Day 17 or maybe 25 issues

[rattnroll]

Hi everyone!

So I started my whole 30 back on March 9th, but I restarted 8 days later after I realized I had made some mistakes the first week - the sausage I bought had sugar, I was chewing gum, and then on the 17th (after 8 days) I was miserable and ate a bunch of sweetened coconut. So I restarted, and have been doing well ever since in terms of compliance.

However, I'm having some issues that are troubling - first, I keep having mild headaches. Nothing too severe, but really annoying. Second, I am not sleeping well. I used to sleep amazingly well before the whole 30, but now although I appreciate the ability to get up early, I'm waking up at 4am and tossing and turning for two hours. Third, I don't think I have lost any weight. I know this isn't about weight loss, but that is a huge incentive for me to do this. I've also been having some digestive issues. I hate talking about that department, but before whole 30 it was like clockwork. It is driving me bananas to not know what's going on or when!

A few sidenotes - I am hypthyroid, and I wonder if doing the whole 30 may have knocked my dosage of Armour out of whack? Also, I've noticed in the past 1-2 weeks I have been upping my fruit consumption. I'm going to cut that back. I also cut way back on eating nuts after reading the forum. But I wondered if the fruit may be causing some problems - I realize that it is triggering my need for sugar and want to fix that.

Any advice would be really appreciated!!! Thank you!

[Renee Lee]

Definitely possible that the W30 has messed with your dosage requirements, and thus your sleep may be off because of it. Can you talk to your doc about testing and maybe tweaking it?

what's a typical day of food look like for you?

[rattnroll]

I start off the day with sweet potatoes or squash and some kind of protein - usually sausage or eggs. I know I don't get the optimum amount of veggies in first thing, but I just cannot handle some things so early in the am! Lunch is normally a salad with avocado and a form of protein, plus the dressing from ISWF. Dinner is usually some kind of meat and a big plate full of roasted vegetables. I always add an apple at lunch, and right around dinner may have some applesauce. For the past week or two I've been adding in bananas or tangerines at breakfast, but am cutting that out because it really triggers the sugar demon/dragon.

If I'm gone from home for a long time, or like this weekend I ran a 5k - i have eaten larabars.

The other thing I was doing was taking a fiber supplement - it has all natural ingredients so I figured it was ok. I really just wanted things to stay regular, but I think it is doing more harm than good, so I am cutting that out as of yesterday.

I will make an appointment with my doc, but am always hesitant to mess with my dosage because I'm so afraid of gaining weight. In fact, my doc will keep my dose a little on the high end so that I don't gain. I also have PCOS, and although I'm not huge (5'7" and 148 when I started Whole 30), weight loss is a struggle and I would like to be lean.

Thank you so much, this forum is wonderful!

[Laura226]

Hey, it sounds like we are having somewhat similar experiences. I'm on Day 18. 5'7 and about 146 when I started. Trying to get back to my "normal" weight of around 138. Was eating pretty clean (80/20 Paleo) before the Whole30, and also got on board (in part) to try to lean out. I gained about 10 lbs back at the end of last summer and it has been stubborn ever since. I workout almost everyday (crossfit, yoga, spin). I'm actually getting testing for hypothyroid this week (this was set before W30) because in the past I've been able to lose excess body fat pretty easily and this time around, it's next to impossible.

I also cut out apples/nuts -- really all snacking (based on the forum) as of Monday. I was definitely treating apples like candy. I don't miss them all that much. I feel more bloated than ever, and (yes, I weighed myself, I know) am up to 151 (clothes were just feeling super tight all over again). I'm not eating a bunch more than I was before, and nothing all that different (except an avocado a day this week in place of apples and such - just to get the cals in and up the fat a bit, which may be part of the issue?). I know avocados have a higher fiber content, but I routinely eat veggies with a lot of fiber.

I'm also waking up 3-4x a night, although I feel well rested in the morning (although I attribute that to going to bed at 9:30). Skin and hair seem a bit better, but, in short -- I'm definitely not "feeling the magic" and if anything am feeling depressed and frustrated. I have heard this doesn't really work for some people and am starting to think I am one of those people. I was gluten free before I started, and thinking this might be part of the "magic" people feel? I remember when I first cut out gluten how awesome I felt.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know that you are not the only one!

[rattnroll]

Yay! We have our own club!!

I definitely did not feel like I was losing weight until I cut out both nuts and the fiber supplement I was taking. Adjusting to not taking the fiber is really difficult for me - I'm a big fan of routine if you know what I mean - but thought I should give it a try. I definitely have lost weight since then.

I went and had my bloodwork done, and everything is normal. However, I also have PCOS, so I think that losing weight is just more difficult when you are hypothyroid and/or PCOS.

Some days I really feel the magic and others I do not. But, I'm in law school and it is exam time for us, so I do not know exactly how much magic it is possible for me to feel at this time of year!

I was told today that my skin looked great, so that is a plus. I too gave up the gluten (and soy) before W30 and think that maybe that's why we don't feel quite so much magic. Those two months being gluten and soy free were wonderful, but I really wasn't losing enough weight.

I am still debating just what I will do when W30 is over....

[Laura226]

Hah, too funny. I am a lawyer -- good luck with your exams (and good on you for undertaking it at such a stressful time)! I am feeling a bit better today (off the nuts for about 5 days, and upped the fat - avocados). It's weird - this week I've either felt super, or awful...but seems to be on the upswing. Maybe the weekend will help!

I totally think that a lot of the magic is the gluten (for many people). I couldn't believe how much better once I kicked the gluten and soy -- that was seriously magical!

I'm going to do a Whole35 (takes me right up to the point that my sister is coming to visit for a week). I would have probably gone a little longer if she weren't going to be here, and plan to rebound to somewhat of the W30 eating style (plus wine) -- well, depending on how I feel. Maybe some more GF carbs - rice, etc.

Keep me posted on how you're doing!

[rattnroll]

That is funny!

I will keep you posted. I technically finish up the W30(or 40) at the end of this week, and plan to celebrate the last day of classes with some ice cream. It is suddenly warm here, and all I want is ice cream. Beyond that, I plan to stay compliant until the end of exams, because I cannot afford to have some bizarre reaction to something I reintroduce during that time. I am excited about weighing in at the end of this week (pre-ice cream of course) and taking "after" photos to compare with the "before" photos.

I will say that I noticed yesterday that I still have kind of an unhealthy relationship with food, and although the W30 has fixed a lot of my problems, there are still some underlying issues. I think that doing a W30 periodically throughout the year may help me with that. Yesterday I was at the racetrack, and packed enough compliant food for lunch, but not dinner. I managed to survive everyone around me eating cheeseburgers and fries, but my brain kept trying to tell me I was hungry for that sort of thing, even though I had eaten and was full. It really emphasized how much of this process can be mental. I really ran into trouble when we ended up staying at the track until 8pm, and it was in the middle of nowhere. I was so proud that I had made it nearly 7 hours without feeling dizzy or horrendous (as I would have in the past), but there was no compliant food in sight (we were in the middle of nowhere and 2 hours from home). I ended up eating pork rinds from a gas station, as it was the closest thing to compliant I could find! I don't feel terrible today, so hopefully it was fairly ok.