Whole 30 - anyone feel much worse before feeling better?

[StaceyinLA]

My dd is doing a Whole 30. She has a 5+ month old baby and is nursing (just for informational purposes).

 

She has been doing Whole 30 for a week, and is feeling really crummy. She gets shaky and feeling like she's going to pass out. She is eating good quality stuff, though I feel like she probably doesn't eat often enough (just a guess).

 

Has anyone gone through feeling really crappy before seeing improvement? She is really hoping to stick this out because she has a lot of Eczema issues and allergy issues that she's hoping to clear up by cleaning up her diet, but I know she can't keep it up if she continues to feel like this.

[Caraway]

Yes, that's part of the process. She needs to eat more fats, and probably a sweet potato or two.

 

 

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[Caraway]

If she's nursing she shouldn't limit her starchy carbs (in the way she might if trying to lose weight). Add in some yams, sweet potatoes, squash, etc.

 

 

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[StaceyinLA]

Well she has been eating a good many sweet potatoes, but I'll tell her to kick that up, along with the fats for sure.

[zoobie]

Agree with adding sweet potatoes, etc. and making sure she's getting good fats. Lots of water and salt too. If she ate lots of simple carbs before, there is a pretty common "low carb flu" feeling.

 

I feel like dirt before my first postpartum cycle. Pregnancy possible?

[StaceyinLA]

I don't think pg is a possibility. I do know she has been eating more simple carbs recently, thus the desire to do this.

[kitten18]

She might need to add some salt. Add sea salt to her food or drink a cup of broth, or my favorite, pickle juice.

[Ann.without.an.e]

It is normal but definitely make sure she eats enough fats - coconut oil, olive oil mayo, etc.  I remember really struggling with hunger with my first whole 30 before I increased the good fat.  I felt like I was dying before I felt better.  It was like a detox flu :(  

[DawnM]

I can't answer about Whole 30, but I just did Trim Healthy Mama and almost ended up in the Urgent Care.  I wasn't detoxing.  I actually don't believe in detoxing, we have had threads on that before.

 

But for me, I couldn't handle the flax, the high fiber, etc....my gut went into a tailspin.  I have been off of it for 3 days now and am just now starting to feel normal again.

 

My guess is that there is something her body needs that she isn't getting.  Some have mentioned salt.  Is she also drinking enough?

 

 

Edited June 14, 2016 by DawnM

[StaceyinLA]

I'll definitely check with her about how much she is drinking and about her salt. The thing is, with Whole 30 she really isn't adding in foods she isn't used to eating; she's just eliminating foods she thinks are causing her issues anyway.

Edited June 14, 2016 by StaceyinLA

[BooksandBoys]

I get shaky/feel like I'll pass out when I'm eating low carb without increasing electrolytes (mostly salt). Any headaches? That would be a big warning sign for needing electrolytes too.

[nd293]

I'll definitely check with her about how much she is drinking and about her salt. The thing is, with Whole 30 she really isn't adding in foods she isn't used to eating; she's just eliminating foods she thinks are causing her issues anyway.

I think the "just eliminating foods" can result in not eating enough. I wasn't prepared to eat more meat than usual, and that often made it hard to eat enough, especially if I wasn't pre-planning my meals. So I would say she may not be getting enough calories, especially with a nursing baby.

[Sarah CB]

Has she seen the timeline yet?  I know it made me feel better: http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/ 

[Soror]

I'd guess she isn't enough food either. One way to get in electrolytes is coconut water(just pure coconut water). Of course part of it could just be coming off of sugar if her carb/sugar intake was significantly higher. I always, always eat to my feel of allowed foods when changing/tweaking my diet, it is very easy to end up not eating enough. Especially if she is nursing I'd encourage her to eat 3 meals plus 2 snacks- plan them out- I'd guess if she increases her quantity, frequency and add some electrolytes she'll be feeling fine in no time.

