No appetite and nauseated

[marsusher]

I can see from other recent posts that this is typical as my body regulates in the first week or so, but...

I wake up with nausea. When I try to eat breakfast, I dry heave through most of it and even threw up this morning. On Days 3 & 4, I could barely eat lunch or dinner either, but those were a little easier. I do my best to follow the template, but volume-wise I'm eating too little. I just can't stomach more! Nothing sounds good (except sweets, but I'm not giving into that!). I can see from reading other threads that I just need to push through this phase and it will pass, but HOW? I've tried fancy breakfasts; I've tried simple breakfasts; I've tried bland breakfasts; I've tried "dinner" foods for breakfast...I'm not sure what else to do. I really want to start my days of right, but I can't do this too much longer (the nausea). I can provide a meal rundown, but I'm not sure it would be helpful because I already know it's not enough food, but I literally gag if I try to eat more! (No history of disordered eating, by the way.)

[ShannonM816]

Because it's good to address the obvious, just in case: Could you have picked up a stomach bug -- do you have any other symptoms like fever or diarrhea? Or is there any chance you might be pregnant?

I'm not really sure what else to tell you. Could you stomach anything first thing in the morning -- maybe a baked sweet potato with coconut oil or ghee and some salt? It's not a full template meal, but if it was something you could eat first thing in the morning, it would be a place to start, and then after a few days, try a full meal again and see if it's better?

[marsusher]

Just now, ShannonM816 said:

Because it's good to address the obvious, just in case: Could you have picked up a stomach bug -- do you have any other symptoms like fever or diarrhea? Or is there any chance you might be pregnant?

I'm not really sure what else to tell you. Could you stomach anything first thing in the morning -- maybe a baked sweet potato with coconut oil or ghee and some salt? It's not a full template meal, but if it was something you could eat first thing in the morning, it would be a place to start, and then after a few days, try a full meal again and see if it's better?

I don't believe I'm sick or pregnant--both are very unlikely.

This morning as I was packing up my lunch, the only thing in the fridge that sounded good was sweet potatoes and raw green beans...who knows why! From your response it sounds like it's ok to just go into "survival mode" for a few days to get over this hump, even if adherence to the template isn't perfect (obviously eating as close to the template as sounds doable)? I really don't want this to be the reason I give up, and I definitely enjoyed my template meals before the nausea set in around Day 3 and will gladly get back to them if this terrible feeling will pass!

[bkruse]

This is what one of the moderators @ladyshanny wrote on a similar post yesterday, and it seems like it may be applicable here too: 

'This is often a classic sign of your hormones being out of balance. Being able to eat only sweet things in the morning without nausea is pretty common in people that normally eat sweets for breakfast or people that don't eat breakfast at all regularly. Unfortunately the only way to past is through. In order to train yourself to eat protein, veggies and fat in the morning, you have to practice eating protein, veggies and fat in the morning. Make your meal, something you think would be palatable (chicken salad over salad or veggies is often successful for people) and then eat as much as you can. Once you're done, put it aside and eat it again as soon as you feel able, not waiting for the next meal time. This is the way through.'

[marsusher]

8 minutes ago, bkruse said:

This is what one of the moderators @ladyshanny wrote on a similar post yesterday, and it seems like it may be applicable here too: 

'This is often a classic sign of your hormones being out of balance. Being able to eat only sweet things in the morning without nausea is pretty common in people that normally eat sweets for breakfast or people that don't eat breakfast at all regularly. Unfortunately the only way to past is through. In order to train yourself to eat protein, veggies and fat in the morning, you have to practice eating protein, veggies and fat in the morning. Make your meal, something you think would be palatable (chicken salad over salad or veggies is often successful for people) and then eat as much as you can. Once you're done, put it aside and eat it again as soon as you feel able, not waiting for the next meal time. This is the way through.'

But what if I don't feel able? I'm having full days of nausea where nothing sounds good.  Like it's been almost 4 hours since I choked down some pork fried caulirice and some broccoli, and I still can't imagine eating lunch today. That's after barely being able to eat something for dinner last night.

[ladyshanny]

52 minutes ago, marsusher said:

But what if I don't feel able? I'm having full days of nausea where nothing sounds good.  Like it's been almost 4 hours since I choked down some pork fried caulirice and some broccoli, and I still can't imagine eating lunch today. That's after barely being able to eat something for dinner last night.

Honestly, I would get to the doctor, this isn't a normal symptom of Whole30, especially not going on this long. What did your eating look like (composition and timing) before Whole30? Have you ever experienced bouts of days-long nausea before? Do you have any underlying autoimmune or other health conditions that you know of?

[marsusher]

@ladyshanny My diet was not great for the months leading up to starting, but in the week before, I started phasing out sugar and grains. I could almost guarantee it's withdrawals/my body figuring out this new way of eating, but I'm not sure how to push through. I've experienced it before when I've tried the W30 in the past and always quit at this point.

I do have a doctor's appointment scheduled next week to troubleshoot some health stuff (started the Whole30 to get a jump-start on figuring out what's going on). My main thing right now is how do I get through this phase and still remain as healthy as possible? I know simply not eating is not going to help me.

[ladyshanny]

Ya, ok, unfortunately not eating actually might be making it worse. Lack of appetite which breeds nausea causes lack of appetite which makes nausea worse. It's a nasty cycle.

You just have to keep trying. Keep trying palatable things. Keep talking positively to yourself, take it slow, be nice, be calm and give yourself enough time. Trying to race through something that is grossing you out isn't going to help. Just breathe, take your time and keep trying.

[marsusher]

Thanks everyone. I'm getting bloodwork at my appointment next week so maybe that will reveal something.

I was just able to eat an avocado and a clementine. I'm going to try some hardboiled eggs or deviled eggs in a few hours. These next few days might just be more snacky than preferable. I can live with that.

[marsusher]

I wanted to update since I suspect others hit this phase too.

I posted the above on Day 5. I snacked much of the day, anytime something sounded good. I purposefully avoided Larabars since I really do want to retrain my brain and appetite. On Day 6 my stomach felt a little better but still somewhat unsettled. Day 7 onward (I'm on Day 11) have been much better. My advise would be to do what you can to get through this phase--allow yourself to snack when you normally feel like you shouldn't. Hopefully it's short for you too!