Weak legs and exhausted

[euphi]

Hello. Long time lurker seeking help.

So I'm on day 27 of my whole30 and I've been experiencing terrible weakness in my legs and arms. At first it wasn't terrible; I could still push myself through workouts and daily activities. A couple of days ago it became so bad that walking or even sitting at my computer become so exhausting that I spend a lot of time sleeping and hoping it will fix the problem. I'm not sure if it's my workouts, not enough food, not enough carbs or something else. I'm also extremely sleepy all day and can't seem to fix it with naps or long nights of rest. My diet looks like this:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, spinach and broccoli cooked in coconut oil. 1 medium sweet potato

Lunch: 1-2 Palm sized chicken breasts with 2 or more types of vegetables (zucchini, spinach, broccoli, bell peppers) that fill a medium size bowl. Cooked in coconut oil.

Dinner: Same as lunch

PreWO: A couple slices of chicken breast

PostWO: 2 hard boiled eggs

I take fish oil supplements as well as a Vitamin D-3

I've searched up and down on the forums and tried what others have suggested. Maybe I'm missing something but I would love to hear more suggestions. Thank you so much in advance. (:

[Renee Lee]

NOT ENOUGH STARCHY CARBS!!!!

[ConnieM]

I'm not sure I agree with the recommendation of increasing starchy carbs but it's probably not enough carbs in general. I had the same issue. My legs felt like cement. I'm not sure what happened but it's gotten better (I'm on day 13). It's not totally gone but better. However, just like you, I've been more tired, don't get a good night sleep etc. I wish I could give you some help other than it's probably lack of carbs. It seems like lack of carbs is really the only explanation but it would be helpful for me to have a more detailed explanation. Hope it goes it away soon! I know how disturbing it is.

[Renee Lee]

Uh Connie?...that's what I said. Starchy carbs are going to be your densest, largest source of carbohydrates on W30-compliant foods. We will always prefer starchy veggies to fruit, because of the micronutrient profile as well as the type of sugars in the food. glucose > fructose, particularly as it pertains to tapping into energy reserves.

And sure, more carbs overall is the answer here, but I'm not going to advise somebody to go eat 8 cups of broccoli when a sweet potato will do.

[Susan W]

Just to add to Renee's good advice (the mods have experience and knowledge and always have that behind their advice), sweet potato added to my meals makes all the difference in my workouts. It's astounding.