Aries287 Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Hello everyone, I'm on Day 15 of Whole30, and while I am lucky enough to have the support of my roommate who is doing this challenge with me, I'm having trouble staying motivated. To be fair, both of us were living on incredibly unhealthy diets before we began; take-out just about every day. I know that digging your way out of that deep of a nutritional hole does not happen overnight, so I've tried to be patient with my low energy levels and irritability (which hasn't let up yet...I'm hoping that happens soon?). That being said...I've had depression for 20 years, and am usually pretty good about being able to tell when a bad time is coming (feels like walking around the edges of a sinkhole, but if you're careful you won't fall in). A few days ago I just got *whammed* with the worst depression symptoms I've had in over two years, and it came out of nowhere. I recognize that mental states are complex, and it might not be related to the diet at all, but I honestly have been doing all of my other self-care routines normally (time in the sun, time with friends, meditating, getting enough sleep, etc). I suppose I'm just wondering if anyone else with depression (or any mood disorder) experiences worse/different symptoms while on Whole30? It's been difficult to stay away from my comfort foods, but I'm really trying to make it through the rest of this challenge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted May 21, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 21, 2017 Hi Aries, welcome! As a fellow mood disorder sufferer, I am really sorry you're feeling worse! Food cannot fix depression, this you already know... however, the way that we compose our meals can sometimes exacerbate OR improve the overall feelings. One of the things that is reported to be especially helpful (and at the very least certainly won't do you any harm) is starchy carbs! Are you having potato, sweet potato, winter squash, root veggies at least once a day? You may benefit from including a fist sized serving to every meal for a bit and see if that helps. If you want us to take a look at your meals, feel free to post a few days of your meals with portion sizes and specific veggies, protein, fat and fruits and we can see if anything specifically stands out that you could tweak. As always and especially because I know where you are, we're not medical professionals here. If you feel concerned, or that you're getting too deep, please see your mental health provider right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries287 Posted May 21, 2017 Author Share Posted May 21, 2017 Thank you, Sugarcube! I'll try upping the number of servings of starches. My last few days have looked like this if the information is helpful. Day 10 (no depression symptoms) Breakfast: 3 broccoli and ham mini frittatas Lunch: "Spaghetti" with Zoodles Dinner: Tuna salad lettuce wraps Day 11 (started to feel bad around 3pm, thought it was just Sugar Dragon making me cranky) Breakfast: 3 broccoli and ham mini frittatas Lunch: Lettuce-wrapped burger Snack: 1 closed handful of mixed almonds and cashews and 1 clementine orange Dinner: Coconut chicken nuggets with cauliflower rice Day 12 (woke up with bad symptoms) Breakfast: Skipped (bad, I know!) Snack: 1 closed handful of mixed almonds and cashews and six dried cherries Lunch: Chicken Tom Kha Dinner: Potatoes with sunny-side-up eggs and roasted broccoli Day 13 (bad symptoms persisting) Breakfast: Two hard boiled eggs, three large carrots (raw) and a closed handful of almonds Snack: 1 clementine orange and 1 handful mixed almonds and cashews Lunch: Coconut chicken nuggets and roasted potatoes Dinner: Butter chicken with cauliflower rice Day 14 (bad symptoms persisting) Breakfast: 1 apple with almond butter and a small green salad with chicken Lunch: Chicken Tom Kha Dinner: Carnitas with cauliflower rice and guacamole Day 15 (bad symptoms persisting) (today) Breakfast: 1 apple with almond butter. (Tried to eat some meat but just didn't have the appetite) Lunch: Beef Pho (with enoki mushrooms instead of noodles) Dinner: Not a real recipe; just threw sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, spinach, and ground beef into a bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Hey @Aries287 - just looking at your meals as I believe it's bedtime in Sugarcubes part of the world! You could definitely see improvement from upping your starchy intake starting with at least a fist sized serving per day, but also by upping your fat - other than the nuts & nut butter, which are inferior fat sources & often inflammatory, you make no mention of fat - are you including some over & above what you are using for cooking in each meal? Fat is necessary for brain health - the brain is 60% fat, so it stands to reason that we need to feed it fat for it to feel happy/healthy. One of the best sources of fat for the brain is omega 3 fatty acid found in oily fish, and if you can eat that alongside your starchy veg - particularly white potatoes which are high in tryptophan - then the DHA from the omega 3 in the fish & the tryptophan form the potato combine to provide a boost of seratonin (the happy hormone) to the brain. Also, I know breakfast can be a struggle, especially when you're not feeling your best, but eating a template breakfast, with protein, veg & fat, will put you in a much better place for the rest of your day. Not eating only serves to perpetuate the lack of appetite so we'd suggest plating up a template meal, eating from it what you can ensuring you get a little of each food group, and then wrap up the remainder to eat as soon as you feel able... The appetite soon settles alongside your hormones. I hope you're feeling better soon, but if the tweaks to the food don't help please speak with your Doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries287 Posted May 21, 2017 Author Share Posted May 21, 2017 Thank you, jmcbn! I am cooking with a lot more oil (Whole30 approved) then I normally would--I used to eat vegetarian and get most of my fat from dairy, so it's definitely been an adjustment! I will try to get more of those oily fish into my rotation. I will make sure to call my doctor if things get worse/fail to improve. And now it is certainly bedtime for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaZ Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Thanks for asking this questions, @Aries287. I'm on Day 16 today (is that the exact same as you?!) and have been having the same low mood issues for several days too (long history of mild to moderate depression though none for several years). I'm on my second Whole30 and