Day 16 HELP HELP!

[AKP]

Hi there! I am a Whole30 veteran (I think i've completed about 4 rounds, 2 while pregnant) so I am very familiar with the Whole30 however this time around things feel oddly different, and by that I mean very delayed? I never felt bloated at days 8 & 9 but rather right now during day 16/17. Is that normal? I feel fat and just yucky, and my jeans are very uncomfortable. I didnt come into the whole30 doing terrible as far as my nutrition but I did enjoy lots of wine over Christmas and a few cookies here and there. Just kind of confused why I am not 'feelin' it' - I am going to provide a sample of what a typical day looks like for me.....

5:15am - Workout (either elliptical of weights/circuit training); I am a newish mom so getting up to get this in is very important to me

7:00am - Bulletproof coffee with ghee and cinnamon (for the record i am NEVER hungry after working out and just don't have time to eat as i am getting myself ready and my daughter)

8:45am - Arrive at work & eat breakfast which is 1 serving of almond butter (rx nut butter) with a banana - this is my absolute favorite and i like to practice intuitive eating 

Noon - Lunch which is either a salad with 5oz of protein (chicken thighs, tuna, or meatballs) + an applesauce

3:00pm - If I truly am legitimately hungry (i pay close attention to my hunger cues) I will have a hard boiled egg with raw veggies and some siete cashew dip (compliant); I dont always need this afternoon snack

7:00pm - Dinner which is typically a side salad with olives, cucumbers, 1/2 date, and tessemae dressing with 5 oz protein and sometimes an additional veggie like Haricot Vert or asparagus. Sometimes we will also do turkey burgers with homemade sweet potato fries. 

I used to "need" something after dinner however this whole30 I am being diligent about not eating anything once dinner is over.

 

What could I be doing wrong?

 

[Jihanna]

So the first thing jumping out is that it looks like you're kind of heavy on nuts and fruits, compared to the template. Second, it looks like you've got quite a few things in the mix that could be leading toward gas/bloat, including nuts, apples, asparagus, etc.

The next question might not seem to obvious though, because it has nothing to do with what you're eating...
Where are you in your cycle? You said you're a newish mom, which means you probably haven't been experiencing typical monthly issues for a while, but they definitely show up for most of us and can often get thrown out of whack by dietary changes. Any chance you're coming up toward that time of month, or when it would likely be if you're still not menstruating due to lactation or something? The whole fat and yucky and uncomfortable feeling definitely describes how I feel every 24 days or so .

Follow-up to the above -- if you ARE maybe experiencing lady issues, you might try boosting your protein and playing with the starch levels, as well as considering some options that are nut-free or at least reduce the nut consumption (I say that only because I found out the hard way that nuts wreck my hormones, and during that week it's 10x worse than usual) so you can test out what works and what doesn't work for your post-baby self

[Shani_SWP]

You definitely need protein for breakfast. I'd skip the bulletproof coffee because it's literally a ton of fat first thing in the morning; if you're truly not hungry, it should be easy to skip this bulletproof coffee. Based upon your workout description, you don't really need a pre/post-workout snack, but remember that you need to fuel yourself, so be sure to eat protein at breakfast (hard boiled egg or meat stick). Lunch needs a fat, so consider adding some avocado, olives or nuts to your salad. Also, change up your vegetables, try some roasted or steamed vegetables instead of always having salad, and try moving your fruits to occasionally and at meal 3.

Find the meal template here: https://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf