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Starting on March 1st. 2014


EmmySkimmy

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Hi everyone. My husband and I started on March 1. I've been following the plan but my biggest issue has been feeling like I need to snack. I'm used to the small meals 4-5 times a day. I go crazy between breakfast and lunch. Can anyone tell me why the direction of no snacking or any advice?

My understanding is it's about becoming fat adapted, and it's a process. There's more complexity to it than that, and so I recommend you read or reread It Starts With Food. Best of luck!

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Hi everyone. My husband and I started on March 1. I've been following the plan but my biggest issue has been feeling like I need to snack. I'm used to the small meals 4-5 times a day. I go crazy between breakfast and lunch. Can anyone tell me why the direction of no snacking or any advice?

 

Do you have It Starts With Food? This is explained in detail in there.

 

In short, it has to do with proper hormonal balance.  From ISWF: "Grazing can disrupt the normal functioning of leptin, insulin and glucagon, and may promote inadvertent overconsumption."

Is your feeling of the need to snack a habit or out of genuine hunger?  Part of the Whole30 is learning your hunger and satiety cues.

The idea is to create meals that satiate you for 4-5 hours. Following the recommended meal template is the best way to do so.  Play with your portion sizes until you get to this place.  It sounds like working on your breakfast portions is a good place to start.

In the meantime, if you are genuinely hungry in between meals (hungry = you could eat steamed fish and broccoli), have a mini meal that contains a protein and fat.

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In the daily email there's a great picture of a steamed fish and veggies, and it says if this looks appealing you're hungy and should eat.  If not, then you know the answer, as Chris also recommends above.  I've been using that quite a bit and it's really been helpful.

 

I was out and not able to get home for lunch today - and pretty upset about it.  I went to a local Chinese takeout place and asked what they had that was steamed, and the woman told me I could get anything on the menu steamed with no sauce.  That way I could be sure it had no hitch hiking ingredients.  It was a perfect lunch albeit missing a fat.  I need to carry around some of those olive oil pakcets they have at Panera for times when I need them.  But anyway I feel pretty good I was able to adapt to not having a prior plan for a meal.  I'm sure awhile ago in the same situation I would have headed for some random fast food place.

 

Congrats to all of us working on Day 12 tomorrow.  Hope you start feeling better @EmmySkimmy, and yes, oil business :)  but it really is quite beautiful there, so that's a plus.

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Hello Friends!

 

Day 11 is nearly at a close and I'm dealing with some MIGHTY cravings. I just want a Diet Coke and some (ok, a lot of) chocolate. But, even though I do have some in the house (I didn't throw EVERYTHING away; its so expensive and my husband still eats it when he's home), I'm NOT going to have any. It's a strange feeling to simultaneously crave something and not want it. The brain is a tricky thing.

 

I'm pleased also to report that my new idea of a sweet, semi-naughty something is almond butter on a banana. I'm also now thoroughly enjoying lemon water, whereas before it wasn't enough to conquer Diet Coke cravings. 

I also got to go on a long bike ride yesterday as it was nearly 60 degrees here in Iowa! It was a glorious day. I wore a t-shirt and sandals! And its going to be 28 tomorrow. Silly spring.

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Good work Megalinity - I love almond or cashew butter on apple slices - great combo of textures with crisp apple and soft butter.

 

Racemom - yay to the Chinese meal, well done! I like to keep a snack pack of nuts for times when a meal needs more fat 

 

Day 12 dawns and I am sitting here more than an hour after getting up listening to my tummy rumble and gurgle. It never used to do that. I was never really hungry, just topping up. Great feeling although it means I have been a bad Sharyn and not eaten within an hour of rising. 

 

Have a good day buddies

 

Onwards!!

 

PS had a lovely breakfast of baby spinach leaves topped with creamy scrambled eggs, half and avocado and a lovely juicy orange. I would add a photo but don't know how to. 

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Hello Friends!

 

Day 11 is nearly at a close and I'm dealing with some MIGHTY cravings. I just want a Diet Coke and some (ok, a lot of) chocolate. But, even though I do have some in the house (I didn't throw EVERYTHING away; its so expensive and my husband still eats it when he's home), I'm NOT going to have any. It's a strange feeling to simultaneously crave something and not want it. The brain is a tricky thing.

 

I'm pleased also to report that my new idea of a sweet, semi-naughty something is almond butter on a banana. I'm also now thoroughly enjoying lemon water, whereas before it wasn't enough to conquer Diet Coke cravings. 

