Stress and Whole30 Eating

[joce_k]

I'm on day 32 of Whole30 eating and I don't feel any of the effects I've done this twice before and lost weight, gain some evergy, my skin cleared up, and I generally felt better.

This time, I've been strict and didn't cheat at all. I've committed to making real food at home, I eat breakfast every morning, I made my lunch and then I eat dinner. I've increased veggie consumption, eliminated fruits most days, and paid attention to serving sizes. On paper, I am not doing anything wrong.

My weight is at a standstill, I'm tired all the time, and I have little energy to do anything. Likely, this is because of the intense stress I am facing at the end of the semester (I'm in grad school). The past month has been intense and I still have another week. I try to get 8 hours of sleep, but it isn't always possible with deadlines. I'm frustrated because I am consciously dedicating several hours a week to cooking meals that could be used for studying and I don't feel any benefit. I try to manage my stress with excercise and breaks, but its just a lot to finish in a short amont of time.

Any ideas on how to reap the benefits of Whole30 eating and manage stress? (breathing, walking, talking breaks, excercising, setting small goals, setting large goals, and sleeping are all things I've tried so far) Any ideas would be most appreciated.

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

My only thought is that your stress could be so much higher if you weren't following a W30 nutrition plan! You've got a lot on your plate and it sounds like you will for a while longer to go before your situational stress will start to decrease but from the looks of things you're doing some great things to help manage it.

Not sure what you're eating from day to day but it might be helpful to add in a few energizing starchy carbs like sweet potato, pumpkin or squash. But keep up all those good stress management tools you've been doing and good luck finishing grad school, you're almost there!!!

[notacommittee]

How much are you exercising, and how many carbs are you eating? Or how much are you eating, period? Overexercising and not recovering properly can easily throw you into a tailspin of stalled weight loss and low energy...

Have you tried journaling to manage stress? I know in school the last thing you probably want to do is write more, but a paper journal might be a nice break from typing all day. I actually have coloured pencils as well; it's very relaxing for me to draw stuff in the journal even if it's just stupid flowers and hearts and doodles. Maybe I'm getting back in touch with my inner kid?