Horrible Cravings...ate too much sweet potato and fruit!

[Ilovelabs5]

Hi Everyone!

 

This is my very first post and I hope you can help me understand why I am getting such horrible cravings. This is my very first whole30 experience and in the beginning I was sooo happy and excited. I even had the worst first 5 days (terrible headaches and just felt like I was hit by a truck) then came out happy and refreshed.

 

Lately, I have been having bad cravings for chocolate and candy. Bad things! Today, all I wanted to do was quit and I am on day 16! Instead, I got carried away (in an unhealhy way I know) with sweet potatoes and a larabar. That is so much sugar! I feel guilty (duh) and disappointed in myself but most of all I want to know why my body is doing this. For the entire second week I didn't even think about goodies (and I stare at them all day at work). I just feel frustrated because I feel like I am always bloated, my energy isn't sky high, and my cravings have gone mad...None of which is in the timeline for the whole30.

 

I know everyone's experiences are different and maybe my occasional fruit has kept my body wanting more sugar! Have I ruined my whole30 by overeating carbs today? Although whole30 approved, I know the behavior and amounts are not whole30 approved.

 

Thank you for reading and any advice is welcome!

 

 

[amberino21]

I don't think you've ruined your whole30 -

You do need to look at what you've been eating for your meals though, as this will probably explain a lot! A few tweaks will no doubt help the cravings....

Could you perhaps post the past few days worth of food?

[Ilovelabs5]

Yes of course.

 

One example of a day:

 

Meal 1: Egg muffins made with 2 whole eggs and two whites (I can't eat too many more eggs without sensitivities) mixed with basil and zuchinni and broccoli. 1 apricot

 

Meal 2: Thai green curry (coconut milk and green curry paste no sugar added) with tilapia and broccoli and carrots over a bed of cilantro lime cauliflower "rice"

 

Meal 3: More from above with the addition of some sweet potato (1 small sweet potato)

 

Meal 4: Chicken breast with a bowl of mixed greens covered with lemon juice and some EVOO.

 

Another example of a recent day is:

 

Meal 1: Chicken thigh, zuchinni and sweet potato cooked in coconut oil

 

Meal 2: Large salad with cucumbers, olives and onions, topped with chicken and avocado. Fresh salsa as dressing.

 

Meal 3: Spaghetti squash mixed with zuchinni and cooked in coconut oil, with one burger patty (spinach and spices with ground beef) on the side.

 

Other staples are tuna mixed with EVOO and avocado wrapped in lettuce. Or lettuce wrapped "tacos" with ground turkey.

 

What do you think? I typically eat 1/2-1 whole avocado a day. I probably eat about 3-5 sweet potatoes a week. I was more desperate today and yesterday with the fruit...and then tonight just ate for the wrong reasons.

[KitchenWitchy]

Don't start over, just learn from the experience and try not to repeat it!

I think the timeline is helpful, but it isn't all-inclusive... in my first w30, I felt bloated and irregular until I stopped eating nuts and nut butters three weeks in. Weight loss didn't start for me until almost the very end and continued as I stuck to the template and compliant foods with some occasional offroading aftr the 30 days ended. Don't get me started on monthly cravings

[amberino21]

I think perhaps you need more protein and fats - 1/2-1 avo a day isn't a lot, as you don't seem to have a lot of other fat besides cooking fat! That should keep you feeling full/ satisfied. A big variety of vegies will give you a mix of nutrients to hopefully stop craving food...eating for the wrong reasons just takes willpower though!

I generally have some carbs every day (I don't know what size 1 sweet potato is.... If I ate "one sweet potato" it'd be nearly 2lbs worth because we get huge ones!)

[Ilovelabs5]

Thank you for your replies! I just feel so alone in this sometimes. I am not regular, I have bloating a lot, and I am losing some weight but definitely not a lot. I don't eat nuts (although I love them so much) the only fats I have been adding are avocados and coconut oil.

 

I appreciate the support and hopefully I can get this sorted out. The first one is a journey I guess of the mind and body! I feel like the first two weeks I had a handle on everything and now it seems that every hour I want to quit.

