Day 15 and still struggling

[Shannonmj]

I’m half way through my first round of whole 30, and still struggling with energy and bloating. Does the energy ever increase? Does the bloating ever disappear? I was hoping to figure out what foods cause bloating but it seems everything I eat bothers me. I’m committed to all 30 days but not really seeing benefits yet... Any advice from someone who has been there?

[ladyshanny]

4 hours ago, Shannonmj said:

I’m half way through my first round of whole 30, and still struggling with energy and bloating. Does the energy ever increase? Does the bloating ever disappear? I was hoping to figure out what foods cause bloating but it seems everything I eat bothers me. I’m committed to all 30 days but not really seeing benefits yet... Any advice from someone who has been there?

Hey @Shannonmj - sorry you aren't feeling well. It's super hard to give any sort of directed feedback with no information. 15 days isn't necessarily long enough to see major changes, depending on what your intake/health was like prior to Whole30. Can you give us a rundown on a couple of typical days of eating so that we can take a look and see if anything stands out. Off the cuff, bloating can be caused by raw veggies, too many cruciferous veggies (ie, broc, cauli), nuts, nut products, sparkling water etc. Energy issues are often a result of under-eating or not composing meals correctly or not fueling post workout. Post some detail and let's see what's going on.

[Shannonmj]

Sure! I have long days so add in a couple of snacks. Yesterday, a hard-boiled egg pre-workout (5am). 7am- 2 eggs, zucchini, avocado. 10am- carrots and almonds. 12:30- salad with spinach, chicken, 1/2 avacado, 1/2 orange. 3:30- larabar. 7- chicken, broccoli, banana with almond butter.

today: 7am- banana with almond butter, 2 eggs. 10am- carrots and almonds. 12:30- salad with spinach, chicken, 1/2 avacado, 2 eggs. 3- larabar. 6:30- sweet potato, chicken, green beans.

i do drink sparkling water. Thanks for the help!!

[ShannonM816]

Hello there. A few things I notice that might help -- first, when eggs are your only protein, have as many whole eggs as you can hold in your hand, so probably 3-4 for most people. If you don't want that many eggs, you can always add some other protein to make up the difference. You don't say what kind of workout you're doing, but you don't have any post-workout food -- here's an article explaining what to have post-wo and why:  http://whole9life.com/2015/02/eat-post-workout/

You should be able to go 4-5 hours between meals. If you're not quite managing that, it's a sign you're either not eating enough, or you aren't eating quite the right mix of foods. While you're figuring out meal sizes, or if you just need to eat at a non meal time, try to have a mini-meal of protein, fat, and vegetables, or at least two of the three -- so carrots and almonds are okay, but the Larabar is not really your best choice. When you have salads, be sure they're big enough -- raw leafy green stuff breaks down to nothing as you eat, so either eat lots of it or include some heartier vegetables. Here's some examples of single-serving salads for inspiration:  https://whole30.com/2016/07/whole30-recipes-salads/ 

As far as bloating, sparkling water can cause that, and so can having a lot of nuts. You've got almonds, a larabar, almond butter with a banana on both days -- a serving of nuts is a small closed handful, and mostly you should try to limit them to every other day or so. Try limiting the nuts and adding other fat sources, and drink flat water rather than sparkling for a few days and see if that doesn't help with the bloating.