Days 7-11

Well, things were seeming to start to go better, until last night.

Let me back up.

Days 7, 8, & 9 I was still feeling sluggish. Tired. I noticed the sugar cravings starting to subside a little bit. I even noticed that just the desire to eat was starting to subside a little bit, too. Like Tuesday I was able to go from breakfast until the afternoon--skipping lunch--and not feeling cranky or crazy or anything like that. I had a snack when I got home because my head started to hurt a little bit, but I was good until dinner with no major mood swing. And Wednesday when I got home, I had a little snack and then read for 3.5 hours and didn't need coffee or tea or anything to keep me focused. That was a change! And then yesterday morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and energetic and like the tide had finally shifted. I came to the realization that the reason I had been feeling so beat down probably at CF was directly related to this first two weeks of the Whole30 (which means I've been doing it right this time!), and that was totally liberating! It's not because I'm "old" (I mean for crying out loud, I'm under 40!), it's because my body is still trying to undo the crap I did the two weeks prior. Sheesh.

But yesterday, just when I thought the tide was changing, I noticed something weird. I didn't work out yesterday morning (it's my usual rest day). I had a good breakfast, as usual, and a filling lunch, but when I got home, I was STARVING! I ate more than I had been in the afternoons (2 oz nuts and 2 hardboiled eggs, and an apple and nut butter--and I've been REALLY good about not consuming that much nuts since I do really really really want to lose weight). And then dinner. And I was grumpy. Oh man was I grumpy. And fidgety. And annoyed. And exhausted. And totally wired to the max. I didn't sleep for anything last night either. I woke up at midnight with a raging headache. I didn't fall back asleep until after 4 am, and then woke up with a headache and a terrible stomach ache.

I think I might know what the main problem was that just occurred to me. I switched from the decaf, right, to half caff because those headaches and stomach aches were killing me. Yesterday, for the first time since I've been on half caff, I had unsweet tea with my lunch, which was after 12 pm. I think it was the full caffeine of the iced tea. (Incidentally, the owner of the box mentioned that when he had iced tea the other day it made him really sick, and that was the first time that had ever happened). So I wonder if that was the main culprit. Iced tea hadn't ever affected me like that before, but I don't know.

Also, I forgot to turn the air down before I went to bed. The house was too hot for me. And I think that's why I was finally able to fall back asleep around 4:30--after I had turned the air down at midnight. It finally cooled off. And one of the mutts is afflicted with allergies and he was all over me last night. Last night was like the perfect storm of crapitude then messing with my sleep. And I did wake up sick and bloated and feeling just gross.

So perhaps the tide really is turning and I just made a stupid bonehead choice that had some major repercussions. I'll just stick to my half caff in the mornings and my water and decaf or uncaffeinated hot tea in the afternoon. No more iced tea for me.

Yesterday, too, in addition to the overeating and the like, was the strongest of the sweet craving days so far. I had a few in days 1-3, and they've steadily waned, but last night, I was ravenous. I was considering breaking the Whole30 for some Paleo ice cream and some Paleo Magic Shell. Like I was quite literally growling at Boudreaux. Thankfully he talked me down from the ledge, but man, last night was brutal. The first really brutal day so far. I'm hoping by Monday I've got everything under control, can get back to my hard work outs (marathon training starts soon, too), and have the energy I need to get the stuff done that I need to in the next 2 weeks.