High activity all day- can I have more food?

[kater98]

Hello,

My husband and I started the Whole 30 and we are on day 4.  We have not added a workout to our process yet, but he has a very active job anyway and is constantly on his feet.  He has been getting hungry in between the three meals and I had a question about the pre/post WO meals.  Since he is not technical working out, but he is highly active throughout the day, can he have one of those meals and if so, when?  He is a big guy too.  He is 6 foot and about 270.  He is a Type 2 diabetic as well.  Any information you can provide would be appreciated.  Thank you! 

[ShannonM816]

You don't ever need to be hungry on whole30 so if he is hungry between meals, he can definitely eat something. 

The first thing I'd look at would be the meals he's already eating. The meal template lists a range of serving sizes based on a person's hand size. Make sure his meals are based on his hands, and if he needs two portions of protein or fat or more vegetables, do that.

Since he's active all day, he may still need a fourth meal, also based on the meal template, with protein, fat, and vegetables. This could be a full sized meal, or smaller portions of each, whichever he thinks he needs.

You can download a copy of the meal template here: http://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/

[Rofi]

My husband is the same. He is heading for 65 and fencing all day long, digging postholes and pulling rolls of wire out by hand and the rest. We came to the Whole30 as a way to support a work colleague who wanted some help. We are on Day 10. So, my husband is not overweight, but was keen to see how he went off the Paleo baking we have been eating for three or four years now. We also chose to go off white potatoes, because, well, they are a red flag for him, and he can get through kilos and kilos of roast potatoes a week. Before Whole30 he was having a barely sweetened (with coconut nectar or honey) Paleo fruit crisp (called a crumble in out current country of residence) with cashew cream. That was at 6am. Then after four hours total active on the go work, he would come in at 10am and have a cup of dandelion coffee with a piece or two of Paleo baking of some sort or other: Bliss Balls, Muffins made with coconut flour etc. Now, the Whole30 breakfast is a snack at 6am of sardines in tomato sauce  (compliant) and a piece of fruit and a closed fistful of almonds, cashews, pecans and of course brazils from Brazil (for selenium) with a cup of rooibos. A closed fistful of nuts is 31 for him. Then at 10am a cooked brunch of eggs, some kind of protein, a tomato or two fried in coconut oil or leftover veg from the night before. But he is really struggling, can't get satisfied. By the time he comes in at 6pm he is very tired. So he usually has a snack meal of a piece of fruit and another handful of nuts. Then a while later a Whole30 compliant meal. He finishes the night with a cup of rooibos tea, which he enjoys. So he is really having four meals a day. And he is finding the protein is too much for him, he would rather have more complex carbohydrates than the larger servings of protein each day. We are all SO unique and individual! I hope that is helpful in some way.

[ShannonM816]

50 minutes ago, Rofi said:

My husband is the same. He is heading for 65 and fencing all day long, digging postholes and pulling rolls of wire out by hand and the rest. We came to the Whole30 as a way to support a work colleague who wanted some help. We are on Day 10. So, my husband is not overweight, but was keen to see how he went off the Paleo baking we have been eating for three or four years now. We also chose to go off white potatoes, because, well, they are a red flag for him, and he can get through kilos and kilos of roast potatoes a week. Before Whole30 he was having a barely sweetened (with coconut nectar or honey) Paleo fruit crisp (called a crumble in out current country of residence) with cashew cream. That was at 6am. Then after four hours total active on the go work, he would come in at 10am and have a cup of dandelion coffee with a piece or two of Paleo baking of some sort or other: Bliss Balls, Muffins made with coconut flour etc. Now, the Whole30 breakfast is a snack at 6am of sardines in tomato sauce  (compliant) and a piece of fruit and a closed fistful of almonds, cashews, pecans and of course brazils from Brazil (for selenium) with a cup of rooibos. A closed fistful of nuts is 31 for him. Then at 10am a cooked brunch of eggs, some kind of protein, a tomato or two fried in coconut oil or leftover veg from the night before. But he is really struggling, can't get satisfied. By the time he comes in at 6pm he is very tired. So he usually has a snack meal of a piece of fruit and another handful of nuts. Then a while later a Whole30 compliant meal. He finishes the night with a cup of rooibos tea, which he enjoys. So he is really having four meals a day. And he is finding the protein is too much for him, he would rather have more complex carbohydrates than the larger servings of protein each day. We are all SO unique and individual! I hope that is helpful in some way.

Your husband might feel better if he had a full meal at 6 am -- the sardines, the nuts or other fat, and then a plate full of vegetables (some of which could be starchy if he wanted more carbs, and if he's active all day, carbs are not a bad thing -- the starchy vegetables would probably stay with him longer than the fruit will. Because fruit tends to have a higher sugar content, it can cause blood sugar spikes and drops, which can lead to more hunger). Four to five hours later, he'd have another full meal -- Eggs and other protein is fine, tomato or other veg is fine (remember that the meal template says to fill your plate with vegetables), but do add a little more fat in addition to what you're cooking in -- some olives, some avocado, a sauce or dip or some kind.

Usually we'd tell people their meals should last them 4-5 hours. If he's going from 10 am to 6 pm with no food at all, no wonder he's tired and hungry -- can he take some kind of small thing with him to eat around 2-3 in the afternoon? Preferably some combo of protein, fat, and veg, or at least two of the three. 

Really, if you look at the meal template I linked to above, you should be eating a lot more veg than protein. It still may be more protein than he's used to, but it really shouldn't be huge amounts of it.