I made it! Got some questions.

[pdxcher]

Hi all,

I made the 30 days. I am on day 31 today and our first reintroduction is real spaghetti. I'm excited to start seeing how foods affect me so I can make informed choices later. BF and I did this together and it's been rough (aka hard on our r'ship), but great to get healthy again. I also love how I'm so aware of ingredients now. I was soooo good during my 30 days.

I'd like to take a minute to brag about day 25. My account rep flew in so we had lunch. I chose Japanese since I could eat sashimi and coconut aminos. I did just that and ate my salad plain. That same day, my dept went to happy hour. I hate being "that person" that asks a ton of questions, but I did. The waitress brought out the bottle of "balsamic" they use on the steak so I could read the ingredients (sugar, no go). I ended up ordering the steak, just salt and pepper please, with a no-dressing side salad. I was so proud of myself! AND!!! I didn't even have a hankering for my co-workers food (chips and dip - my fave, homemade doughnuts, chocolate cream pie, chicken fingers - and their fried chicken is awesome, etc). Seriously, so proud of myself. FYI. Coconut aminos don't work as a soy sauce substitute for me (I'm Japanese), it's too sweet. I should have added salt to it. Haha. Maybe next time.

I have a couple of questions to see if this is normal.

Q1. Our appetites have slowed WAY down. For example, this morning for breakfast, I had two "muffins" (prosciutto wrapped egg, spinach, mushrooms, tomato) and and apple. I was full. I'm not even hungry for lunch. BF said the same thing. It's taking us hours to finish breakfast because we're not hungry. We eat to sustain energy now versus eating to eat or cuz we're hungry (this is probably a good thing). During the first 20 or so days, we were starving and NEEDED food to keep our energy levels up. Now, energy is pretty stable with little food. Is that okay? Is that normal?

Q2. We enjoy eating fruits. Is it okay to have fruits as snacks now (well, after my reintro period)? Or should we try to keep to the "snack plan" and eat it with fat/carb/protein (depending on what we're eating)?

Thanks! This was great and just what I needed. It was not easy in any sort of way, but I got there, I feel awesome, ready to start working out, continue eating healthy, and losing weight!

[spunky1]

I don't think this forum is moderated so you might want to post your question in another place if you want an answer from a seasoned expert. But in response to Q1, I feel the same way.  I believe it is because we are eating more fat on this program and also sugar isn't spiking our glycemic levels, which can make us hungry when we are not. Q2, the book recommends two servings of fruit a day, eaten with meals, but you can have more outside of meals if you are an athlete or "weekend warrior."  And not to stress if you have more fruit occasionally (Page 81).  My thoughts are is that you should try a day without fruit and see if you get headaches, cravings (beyond just cravings for fruit).  If you do, then it may be an issue for you.  Good luck with the reintroduction!

[mompoet]

I recently finished my second Whole30 a few days ago. I have observed the same appetite effect as you, @pdxcher. I agree with @spunky1's assessment of why this happens. I discovered that my "hungries" crept back a couple of months after my last Whole30, coinciding with how far I strayed from the healthy meal template. This time, I'm going to try to keep the template going as much as possible, and go for some "off Whole30 foods" when they are worth it, but only then. I like not being starving hungry at mealtime! I think it's important though, for us to continue to enjoy our meals. For me, the key is to to plan for variety. Even when it's easy to eat the same thing several times in a row, I'm working to switch it up, so that I can get a mix of nutrients, and so I can eat mindfully and with pleasure.

Congratulations on making it, and enjoy the spaghetti!

 

[pdxcher]

Thank you both, I appreciate the feedback.

@spunky1 I like the idea of a day without fruit to see how that affects me. I know we tend to eat a lot. I've been trying to snack on more veggies and stuff instead. And thanks for the info about the sugar spikes and being hungry, I didn't know that. Nor about the fat. I do like that overall, my hunger/cravings have been pretty stable. I think they've gotten worse only because we're done with the reintroduction period. lol. It's just me wanting to say, "yay!" when I know I really don't need to.

@mompoet glad to know my appetite effect is normal. Sounds like I should try and stick to the template. I'm grateful BF and I have no issues with any of the reintroduced foods. We just know we'd like to keep all the non-w30 foods in moderation. I have so missed bread. Reintroduction is over and now it's time to keep up with the overall good stuff.