Hungry

[Ophelia]

I'm on day 18 of my Whole30. I've been doing well and have felt quite proud of my resolve thus far. I've been following the meal template or so I've thought (until someone might point out otherwise), and have been avoiding snacking and recognizing real hunger vs. emotional eating/boredom.

I haven't worked out since last Friday because I had some swelling in my knee, but I still feel ravenously hungry. Usually on the days I don't workout I have no problem eating just the three meals, but not today. I don't want to stray too far from the guidelines and start snacking all the time as I approach the end of my Whole30. That's why I want to troubleshoot what I'm doing wrong.

This is what I ate today:

Pre WOD (that didnt happen because I decided I after arriving for the workout I was pushing it and needed more recovery time for my injury): bullet proof coffee and 1 hard boiled egg.

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with 2 slices compliant bacon, and 2 cups (before cooked down) of sautéed (in coconut oil) spinach/red onion/mushrooms, and 1/2 avocado.

Lunch: a little more than 2 cups of brocolli, carrot, snap pea mix and chopped garlic cloves, onion, mushroom stir fried in coconut oil and 1.5 chicken breast added and 1/4 cup raw cashews, 1/4 cup coconut cream and a tablespoon compliant thai red curry.

Between lunch and dinner: I had about a 1/2 cup of ground beef cooked with onion, garlic, and compliant spices and another 1/2 avocado and a tablespoon of compliant salsa. (Usually a fat/protein combo does the trick. I realized I hadn't eaten anything carb dense which I usually do at least at breakfast on rest days) so I then had 1/2 cup of yam sweet potato. Still hungry so I had a closed handful of raw almonds.

Dinner: Palm sized serving of roasted chicken, 1.5 cups of brussel sprouts and mushrooms and a few crumbled raw pecans sautéed in coconut oil and 1/2 cup sweet potato.

I'm still hungry. I realize as I type this I've had a lot of nuts today, but I don't see that making me more hungry being additional fat and calories. I Nuts (aside from pistachios) aren't really an issue for me. I do realize this was excessive from the template recommendations.

My protein was within the 1-2 palm sized serving per meal guidelines, but I see I had room to increase that a bit.

Am I missing something here? FYI I'm 5'4" 132-136 lbs and generally do 6 WODS and 3 rest days a week. Should I be eating more? And of what?

[AmyS]

Just eat another mini meal.  Nothing's wrong, you're just hungry.  (Note: adding another egg and some starchy carbs to breakfast might help tomorrow.)  Eat up!

[amberino21]

I'd say more protein at breakfast, and more vegies at most meals. Add in some starchy carbs too, like amy suggested

[Ophelia]

So it's okay to add another mini meal that is appropriate? Like trying a fat/protein combo or having a carb if needed... but trying to choose based on what your body might need and not just eating plantain chips and fruit or other snacky food. "Avoid snacking" is kind of vague so what kind of snacking is ok (if it cant be avoided)? Mindful vs mindless?

[Ophelia]

Thanks Amberino21 (and Amy S) I'll try adjusting my meals accordingly as well.

[amberino21]

I think if you're starving (like plain white fish and steamed greens starving) you should eat - protein, fats and veggies in a mini meal....

I've found that making sure my main meals are big enough with some starchy carbs at least once a day helps

[AmyS]

I've found that some days I'm just hungry.  And yes, eating a fourth (or fifth, etc.) meal or mini-meal helps.  Snacking isn't absolutely off the table but mini-meals are more strongly encouraged.  I think along with the "would I eat plain fish and broccoli right now?" question, you can ask if what you're contemplating eating is pushing other, healthier choices off the plate right now. 

 

For instance, during my first Whole30, I often snacked on nuts and fruit.  Answering as honestly as I could at the time, I would have eaten the fish and broccoli, and those particular foods, at that time, would not have pushed healthier choices off my plate - I was simply not in the habit or understanding of eating a mini meal yet; and nuts and fruits were a much better choice than junk food.  BUT - if you are hungry and can eat a mini-meal, you'll feel better.

