Sweet Potatoes - my go to veggie

[Callen]

I love sweet potatoes! Quick to cook in the microwave, and easy to take with me. My concern is if I eat too many. I usually have 1 medium or 2 small fingerling sweet potatoes for breakfast and a medium one for lunch, sometimes one for dinner as well . I am very much a meat and potatoes kind of person. I usually have some mix of veggies in with my meat, typically some combination of tomatoes, peppers, onions, spinach, mushrooms, but not nearly enough to qualify as a full serving on it's own. I also crossfit 4-5 times per week, but have a sedentary day job. My question is, am I getting too much sweet potato?

[Derek`]

I suppose the only way to tell if you are getting "too many" is if you're gaining unwanted weight or not losing weight that you want to be losing.  But of course you're not supposed to weigh yourself on a Whole30, so...

 

That said, I would try to base your vegetables around non-starchy vegetables and use the sweet potatoes as an add-on vegetable.  Also, eat a variety of vegetables with a diversity of colors so that you are getting many different vitamins and micronutrients. 

[Tom Denham]

My concern is not that you are getting too many sweet potatoes, but that you are not getting enough of other vegetables. Like Derek said, you need a variety of veggies, but it sounds like you are eating a token amount and concentrating on sweet potatoes. 

 

If you want a simple rule, here is one. You can eat one sweet potato with a meal per day. On days you workout, you can eat one as a post-workout snack. This means you can eat two sweet potatoes on days you workout. Don't move up to huge sweet potatoes and don't save sweet potato from one meal to the next. This means you must eat other veggies exclusively at two meals per day. 

[Semolina]

I don't count sweet potatoes as a veggie, in terms of my plate. I sometimes have them as an added extra when I'm feeling the need for some sweet comfort. BUT, I still load up my plate with other veggies because sweet potatoes just aren't a vegetable in my book. It's great they are allowed on a W30, but ... I count my eating times as 1xvolume of protein; 2xvolume of veggies; some fat (which I don't measure) -- and if I am fancying a sweet potato I will have some / one small one as well.

[Callen]

Thanks for the feedback, I've traditionally relied on sweet potatoes due to their ease / portability / ability to stay fresh for long periods and steady energy throughout the day. Since starting the whole 30 on Monday I'd say my veggie intake has been 50% sweet potatoes / 50% mix of multiple color veggies. When I make up my meal and shopping plan for the upcoming week I will adjust to the 1 per day plus pwo snack advice.