Edited June 14, 2016 by soror

[Pink and Green Mom]

Whole 30 made me feel terrible at the beginning, but not the way you are describing.  Years ago when I tried to go low carb I had the same thing happen with the dizziness and feeling faint in the first week.  I needed to up my water and salt intake.  Like Kitten18 said above, a few sips of the juice from the pickle jar worked quickly to alleviate that feeling (it was what my doctor recommended).

[Bluegoat]

Nursing is a really physically demanding activity.  I'm not sure I would go the route of cutting out a bunch of things at once, on spec that one might be a problem. 

[StaceyinLA]

Has she seen the timeline yet? I know it made me feel better: http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

This link didn't work, but I'd REALLY like to see this. Is it somewhere in their book?

[StaceyinLA]

Nursing is a really physically demanding activity. I'm not sure I would go the route of cutting out a bunch of things at once, on spec that one might be a problem.

She read about doing Whole 30 while breastfeeding. A lot of people cut out dairy while nursing anyway, due to allergies, and she wanted to try cutting the grains because of all her eczema issues. I know she can eat a healthy diet with plenty of nutrients doing Whole 30, but she just has to be sure she does it!

[mellifera33]

The trouble with controlling health issues with diet is that different health issues need different diets. My two health issues demand opposite types of diet, so I have to choose to eat for one and medicate the other. I don't know if that's a factor for your daughter, but it might be something to think about. 

[Bluegoat]

She read about doing Whole 30 while breastfeeding. A lot of people cut out dairy while nursing anyway, due to allergies, and she wanted to try cutting the grains because of all her eczema issues. I know she can eat a healthy diet with plenty of nutrients doing Whole 30, but she just has to be sure she does it!

 

Well, I'll be a little controversial.

 

Yes, people do cut out dairy sometimes while nursing, due to allergies, or sometimes some other good reason.  Does the baby have an allergy?  If not, restricting is not a good strategy for prevention, it may well be more likely to cause an allergy.

 

But cutting out one type of food at a time, when there is a good reason, is not quite the same as cutting out a lot of normally very healthy food groups, because possibly one of them might be causing a problem.  The Whole30 diet is in many ways a cleanse diet, the science of cleansing is pretty unsupported at this point.  Cutting out all dairy, grains, legumes, really there is not a lot of support for that as a diet approach for most people, and some of the reasons the Whole30 creators give for cutting out groups are just scientifically unsupported. 

 

With someone short on time from a new baby and increased dietary demands, it could be unhealthy, and the effects you are describing aren't really reassuring.  People have had serious bad effects from Whole30 and other restrictive diets.

 

If she is convinced that there are real dietary components causing her trouble, I'd try cutting out one thing at a time.  The Whole30 is a fad diet, not something for a nursing mom to fool around with.

[Slache]

This link didn't work, but I'd REALLY like to see this. Is it somewhere in their book?

It's in the book.

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/&ved=0ahUKEwiaru2w6KfNAhVW3mMKHZxzDmwQFggbMAA&usg=AFQjCNEWO5WF5Rda56tqCOxeM1R_yWyOmA&sig2=Xq3cRqXe3l-_UwIKG30kog

[SparklyUnicorn]

Is she eating enough? If she was eating a lot of dairy prior, dairy is fairly high in calories.  Cutting that out might mean she is now eating a lot less.

 

But who knows . I have felt rather yucky when going to strict low carb (not entirely the same, but similar enough).  The feeling passed after about a week. 

 

 

[kitten18]

I would have zero concerns about cutting out grains and dairy while bfing, this is not radical.

 

It is difficult to take care of yourself with a nursling (and does she have other littles?) and these Whole 30 type foods do take some prep. So it's possible she's not eating enough.

 

Do you live close enough that you could do some meal prep together? Once A Month meals has paleo menus and tons of recipes to choose from.

[Bluegoat]

I would have zero concerns about cutting out grains and dairy while bfing, this is not radical.

 

It is difficult to take care of yourself with a nursling (and does she have other littles?) and these Whole 30 type foods do take some prep. So it's possible she's not eating enough.

 

Do you live close enough that you could do some meal prep together? Once A Month meals has paleo menus and tons of recipes to choose from.

 

Whole30 also cuts out legumes.  And anything that is "psychologically unhealthy" like smoothies.

[fraidycat]

Well, I'll be a little controversial.

 

Yes, people do cut out dairy sometimes while nursing, due to allergies, or sometimes some other good reason. Does the baby have an allergy? If not, restricting is not a good strategy for prevention, it may well be more likely to cause an allergy.

 

But cutting out one type of food at a time, when there is a good reason, is not quite the same as cutting out a lot of normally very healthy food groups, because possibly one of them might be causing a problem. The Whole30 diet is in many ways a cleanse diet, the science of cleansing is pretty unsupported at this point. Cutting out all dairy, grains, legumes, really there is not a lot of support for that as a diet approach for most people, and some of the reasons the Whole30 creators give for cutting out groups are just scientifically unsupported.

 

With someone short on time from a new baby and increased dietary demands, it could be unhealthy, and the effects you are describing aren't really reassuring. People have had serious bad effects from Whole30 and other restrictive diets.

 

If she is convinced that there are real dietary components causing her trouble, I'd try cutting out one thing at a time. The Whole30 is a fad diet, not something for a nursing mom to fool around with.

Have you studied the Whole 30 diet plan? Or are you basing your opinions on headlines and sound bites?

 

You come across as very uneducated on how the human body functions. Avoiding dairy will not "cause" an allergy. That's plain ridiculous.

 

It is not a "cleanse" diet in which the science of cleansing is a required reassurance. It is an elimination diet to reduce inflammation and discover inflammatory triggers in your body. One thing at a time doesn't work. If 3 of 5 things bother you but you only cut out one at a time you'll still experience problems with the two you're still consuming. You'll never know that A is bad for you because B & C are causing reactions. Likewise when you eat A & C but eliminate B. Food intolerances are rarely a one-off thing. It's commonly a group of similar items with similar molecular structures. For example gluten (protein in some grains) and casein (protein in milk) are similar shape and size. Quite often a person's body is intolerant of ALL proteins of similar shape and size. Something you'll never figure out if you're chugging a glass of milk with your gluten free bread and wondering why you still feel like crap - and concluding that gluten isn't your problem. Or dairy. Or whatever One item it was that you cut out for a week or two.

 

And really - if you want to get into what is and is not scientifically supported in the realm of human nutrition - that is a giant rabbit hole you'll never emerge from. Very, very little is scientifically supported. Miniscule amounts of usable observed (vs. self reported) data compared to availability of food and frankenfoods. Way too many flawed (and debunked) studies, ethical and moral implications of controlling certain variables. Some things never will be an exact science - including nutrition.

[zoobie]

Whole30 also cuts out legumes.  And anything that is "psychologically unhealthy" like smoothies.

 

I agree with Fraidycat that you seem to be misunderstanding Whole30 and allergy causation. 

 

Re: smoothies, here's a quote from their website:

Smoothies

We’ve covered this ground before, but it bears repeating.  There is no official Whole30 ban on smoothies. This is just a recommendation, based on the science and our experience. We outline all of this in It Starts With Food, but we’re happy to go over it again real quick. First, we would much rather see you eat a meal you have to chew instead of drinking your calories, because satiety. Smoothies are usually super heavy on the fruit, which means you’re ingesting way more sugar than you would if you just ate the fruit in its whole form. Also, smoothies don’t usually contain protein, so you’re missing out on both satiety and complete protein, which is really hard to make up in just your two other meals. Plus drinking a huge whackload of fruit first thing in the morning can set you up for more volatile energy, hunger, and cravings throughout your day. But no, we’re not going to kick you out of the Whole30 for having a smoothie. Just maybe have some eggs with it, okay?

http://whole30.com/2015/01/rules-recommendations/

[SproutMamaK]

For the most part, I eat very whole30/paleo/low-carb-ish... that "type" of diet. It helps me feel a LOT better physically and even helps mentally with the "fog" that comes with homeschooling 5 kids, lol. That being said.... I can't do it when I'm nursing, nor can a lot of women I know who generally eat low-carb. Nursing seems to make a body physically demand carbs in a way that it normally doesn't, at least for some people. There is an element of "carb flu" that can often hit in the first few days of a diet like this, but it's usually disappearing by day 5 or so. If it's not getting better yet, I (as a generally staunch low-carber) would honestly shelve this particular kind of diet until she's not nursing anymore.

[nd293]

You come across as very uneducated on how the human body functions. Avoiding dairy will not "cause" an allergy. That's plain ridiculous.

 

Why then do medical finding state that babies should be introduced early to highly allergenic foods? I can't speak to the specifics of the original statement, but I presume the poster was referring to the current advice that all children should be introduced early to highly allergenic foods as this reduces the likelihood of developing allergies.

[StaceyinLA]

Well, I'll be a little controversial.

 

Yes, people do cut out dairy sometimes while nursing, due to allergies, or sometimes some other good reason. Does the baby have an allergy? If not, restricting is not a good strategy for prevention, it may well be more likely to cause an allergy.

 

But cutting out one type of food at a time, when there is a good reason, is not quite the same as cutting out a lot of normally very healthy food groups, because possibly one of them might be causing a problem. The Whole30 diet is in many ways a cleanse diet, the science of cleansing is pretty unsupported at this point. Cutting out all dairy, grains, legumes, really there is not a lot of support for that as a diet approach for most people, and some of the reasons the Whole30 creators give for cutting out groups are just scientifically unsupported.

 

With someone short on time from a new baby and increased dietary demands, it could be unhealthy, and the effects you are describing aren't really reassuring. People have had serious bad effects from Whole30 and other restrictive diets.

 

If she is convinced that there are real dietary components causing her trouble, I'd try cutting out one thing at a time. The Whole30 is a fad diet, not something for a nursing mom to fool around with.

Well I certainly appreciate your input. The thing is, dd definitely does have issues with dairy, and so have both of her nursing babies. She is also feeling like the grains are possibly causing her issues. She generally eats a pretty healthy diet, so I think the Whole 30 really isn't THAT restrictive in light of her typical diet (not eating dairy much, if at all, limiting grains, and not eating refined sugars).

 

As far as nursing, she should really be fine as long as she gets plenty of calories. I used to be a LLL leader, and I know that women in third world countries can successfully nurse babies, so I don't think she is in danger of messing up anything with her supply, or the quality of her milk.

 

Obviously she doesn't want to feel like garbage though, so if this isn't resolving itself, she will likely not continue.

[fraidycat]

Why then do medical finding state that babies should be introduced early to highly allergenic foods? I can't speak to the specifics of the original statement, but I presume the poster was referring to the current advice that all children should be introduced early to highly allergenic foods as this reduces the likelihood of developing allergies.

1) We are talking about breast-feeding, so mother's diet vs. infant's diet. Not the same thing. The mother is trying to fix her own health issue.

 

2) We have a whole host of medically-treated or untreatable "minor" conditions that miraculously clear up when adults choose to limit their diets of these foods. Personally, I didn't know what real health felt like until I eliminated those "early introduced" allergens. I have always been "healthy", but ...not. Likewise for my own kids. They are healthy. They're even healthier when they stay away from certain "healthy" foods.

 

3) If we have to "build up a tolerance" to a food - perhaps we should just really stay away from it altogether. Sounds logical to me.

 

4) Allergy and intolerance are not the same thing.

 

5) The "medical advice" keeps changing.

 

6) The long term effects of eating foods that are "well-tolerated" only to find out later that they aren't so well-tolerated is disastrous and costly. Leaky gut, autoimmune, asthma, IBS, metabolic diseases, heart disease, arthritis, etc. All are diseases of long-term, uncontrolled inflammation.

 

7) Funding

[zoobie]

Well I certainly appreciate your input. The thing is, dd definitely does have issues with dairy, and so have both of her nursing babies. She is also feeling like the grains are possibly causing her issues. She generally eats a pretty healthy diet, so I think the Whole 30 really isn't THAT restrictive in light of her typical diet (not eating dairy much, if at all, limiting grains, and not eating refined sugars).

