Day 8 - Feeling bloated .. is it my diet?

[Lauraashley]

I am ending Day8 of my whole30 and I am started to feel bloated. I started to feel like I was loosing weight, but now it feels like I could start gaining. I am wondering if anyone else felt this way when they first started? I usually eat 2 - 3 boiled eggs with salt & pepper for breakfast. For lunch I usually either have steak, chicken, or ground beef with veggies, and dinner I do the same. I have about a handful or 2 of almonds as well each day. I haven't had much fruit, although I might start incorporating it into my diet more. Am I eating too much fat with the meat and nuts? I don't understand, I feel like I am following the diet pretty strict. I also do not get home from the gym until 7:00, so I usually try to eat right away. Maybe I am eating too late as well? I am doing this to be healthy, and re-train my body and the way it thinks about food, but I am also doing this to help myself loose weight. I have 30 pounds to loose before June. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Megan H]

Hi Lauraashley,

I'm a relative newbie, but it sounds like some of your meals don't follow the meal template: http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf

You breakfast doesn't include any fat or vegies, it's pure protein. Perhaps fry the eggs in some ghee and add some peppers, spinach and mushrooms etc. Half your plate should be vegies.

Also, are the nuts with a meal or a snack? I myself have found nuts make me a little bloated, esepically when eaten on their own and not cooked in a dish. Any snack should also follow the meal template but just a smaller version of it. Something like 1 egg, 1/4 avocado and some vegies etc. Fruit should be limited anyway so I doubt the fact you haven't eaten much is affecting how you feel.

I don't think eating too late will affect it. (I often can't eat until 8.30-9pm because of my job) But depending on the instensity of your workout you may even need to add another meal. W30 calls for a pre-work meal and a post-workout meal (eaten almost immediately after you finish working out) in addition to your three regular meals.

Someone more experienced or a moderator will have more (and better) advice. Try not to focus on whether you think your losing or gaining weight. That will only distract you from noticing other positive changes

[Tom Denham]

Of everything you shared, eating one or two handfuls of almonds daily is the most likely reason for feeling bloated. Nuts can be tough on your gut and one cup of whole almonds is 822 calories. Nuts may be paleo, but they are not your friend.

I might have more ideas for you if you gave more details about what you are eating - portion sizes and the actual veggies you are eating. I mention this because we see a tendency for people to eat plenty of meat and not enough veggies. That can be a problem.

By the way, whole eggs include good fat in the yolks, so you don't necessarily need to add fat when you are eating whole eggs.

[Snappy Shark]

Yuuuup, nuts may not be your friend. I gave up nuts for my second Whole30 and found significant improvements in my digestion/propensity to bloat. 2 handfuls of nuts is quite a bit, especially if your gut does not agree with them! In addition to upping the veggies (coconut-oil-fried green cabbage at breakfast topped with boiled eggs is my most favorite way to start the day), try to limit your nut consumption to every other day - or cut them out entirely!

[Megan H]

I didn't know about the good fat in eggs. Thanks Tom. (By the way I'm making your turnip and pulled roast beef dish this weekend)

[Lauraashley]

Hi Tom ... As I mentioned, I am only eating the eggs for breakfast. I don't have time in the morning to cook anything, so would it be good enough to add some cut up bell peppers or carrots or would an apple or banana be better?

For lunch I am eating a full palm size of meat (either ground beef, chicken, or steak) and I buy organic brand that is not fed any antibiotics, pesticides, hormones. For veggies I will either do a cup of cooked broccoli or I will eat my meat on a salad which is two to three cups of salad greens with tomatoes. When I eat the almonds or cashews it's usually 30 mins before I workout as a snack. I work at a desk all day so I am struggling with different options that are easy to bring to work in which I do not have to cook.

For dinner I started to eat a salad with lettuce greens (about a cup) meat (a palm size) and half of an apple, pear, and few strawberries with red wine vinegar. If I don't make that salad I will be a palm size of meat, and butternut squash baked with olive oil, or kale chips baked in coconut oil, or broccoli or asparagus cooked in olive oil.

I also workout everyday for an hour doing boxing and circuit. The only thing I drink is about 120 ounces of water and one eight ounce cup of coffee in the morning. I want to do this diet exactly how it is intended, so if I am doing anything wrong please let me know how I can fix it.

I appreciate everyone's comments SO SO much, it is great having a support system and I love waking up every morning to receive an e-mail from the whole30 community. I am hoping to make this a whole 90 for me!

Thank you!

