Eating Too Much?

[itak035]

Hi everyone!

I realize this question has probably been asked a million times, but I am still struggling with portion control/appetite on the Whole30. I ate relatively clean for a long time before I began Whole30, so I didn't have a ton of issues with cravings for specific foods. That being said, I (very) frequently have cravings to eat excessive amounts of healthy foods - and not even cheat healthy foods, but actual "whole" foods. One of the questions I've seen used to gauge the difference between craving and hunger is is "are you hungry enough to eat grilled chicken and broccoli?" This doesn't work for me - I do get cravings for grilled chicken when I KNOW I'm not hungry. I can't tell if this has something to do with my willpower or if there's a deficiency in my diet I'm not recognizing - I know that the meal template exists, but I'm still having  a hard time gauging a normal amount of food looks like.

All of this is context to ask - what do you all think of my diet, given my activity level? I'll post an average day below. Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

 

Breakfast:

• 2 eggs + 1 egg white, scrambled with appx. 2 cups of veggies (onion, spinach, and broc), cooked with coconut oil; sometimes add shredded chicken
• 1 serving fruit (usually an apple)
• 1 tomato
• 1/4 avocado or 1 large handful olives

Lunch:

• tuna salad made with 1 can of tuna, 1 tbsp. homemade mayo, and chopped veggies
• cabbage and carrot slaw with 1/4 avocado, oil, and vinegar
• 1 serving fruit (melon or peach)

Dinner:

• 1 LARGE serving of meat (definitely 2 palm-sized servings, if not more :/)
• large green salad with 1/4 avocado, oil, and vinegar
• roasted broc or brussels sprouts cooked with olive oil- generally 2ish cups
• sometimes snack on raw veggies while cooking

Depending on when I workout, I usually have a snack of:

• large handful of olives
• additional piece of grilled chicken (1 palm size)
• veggies and compliant salsa

Exercise: Daily - 50 min walk (to and from work)

Other days: some combination of 30-45 min weights, pilates, or cardio, and generally 1-3 hours of salsa and/or bachata dancing. The latter also sometimes causes issues for me, as it isn't intense cardio but I am often hungry by the time I get home (midnight) from dancing. I dance, on average, 4 nights per week.

 

Phew - that's a lot of information! If you guys have any ideas, I would love to here it. Thank you SO MUCH for your help!

 

 

[itak035]

Also to clarify - I'm 26 years old, female, 5' 4", 135 pounds, (fairly) muscular - definitely could stand to lose some fat though!

[emilyelowe]

I'm not a mod but these are the things I noticed:

• 1-3 hours of dancing 4 nights a week is a lot of dancing on top of your other normal exercise.
• With that in mind, I think you could healthfully be eating 2 palm size servings of protein at EVERY meal.
• A serving of eggs is how many you can fit in one hand (and then eating the WHOLE egg) so on the days you're not adding chicken, your protein is definitely light in the morning and might be light even with the chicken. I am 4'11'', 115 pounds and eat 3 whole eggs for M1. I am not nearly as active as you, so you should definitely be eating more.
• I also noticed there aren't a lot of carb dense veggies like potatoes or squash. I think adding those would definitely help with energy and hunger.

Bottom line, if your body is telling you are hungry, you probably are. As long as you respond to that hunger with REAL food that follows the meal template (either full or mini), I would think you'll eventually start figuring it out. I would start adding more protein and potentially some starchy carbs to each meal a little bit at a time and see how you feel. 

[emilyelowe]

Oh, in case I wasn't clear: No, I don't think you're eating too much. Haha. 

[itak035]

That's really helpful - thank you so much! I definitely still have the "diet" mentality when I put meals together, so this is good to hear. 

[Meiyonce]

@itak035I'm a dancer too and I had the same doubts on the beginning. I also thought I was eating too much at first but guess what I los 12lbs throughout the 30 days. I always packed a big snack aside from M1,M2,M3 I ate from my "snack" between classes or on my way home or when I wanted to snack.  My snack almost always is a big salad with sweet potatoes, hard boiled eggs and nuts. I also love celery sticks filled with almond butter and raisins. So don't be afraid to dd avocado or nuts yo your meals, or of eating to many protein. One of my favorite breakfasts now is ground beef with apple and cinnamon ( around 100gr of met or palm sized) and I always throw an egg on top. It seems too much but it isn't , dancing is a lot of cardio and we need the energy.

xoxo

hope u find this helpful. 

[itak035]

Hi Meiyonce, 

 

That is really helpful, thank you! I also worry because while partner/Latin dancing is definitely exercise,  I think it's a less intense form of cardio than other types of dance (hip-hop, ballet, tap, etc). Do you think this makes a difference?

[Meiyonce]

6 hours ago, itak035 said:

Hi Meiyonce, 

 

That is really helpful, thank you! I also worry because while partner/Latin dancing is definitely exercise,  I think it's a less intense form of cardio than other types of dance (hip-hop, ballet, tap, etc). Do you think this makes a difference?

It doesn't make a difference since the Whole30 is not a calorie based regimen, listen to your body, if you feel one day was pretty intense ( let's say one of those 2 hour or 3 hour class day ) just add a little bit more carbs  like sweet potato or mashed potatoes ( which is one of my go to post workout snacks) and always protein on your post workout snacks.  If you have the chance to read "It starts with food" they have a graphic there where they explain really well how much carbs etc to use on your meals according to the amount of exercise and body composition you have. I got the book for free on Audible.com