Ruth O'Sullivan Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi guys! I'm on day 22 of my 2nd W30 (woohoo) and have been 100% compliant and am noticing the dark circles under my eyes are fading and my trousers are looser (had to buy a belt at lunchtime yesterday to hold them up!) I have hidden my scales under my dresser and really, out of sight out of mind (I was a weigh most days person!). My reason for posting today though is I'm feeling a bit disheartened or fed up, I'm not sure which. I didn't sleep well last night (neighbours' baby screamed for an hour on 3 different occasions!) and am tired. I noticed the last few nights coming home that i've been dreading having to make a meal from scratch....how tempting the chinese take-away has been! Of course once I made the meal and was eating it, I was happy I hadn't given in. I'm not seeing the boost in energy that I should be at this stage (and indeed didn't see it last time either). I am also still snacking after my dinner (pistachios and dates...a handful of pistachios and about 4 dates) a few nights a week, though not every night as was my habit. I want to keep this lifestyle up long term but when I get this lethargic feeling, I worry that I'll go back to bad habits after the 30 days is over...even though I don't want to. Can anyone else relate and do you have any ideas/suggestions please? Thanks! Ruth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi Ruth! I'm glad you're enjoying some success! It's really common to get fed-up sometime in the last 10 days. You've been working hard! Most folks find that it passes quickly, though. About your energy: Since it sounds from your post that this is your second go round, and you aren't feeling the energy surge this time either, that leads me to think that this may be a lifestyle or habit-based issue rather than a food issue. Some things to look at: 1. Sleep hygiene - how long do you sleep every night? Is it unbroken? Is it completely dark? How long before bed do you "unplug"? Is your environment generally noisy (baby next-door not withstanding)? 2. Life stress - do you work outside the home? Do you have job stress? Small kiddos? Medical conditions or family with medical conditions? Family drama? 3. Activity level - are you very active? Do you exercise? 4. Vitamin D - do you take a supplement? Finally - do you have a food log here on the forum we could peek at to get an idea of what you're eating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crev Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 This is my first post, so it probably doesn't have much weight, but I'm pretty close to where you are. I'm on day 20 of my first w30, and my energy levels are pretty erratic. I've always LOVED cooking, but sometimes now, I dread having to make something from scratch and try to make it compliant. Something that has helped me a bit with this has been slow-cooking more meals. Not only are they warm and cozy when the weather here is freezing, they are right there ready for me when my motivation is at its lowest. Whether it's a roast, squash, or a dish full of greens, it has really helped me to have something waiting for me when I get home from work. Finish strong!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamak Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The energy issue is a big thing for me. I'm on day 20 woohoo and have notice my energy level is slightly sporadic. Pre-w30 my energy source mainly came from artificial sources, namely 5 hour energy. I had great "highs" but was always combating the lows. I think I was psychologically addicted to feeling like an energizer bunny but it wasn't natural. Although I haven't gotten the burst of energy I had imagined, I'm realizing that I may have been setting the bar too high. Being over stimulated on caffeine is not natural energy, it's artificially induced. I am now trying to focus on the slow and steady. Keeping my mood and my energy stable and balancing my diet with ample amounts of fat and some starchy carbs when I know I need a little extra zing. I would make sure you are eating enough fats/ proteins and try to make a mental note when you feel your lowest. Maybe make some small adjustments and have that after dinner snack before your afternoon slump to keep you going. Hope this helps a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terez Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Ruth, this is my first W30 and I'm on Day 23. I am having mealtimes where I'm feeling so fed up with all this cooking from scratch and cleaning the kitchen up after. Like you, I've powered through it and been glad I did. What I'm recognizing is that I'm not doing the weekly food prep / partial cook-up. So when I go to make something, I don't have my veggies already washed, chopped and waiting for me. I've got to get the cutting board and spend the prep time. I am now prepping all of that vegetable (cleaning and chopping all the bell peppers, not just the ones I'll be using for that meal). But I'm not doing the whole week's worth at one