pretty frustrated

[Cindi]

After all the testimonials I'm pretty discouraged that I still hurt. My joints hurt. Can't get a good nights sleep if it wakes me up so I have to shift. Although besides that I am sleeping MUCH better than I use to. Day one (this time) was March 1. So I'm 9 days in. Thursday was a horrible day for me. Got up early like usual and biked on the stationary bike for 30 minutes..not high intensity..just a nice steady pace. After my husband left for work...I had to lay down for 30 minutes before I could get ready for work. I got home from work around noon as I only work in the morning (usually). Then I grabbed a bit of lunch, a burger with some sauteed onions and some fresh cut up veggies. I wasn't too hungry but I was still very VERY tired. I laid down again on the couch and slept till 2! I almost never take naps. I did get thru the rest of the day but I had a headache and my stomach was a bit queazy all day. what's with that?

wake time for us is about 5:15 and we go to bed before 10. And we don't do TV at all and try to get off the computers by 8 or 8:30 and just listen to music, chat, and dim the lights or use candles.

I did my first whole30 back in the fall and was fairly successful but I didn't do it perfectly by any stretch of the imagination mainly because I was uninformed. I ate kerry gold butter and I made pancakes using banana and egg so the ingredients were perfectly legit. But now I know...that's a no go. Got it!

During December still mostly doing primal so I did allow dairy in small amounts and definitely more sugar than I should have. Still managed to stay away from all grains except I had 2 cookies at one party. Dark chocolate was my downfall for most of the month.

January had a very successful whole30 but the withdrawal symptoms easing by around the 2nd week and I lost 8 pounds. ok not too bad. I'm 5'9'' and weigh just under 220 so I still have a bit to lose.

February was a good month and I kept what I lost off. I didn't go back and eat the sugars with exception of some very dark (85%) chocolate and absolutely no grains. Had a bit of dairy but not much. I'm really enjoying my bulletproof coffee (I use coconut oil). I use to always have cream and not just a little and sf davinci syrup in it. Haven't had that in MONTHS. And when I did have that a few months ago just because I THOUGHT I wanted it...it was GROSSLY sweet. I tossed it. So I KNOW my taste buds have changed a LOT.

Lent being upon us...I talked my husband into doing another round of whole30 with me. He is also on this journey with me but doesn't need to lose weight but would like to tone up and get his six pack. He's 5'10' and 150 pounds. So March 1 we started. So much easier this time with no withdrawal symptoms since I had already had them out of my diet. No paleo pancakes and we've been using ghee or coconut oil.

We have tons of veggies, fresh or cooked. And various proteins. I buy fresh bacon and our neighbor had eggs and we have those everyday for breakfast. We do have fruit in small amounts usually in the morning with a smoothie to go with our protein so we can get some veggies in for breakfast. Mostly it is veggies with some berries and a banana between us to make it palatable, but it is anything but sweet, since it is mostly veggies. Spinach, kale, beets, and carrots, usually.

I take 3 capsules of fish oil omega 3, vitamin d, a multi, and glucosamine.

But why do I feel crummy?

Sorry it is long I just wanted to give you as much information as I could to see if you see anything I'm not doing right or anything I should adjust. I'm not giving up...because I do feel some better and I just know this is the way we should eat. Makes sense. I'm just so tired of hurting. Thanks for any replies.

[ScoutFinch]

It may be that eggs and nuts are inflammatory enough that you might try stopping eating them for a while and see what happens. For me, the change of seasons tends to bring on much pain no matter how much I'm paying attention. Sometimes I think it's a matter of dialing down life even more (though I have to say, I admire what you're doing a great deal). Is your bedroom totally dark? Robb Wolf says if not, try that for 30 days (like pitch black with no little lights anywhere from clocks or smoke alarms, etc). and see if that helps some.

Again, I am an expert on pain as I've experienced it, not on the Whole30, so I hope somebody else posts here, but I do know there are times I simply have to acknowledge that there are some things I must do (like eat, go to work and do mild exercise), and everything else has to go hang for a while. This is especially true for me when major storm systems are moving through, and that might be part of it now?

[ScoutFinch]

You might also try the cds of Andrew Weil's healing sound or Jon Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness meditation tapes (his center works a lot with chronic pain sufferers). If nothing else, on horrible days it serves as a distraction, and often the next day I'll feel much better.

[Moluv]

I'm not you but I'm going to list the things that I see in your diet that I have pinpointed as causing me trouble and suggest you observe those too. Coincidentally, they are IBS triggers, which I'm not sure if I have but am starting the IBS protocol yesterday since I've been eating w30 for @ 40 days and not feelig as good as I know I can. Those things are coffee, nuts,insoluble fiber vegetables (especially raw) and FODMAPS. I discovered all of that by trial and error and researching, then come to find out the section in iswf lays out the plan for IBS which excludes all of those things. I have felt so much better since I started trial and error removal a couple weeks ago and I have high hopes for 30 days on IBS protocol.

[michelleinmn]

Or completely unrelated to food - is there a chance you could be pregnant?

[Cindi]

Bwahahaha...not likely. Being silly really...not making fun. I'm 52 and had a hysterectomy in 2000. Best surgery I ever had! Talk about being out of whack. I was FAT, SICK, and ANEMIC.

I might try giving up the caffeine. HORRORS. Not that I need the caffeine..I didn't do caffeine for years and I'm a new coffee drinker. But I do love it and my tea although most of the time I drink decaf or herbal teas. I do know that I need to not drink bulletproof coffee before I have to sing. I am a vocalist and sang a solo in church on Sunday...good grief...I felt like I had a softball stuck down there from all the phlegm. Ewwww. I'll be sticking to plain tea or water from now on prior to performance.

Realization....I'm sleeping WAY WAY better than I have in years!!!! I still have an occasional bad night but they are more rare than they were. Use to be the other way around.