 

Maybe I should take out eggs and coconut oil. I have been feeling weird after meals with coconut milk and shreds, but maybe the oil is doing something too!

[Ilovelabs5]

Maybe I will just add more fats and try to be more prepared in the kitchen (aka have more than just a meal or two of meat left...because that means I have to cook every meal every day...which I have been doing and I am tired of it).

 

I just want this to be the solution for me to not want to binge on crap all of the time! Its easy to resist stuff if my body doesn't want it...but the past few days all my body wants to do is eat candy and watch a movie. I am also an emotional eater so I am learning a lot through this journey.

[amberino21]

I do big cook ups - on a weekend I might bake 8lbs chicken breast, as well as cook curry, chilli, bolognese etc. I have 14 meals in my freezer, as well as chicken that is used for lunches (salad) or postWO, or in omelettes. We also have HB eggs handy all the time. I rarely cook meat during the week - we reheat meals, while cooking fresh vegies.

[KitchenWitchy]

It's your brain pulling out all the stops in a last-ditch effort to get you to give it what it wants. Hang in there! You can do it! Resist the tantrum!

[Ilovelabs5]

Thank you everyone for your help! I appreciate your tips and listening!

[Karen]

It seems like every time I see someone having a craving for tons of sweets/carbs, it usually coincides with their period or a few days prior.  Any chance that's the case with you?  If so, your body is telling you it needs more carbs just prior to your period because it actually needs more carbs!  That's why we get such awful cravings prior/during.  You see, during the time between ovulation and getting your period, your body has to assume it's pregnant.  It's a survival thing.  It spends a lot of energy on the hormones needed to sustain pregnancy, and lots of energy means lots of carbs.  (That's also why we tend to get bloated - to stay hydrated in case of pregnancy, and why we tend to get constipated - to slow down digestion to absorb more nutrients for potential baby.)  Once the body realizes it's not pregnant, boom, you get your period and the symptoms subside.  

 

Once you understand that your body has a need that needs to be met, you can forgive yourself for the cravings and instead find compliant ways to meet those needs.  It's instinct, and no matter how hard you try to resist, it's hard to fight instinct.  Eat extra sweet potato if you need to.  And next month, up your carbs a bit more prior to that time period to head it off.  

 

If that's not the case with you just yet, keep this in mind for the future!  

[Guest]

Definitely fine tune your meal prep and your balance of fats.

 

Look back at the timeline and you will see that your cravings are pretty much on time (day 15-ish).   Like KitchenWitchy was saying, this is extinction burst.  Cool thing is that the battle is almost over and Tiger Blood is on the way.

[Carlaccini]

I was going to side with Karen above.  I am not currently doing a whole 30 (stick mainly to plan with a few off roading momments - ie relaxed eating when eating out or at friends) but the chocolate cravings have been crazy and I have been wanting all types of carbs and sweet stuff.  So I have been carb loading a bit.  Starchy veg almost with every meal today. 

 

What happened this morning? Period.  Ahhhhh.  The cravings make sense and therefore I feel less guilty now. 

 

I too have been really hungry this week as well, so clearly I might need to eat more in the week before my period.

 

So I would just say relax and perhaps your hormones are at work.  Your whole 30 is not damaged simply by a larabar and sweet potato.  Just be aware of what might be going on so you might address it a bit better later.

 

I too second the idea of adding in more fats.

[sheba-kitty]

I am in the same boat... Think I ate too much fruit today and sweet potato, so now I am craving. Today is the last day of my period and mostly the craving haven't been too bad during my period, but right before they were pretty intense.

But other than avocado and cooking fats what are some other good sources of fats to add to meals?

Here is what I ate today.

M1: i had red chard, spinach, and oinion sauteed in coconut oil with 2 eggs and some bacon and a small handfull of raspberries, coffee black

M2: spaghetti (pork, beef and mushroom sauce) over spaghetti squash. And a small salad.