go. So it's like I'm never done with prep work. Anyway, I'm finding that 30 days is not long enough to establish my good meal prep habits. My commitment is to get as many of my vitamins and minerals from my food as is humanly possible. I've signed up for a CSA* that runs from mid-March until December, which means I'm going to start getting weekly deliveries of produce from a local farmer during that time. My current meal prep habits are not going to see me through the CSA deliveries. When I find myself snacking, I increase the amount of food in my meals. My clothes are not getting looser so "increasing the amount of food in the meals" may be an issue for someone who's doing this for weight loss. I'm doing the program for increased energy and for my nutritional goal (vitamins and minerals from my food). My energy has noticeably improved. While I'm not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, I'm no longer dragging when I get up. My energy stays steady until around 10pm. I'm not getting to bed early enough; that's a work in progress. I did get a sleep mask for $4 on amazon (sounds like you're not in the U.S. so don't know what it would cost you). That has made my sleep feel more restful, especially in the morning hours. I wear it to bed at night and it stays in place. I'm also transitioning to being a back sleeper. I'm pretty much transitioned to that by now. And I got an iphone app called Sleep Cycle that is tracking when I'm in deep sleep. As I say, a work in progress with sleep. Anyhow, my two cents' worth. Overall I think the meal prep is a habit that's going to take me longer than 30 days to develop. Terez *CSA = Community Supported Agriculture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth O'Sullivan Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi Ruth! I'm glad you're enjoying some success! It's really common to get fed-up sometime in the last 10 days. You've been working hard! Most folks find that it passes quickly, though. About your energy: Since it sounds from your post that this is your second go round, and you aren't feeling the energy surge this time either, that leads me to think that this may be a lifestyle or habit-based issue rather than a food issue. Some things to look at: 1. Sleep hygiene - how long do you sleep every night? Is it unbroken? Is it completely dark? How long before bed do you "unplug"? Is your environment generally noisy (baby next-door not withstanding)? 2. Life stress - do you work outside the home? Do you have job stress? Small kiddos? Medical conditions or family with medical conditions? Family drama? 3. Activity level - are you very active? Do you exercise? 4. Vitamin D - do you take a supplement? Finally - do you have a food log here on the forum we could peek at to get an idea of what you're eating? Hi Robin, Thanks for the encouragement! It's always good to know you're not alone when feeling a certain way at a certain stage of W30. I try to get to bed by 10.30/11 and the alarm goes off at 6.45 so 8ish hours but no, unfortunately between my teenage son, my cat and my neighbour's baby it's rarely unbroken sleep The room is pretty dark but sometimes the landing light is left on which will wake me. I work in an office so am sitting all day apart from a 20-30 min walk at lunchtime. I haven't been doing much more exercise lately as I hurt my back and also fell out of the habit (also I'm too tired after work to work out!). I take a magnesium supplement but not Vit D. I don't have a food log but today for example I had a 2 egg omlette with 3 homemade sausage balls (24 balls from 1lb of meat). Lunch was leftover mince curry with caulirice followed by a few dates and when i got home I had some celery with tapenade and a few nuts while i made beef stew (waiting for that to be ready!). Most mornings I'd have 2 boiled eggs with some tomatoes/mushrooms/veg or squash with nuts and coconut milk. I've been having a tin of tuna with homemade mayo and veggies for lunch the last few days. I don't often feel hungry but definitely still craving sweet things (hence the dates!). I feel like I could sleep for a week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth O'Sullivan Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Thanks for your input everyone! Terez, I definitely need to do more bulk prep of veg also, as like you I seem to spend an hour every evening chopping and dicing before I even cook anything! The eye mask is a great idea, am going to look for one today Crev, I'll be getting my slow cooker out again at the weekend...had kinda forgotten about it! I would make sure you are eating enough fats/ proteins and try to make a mental note when you feel your lowest. Maybe make some small adjustments and have that after dinner snack before your afternoon slump to keep you going. Hope this helps a little. I think I may not be getting enough fats/protein miamak, I'll keep the food log and will hopefully get more insight from it. We're all doing great, let's keep it up!! Happy Friday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodea Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I