[Moluv]

What worked for me at first when I wasn't sure how much food I would need is make a larger than I thought I would need breakfast using the upper range on the template. I would eat until I was satisfied then put the rest in a Tupperware for a snack if I needed it later. Same with lunch. Then I always had a balanced mini meal without any extra cooking. A pre wo snack could just be some chicken and avocado- and after the other half of the chicken piece and some sweet potato which can be made once per week. Nuts make a lot of people bloated and at best they are a crunchy condiment. When you need fuel though, you'll feel better going for protein+veg+fat every time.

[Tom Denham]

Hi Tom ... As I mentioned, I am only eating the eggs for breakfast. I don't have time in the morning to cook anything, so would it be good enough to add some cut up bell peppers or carrots or would an apple or banana be better?

For dinner I started to eat a salad with lettuce greens (about a cup) meat (a palm size) and half of an apple, pear, and few strawberries with red wine vinegar. If I don't make that salad I will be a palm size of meat, and butternut squash baked with olive oil, or kale chips baked in coconut oil, or broccoli or asparagus cooked in olive oil.

Breakfast is very important to having a good day. You should make time to have a good one. We have watched years of television commercials telling us we are supposed to rush out of the house in a hurry in the morning and drink or eat breakfast in the car as we go. That is B___ S___. Get up earlier in the morning if needed to eat a good breakfast. If getting up earlier is hard, go to bed earlier. What we eat is the single most important thing we can do to protect our health. That may not seem very important some mornings, but I know too many sick people to think short-cuts with health are ever okay.

An apple or banana is never as good as any vegetable. Really, fruit hardly makes it on the nutrition scale in comparison to veggies. So eating bell pepper or carrots with eggs is a good choice. I sometimes have dill pickles with boiled eggs for breakfast. That gives me a veggie and a fermented food (bonus).

Salad fills up a plate easily, but 2 or 3 cups of salad does not fill your stomach very full.

[ljames62]

I'm having the same issue but I'm only on day 3. I have never been a big meat eater, my food prior to starting my 30 was typically a banana before my morning workout, greek yogurt with blueberries and granola for breakfast, a big salad with chicken, a little cheese and sprinkled almonds and craisins with balsamic dressing for lunch, and either pasta with salad, or some kind of brown rice/veggie dish, or a little meat with veggies and always a salad. Snacks would be mixed nuts or an apple or grapes, triscuits or pita chips (I'm a carb addict) with the occasional light ice cream or piece of chocolate thrown in. (I have lost 65# in the past couple of years, so my eating was somewhat under control). Nothing unpronounceable, nothing boxed, canned or frozen.

I started the Whole30 to cure my carb and sugar cravings. My problem with the so far is that I'm not a big meat eater, and I feel really full and bloated. So far I've had 2 hardboiled eggs and a piece of leftover Easter ham for breakfast, with a handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber and a sliced beet (same thing each day so far because it's easy to take to work). Lunch has been a big plate of mixed greens and vegetables, a couple of meatballs or a piece of chicken, with lemon juice squeezed over top, and a handful of grapes. Dinner was a big salad and a few meatballs the first night, and skinless chicken, mixed vegetables and salad (no dressing) last night. I have a couple of cups of black coffee with my breakfast, and drink tons of water all day long. I have been eating handfulls of mixed nuts (no salt, no peanuts) a couple of times a day to curb hunger and to get more fat and protein in.

I just feel really nasty, almost nauseated, and I don't know if it's from too much meat, too much fat, or what. I did Atkins many years ago, and I felt the same way then. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

[SpinSpin]

Ljames--you may want to curb the nuts--they can really cause problems with exactly what you have been experiencing--bloat and tummy upset. Plus, there could very well be bad oils in them if they are roasted nut mixes from the store. For adding in additional fat, I would suggest homemade mayo, olives and olive oil, coconut milk and oil, avocados would be the way to go rather than nuts. You shouldn't need snacks--what I would suggest is to bump up the meals you are eating--more protein, more veg. Don't allow fruit to push veg off your plate, as veggies are more nourishing than fruit.

Have you read It Starts With Food? It is a great help and will explain the hows and whys of eating this way. For me, breakfast is 3 eggs, hard boiled, poached or fried in ghee or coconut oil and a minimum of 2 cups of veg, raw or cooked. Lunch is a large salad with lots of different veggies and protein and a homemade dressing from my mayo or olive oil and vinegar. Dinner is protein and veg. If you are eating enough, again you shouldn't need snacks. Also, don't get stymied by thinking of meals as breakfast, lunch and dinner, think of them as meal 1, 2 and 3. Have soup for breakfast or an omelette for dinner.

[ljames62]

thank you SpinSpin I do have the book, I guess I need to pull it back out as a reference.