trying to eat more according to the template and fewer nuts/Larabars this time because I had an issue with that on the first round in January 2016 (although that W30 still ended up curing many digestive issues for me and was so successful in that way). I have also tried to cut back somewhat on starchy carbs, due to reading other forum q & a's, and I don't think that works for me. I think I need a starchy carb for almost every meal, and I'm going to add the sweet potatoes back in. I've had a banana most days, but I feel like that's not cutting it. I'm also experiencing some foot cramps and on the first W30 I had dizziness, which was helped with adding in a sweet potato every day. Please update us if you find anything that's helpful. I'd love to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcbn Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 21 minutes ago, LisaZ said: I'm also experiencing some foot cramps and on the first W30 I had dizziness, Are you salting your food? Sodium intake can drop by around 70% when switching to whole foods and your body needs sodium for normal functioning. Magnesium will also help with cramping, and avocados/bananas are high in potassium too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaZ Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Just now, jmcbn said: Are you salting your food? Sodium intake can drop by aorund 70% when switching to whole foods and your body needs sodium for normal functioning. Magnesium will also help with cramping, and avocados/bananas are high in potassium too.... Oddly, I feel like I salt my food a lot. I'm eating bananas and avocados pretty much daily, and plenty of salt. I already searched the foot cramps topic, but I'm not sure I can add more. I will do an epsom salt bath tonight, as well as take some Natural Calm magnesium supplement. Thanks for the help though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaZ Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 I will try more salt though...the only packaged foods I really ate before W30 are Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free bread and oats in the form of homemade granola or meusli. As well as a sweet treat almost daily like dark chocolates and some cookies, etc. Oh, and cheese. And once a week pizza. So I guess those are a few packaged foods that probably had some salt I'm not now getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries287 Posted May 27, 2017 Author Share Posted May 27, 2017 Hi guys, What a roller coaster this week has been! I know what I have to say is not what anyone here wants to hear, but I didn't want to just drop off the face of the planet and all data is good data, right? So I tried to follow the advice I got here to the best of my ability; I couldn't really afford to buy more fish at the store (all of my discretionary income for this pay period had already gone to Whole30 food and I simply didn't have any more to spare), but my roommate already takes fish oil pills for his mood disorder, so he let me have a handful of his to take to see if they helped. For the next few days, I ate half of a potato/sweet potato at every meal, and I took the fish oil supplements to try to make up for the fact that I wasn't getting the oily fish you recommended, but my mood continued to crash. By Day 18 (the third day since my original post), all I could do was alternate sleeping and crying. I was completely non-functional. I made the decision to break my Whole30 commitment, and I ate half a cup of rice. My mood rose within 30 minutes, and--here's the kicker--it STAYED up. Even though it was the only non-Whole30 ingredient I ate, and I only had one serving, my mood stayed up for a good 48 hours. I've made an appointment with my doctor to see if I was experiencing some sort of allergy/intolerance, or if there's some other digestive reason I tanked so hard. For now, I feel like this attempt at Whole30, even though I failed, did teach me a number of useful things about my sugar habits (I don't actually *need* 4 Dr. Peppers a day! Who knew?), about eating the correct amount of protein, and about listening to my body. Best of luck to everyone else here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted May 27, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 27, 2017 6 minutes ago, Aries287 said: Hi guys, What a roller coaster this week has been! I know what I have to say is not what anyone here wants to hear, but I didn't want to just drop off the face of the planet and all data is good data, right? So I tried to follow the advice I got here to the best of my ability; I couldn't really afford to buy more fish at the store (all of my discretionary income for this pay period had already gone to Whole30 food and I simply didn't have any more to spare), but my roommate already takes fish oil pills for his mood disorder, so he let me have a handful of his to take to see if they helped. For the next few days, I ate half of a potato/sweet potato at every meal, and I took the fish oil supplements to try to make up for the fact that I wasn't getting the oily fish you recommended, but my mood continued to crash. By Day 18 (the third day since my original post), all I could do was alternate sleeping and crying. I was completely non-functional. I made the decision to break my Whole30 commitment, and I ate half a cup of rice. My mood rose within 30 minutes, and--here's the kicker--it STAYED up. Even though it was the only non-Whole30 ingredient I ate, and I only had one serving, my mood stayed up for a good 48 hours. I've made an appointment with my doctor to see if I was experiencing some sort of allergy/intolerance, or if there's some other digestive reason I tanked so hard. For now, I feel like this attempt at Whole30, even though I failed, did teach me a number of useful things about my sugar habits (I don't actually *need* 4 Dr. Peppers a day! Who knew?), about eating the correct amount of protein, and about listening to my body. Best of luck to everyone else here! I'm so glad you've come back to let us know what's going on. You know, everyTHING doesn't work for everyONE... Whole30 is about health and wellness and that includes your mental health and wellness. I am so glad that the rice helped. Honestly, from someone who's been in the hole, I would eat lumber if it would help me! I think the fish oil and the starchy carbs is probably worth keeping in there anyway and I hope you and your doctor can figure out what's going on, but if the answer is eat half a cup of ricce every day, that's not exactly the worst news in the world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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