Day 18 and wanting to quit

[ksaretsk]

Hello,

This is my first whole30 and I was trying it out because I was feeling lethargic, I was having trouble with a lot of hair loss and a greasy/waxy texture in my hair. I went to my doctor to get checked for hypothyroid/iron, etc and nothing came back. I eat pretty healthy regularly and do weight workouts 3-4 times per week with low intensity cardio 3 times a week (BBG PWR program). However I also will "treat myself" if I go out and didn't find I was saying no ever to snacks or treats. I'll admit part of me also just wanted to try eating clean to see if I could cut down a little bit before a cabin trip at the end of August.

I am on day 18 and I am so bored and annoyed. My friend sent me the infographic about a "typical" whole30 and how you feel throughout the program. I haven't really felt any of it. I maybe felt a bit of the "hangover" but that was it. The first two weeks were much easier for me and I didn't have a problem saying no to things, didn't crave anything, and felt pretty motivated. Now two weeks in after going away for a weekend to go to a wedding I am frustrated because I am not feeling any better. In fact today I woke up feeling exhausted and when I tried to work out Monday morning after breakfast I felt weak and had to do push ups on my knees. I still don't think I am craving anything I am just getting annoyed at the amount of meal prep and planning I have to do because I'm not feeling different or seeing results. I think I just want to eat my regular foods out of laziness. I have read a lot of other posts of people saying similar things and the responses say they may not be eating enough and there is a template but I haven't seen the template if someone could direct me there? I will post what I ate yesterday for reference. I will also just say I know you're not supposed to snack but I am a small person and I have always had to eat 6 small meals a day to function, I have been told the only times I threw temper tantrums as a kid was when I was hungry so 3 meals doesn't seem like an option for me.

Breakfast:

1 egg, 2 slices of bacon, half a grapefruit, americano

Snack:

Snap peas and a lara bar (I haven't been eating lara bars the whole program I had one to go out to the zoo with my family because it was small enough to put in my purse)

Lunch:

Greek sheet pan chicken with asparagus and mini potatos (2 chicken thighs and a drumstick)

Snack:

Banana with almond butter

Dinner:

Peach steak salad (spinach, steak, grilled peaches, avocado, bacon), small handful of almonds

[ShannonM816]

You can download the meal template here: https://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/

Your breakfast is very small -- when eggs are your only protein, have as many whole eggs as you can hold in one hand, which is probably 3-4 for most people. Add some vegetables as well.

Limit fruit to a couple of servings a day.

The getting "hangry" thing will stop once you're fat adapted, and you'll be better able to go 4-5 hours between meals easily, but for that to happen, you need to have big enough meals and be sure you add one or two of the fat servings listed on the template, generally in addition to any oil you cook in.

If you do need to eat between meals, have a mini meal of protein, fat, and vegetables or at least two of the three. 

[ksaretsk]

Thank you the template is helpful. Does anyone have suggestions for vegetables at breakfast? I am someone that hates vegetables and does not eat them because I enjoy them so vegetable at breakfast feels gross to me unless its a potato (which is starch)

[ShannonM816]

Not liking vegetables is something you'll just have to work on. Be open to trying different ones, prepared in different ways, and see if you can't find some that work for you.

I like sauteed zucchini or yellow squash or roasted broccoli, or sometimes I put a big handful or two of baby spinach in the blender with three eggs plus salt and pepper, blend it all, and cook like scrambled eggs. I don't like the texture of cooked spinach, but done this way I don't notice it.

Some other possibilities: 

http://www.realfoodwithdana.com/the-breakfast-salad-whole30-paleo/

https://nomnompaleo.com/post/104615214153/sunnyside-salad-crispy-fried-eggs-on-greens

https://crazytogether.com/easy-delicious-breakfast-saved-whole-30/ 

http://paleomg.com/jicama-apple-slaw/

[kirbz]

Here are a few thoughts that will hopefully be helpful to you! Sorry this is a lot! :-) 

First, if you're exercising, the program isn't really just three meals a day because you should be eating a pre- and post-workout mini meal. Were you aware of that? Here are the recommendations for pre- and post-workout meals: 

• Pre-Workout Meal: This should be eaten 15-75 minutes before your workout and should be a small portion of protein and some fat. For me, I will generally do a hard boiled egg with a handful of coconut chips or some leftover chicken with mayo or guacamole. It's really just a few bites and signals your body to prepare for activity. My understanding is that you're basically telling your body that it's okay to burn fat because you're going to be feeding it. 
• Post-Workout Meal: This should be right after exercise and is protein and a carb-dense vegetable (which is optional). I usually have a snack pack of compliant turkey breast and a few cubes of seasoned sweet potato. 

Both of these mini meals are in addition to whatever you normally have for your three meals. So yay, since you workout, it's not really just three meals! 

I also want to mention that fat is your friend! It's so, so important to this program and will be key in getting more energy!! According to the template, you should be eating one to two portions of fat with each meal (the fat you use to cook with doesn't count). Here are some good options for fats: oils (which I tend to eat in dressings), butters, coconut, coconut milk, olive, avocado. My go-to fats are ghee, mayo, guacamole, and coconut flakes. 

As for breakfast, here's one of my favorites. I like to spiralize a combination of regular and sweet potato, cook it up in a generous amount of ghee with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion seasoning. I then cook up a slice of bacon or two, cook three over-easy eggs in the leftover bacon fat and plop them right on top of the "hashbrowns" I made. Yum! 

And last thing... Be aware that nuts can be difficult for a lot of people. The recommendation is to eat only a closed handful of nuts every few days. So if your snacks regularly involve nuts or nut butters, you're over-eating them based on the recommendation. And since they're known to cause problems for a lot of people, they may be preventing you from achieving some of the benefits you're looking for! 

[ksaretsk]

Ok I didn't realize I needed as much fat so I will definitely try to boost that and to eat more. Thanks for the help!

[-Kara]

Breakfast veggies - spinach, kale all bake in great with eggs. 

Mild radishes are good in the am 

Sliced jicama is delicious and rather flavor neutral to me. Trade joes and Whole foods sell it presliced

Roasted Beets and turnips are good

Baked carrots are great. They are almost sweet when cooked and easier to digest when cooked for me

Anything roasted is delicious easy to do ahead of time and I can eat a lot of it cold. 

I have dried some kale and tossed it on top of scrambled eggs for some crunch

I love the add colorful veggies and try ones I have not had before...i think we are taught that bfast needs to be sweet not savory and that was really hard for me to overcome too. 

[Dana M]

regarding veggies for breakfast--my favorite combo is roasted mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash and sweet potato.  I have added cherry tomatoes too.  Roast with some olive oil.  I have scrambled eggs with a handful of spinach and had that with the veggies or done over easy eggs over the veggies.  you could also make an omeletand fill it with those veggies, I am just no good at folding eggs!  Since I have been doing Whole30 I have done a big pan of roasted veggies every Sunday for the week and used them all different ways.  At breakfast I have also put a big handful of salad greens under the veggies and eggs to get more greens in.

hope that helps--