[Ophelia]

Well this is interesting...

I'm a breakfast person, and also because of my training I have never had a problem eating a full meal in the morning. Anyhow, I am seriously NOT hungry this morning. I'm sitting here procrastinating on making breakfast, because I feel like I am going to have to force feed myself.

I know I shouldn't skip a meal and I have a hair appointment at 3 that is going to take hours and I planned on packing a pre-made dinner (I cooked and refridgerated/froze a ton of to-go meals over the weekend.). I think I'm going to eat my first meal before I go around 11 am and then pack 2 meals and have one at 4 pm and one at 7 or 8 pm.

Anyways, my appetite today is a complete contrast from yesterday. So I guess what I'm taking away from this and all your advice is to give my body what it needs (and not worry some days if it needs a little extra) as long as I am staying in the guidelines and making good decisions about the kinds of foods I'm supplementing with.

[Ophelia]

And that some days I'm just going to be hungrier than others for no obvious reason.

[notacommittee]

And that some days I'm just going to be hungrier than others for no obvious reason.

 

That's the nature of the beast! If only our bodies could talk to us in language and not these apparently random urges to do apparently random things...life would be so much simpler

[Kirsteen]

And that some days I'm just going to be hungrier than others for no obvious reason.

 

Absolutely! We're not machines. I've found my body does react differently on different days. Some days, I have to remind myself it's mealtime and deliberately eat something and I find a small portion quite enough. Other days, as we say here, I could eat a scabby horse (no Tesco jokes please ) and no matter how big my meal, I still feel hungry before the next one. I've learnt to just go with the flow and, as long as I'm eating compliant and still somewhere on the meal template not worry too much about it. I'm sure it all balances out in the end.

[Renee Lee]

How are you doing 6 workouts with 3 rest days?? are you doing 2 a days?!!!

[Ophelia]

Yes. I have been following this routine for the last 6 months and it has worked well for me:

Monday: 9 am WOD and return for 6 pm strength class (each month focuses on a single type of lift, slower and heavier Mondays and fast and dynamic on Wednesdays)

Tuesday: DOR (day of rest)

Wednesday: 9 am WOD and return at 6 pm for strength class

Thursday: DOR

Friday: 9 am WOD

Saturday: 10 am WOD

Sunday: DOR

Occasionally I'll sub out a Friday or Saturday WOD for a 5k run and some gymnastic bar work.

Last week I did something stupid, and deviated from my schedule to do a challenging chipper on Thursday and then returned Friday and ran a 5k that evening- I had crazy tigers blood energy to burn (I basically did 5 consecutive workouts in 3 days) and of course I got an overuse injury, some swelling in my knee. I'm so mad at myself but I have been doing RICE and had it worked on. Today was my first day back. But I won't resume my regular schedule until next week.

[Ophelia]

And so yeah, on doubles I'm eating 7 meals (4 mini meals of pre/post foods.)

[Renee Lee]

Uh...so...I would really encourage you to...NOT do that much.

 

Are you a competitive athlete?

[Ophelia]

No I'm not a competitive athlete. I have always been athletic and I work out because it helps me manage my anxiety and depression.

[melbournegirl]

Perhaps you can change the timing of your meals on the double days to eat four to five larger meals rather than 7 mini meals?

Later breakfast, post WO, lunch, pre WO, dinner?

[Ophelia]

I'm not eating 7 mini meals on doubles. I'm eating 3 regular full sized meals and 4 mini meals. Maybe I could add a 4th full sized meal, although I don't know when because I am already eating from morning till night (well to 2 hours before bed.)

[melbournegirl]

I was thinking something like 8am breakfast, 1030am post WO, 1-2pm lunch, 5pm pre WO, 730pm dinner. Only you know what works best for you and if you are prepared eg to make dinner in advance, even the day before but I found some of my problems went away when I gave my digestive system more rest.