I also got to go on a long bike ride yesterday as it was nearly 60 degrees here in Iowa! It was a glorious day. I wore a t-shirt and sandals! And its going to be 28 tomorrow. Silly spring.

Chocolate craving is a cue that the body needs magnesium. That might be something to consider supplementing. Since I've started a daily dose of magnesium, my formerly beastly chocolate cravings have disappeared.

 

Also, congrats on the healthier "treat"--that must be a real turnaround. A friendly forewarning, though: if you find yourself reaching for that banana with nut butter at the end of a meal or between meals, it might be a crutch that keeps you from becoming fat adapted. Do what you need to do, of course; but I'm convinced that one of the things that kept me from losing weight during my first W30 was an overeliance on sweet but compliant things like fruit and nut butters.

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Hello, Happy Day 12.  Starting to feel an improvement in my joint pain..it is a dull ache now. Energy levels although not top performance are rising. I was able to get up and get my kids ready for school and daycare. I walked my daughter to daycare. The weather is gorgeous!. Wish I could go for a hike, but maybe tomorrow. The doc has put me on a round of antibiotics and sickleave continued until the 20th. I was up and active from 6:45-9:30...then I crashed for 3.5 hours...

 

Made an oxtail broth yesterday..that is what I had for breakfast since I'm going AIP and have to eliminate eggs. No cravings, actually very little appetite and now my fruit consumption is lowered as well. Lunch has been a half a chicken breast, some butternut squash, and a big pile of spinach. I think salmon is on the menu for this evening.

 

Have a good one. 

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@SharynF,  brilliant idea about keeping nuts available as add-on fat to a meal.  I'll do that!

 

@LadyM, I had never heard that about magnesium - that's really interesting.  It explains why chocolate cravings come and go.  Do you use a dosage above what's in a daily vitamin?

 

It has been a crazy spring so far, @Megalinity.  We had almost 80 degrees here in NC, and I was excited this morning to see that many of my daffodils had opened.  I'll need to go collect a bunch for a vase later this morning so they don't get pummeled in the rain storm that's coming, but I guess that's spring.  I'm just glad the buds didn't all blast with the ice storm we had last week.

 

Hard to believe that on Friday we'll be half-way through!

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@RaceMom yes, I take an isolated magnesium supplement at night before bed. Folks around here recommend unflavored Natural Calm, but I use a supplement from my Functional Medicine Doc (been successfully working with her on lots of health issues).

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Chocolate craving is a cue that the body needs magnesium. That might be something to consider supplementing. Since I've started a daily dose of magnesium, my formerly beastly chocolate cravings have disappeared.

 

Also, congrats on the healthier "treat"--that must be a real turnaround. A friendly forewarning, though: if you find yourself reaching for that banana with nut butter at the end of a meal or between meals, it might be a crutch that keeps you from becoming fat adapted. Do what you need to do, of course; but I'm convinced that one of the things that kept me from losing weight during my first W30 was an overeliance on sweet but compliant things like fruit and nut butters.

 

It's the dessert part of my dinner or the fat portion in my breakfast some days! The 'some days' is key here - MAYBE 2 days a week I've been having one. I've been struggling to get enough fat in my meals since I discovered that avocado makes my throat itchy!! Eep! I'm pretty much sticking to coconut oil and butter and, sometimes, nuts. I really love almond butter, though, so it's a semi-struggle to keep it limited. I figure if almond butter is the least healthy thing I'm wanting, I'm doing just fine.

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It's the dessert part of my dinner or the fat portion in my breakfast some days! The 'some days' is key here - MAYBE 2 days a week I've been having one. I've been struggling to get enough fat in my meals since I discovered that avocado makes my throat itchy!! Eep! I'm pretty much sticking to coconut oil and butter and, sometimes, nuts. I really love almond butter, though, so it's a semi-struggle to keep it limited. I figure if almond butter is the least healthy thing I'm wanting, I'm doing just fine.