 

As far as nursing, she should really be fine as long as she gets plenty of calories. I used to be a LLL leader, and I know that women in third world countries can successfully nurse babies, so I don't think she is in danger of messing up anything with her supply, or the quality of her milk.

 

Obviously she doesn't want to feel like garbage though, so if this isn't resolving itself, she will likely not continue.

 

Is she tracking her intake? My Fitness Pal is free, and it can help her see whether she needs to eat more. Whole30 isn't concerned with calories, but when I had to do an elimination diet with my youngest (after which Whole 30 looked expansive, ha), it was hard forcing myself to eat enough. Sweet potato "fries" baked with a ton of coconut oil, whipped coconut cream, avocados, and salad dressings heavy on the olive oil really helped. Also, if she cut caffeine suddenly (because coffee with coconut milk tastes like crap), that will exacerbate the awful feeling. 

[Soror]

Fwiw I eat a paleo diet and have since #1 was 15 mo old and still nursing. I've been through 3 more pregnancy and nurslings after that. I've done a couple of Whole 30s myself. 

 

For the purpose of finding food intolerances I don't think the W30 is the best choice, it has too many extra rules that have nothing to do with whether or not you are intolerant to a food(SWYPO for example). I think your daughter would be better off w/ a simple food elimination diet, cut out the major offenders and go from there- and really W30 doesn't hit one of the biggest and most likely offenders- eggs. I'd likely just do dairy, wheat and soy to start. Despite or perhaps b/c of my own restrictive diet I dont advocate restricting any more than is necessary. Another idea if she is dying to go Paleo is to check out the Perfect Health Diet it has an allowance for starches like white rice and potatoes(which are allowed anyway). Rice is generally one of the least allergenic foods and a staple on many elimination diets.

[StaceyinLA]

Well she really isn't dying to go paleo. Heck, we would all (in our family anyway) prefer to live on carbs. I just think Whole 30 is easy because there is lots of info/support/recipes available. The main things the Whole 30 eliminates are dairy, wheat and soy. I mean yeah you're ditching alcohol and the sugars and stuff, but a lot of that would be eliminated by virtue of eliminating the main 3.

 

I will tell her this though, as I think she will have to, at the very least, modify her Whole 30 a bit.

[fraidycat]

This link didn't work, but I'd REALLY like to see this. Is it somewhere in their book?

Try this one.

 

http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

[EmseB]

I personally wouldn't call Whole30 a cleanse, and I don't believe detoxing is a thing. It's an elimination diet, primarily.

 

I did it very briefly (DH was hospitalized shortly after I started and I couldn't keep it up) while nursing and did not have any ill effects, except really, really wanting some bread and candy. But the period of feeling bad is pretty well documented and warned about in the book. If I had really started feeling bad for a prolonged period of time, I probably would have tried adding in a piece of whole grain toast or something to see if lack of carbs was the issue. Not at all scientific though.

[Bluegoat]

Have you studied the Whole 30 diet plan? Or are you basing your opinions on headlines and sound bites?

 

You come across as very uneducated on how the human body functions. Avoiding dairy will not "cause" an allergy. That's plain ridiculous.

 

It is not a "cleanse" diet in which the science of cleansing is a required reassurance. It is an elimination diet to reduce inflammation and discover inflammatory triggers in your body. One thing at a time doesn't work. If 3 of 5 things bother you but you only cut out one at a time you'll still experience problems with the two you're still consuming. You'll never know that A is bad for you because B & C are causing reactions. Likewise when you eat A & C but eliminate B. Food intolerances are rarely a one-off thing. It's commonly a group of similar items with similar molecular structures. For example gluten (protein in some grains) and casein (protein in milk) are similar shape and size. Quite often a person's body is intolerant of ALL proteins of similar shape and size. Something you'll never figure out if you're chugging a glass of milk with your gluten free bread and wondering why you still feel like crap - and concluding that gluten isn't your problem. Or dairy. Or whatever One item it was that you cut out for a week or two.

