The Day the Energy Died

In order for this series on my Whole30 experience to be complete, I unfortunately need to write about the negative times as well as the good times.   Sure, it was exciting to discover a new food adventure which opened up my imagination to some new meal ideas and recipes, but at the end of the day that isn’t what the experience was all about.  I was signing up for a healthier body, more energy, clearer skin, and better sleep.

I already mentioned that during Week One I really felt my energy wane…like, REALLY wane.  To the point that I was barely making it through a work day before coming home and almost immediately passing out on the couch.  My workouts suffered and my evening sleep suffered.

In reading through the It Starts With Food book and checking the forums on the Whole9 website I learned that this energy zap is not uncommon and was just due to my body adjusting to the extreme clean eating.  Everyone convinced me that more energy was just around the corner.  Great right?!  Since that was one of the reasons I did this in the first place I sucked it up and waited for the fun to begin.

By week three I still wasn’t feeling much better…I wasn’t going to the gym at all…just taking a few longer walks with my dog…and I was still needing a lot of extra sleep.  (Thankfully my sleep had gotten much better by this point.)  After talking to a nutritionally knowledgeable co-worker I decided that the lack of carbs (outside of fruits and veggies) was doing me in.  She suggested that I start adding even more yams, carrots, beets, and other carb dense veggies to all of my meals…in addition to the main daily baked yam at breakfast.  I fully agreed with her and gave that a go. 

I felt like it worked for a couple of days, and while some of my energy returned my mood went down, down, down.  By that third weekend I was SO incredibly cranky, and felt downright blue.  What an awful feeling!  I had definitely hit the ‘wtf am I doing this for’ wall!  I just faked my way through a couple of days, and told Michael that I wasn’t going to be very good company.  When I wasn’t just irritated by life, I felt sad and depressed.  I came thisclose to quitting on Day 21…those feelings sooooo were not worth it.

But…my desire not to quit ended up trumping those blues and I pushed on.  It took a couple of days for that mood to pass, but it did pass.  I never did feel super-duper-awesome after that, but at least I wasn’t ready to cry or kill at the drop of a hat.  It was not a pleasant emotional place to be.

By the time I got to the final days of my Whole30 experience I did start to feel better…and maybe if I’d gone an extra week or two things really would have turned around for me…but maybe not.  As soon as I started off-roading by adding a bit of bread and cheese back into my diet I really felt my energy kick back in.  (Of course, that came with the trade off with the effects of cheese and bread!)

So now, two weeks out of the W30 haze, I do know that there were GREAT things about the program and so much that I do want to incorporate into my life.  I still haven’t brought back legumes, and probably never will…I’m enjoying being relatively pain-free.  And I can tell you that gluten makes my face break out, and too much dairy upsets my tummy.  Those things are certainly worth addressing.

Now that my emotions have levelled out and most of my gym mojo has returned I will be spending some time getting things figured out, so I can do what is right for me and my body.

I’d love to hear from anyone else that had this kind of experience with Whole30, or while transitioning to a Paleo diet.  Drop me a comment or an email, please.

Surviving Social

Choosing a 30 day timeframe in which to tackle the Whole30 program proved to be difficult.  At every turn I found something on my calendar that put a wee hitch in how I was going to pull this off.  Being on a strict diet can really mess with social time!  I promptly decided there’s never a ‘good’ time to do these things and opted to just deal with the situations as they came.

Within the first week of my Whole30 I attended a volunteer event with my coworkers.  For the most part it was no big deal… I brought my own coffee with coconut milk, passed on the free cookies, and made sure I ate a good breakfast before I went.

The trouble came when the gang invited me to join them for lunch afterwards.  I initially said no thanks but to be honest, I really wanted to go!  This was my first event with these girls and part of the fun of these things is the social aspect.  So I changed my mind and tagged along to the local burger bistro and hoped for the best.

I found that I could order a plain burger on a bed of lettuce, asked them to cook mine in a dry pan because they used canola oil (which is not W30 compliant) and ordered a side salad with lemon wedges.  Sure, it was about the most boring meal on the planet, but I was there for company and it was really fun.  I’m glad I went and proud of myself for sticking to the W30 rules!

That same weekend Michael decided he’d like to host an impromptu family BBQ.  Not wanting to rain on the parade (like the weather did on our day!) I put on my thinking cap and came up with options that I could eat that everyone else would enjoy.

Believe it or not, Costco came through for me!  I found some really great frozen burgers with no crazy additives, chicken breasts, Wholly Guacamole, and a huge shrimp tray.  I bought a fruit platter and a carton of strawberries, which I turned into a huge fruit salad and picked up the ingredients to make a really fun bigass salad.

{Mixed leafy greens, sliced Gala apple, red onion, fresh basil, roasted beets and carrots, tossed with just olive oil, lemon juice and salt & pepper.  I also crisped up some whole pecans in some coconut oil to throw on at the end.}

There was homemade potato salad and other yummy BBQ favourites on the buffet but I was totally happy with my W30 meal.  Filling and delish!

The following weekend I hosted Girl’s Night at my place.  Oh sure!  A hostess who tells you she can’t eat the usual bags of licorice, brie and baguette, or share in the bottles of wine.  Good times, eh?

Well, my girls were super supportive and rallied with no problems at all.  We feasted on homemade guacamole, devilled eggs with homemade olive oil mayo, cold shrimp, apple chips, fresh veggies and a creamy cashew dip I put together.  While they all sipped on wine, I killed a bottle of Perrier.  :)

The very next day the sun was shining so Michael hosted another family BBQ.  Thankfully there were still the compliant burgers and grilled chicken, and this time I loaded up on more salad, grilled zucchini and sliced avocado.  Second time around was easy!

Not to say that I didn’t really want to partake in the other things, because sometimes I really did wish I could have a glass of wine or an ice cold beer… but I knew it was just 30 days and I really only wanted these things because I couldn’t have them.  Well, screw you cravings.  I know what you’re all about!  You can’t beat me! 

Even my Mama got sucked into my Whole30 since it overlapped Mother’s Day.  I always head to my hometown to spend Mother’s Day with her, and we have a tradition of going out for a steak and seafood dinner.  This year she agreed to postpone and instead I cooked us a lovely dinner at home.  Chicken, baked yams and asparagus.

The next morning I wanted to make sure she still got a tasty brunch, so I tried my hand at the Salmon Cakes from It Starts with Food (yummy!), topped with over easy eggs, and served with wilted spinach and sliced avocado.  Mom was happy, so I was happy!

So, the point is, it can be done.  Just like the rest of this diet lifestyle, it requires a lot more thought and preparation that most of us are used to…but it comes together and everything works out just fine. 

In the end, these social situations are really about the people and not the food anyway, right?!  A good lesson for all of us.

The Template

How do I know how much to eat during Whole30?

Well, wouldn’t you know they thought of that!  After the first few days of adjustment, it’s really not that tricky.  It is recommended that you eat only your three main meals per day, and add in pre-workout snacks if you need them, and post-workout snacks to help start the recovery process.

{grilled pork loin with Dijon, served with steamed asparagus and mashed rutabagas and carrots with clarified butter}

The template is simple.

1. Add protein about the size of your palm (yes, everybody’s palm size is different…but your palm fits your body!)… whether it be a chicken breast, a couple of eggs, or a can of tuna.  I erred on the larger side when unsure.

{prosciutto wrapped baked turkey breast over kale sautéed with coconut oil, served with steamed carrots}

2. Fill the rest of your plate with veggies (yup, plates are all different sizes, but I bet if you chose a dinner plate it will all work out for you!)… preferably a couple of different veggies with different nutrients.  I like to add something green, and something a little more carb dense like carrots or yams.

{spaghetti squash ‘fritter’ made with an egg, topped with an egg, served with yam roasted in coconut oil}

3. Add a good sized serving of healthy fat to your meal and call it a day.  To be helpful they do actually offer some idea of measurements for fats, since depending on what you chose the quantities can vary.  I’m partial to the ‘add half an avocado to your plate’ measurement!

{homemade turkey vegetable soup…the homemade broth counts towards the protein…drizzled with olive oil}

{bigass mixed salad with olives and olive oil, served with homemade meatballs and sautéed mushrooms}

Follow the template for every meal.  Try not to snack, but if you are starving chose some protein to fill the hole.  If eating eggs for breakfast every day is boring or unappealing to you then switch things up.  Nothing wrong with chicken for breakfast!

{grilled chicken breast topped with mango avocado salsa, with baked yam topped with coconut oil and almond silvers, and steamed asparagus}

As for fruit, it is recommended to only include it as part of a meal, not as a separate snack.  And never let it push something else off your plate.  I either incorporated it as part of the recipe, or would eat it right before or after my full meal.  This is to help keep the ‘sugar dragon’ or ‘snack monster’ at bay.  Many people, myself included, can unleash the dragon with just one orange or dried apricot.

Personally I found the template very useful.  I can say with certainty that after the first two days (while my body adjusted to the new plan) the only times that I actually got hungry were when I failed to plan and didn’t eat based on the template.  Too little steak on the plate = hungry.  Skimped on the fat in a meal = hungry.  Didn’t fill my plate with veg = hungry.

Don’t skimp on the good stuff!