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nuts & nut butters!


erincita123

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:( i think i need to cut out nut butter and nuts completely.... :unsure: they both seem to really have a pull on me (day 8) --- i was feeling great until yesterday when i reaaaaaally overdid it on the nuts - UGH.  

 

I am posting this here b/c i am a runner and train for ultramarathons....i am used to indulging in PB and almond butter for a good hit of protein and fat -- but i think i need to X them out for my whole 30.  

 

any other nut butter addicts out there who can offer an alternative??? does this craving mean i need more protein?  i feel like i eat a ton of protein!

 

Thank you for any tips!  :)

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You are totally not alone in your nut addiction. Nuts are really a fat source, which is one of the bog reasons they're addicting. Salty+fatty are two things that make foods hyper-palatable. It's hard to say no! Total food with no breaks.

Try keeping them in a mini-meal without snacking on them on their own.

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I am right there with you ladies!  I finished my first Whole30 on October 31st and had great results overall, but I've realized this past month that I have a "nut dragon" that I need to conquer. I also do trail running and I'm training for my second 50k, and I always look forward to my heaping spoon of almond butter pre-workout... which usually becomes 2 heaping spoonfuls. I also tend to snack on raw cashews toward the end of the day.  I've decided today that for the next 30 days I'm going to cut out nuts and nut butter.

 

The only exception I'm making is raw coconut.  At the beginning of my Whole30 (on 10/1) I bought a big bag of Bob's Red Mill shredded coconut.  This morning I realized I barely put a dent in that bag over the course of almost 2 months.  I have the occasional handful, but I NEVER over-eat raw coconut.  So for me, cashews/almonds = food with no brakes... but for some reason I am very satisfied with just the right amount of raw coconut. 

 

Have you tried raw coconut? Could be a good replacement if you are also trying to conquer your nut dragon!  

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Thank you! I will try the raw coconut!  I also noticed my face is breaking out in little red splotches/patches & I've had a very crampy tummy....hmmmmm, maybe my body is trying to tell me something about the nuts/nut butter! I am def eating more of it than usual. 

 

Thank you for the tips!! 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ugh!  I have this same issue!  I need to cut nuts and nut butters out completely for 30 to see how I do, but I am totally addicted.  I am a runner and going to start training for Boston and then a half Ironman in July and nut butters are such a huge staple.  I also need to follow a strict AIP since I have hashimoto's.  Not going to be fun.

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these posts are reminding me of a friend who once trained for a marathon while dieting. She would repeatedly wake up with a half-empty jar of peanut butter in her bed. This was not peanut butter's fault.

 

It's one thing to reduce or eliminate nuts because they are irritating to digestion and upset the balance of good fats in your diet, just be careful to make sure you are providing enough of the good fats (and protein and vegetables) you need in their place. honestly, I don't have a lot of "cravings" for stuff, and I am pretty sure it is because I am giving my body all the food and nutrition it needs to support my activity levels. If you are having trouble controlling yourself around certain foods, I think it is worth giving your body a period of grace. Eat at the upper end of the template for a while, taking care to include a wide variety of vegetables and good fat and quality protein and see how your experience with that problem food changes in a context of abundant nutrition.

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  • 1 month later...

Yesterday was day 10 for me.  It stared out great, hit the gym- training for a half marathon. Came home and was voracious all day.  After eating eggs, spinach, mushrooms, blueberries, butternut squash soup, chicken with bruschetta-twice, II was running out of options and not feeling satisfied so i started to delve into the nuts and dates and Larabars. I really overdid it. Not sure how to keep that from happening again. ARG!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am kind of relieved to see this post, I have had the same problem with nuts/nut butters and going a little beyond the fruit intake limit. Some days I just feel like I can't satisfy my hunger. I have increased the amount of vegetables and also water intake, this has helped a good bit. I don't want to give up the nuts and nut butters, but I want to be able to eat them in a better moderation. Would it be best to cut them out for a while or just really make an effort to limit the daily amount or time that they are eaten? This is SO frustrating!!

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I think most people can relate to this, and I would suggest coconut oil. I eat it by the TBSP if need be, and it works best for cooking/melted on top of protein (salmon, chicken, steak, etc.) or vegetables (coconut oil on kale is delicious!)

 

The reasoning behind the coconut oil is two-fold.

 

One, it is satiating. Check out this study: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/3/329.full

 

For those that might want to skip it, I'll pull a relevant quote:

 

We conclude that MCTs increase energy expenditure, may result in faster satiety and facilitate weight control when included in the diet as a replacement for fats containing LCT.

 

 

LCTs stand for 'long chain triglycerides' and nuts + nut butters are included in this category.

 

Two, it is much better for your body: http://www.naturalnews.com/026819_lauric_acid_coconut_oil.html

 

Lauric acid (highest food source - coconut oil) gets converted into monolaurin in vivo (in the body) and it is antimicrobial, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, etc.

 

Lastly, anecdotally, you won't really feel the same pull to overindulge on coconut oil, compared to nuts/nut butters.

 

Hopefully this helps :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think there's something to be said for nut butters being the closest thing to sweets or dessert allowed on the Whole30, so it's easy to start craving it.  I haven't had too much trouble with this, but I've been careful not to make nut butters a habit - particularly as a snack - because I could see how this could happen!

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Yesterday was day 10 for me.  It stared out great, hit the gym- training for a half marathon. Came home and was voracious all day.  After eating eggs, spinach, mushrooms, blueberries, butternut squash soup, chicken with bruschetta-twice, II was running out of options and not feeling satisfied so i started to delve into the nuts and dates and Larabars. I really overdid it. Not sure how to keep that from happening again. ARG!

Did you have a pre workout snack and a post workout snack? That might help. I also think that some days we need more food than others so it could just be one of those days.

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I think there's something to be said for nut butters being the closest thing to sweets or dessert allowed on the Whole30, so it's easy to start craving it.  I haven't had too much trouble with this, but I've been careful not to make nut butters a habit - particularly as a snack - because I could see how this could happen!

 

I think that's where my problem with them comes in. I recently upped my starchy vegetables and have noticed that my sugar cravings, treat cravings, and that "I just can't get full!" feeling have really declined. Not to mention my mood increased substantially.

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Erincita, sorry you fell off the wagon but welcome on board again.

I agree that high mileage sometimes makes it difficult to eat well. Part of it for me was that I was used to being able to eat.all.the.things and not worry about it, since I ran it off anyway. Another thing was that the meal template might be a bit low if you exercise a lot. I often eat up towards three times the portion sizes suggested for protein, and I do allow myself to snack.

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