hellppppp...Day 8- massive fatigue, low mood, low interest

[Atta89]

I'm on day 8 of the whole 30. I am physically and mentally exhausted despite my bedtimes getting earlier and earlier and sleeping through the night. I used to fall asleep between 12-1am and get up between 730-9am. now i am in bed by 9pm asleep by 10, sleeping through till 630,7,8am... and not wanting to get up at all. I feel light headed, am experiencing brain fog and general disinterest in the gym, work, or socializing. I have pushed myself through a handful of workouts and have only felt good for 3 of them the whole 8 days.

not to mention BLOATED, i feel bigger than when i began this a week ago...lol

obviously the question to follow my complaints is, is the above all expected and normal? is there anything i should be doing to ease these symptoms?

thanks to anyone who has some advice!

[ladyshanny]

HI @Atta89 - sorry you aren't feeling well. It's hard to give directed feedback without knowing what you've been eating. Please give a rundown of some typical days of eating including portion sizes, specific veggies and fats, meal timing, pre and post workout food if applicable. We can then try to help. Sounds to me like you probably aren't eating enough.

[Atta89]

Hi @ladyshanny,

thanks so much for the reply.

The first week I think my portions were on the light side, but then I upped the portions and started eating potatoes/yams and was thinking that my portions should probably go back down. Here's what I've been eating:

 

Day 1) egg fritta with side of fruit and half an avocado, protein salad with ground turkey and homemade dressing, spaghetti squash with ground turkey and sauce side of salad

the first day i felt hungry or snacky in the evening and had some raw veggies and a bite of my meat sauce.

my meals are spaced out about 3-5 hours between each other. eating as soon as i wake up, having lunch mid day and then having dinner between 630 and 830pm(latest)

day 2) left over dinner with fried egg, salad, left over dinner and fruit, left over dinner salad and avocado (i made a lot of spaghetti squash and was short on time- ate a lot of it lol)

day 3) egg frittata and fruit, tuna lettuce boats with salad and side of fruit, chicken breast with roasted potatos (mayo on top) and salad

day 4) pretty much the same as day 3

day 5) scrambled eggs, side of berries and salad, salmon sweet potato and fruit, salmon with salad and potatoes with mayo dill dressing (did not skimp)

day 6) NOTED HAVING A BAD DAY- left over salmon with fried egg and yams, sweet potato soup with salad and fruit, soup with salad and avocado. i noted it was bad because i wanted to stress eat, but sticking with compliant foods, i ended up dipping some of my potatoes into my amazing homemade mayo, i had apple and banana together and something else in the day. definitely noted this behaviour.

day 7) egg frittata, one date and some rasberries with an instant coffee (did not react well to that, wont be drinking that again), butternut squash soup with side of snap peas and tuna salad, salmon cakes with homemade dill sauce, salad and side of fruit

day 8) left over chicken with potatoes, asparagus and a fried egg, butternut squash soup with salad and apple

 

I've eaten close enough to my workouts that i havent done pre work out meals, post work out i've had half a baked yam with some left over egg.

I am drinking copious amounts of water and can never seem to quench my thirst (am i eating to much salt?)

I have added 2 thumb-fulls of fats to most meals, whether in the form of cooking fat, avocado or delicious sauces. Trying to keep with portion guidlines of half plate veggies, handful of starchy veg and palmful of protein. I dont feel particularly hungry, and i am definitely bloated which is making not want to eat so much today.

 

 

 

[ladyshanny]

It's pretty hard to tell here what your portion sizes are for anything. Eggs, as sole protein, are as many as you can hold in your hand without dropping; 3-4 is a good start for most people. If you want less eggs, add an additional protein source (bacon is fat and wouldn't necessarily count). 

Make sure your protein is 1-2 palms (that's the length, thickness and width of your own palm). 2-3+ cups of cooked veggie or equivalent (more if it's salad greens), 1-2 servings of fat. This is at each meal. Your meals should be able to keep you going comfortably for 4-5 hours. If they are not, up the volume or try adding a bit more fat.

[Atta89]

@ladyshanny, definitely not eating enough protein then.  I will restructure my plate and see how i feel then. thank you for help with that.

 

the thirst thing, is this to be expected or does that sound like im eating too much sodium?

[SugarcubeOD]

It's not likely you'd be eating too much sodium - when you move to a whole foods way of eating with very little packaged and processed foods, you remove a considerable amount of sodium from your diet so unless you're heaping on the salt before eating, that's probably not it.

Detox can cause thirst, it's very hot in many places (maybe where you are?)... our recommendation is to drink 1/2oz of water per pound of body weight... are you meeting that?

[Atta89]

@SugarcubeOD, my main problem prior to whole30 was with sweets not necessarily prepackaged foods but even still I'm definitely not heaping salt on to my cooked meals lol. i wasn't aware that detox can cause thirst. I'm drinking about 2-2.5L  a day without excessive urination. I'm in alberta, canada, its summer and hot but my thirst is atypical of what i normally feel.

thanks so much for the reply