 

And really - if you want to get into what is and is not scientifically supported in the realm of human nutrition - that is a giant rabbit hole you'll never emerge from. Very, very little is scientifically supported. Miniscule amounts of usable observed (vs. self reported) data compared to availability of food and frankenfoods. Way too many flawed (and debunked) studies, ethical and moral implications of controlling certain variables. Some things never will be an exact science - including nutrition.

 

It was unclear from the post why the mom was avoiding dairy, but the OP mentioned allergies, but not that the infant actually has a dairy allergy - which is why I asked if it did.  Allergists generally no longer seem to be recommending withholding foods from babies and toddlers, or mom eating foods if she is bf, in order to avoid allergies, even though that was a common practice for a while.  And there does seem to be reason to think that lack of exposure to allergens in kids can increase the change of allergies, so no, it isn't ridiculous.

 

Doctors and nutritionist do use elimination diets when necessary to help pinpoint problems, under medical supervision.  But you know - they don't tend to look anything like the Whole30.  They generally are very disinclined to restrict the patient's diet more than they need to, because things like a wide variety of foods, different food groups, even just plain access to calories, are really important in a person's diet.  Cutting back severely, even for a month, carries its own risks.The basic idea behind the Whole30 is that the foods they don't want you to eat are questionable - they are sources of inflammation, questionable foods  - that is different in emphasis, elimination diets tend to emphasize that these food groups are normally quite healthy, and should be reinstated as soon as possible if there is no specific reason to eliminate them.

 

Nutrition science is tricky, which is why we have so many fad diets.  But I think it is pretty reasonable to ask basic questions about whether a diet is based on reasonable science.  The restriction of legumes in particular is pretty dodgy.  Restricting all of the largest calorie providing groups at once is pretty dodgy - it's as if they don't realize that food restriction in itself has risks. 

 

 

 

I agree with Fraidycat that you seem to be misunderstanding Whole30 and allergy causation. 

 

Re: smoothies, here's a quote from their website:

Smoothies

We’ve covered this ground before, but it bears repeating.  There is no official Whole30 ban on smoothies. This is just a recommendation, based on the science and our experience. We outline all of this in It Starts With Food, but we’re happy to go over it again real quick. First, we would much rather see you eat a meal you have to chew instead of drinking your calories, because satiety. Smoothies are usually super heavy on the fruit, which means you’re ingesting way more sugar than you would if you just ate the fruit in its whole form. Also, smoothies don’t usually contain protein, so you’re missing out on both satiety and complete protein, which is really hard to make up in just your two other meals. Plus drinking a huge whackload of fruit first thing in the morning can set you up for more volatile energy, hunger, and cravings throughout your day. But no, we’re not going to kick you out of the Whole30 for having a smoothie. Just maybe have some eggs with it, okay?

http://whole30.com/2015/01/rules-recommendations/

 

What they say is that people need to eliminate psychologically unhealthy foods if they want to reform their eating, which includes things that look or act like convenience or processed foods.  Smoothies are just an example.  The point here is two-fold - this really suggests that the claim that this is a temporary elimination diet isn't entirely true - they see it as a way to reform eating in the long term.  That might be a great goal for many people, but it is not the same thing as an elimination diet, and it muddies the waters in a very important way - the suggests that these foods that are being eliminated maybe are a problem apart from an individual's particular response.  It creates a sense of food as dangerous, maybe even really healthy staples like legumes or dairy.

 

They are really just extremely blasé about cutting out, potentially permanently, a lot of foods - not only those that may or may not be a problem, but those that are healthy but are seen as some kind of bad habit.  It's more than half of the major food groups, plus extras.  There is also something of a tacit assumption among users that diet restriction should be a go-to solution for all kinds of problems - most of this gets laid at the door of "inflammation" which seems to be so ubiquitous that it is practically a universal solvent.  A heck of a lot of things simply aren't diet-related though.  That kind of tunnel vision and complete self-diagnosis is a pretty good indicator that you could be looking at pseudo-science claims.

 

 

.....

