No energy, workouts skipped and losing power and speed - Day 14

[questioningitall]

I am struggling!  I have no energy, no desire to get out of bed in the morning.  I've skipped 3 workouts this week which is unheard of for me - I much more typically have 3 rest days in a month.  When I've gone to the gym, I've gotten progressively worse on this.  I workout at OrangeTheory and have had to slow down on the treadmill by 1.5-2 mph, not able to lift as much for weights, my wattage on the rower is a third of what it was, my heart rate is easily in the 90%+ ranges and doesn't drop in the minute I've slowed to a walk like my typical heart rate recovery.  I have two little kids (1 and 4) and I don't want to play with them like normal.  I'm begging them to do sitting activities like coloring or reading because I just can't.  I've lost motivation to do my job sometimes which is unheard of because I LOVE my job.  I feel like I was made to do it.  Just apparently not while on the Whole30.

I lost 11% body fat between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021, I work out regularly and had been following the purple plan on WW - most of my points coming from olive oils, cottage cheese, and the occasional treat.  I wear a Whoop strap and the week before I started Whole30, I had 6 green recovery days, but have stayed in the low yellows since starting.  I was feeling good, with high energy, totally able to do my life.  In the spirit of continued experimentation, I decided to do whole30.  I read the book, got the workbook and honestly the food portion has been great.  The food is delicious, I've been enjoying having roasted veggies with my eggs in the morning (why had I never done that before?).  I don't typically have a ton of food cravings, but they've gotten worse with whole30- like don't care WHAT I eat just that I WANT to eat.  It is cravings - I'm not particularly hungry, I just have no energy and my body is saying EAT.  

I've attached some photos of what I've eaten the past couple of days, 4-5x per day.  Not pictured are the handfuls of nuts or coconut that I tend to eat as I am prepping the food (in the cases of the meals without avocado/nuts on the plate) but I have consumed 2 lbs over the 14 days.   I do not do the pre work template (I have tried two days) but I have been working out first thing in the morning since 2014, and I really just don't like working out later in the day (challenging for my schedule) or eating before 5 am before the gym.  I don't like the feeling of the food in my gut during my workout.  I'm incorporating sweet potatoes, winter squashes, and typically have fruit with two or three of my meals each day.  

Am I supposed to be able to work out at high intensity?  Or is the exercise recommendation about the lower heart rate at fat burning zones all that is really expected during this?  

[Dawnsigkap]

YES! This is me too, I have done Whole30 every year for like 6 years and I have had bouts of no energy but I have never been exercising the way I have been in the past year...I too do OTF and I have NO energy, Your food looks like mine...I have had to rely on a pretty strong pre-workout to get me through it but it still is not what I used to do.  I was doing WW but stopped in mid November because I decided to change to more of a macro approach. 

I honestly have no suggestions but I feel the exact same way.  I have tried more higher carbs - like butternut squash and sweet potatoes.  I honestly do not eat a lot of fruit and that could possibly be the culprit but fruit can be a bit of a trigger food for me.   I know I will make it through the 30 days ... but I am also doing the Transformation Challenge so I am not sure if I will lose any weight but I have to do 3 classes a week...no more cancellations!!!  

I have no idea why I have no energy this time...I wish I can answer your question but I will say, dont give up, it is only 30 days and I do believe with only 2 weeks in our bodies are still working hard on adjusting/hormones balancing....!! Good Luck!!!

[Teeny&Ry]

Following to see what answer the moderator gives. This is my second Whole 30 and I don't remember being this... effing... tired. I am varying my proteins and vegetables. I don't really track calories or anything, but I think I am getting enough. Just starting Week 2.

[SugarcubeOD]

On 1/22/2021 at 10:20 AM, questioningitall said:

but they've gotten worse with whole30- like don't care WHAT I eat just that I WANT to eat.  It is cravings - I'm not particularly hungry, I just have no energy and my body is saying EAT. 

Your body is clearly telling you that it is hungry... maybe not stomach hungry but needs more nutrition hungry.  The pictures are great but are you following the meal template?  When you eat eggs as your sole source of protein at a meal, do you eat as many as you can hold in one hand without dropping?  Some of those pictures don't include a plated fat so are you eating that with every meal?  Don't count your cooking fat as it's often left in the pan and split between portions. Are you eating a starchy carb at least once a day? What was the meal with four baby carrots? Was that a full meal?  I think you need to work on meal composition a bit.