 

Almond butter is a fine fat choice some days. That part is completely fine. If you are thinking of it as dessert though I would think about that a little more. Whole30 is about changing relationships not just food items. Yes you are doing great if almond butter is the least healthy thing you want. How great would it be to also break the relationship of dessert after dinner too? It is just a difference in mindset. If after dinner you say..."I'm still a little hungry and I didn't have enough fat I think I'll have banana and almond butter." that is different than "dinner is over...time for my dessert". Does that make sense? Hope none of that comes across as nitpicky as I'm not trying to be, just offering some advice out of my desire to see everyone have the best experience possible with the program. :)

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Almond butter is a fine fat choice some days. That part is completely fine. If you are thinking of it as dessert though I would think about that a little more. Whole30 is about changing relationships not just food items. Yes you are doing great if almond butter is the least healthy thing you want. How great would it be to also break the relationship of dessert after dinner too? It is just a difference in mindset. If after dinner you say..."I'm still a little hungry and I didn't have enough fat I think I'll have banana and almond butter." that is different than "dinner is over...time for my dessert". Does that make sense? Hope none of that comes across as nitpicky as I'm not trying to be, just offering some advice out of my desire to see everyone have the best experience possible with the program. :)

 

My point with my post was only that almond butter is as sweet as I want to eat now that I haven't eaten things like cookies and ice cream for 12 days. I think perhaps y'all are reading too far into my desire for almond butter, and missing the part where I'm only eating it 2x a week. And maybe I didn't mention the amount I'm eating- only 1 tablespoon! 

 

Thanks for keeping me on track though! Somedays I could use the help  :D

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My point with my post was only that almond butter is as sweet as I want to eat now that I haven't eaten things like cookies and ice cream for 12 days. I think perhaps y'all are reading too far into my desire for almond butter, and missing the part where I'm only eating it 2x a week. And maybe I didn't mention the amount I'm eating- only 1 tablespoon! 

 

Thanks for keeping me on track though! Somedays I could use the help  :D

 

I totally got all that from what you wrote and I think it is fantastic! My moderator hat magically whips onto my head when I see the word "dessert" in a post that is all. ;) Keep up the great work!

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I totally got all that from what you wrote and I think it is fantastic! My moderator hat magically whips onto my head when I see the word "dessert" in a post that is all. ;) Keep up the great work!

 

It was a poor word choice. Sure some days it IS "dessert," but only in the sense that it tastes yummy WHILE filling that fat requirement and comes in the still-hungry-after-dinner phase. I'm super excited that almond butter I crushed myself which has NO added anything is something I could even remotely consider a "dessert". I'm the girl who used to say that if it had fruit, it wasn't dessert!

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I was out of the house far longer than expected yesterday and I ate my emergency Nakd bar (larabar in US) and was very very cross when I noticed on the wrapper as I threw it in the bin that the banana bread bar contains oats. Grrrr and double grrrr. Especially as it was the last one in the box of four that I have eaten since 1st March  :angry: Oh well - too late now and I won't be buying anymore anyway although they are handy to carry in your bag for emergencies. But 20% of 30g is a tiny amount so no real damage done. 

 

*read the labels before you buy and again before you eat*

 

Onwards! 

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On a very positive note my ugly fat cellulite-lumpy thighs are starting to look smoother already. The lumps and bumps aren't as prominent as they were last week. And I am pretty sure my face is starting to get some definition back after a 2 month carb fest since Christmas. Soon I will look like my profile pic again which was at the end of my first Whole30 in October. 

 

Day 13 is a lovely day on Planet Sharyn, early fog has gone although it's still hazy in the sunshine. Off to do an hour or so volunteering later then to the cinema. Parking my car out of town and walking in with my pedometer in my pocket. 

 

Almost hump-day  ;)

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SharynF: you probably know this by now but there are two types of Nakd bars: the ones with oats and the ones without (i.e. all they contain are dates and nuts). The ones without oats always have 'gluten free' on the packet. See here:

Non-Whole30: http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd-oatie-bars/

Whole30 OK: http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd-fruit-and-nut-bars/

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SharynF: you probably know this by now but there are two types of Nakd bars: the ones with oats and the ones without (i.e. all they contain are dates and nuts). The ones without oats always have 'gluten free' on the packet. See here:

Non-Whole30: http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd-oatie-bars/

Whole30 OK: http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd-fruit-and-nut-bars/

I certainly do know now TDC!! Thanks for the links, there are some flavours there I've not seen in the shops. I am off to Italy in May and want something to take with me in case the food is not so good. A box of Nakd bars would be a good, light option. 

 

Rhubarb and custard mmmmmmmmmm

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I would not consider this grounds for a restart. I would suggest you wait the additional days necessary to make it 30 days grain free to do a grain (gluten or non gluten as oats can easily be contaminated) introduction. You could start with dairy and legumes if those are on your list.  

 

Label reading is a learning process and it takes a while to engrave it to the brain. I've been a careful label reader for almost 2 years now and I still slip up from time to time so no hard feelings it happens to all of us. 

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