 

 

People seem to be forgetting that the OP was originally saying that her daughter was having negative symptoms as a result of doing the Whole30 diet.  I think its a bad diet, but if people want to do that, whatever, if they see it helping it's their business. But when a young women nursing an infant is having those kinds of symptoms on an unsupervised diet that cuts out three major food groups , I am really a little shocked that people aren't saying "Go off the diet!" See someone qualified to oversee a real elimination diet if you think that is a real avenue to explore. 

[StaceyinLA]

Well, they don't really eliminate half the food groups. I do realize they eliminate dairy and grains (and soy, though that really isn't a food group), but there are still quality meats, healthy fats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

 

Dairy and grains are both common allergens, and certainly both associated with the types of issues dd was having before starting Whole 30. She had mostly eliminated dairy already because of her baby having tummy issues while nursing (as her first did). Eliminating grains just isn't a huge step from there, and she rarely eats legumes so that wouldn't be an issue for her.

 

I do not think the premise with the substitute foods is really necessary, and we still make our grain-free (nut based) pancakes on the plan when we do it because they have nothing that's off the plan, and because we don't have an issue with pancakes. When I say she is following Whole 30, it is strictly because of the food elimination aspect. I think it makes a lot of sense to remove all potential allergens first then reintroduce instead of taking out one major group and reintroducing that before taking out another. I mean what if you were allergic to dairy AND soy and hadn't eliminated both? How would you ever know both were a problem? Some people have multiple food allergies, so at some point they would have to get all of those things out of their system.

 

I don't believe Whole 30 is dangerous at all. I appreciate that you aren't a fan, but on Whole 30 you are eating a quality diet with quality food, and there is no restriction on quantity, as long as you are eating food that is approved. There is certainly no reason why a nursing mother, or any other person, would have issues doing something like this for 30 days, if they are making sure to eat enough.

 

I think, after all the input here, that dd has possibly NOT been eating enough variety at a time nor eating enough overall. I have encouraged her to bake up some potatoes and sweet potatoes to have on hand and incorporate them into most meals along with her meat, veggies, fruit and some extra healthy fats. She is also going to add in her quinoa/kale mix she buys at Costco because it is gluten free and she can cook it quickly and have it as a side at any meal. The other thing is, she is going to eat more. I think with a new baby and a toddler, a lot of her issues are just not really eating regularly (and Whole 30 hasn't affected that; she was skipping breakfast a lot before). That has to change regardless.

 

If she isn't seeing improvement from those changes in a couple days, she will modify the diet further, or stop it altogether.

Edited June 15, 2016 by StaceyinLA

[ThursdayNext]

I did a Whole30 while breastfeeding a 10mo old. I don't think I got enough carbs. I had a really hard time keeping my weight up. And I did experience a dip in milk supply. And I was eating a sweet potato and an avocado every day, as well as plenty of fats.

 

Yes, I know everyone brings up women in 3rd world countries. But maybe some of them have more sensitive milk supplies too, and their babies don't make it. As a person who has had issues with making enough milk -don't jeopardize your milk supply!

[sassenach]

Usually when people say detoxing, I think what is really happening is their body is going into ketosis. Ketosis is really hard on the body and can be potentially dangerous. It's important that she greatly increases her carb intake. She should be eating a ton of fruits and veggies.

 

 

[Soror]

 

I think, after all the input here, that dd has possibly NOT been eating enough variety at a time nor eating enough overall. I have encouraged her to bake up some potatoes and sweet potatoes to have on hand and incorporate them into most meals along with her meat, veggies, fruit and some extra healthy fats. She is also going to add in her quinoa/kale mix she buys at Costco because it is gluten free and she can cook it quickly and have it as a side at any meal. The other thing is, she is going to eat more. I think with a new baby and a toddler, a lot of her issues are just not really eating regularly (and Whole 30 hasn't affected that; she was skipping breakfast a lot before). That has to change regardless.

 

If she isn't seeing improvement from those changes in a couple days, she will modify the diet further, or stop it altogether.

I'm sure she'll be fine, considering the usual diet of 90%+ of Westerners a mom that is eating real food to satiety shouldn't be alarming. Sounds like she is working on figuring out how to get more food into her and more carbs, luckily she should feel better quickly. Good luck to her in figuring out her trouble foods.