Day 8 - need help

[kb88]

Hi All,  I'm on day 8 of my Whole30, my husband and I are doing it together. We've been having some issues of late and I am looking for some help... 

1. we are gassy all the time, and I mean ALL the time. Neither of us have had what you would call "normal" bowel movements in the past 2 days either. 
2. Nothing we are cooking sounds good. I tried making my own ranch dressing for salads- hated it. I've not been able to swallow sweet potatoes without gagging. Literally just give up halfway through a meal because I can't get it down. 
3. I'm really really tired. We've been sleeping well, probably getting about 8 hours a night and falling asleep and waking up easily. But during the day we are SO tired. I find my mind wondering and I can't focus. (I was sugar conscious before Whole30 and don't find myself craving sweets too much other than the occasional piece of fruit or larabar if I am hungry) 
4. I'm achy, the tension in my shoulders and neck have been off the charts since starting the whole30 

I've been keeping a food journal about what I eat (not how much) and a typical day is as follows: 

Breakfast 

• 2 hardboiled eggs 
• 1/2 chicken sausage 

                     or 

• 2 scrambled eggs 
• salsa 
• avacado 

                    with 

• tea or coffee+coconut milk 

Lunch

• (dinner leftovers) chicken 
• roasted broccoli 
• roasted  sweet potatoes 
• bananna 

Dinner 

• lean burger + bacon 
• avacado 
• roasted brussle sprouts 
• roasted potatoes

 

Snacks only happen once in awhile and usually consist of 

• apple and almonds 
• hard boiled egg and raspberries 
• larabar 

Any ideas what could be wrong? Are we doing something wrong? Any advice would be much appreciated! 

[ladyshanny]

Although you haven't listed quantities, based on your breakfast outline I think it's reasonable to assume you are undereating. What vegetables and fats are you having with breakfast (only one breakfast references fat). Eggs are as many as you can hold in a hand without dropping.........at least 3-4 as a start. Either add an egg or go with the whole sausage. Add veggies (2-3 cups) and a fat source (1-2 servings).

The rest of your meals should be 1-2 palms worth of protein (length, width and thickness of your own palm - husband should be HIS own palm), 2-3 cups cooked veggies or equivalent, 1-2 servings of fat. This is the meal template recommendation. If you are going to snack because your meals aren't large enough, prioritize protein and fat (hardboiled egg + mayo or chicken thigh + guac) and downgrade fruit, nuts and any type of bar which are really only approved for actual emergencies, not snacking.

I suspect all of your issues are related to the composition of your meals. Try making these corrections and see how you do.

[purplepadres]

A couple of helpful hints on making food more palatable. I don't know how you were eating before Whole30, but if there are things that you loved that can easily be made Whole30, that's a good idea. If you don't like orange sweet potatoes, try white. They are starchier, a bit less sweet. Or even regular potatoes.

As far as Whole30 ranch, I dislike most recipes. While I love coconut milk in my coffee, I don't feel like it has a place in my salad dressing. My version of Whole30 ranch is just homemade mayo, ranch seasoning mix (dried parsley, dried chives, dried onion, garlic powder), and some red wine vinegar (or whatever your preferred vinegar is). Good luck to you!