came on the forum tonight to see if anyone else felt like I do on day 25! I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling washed out and a bit demotivated, but I'm determined to stick to it. I think for me it's been stress and tiredness this week. And the endless prepping. Earplugs are my secret weapon when it comes to noisy neighbours - they really block the world out and let me get to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CupcakeNinja Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Glad to see I'm not alone! I'm on Day 25, too, and not seeing a ton of benefits yet, kind of wondering whether this was worth it beyond just knowing I'm eating good, clean, healthy food (which is definitely beneficial by itself). Obviously I don't know if I've lost weight, but I'm not sleeping great (I've had maybe three good nights of sleep the whole time and they were all spread out), today I'm having crazy joint pain, I had a headache for three days earlier this week, and although my energy has stabilized, I wouldn't call it high. I've had digestive issues the entire 25 days. This weekend, I'm getting some Natural Calm and some super enzymes or a probiotic (depending on what's on sale, and according to one of the other threads about tummy troubles), and I'm doing a big cookup wherein I'll prep a bunch of my food in advance. I'll see if any of that helps. Good luck to the rest of you!! Solidarity!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelli Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 I don't have a food log but today for example I had a 2 egg omlette with 3 homemade sausage balls (24 balls from 1lb of meat). Lunch was leftover mince curry with caulirice followed by a few dates and when i got home I had some celery with tapenade and a few nuts while i made beef stew (waiting for that to be ready!). Most mornings I'd have 2 boiled eggs with some tomatoes/mushrooms/veg or squash with nuts and coconut milk. I've been having a tin of tuna with homemade mayo and veggies for lunch the last few days. I don't often feel hungry but definitely still craving sweet things (hence the dates!). I feel like I could sleep for a week! I am NOT an expert by any means so if there is one please feel free to chime in on my thoughts. Ruth, you are not eating enough is my first impression. Not enough protein and not enough fat for sure. Also more of anything green. Your body is now running on fat and not sugar and you need to put in more calories, they will give your REAL energy unlike the FALSE energy that we have all grown up knowing. Just my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y4X1 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Thank you for posting this! I was really beginning to feel like something was wrong with me I was actually feeling pretty good up until Day 18 when I hit a slump. Now on Day 20 I am just soooo tired!! I'm eating fine, but definitely have an incredible amount of stress. I work from home and things are crazy with our business right now. Plus I have five kids, three still at home, two who still need me even though they aren't I never get enough sleep and I know I'm not exercising enough. What I really need is a couple of extra hours each day. Anyway, glad to know I'm not alone! Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeresaTX Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 So glad I stumbled on this thread - I'm on day 22 and was completely passed over by the "tiger blood" and like Cupcake ninja I've also had increased rather than decreased joint pain. I can't imagine eating this way is causing that but it does seem like a pretty rum deal when I've eaten better for 3 weeks than ever before in my life! I had never been a fan of leftovers until the past few weeks - now I make huge meals and portion them out and just grab a container at random for lunch. Breakfast is made once a week - big quiche losely following a recipe from Against all grains - essentially line the bottom of an oven safe pan with thinly sliced sweet potatoes, top with sauted veggies and protein of your choice then pour on 12 scrambled eggs and some salt and pepper - bake 25-30 at 350 and slice it in 6 pieces. Really good food and best of all, zero work. Dinner I do usually prepare daily but that is so much easier than the first 10 days when I was making every. single. meal. Grim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WholeStanley Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 TeresaTX that quiche sounds perfect for my breakfast next week! (i was getting a bit tired of frittatas and my fried eggs/sauteed veggies combo. Just wanted to ask, do you cook the sweet potatoes before hand or just thinly slice them raw and pop them in? Also when you say scrambled eggs do you mean already cooked before you put them in the oven? Sorry for all the questions im just excited about making this haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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