M3: i had a lot more greens (double what I had for breakfast, they shrink down so much I usually underestimate how much to cook) sautéed in oil, with some roasted butternut squash and sweet potato (small handful), grilled chicken and a few more raspberriesalso small handfull.

Lots of tea and water through out the day. But come to think of it I didn't do a pre or post workout food thing. I don't know if my workouts are strenuous enough to require one all the time. Today was 40min open water swim across the lake.

Anyone have some suggestions? . I am day 19 now without sugar or alcohol, but only day 9 full program.

Thanks

[amberino21]

I am in the same boat... Think I ate too much fruit today and sweet potato, so now I am craving. Today is the last day of my period and mostly the craving haven't been too bad during my period, but right before they were pretty intense.

But other than avocado and cooking fats what are some other good sources of fats to add to meals?

Here is what I ate today.

M1: i had red chard, spinach, and oinion sauteed in coconut oil with 2 eggs and some bacon and a small handfull of raspberries, coffee black

M2: spaghetti (pork, beef and mushroom sauce) over spaghetti squash. And a small salad.

M3: i had a lot more greens (double what I had for breakfast, they shrink down so much I usually underestimate how much to cook) sautéed in oil, with some roasted butternut squash and sweet potato (small handful), grilled chicken and a few more raspberriesalso small handfull.

Lots of tea and water through out the day. But come to think of it I didn't do a pre or post workout food thing. I don't know if my workouts are strenuous enough to require one all the time. Today was 40min open water swim across the lake.

Anyone have some suggestions? . I am day 19 now without sugar or alcohol, but only day 9 full program.

Thanks

I'd increase the eggs in your breakfast first - this will add protein (a serve of eggs is how many you can hold, I'd say 3-4?)....that'll add fat too!

Avocado, coconut (milk, oil, butter, shredded), olives, bacon, mayo are all ways to add fat

I don't really count cooking fat - you might put a lot in the pan, but most of it probably stays there!

[sheba-kitty]

I'd increase the eggs in your breakfast first - this will add protein (a serve of eggs is how many you can hold, I'd say 3-4?)....that'll add fat too!

Avocado, coconut (milk, oil, butter, shredded), olives, bacon, mayo are all ways to add fat

I don't really count cooking fat - you might put a lot in the pan, but most of it probably stays there!

I did have 3 slices of bacon with my eggs and greens, I usually am doing 3 eggs, but was going to go for a swim, so made my breakfast a little lighter... As it was I still got a side cramp.

I have NEVER liked mayo... So doubt that will get added to anything I eat. Plus making your own so it is within the program is hard, my friend has been trying new batches for the past 2 weeks without success.

Already having so much avocado... I guess I can try olives. Not a huge fan

I am Using coconut in my cooking, but you are saying add more after cooking?

Are there any other options? It is just getting a littleboring already with the avocado, bacon and coconut.

[amberino21]

I did have 3 slices of bacon with my eggs and greens, I usually am doing 3 eggs, but was going to go for a swim, so made my breakfast a little lighter... As it was I still got a side cramp.

I have NEVER liked mayo... So doubt that will get added to anything I eat. Plus making your own so it is within the program is hard, my friend has been trying new batches for the past 2 weeks without success.

Already having so much avocado... I guess I can try olives. Not a huge fan

I am Using coconut in my cooking, but you are saying add more after cooking?

Are there any other options? It is just getting a littleboring already with the avocado, bacon and coconut.

If you're doing exercise, perhaps have a small preWO instead of a whole meal and save your breakfast for afterwards?

Mayo really isn't that hard - if you don't try you'll never know! Real mayo really is delicious! Try looking up some videos for tips.

There are only limited options - you could have nuts but they aren't recommended to make up a lot of your fat intake.

I add fat after cooking because most of the cooking fat stays in the pan

[sheba-kitty]

Thanks for the suggestions amber. Nuts are not a trigger for me, so I guess I can add those. Yeah, today I think I should have had a preWO and then a breakfast. But I haven't been all that hungry in general and feel like I am eating enough. But resetting everything is tricky business! So hard to trust those hunger signals (or lack there of)