My 2nd Whole30

[Dovid]

I'm already on Day 17 of my second Whole30 and I'm actually feeling more tired and worn down than I expected for this stage. In my first Whole30 I felt amazing, well I did 45 days then for a number of reasons and I don't remember when the awesome feeling kicked in. Now I'm cranky and tired. Granted, it's really warm outside and I'm not sure I'm drinking enough water and I'm going through a divorce, albeit not a nasty one by any means (and no kids), but still an emotional rollercoaster. I've also started picking up on my physical activity lately, starting with walking everyday, 10,000 steps. And I plan on starting to attend a gym and I'm thinking I'm going to need to adjust how I'm eating for that. So, hard to tell what's affecting what. In terms of my meals, I generally have eggs for breakfast, was having 4 and then felt like it was too much so I went down to 3. Now I'm debating going back up again. I make myself a salad to go with that, sometimes sweet potatoes and/or spinach, avocado. Depends on the day. For lunch and dinner I have salad, lettuce, avocado, cucumbers is a mainstay for me though I try to change things up regularly. My protein is some fish or chicken. I'm out most of the day, usually from 7 am until 9/10 pm so preparing food and figuring out what I could carry around with me is a challenge as well. Anyway, checking in here, been wanting to post for a while. Would appreciate any feedback or thoughts.

[ShannonM816]

Definitely work on getting enough water -- aim for 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight, so a 120-lb person needs at least 60 oz, and more when it's warm or you're working out more. Be sure you're salting your food so it tastes good, too -- lack of salt can contribute to feeling tired.

It sounds like you're eating a lot of leafy green vegetables, which is great, they're definitely good for you, but maybe try adding in some denser vegetables as well. And if you're walking more, it makes sense that you need more food. Some people do find that rather than adding a fourth egg, they prefer to add some other protein instead, so 2-3 eggs with some chicken or salmon or something like that.

For taking food with you, do you have a cooler or insulated lunch bag that you use? do you have access to a way to heat foods up? That can affect what you might take with you.  In general, though, you could make up a frittata with eggs, maybe with some chicken or other protein, and lots of veggies -- they're usually good hot or cold.  Just google Whole30 frittata for ideas, you can pretty much include anything that sounds good to you, though -- I like shredded sweet potato and broccoli in mine, and sometimes include spinach or kale too. This butternut squash casserole is good hot or cold (you can make it with pumpkin or sweet potatoes if those are easier to find):  http://meljoulwan.com/2009/11/23/eat-your-vegetables-butternut-squash/ -- it would be good alongside your normal salad. 

And definitely don't be too hard on yourself if this time around is not going quite the same way your first Whole30 did. Every Whole30 is different, and even if your divorce isn't particularly bad, it's still a source of stress, which is going to affect things in ways that food just can't always make up for.

 

[Dovid]

Thanks Shannon. I do put salt on my food though I've never been a big salt person so that's definitely something I'll be thinking about and noticing. I have an insulated lunch bag that I use to carry my stuff around in and generally I do not have an option of heating things up so, yeah, that's something I consider when packing my food. I like the butternut squash casserole idea. I'm going to try and put that together.

And thanks for the encouraging words. Today has been a challenging day as I already had my first meal a lot later than usual and I am not prepared foodwise for the day. I can rearrange my schedule so I'm going to work on getting on top of that.