Day 13 - and we need some help

[59martin]

Hello Everyone! This is my first post on here. 

My boyfriend and I decided to start the whole 30 after we came back from vacation.  I am a bridesmaid for a wedding in September and then another one in October.  I went in motivated to get healthier and feel better about myself for the weddings.  I have been extremely tired for the past week and a half of the whole30. Whenever we go to the gym I feel like I have no energy.  I think the lack of carbs is really hurting me.  Although, we did REALLY well yesterday.  We had friends over for movies and games and while everyone else ate some delicious looking pizza, we had leftover whole30 chili.  Despite that, we are on day 13 and losing steam fast. 

I was looking for any advice that people had for keeping on track for the next 17 days, any good recipes that make people EXCITED to eat, and things that can help energy levels.   We're in a rut. 

 

Thank you for any help you have! 

 

[ShannonM816]

We can give you more specific feedback if you list a day or two of typical meals with approximate portion sizes.

In general, reasons people tend to be tired include not eating enough in general, not eating enough fat in particular, not salting their food, or not drinking enough water. Be sure that you have a post-workout of lean protein and starchy vegetable within a short time after working out, and that's in addition to your other three meals. Depending on when you work out, you may also need a pre-wo of fat and protein. 

For carbs, most people do best with at least a fist-sized serving of starchy vegetable each day, but some need more, especially people who are active, who are prone to depression or anxiety, and women who are pregnant, nursing, or in the week or so leading up to their period.

My favorite site for recipes is www.meljoulwan.com. Most of her recipes are either whole30 compliant or easily altered to be, and she's good about mentioning how to change the ones that aren't. I especially like her salmon cakes, and her best chicken ever is my favorite way to do a bunch of chicken breasts at once to have on hand for the week. 

[59martin]

52 minutes ago, ShannonM816 said:

We can give you more specific feedback if you list a day or two of typical meals with approximate portion sizes.

In general, reasons people tend to be tired include not eating enough in general, not eating enough fat in particular, not salting their food, or not drinking enough water. Be sure that you have a post-workout of lean protein and starchy vegetable within a short time after working out, and that's in addition to your other three meals. Depending on when you work out, you may also need a pre-wo of fat and protein. 

For carbs, most people do best with at least a fist-sized serving of starchy vegetable each day, but some need more, especially people who are active, who are prone to depression or anxiety, and women who are pregnant, nursing, or in the week or so leading up to their period.

My favorite site for recipes is www.meljoulwan.com. Most of her recipes are either whole30 compliant or easily altered to be, and she's good about mentioning how to change the ones that aren't. I especially like her salmon cakes, and her best chicken ever is my favorite way to do a bunch of chicken breasts at once to have on hand for the week. 

Thanks for responding so quickly! I'll definitely look into that website. 

Breakfast is typically a 2 egg scramble with onions, broccoli, and spinach.  Most days we have a sweet potato hash too.  Today for lunch I had egg/avocado salad (2 eggs 1/2 avocado) on some cucumbers and some watermelon. Today for dinner we had whole30 walnut crusted pork tenderloin with salad.

Typically, we have salads for lunch with hardboiled eggs and some meat that we have leftover from the night before.  

 If I feel like I need a snack, I have some almonds. 

 

Also, we have sweet potatoes for breakfast and on some days we have it for dinner too.  Should we limit it to 1 meal? 

[ShannonM816]

Your meals may be a little light. When eggs are your only protein, have as many whole eggs as you can hold in your hand -- typically 3-4. Be sure you're having lots of vegetables at each meal -- the meal template says to fill your plate with them, so picture a dinner plate, put your 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein or 3-4 eggs on it, then fill the plate with vegetables, then add a serving or two of fat from the options on the template (in addition to whatever fat you cooked in, since much of that stays in the pan). 

You don't mention pre- or post-workout meals. Of those, post-workout is most important for recovery, but you'd want to have a pre-wo if you're working out first thing in the morning before breakfast, or if it's been several hours since you last ate before you work out. 

It's fine to have sweet potato at both breakfast and dinner. Most people need at least one serving a day, it's okay to have more than one.