel like i'm just venting, but I figured I would post to see if anyone could provide some insight or words of wisdom

 

Thank you in advance!

We can't really provide words of wisdom as to why you might be feeling less than stellar without knowing what you've been eating.  If you would like help, go ahead and list out what you've been eating for the last few days including portion sizes related to the template, specific veggies, protein and fat at each meal, fluid intake, sleep, stress etc.  You may also wish to list what you were eating when you were feeling better too so we can see if there's a discrepancy.

[Carol]

17 hours ago, BridyKate said:

I'm currently on day 22 and feeling defeated as well! I most certainly started to feel the "tiger blood" about a week and a half - two weeks in. But, in the last 3 days, I have felt bloated and sort of feel like I've plateaued. I'm still sleeping fairly well and my energy levels have been consistent - not super high, but definitely a noticeable change since starting Whole 30. 

Although I did have some touch & go moments over the last two days, I am confident that I can handle 8 more days of this and complete the "Whole30" - I know I've come too far to give up now. My problem is, I want to feel successful in this. I feel like i'm just venting, but I figured I would post to see if anyone could provide some insight or words of wisdom

 

Thank you in advance!

This is a tough stretch of days!    You see the end, but its still some time away.     So close and yet so far.  The closest I came to quitting was Day 23.     But to know that I came thiiiiiiiiis close to falling off the wagon and DID NOT DO IT has become a major source of strength, even though I still feel a little sheepish about it.  

You're a realistic person, it seems.  Perhaps one reason why you don't feel successful is that the 30 days isn't up yet.    The goal isn't met, there is still work to be done.

But you'll get there.   And I bet once you reach the goal you will feel differently.  This is Day 30 for me





 

[helsbells]

BridyKate: keep going!  You can do it!  I think my expectations were way too high, which is why I felt angry and deflated.  I've come to the conclusion that mentally I must have been pretty good before the Whole30 and I expected to feel even more amazing...and just didn't.  I never did get tiger but I do feel cleaner and have actually mainly stuck to a paleo diet since I finished Whole 30.  Even though I didn't feel more energy I have seen the reduction of fat around my middle, even though I eat a lot!  It's worth it to finish...even just for the fantastic feeling of accomplishment and the reintroduction process.  I've had friends comment how much 'brighter' I look, which is always nice to hear.  I'd love to hear how you feel at the 30 day mark.  Oh, and vent away...better to do that and get it out of your system....  

[Teetime]

I am on Day 23 and have been so irritable, tired, and frustrated over the last few days. I too have bitten people's heads off for the smallest things that usually I would shrug off. I have stuck to the same food since day 1. I don't want to quit now, but I also don't like being this irritable, tired, and frustrated. I have slept more than I have in a long time. It is a deep sleep at that, but I don't wake up refreshed. I feel like I could go back to bed even after a good night's sleep. I am ready to get to day 30 so that I can begin reintroduction. I am not looking forward to bad habits again. I don't want that and I know this is not what the program is about accept identifying my issues with food. While it is not nice for those of us who feel this way, I am glad that it was not just me feeling like this. Thank you all for sharing. 

 

[Mkoj]

I'm the same - not feeling great at day 16 - but was feeling great a few days ago.   I'm committed but I get defeated when I see the bags under my eyes.

Mona

[ShannonM816]

On 4/18/2017 at 5:44 PM, Teetime said:

I am on Day 23 and have been so irritable, tired, and frustrated over the last few days. I too have bitten people's heads off for the smallest things that usually I would shrug off. I have stuck to the same food since day 1. I don't want to quit now, but I also don't like being this irritable, tired, and frustrated. I have slept more than I have in a long time. It is a deep sleep at that, but I don't wake up refreshed. I feel like I could go back to bed even after a good night's sleep. I am ready to get to day 30 so that I can begin reintroduction. I am not looking forward to bad habits again. I don't want that and I know this is not what the program is about accept identifying my issues with food. While it is not nice for those of us who feel this way, I am glad that it was not just me feeling like this. Thank you all for sharing. 

 

What do your meals look like? Irritable, tired, and frustrated could mean you're not eating enough or not eating the right mix of stuff. Specifically, are you eating at least one fist-sized serving of starchy vegetables each day? (like potato, sweet potato, turnips, carrots, beets, parsnips, rutabagas, plantains, or winter squashes like butternut or acorn squash). Are you including fat in every meal, in addition to any oil you cook in? Are you salting your food and drinking plenty of water? If you want specific feedback on your meals, post them here, including approximate serving sizes as they relate to the meal template, and specific vegetables you're eating, plus if you're exercising and any pre- or post-workout food you're having.