AmyS

In your case, do not worry about eating a full template meal in one sitting. You may need to take the template amounts for three meals a day and divide that food up in six meals. It's fine. Just remember that a meal is protein, fat, and veggies. You might, for instance, fix up a full template meal, eat as much of it as is reasonable for you to eat, wrap it up and put it away, and pull it out again to finish (or just eat more of) later. At each sitting, eat items from the protein, fat, and veggies sections of your plate. Once that meal is done, make another, and do the same, and then one more, and do the same. You may discover that you are eating many mini-meals, but over the course of a day you are still eating the same amount of food as other folks would consume in three meals. Again, this is fine. If you can eat half an egg and a strawberry, then aim for half an egg and a small portion of sweet potato. Then finish the egg and eat more sweet potato later, and so on and so forth. Hope that helps, let us know if we can give you more information about Whole30 eating in general or with weight loss surgery.

We want you to eat the whole egg. That is to say, add whole eggs to your scrambled eggs.

I think this recipe for hoisin http://eatdrinkpaleo.com.au/paleo-hoisin-sauce-recipe/ could work with two modifications: sub out coconut aminos for the soy sauce, and leave out the honey. And this one for ponzu http://www.eatingforidiots.com/seared-tuna-with-crispy-shallots-and-ponzu-sauce/ (includes a recipe for tuna and fried shallots too) would work. Remember to use Red Boat fish sauce. Johnny, the recipe's creator, was a moderator here for a while. His recipes are pretty popular with Whole30ers who like to cook. Diclaimer: I haven't made either of these, but they look very do-able. ETA: yes, arrowroot for cornstarch - or you could leave it out and have a broth-ier consistency.

I love this thread SO MUCH. I would buy a cookbook if you made one.

Excellent! Eat up! And you're not at your worst when pmsing, even though we women have been taught by our society that we are supposed to be at our worst when pmsing. We're not. We're just really freakin' hungry. And we really really need to eat. Lots of meals. Lots of carbs. Lots of fat. Lots of protein. It's shocking how much I eat these days. And I'm teeeeeeeeeny. And, judging from comments I get the longer I eat huge amounts of nutritious food, getting teenier. Have you gotten rid of your scale and anything you used to use to weigh/measure you food? That's a great set of next steps. There is so much freedom in sticking it to the patriarchy by actually eating.

You might post a couple of days' worth of sample compliant meals to see if we can help you refine your meal composition. That might help to deal with the physical side of the cravings. There's also the possibility that you're hungry. I find that when I first start a Whole30, especially if I've been on vacation or deliberately have been eating lots of less healthy foods, I really really REALLY eat a whole whole lot the first week back on clean eating. It's kind of shocking. Then one day I'm finally full and I can eat three human-size meals. Sometimes women are taught that we are craving junk food when really we are physically hungry for nutritious food. I know that if a craving is not about hunger, that there are ways to deal with it; but I would suggest keeping in mind the possibility that a craving really is about hunger. Yes, even if you just ate a full meal an hour ago. The point is that if you're hungry, eat a mini meal of protein and fat, or a full meal of protein, fat, and veggies. If you are active, nursing, in a pre-menstrual part of your cycle, working shift work (or a SAHM, which is kind of like a 24/7 shift that never ends, especially with small children in the house), you may need lots of those meals. Deciding to eat Whole30 is not the same as deciding not to eat very much food. We want you to feel full/satisfied/satiated. There's no virtue in going hungry and white-knuckling your way through cravings that could be given some nutritious food. Hope some of this helps - let us know if you want tips on meal composition, and hang out here for support and encouragement.

This is amazing. I've been away for a couple of weeks and just came back to see this thread. I may or may not have shed a tear of happiness at the possibility of a Whole30-approved pancit. happysniffle

greenwaypress, I don't know you but I feel the need to give you a big hug after that last comment. On behalf of humanity, I'm so sorry.

I don't live or work with a group of folks who critique my eating habits, but I certainly enjoy this thread. I had childhood allergies to most (all, maybe) of the Whole30 prohibited foods, so when I tell people I've discovered a way of eating that helps me eat very well and avoid those allergens, folks in my life are generally not just supportive, but they really cheer me on. However, as I say, I love following this thread. :lol:

Peaslepuff! :lol: :lol:

The center may need the serving of whole grains if they get government subsidies for any of their food or services. USDA regs. Oy vey.

Woot!!! Beautiful post! Thank you!

It's funny because I don't necessarily think of vacations as restful, indulgent experiences. When I travel, I travel with my children, who are very agreeable travelers and who love new adventures. We have lots (and lots and lots) of fun, but if I were planning some sort of vacation just for me, I would not do many of the things that are absolutely necessary when traveling with children. In other words, I think of that time as fun, but I certainly don't regard it as a vacation. I'm still very much on the job. If I were to plan a vacation that didn't include the children, the first condition would be that I would have to arrange for their care in such a way that I didn't worry about them. That could be easily enough done by leaving them in the excellent care of their father. But at the moment I feel somewhat cautious about how far away I'd like to be. (I know those years are soon going to be over, my girls are nine, and pretty soon, before I know it, they will be off into the wider world and I'll be planning everything without considering their immediate needs - so strange to contemplate that.) So - perhaps I'd go to the other side of the island for a few days, with someone special. If this is really a dream vacation, I'd stay at one of the world class resorts that I usually just go see. I'd eat from the local farmer's markets as much as possible, and have some very nice restaurant cuisine too - fresh local food gone high end, why not? I know I'd have to ask how it's prepared, but I know I could find delicious food all around me. I would spend time just sitting near the water, reading, spending time with that someone special, and perhaps taking some long walks at sunset. I live in Hawaii, but for me it's just a (very) nice place to live and work. I'm only a couple of hours' drive from the world class resorts that put Hawaii on the map as a paradise destination. I'd like to actually experience that. Also, this being a small island, I'd probably know at least some of the resort staff! Hm. I'm thinking this could be a thing.