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Could you help 'diagnose' me


AliceRF

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Hi There, I'm really hoping you can help me.

I haven't trolled through all the posts here, as I'm more than a little behind in my work, but I was hoping a quick check in would help.

So I'm day 24 of the Whole30 and I feel really OFF. I mean REALLY OFF. So I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or it's something very obvious. I'm more than prepared to have to go longer on the Whole 30 (even scared to stop, which I'm sure happens to others).

So anyway, here are my symptoms:

  • I have even less energy than I did when I started (which was the main reason I started this in the first place)
  • I am going through a 'depressive' episode (happened last week too). Where I just don't want to do ANYTHING - don't want to cook, work, function at all. Just want to sleep.
  • But I sam sleeping worse than what I was - finding it harder and harder to go to sleep.
  • Nothing much seems to have improved at all.
  • Bloated
  • Skin breaking out

Positives

  • Yes I have lost weight (which is fantastic but I don't know how much), but it feels like I'm back tracking here - bloated and feel crappy
  • I do like eating well
  • Not craving sugar as much - I still look at my kids food and want what they are having but am saying No without fighting myself so much.
  • I have figured out that I need to eat 3 really decent meals a day to keep me level and that I can't have eggs at lunchtime (any other time is fine, but lunchtime bloats me out and makes me feel awful).

Stuff to note

  • I am not relying on nuts - these are a very minor treat
  • I know that I'm not eating enough greens - rely on Lettuce/tomato/carrots a lot, just can't stand kale etc
  • I have not gone organic - as it is buying food in New Zealand is EXPENSIVE and I'm spending upwards of $300 per week (if not more) to get the protein and vege. I'm just hoping that the meat I'm eating is good enough
  • Sleep - is not ideal. I have my kids during the day and I work at night, I workout early in the morning./ So I don't get to bed till about 11p and get up at 5:45am. I think this is the key, but not sure.

That's all I have time for now. I need to run. Thank you in advance for any input you may be able to offer me.

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You may need to up your intake of carbs through sweet potato, butternut squash, turnips, etc.

My rule for working out is that 7 hours of sleep must come first. You're not getting enough time in bed, so I would lay off on the morning workouts until you are in better shape.

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Ahhh, interesting. Thank you. I haven't been doing enough carbs at all. Been doing a bit, but really only after working out - sweet potato (here in NZ called Kumara) and a bit of kabocha (sp) squash (here it's called butternut pumpkin).

But sleep, that's what i thought. I guess I knew all along. Hmmm, training for a 10k, so may have to try and figure out a different time to do that. Plus of course the kids don't help!! :) Thank you again, I do appreciate your input.

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I just wanted to second Tom's suggestion to lay off the exercise until you're feeling better. It can be scary, especially if you're used to getting that cardio "high" 5-6x/week, but you might be amazed at how much better you feel (and also how much better your performance is a few weeks from now when you hop back in).I spent most of my Whole30 just giving my body a "time-out" and, looking back, I think that extra rest and relaxation were invaluable to me. (Now that I'm fully adapted to eating whole foods, exercise is a LOT more pleasant than it was Days 1-25...I even felt brave enough to join a CrossFit gym!)

Exercise is a wonderful thing (and something that all humans should engage in, I think!), but it's important to remember that it stresses your body out. You're changing your eating habits drastically, which is super stressful, and you've got a couple of young kiddos to worry about. Throw some sleep-deprivation and heavy workouts on top of that and I'm not surprised that you're feeling lousy.

Do yourself a favor and consider taking a step (or two or three) back. Eat good food, sleep as much as you can given your family commitments, maybe extend your Whole30 to a Whole45, and give your body a much-deserved break. :)

Good luck!

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I took a break from the gym during my W30. I spent the time cleaning out my closets. We had a lot of stuff! I also concentrated on cooking. I was still very active. Got my garden set for fall. I still ran with my son. He's 11 and started cross country this year. His events were 1-1.5 miles so they were not long runs. We did some interval and hill work. My body enjoyed the time off. I found my work outs to be better when I returned. I love push ups so I threw some of those in when I got out of bed. Sleep is so underrated! The hardest thing for me was getting to bed earlier. I was so used to having the quiet time when everybody else was asleep to get things done. Hopping out of bed wide awake at 6:30 was a surprise. Starting the day off awake instead of taking a couple of hours to get moving enabled me to get more done in the morning.

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i know it's been said, but i just wanted to chime in and say i absolutely agree about the sleep. i was working out 5x's a week doing a mix of weights, yoga and high intensity intervals. i was losing weight, but was angry, depressed and almost shaky all the time. i quit exercising altogether (save walking) during my whole30 and felt MUCH better. i needed the rest.

also, interestingly, whenever i have taken time off from exercise (a week or so), that is always the time my body comp and weight changes set in. i could be working out like mad and not noticing anything, but as soon as i gave my body the break it needed, it was like "oh wow....my pants are looser".

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