Day 1: Concerned about fat (both getting enough & overdoing it)

[querida]

Hello W30 peeps!

 

I've been interested in nutrition and a "good eater" for the last 10 years or so. Hearing that grains and beans are inflammatory for the body, and that eating a fair amount of animal protein isn't, has been a massive paradigm shift for me. So I'm trying it out for myself.

 

I'm embarking on the Whole30 extremely confident that I can handle this challenge, since I already have a fresh produce-heavy diet, go super light on dairy/sugar and gave up refined grains years ago.

 

One motivation for doing a Whole30 is to figure out how to eat the right amount of good fat. I have often found myself unable to go more than 4 hours between meals, which I'm now suspecting was for lack of fat (and perhaps a large enough portion of animal protein). I've typically added fat to meals, or bridged the time between meals, with nuts/seeds.

 

So on one hand, I'm concerned that I'll underdo the amount of necessary fat in a meal and get hungry quickly, and on the other, I'm concerned that I'll lean too heavily on nuts/seeds out of habit and get too much fat that way. I'm hoping to lose some body fat by doing this, and I'd hate to sabotage that. I'm sure I'll find my balance, but if anyone has any pro tips to share, I'll take 'em!

 

(I should mention that I have the meal planning template taped to the inside of my kitchen cabinet (pretty sure I get it too) and that I'm aware that between-meal hunger may subside as my body adjusts to the W30.)

[Brewer5]

I'm concerned that I'll lean too heavily on nuts/seeds out of habit and get too much fat that way.

This one is easy.    Cut them out for awhile.

 

Nuts & seeds are totally optional on this program.  And they are easily overeaten.  IMO, the best way not to find yourself relying on them is to take them out of the picture.  Once you are confident that you are doing things right with the meal template, and you are able to go 4-5 hours between meals because you are making your meals big enough and properly balanced -- then experiment with adding some nuts/seeds to your meals, if you wish.

[Tom Denham]

I agree that you can do a great Whole30 without nuts and seeds. 

 

I get a good dose of fat with my whole eggs at breakfast, both from the eggs and from the tablespoon of cooking fat that I scramble them with. Currently I am using lard as my cooking fat, but I usually use a coconut oil/ghee blend.

 

I don't shy away from fatty cuts of meat like chuck roast or ribeye steak. When I make salmon or tuna salmon, which is 3-5 times per week, I sometimes add a can of olives and sometimes add an avocado to the mix. 

 

I make my own mayonnaise. Tonight I slathered some on the red bell pepper I was eating while I waited for my carrots to steam and my leftover roast to get hot. 

[GlennR]

My $.02: You've got a lot of leeway between not enough and too much. If you have the minimum per meal per template (1-2 thumb-size of cooking oil, or 1-2 thumb-size of butter, etc.) on the one hand, and are not, you know, guzzling gallons of lard on the other, most anything in between is not really harmful once you're a fat-burning machine. For reference, consider that the Inuit could go for weeks eating virtually nothing but fat (blubber) when the winters were harsh and they had nothing else but their emergency rations.

 

I'm not recommending this, of course, but it illustrates that your body adapts to burn more of it if necessary. So, for example, doubling the template minimum at times, is not a big deal. I do that whenever the mood hits and I chow down on a huge, marbled steak.

 

I think cutting out seeds and nuts may be a good idea to avoid their anti-nutrients, but not because they have a lot of fat.

[tracilee77]

I started Paleo march 3rd and wasn't sure how much to actually eat with each meal prior to Paleo I was eating 5-6 meals a day and read that most people ate only 3 on Paleo.  So my first week I spent time changing quantities until I felt I ate enough to fill me up but not enough to stuff me.

 

I am on day 3 of my first Whole30, cutting out honey, coconut sugar and dark chocolate.  Everything else was cut out 2 months ago.  For breakfast the past 2 2 days I have had 2 eggs with 3 slices of bacon (sugar free) with a banana and that has seemed to help fill me up. I used to chew gum a lot between meals or mints and the first 2-3 weeks of paleo I found it hard to not chew gum/mints.  So I brought my toothbrush, mouth wash and dental floss to work, now when I get the urge to eat between meals I brush my teeth, I no longer want food after that.

Good luck!

[ABS32013]

Does that breakfast keep you full for 4-5 hours?  According to the meal template, a serving of eggs is the number you can hold in one hand, which seems to be 3-4 for most people.  Also, fruit is ok on a W30, but it shouldn't push veggies off your plate.  I know it can be hard to get used to the idea, but to get the best results from your W30, you're going to hear from a lot of people that you should eat veggies at every meal - at least 1-2 cups' worth. 

 

I'm not trying to tell you how to eat, and if the breakfast you've been having satisfies you, then that's fine.  Often folks are a bit too restrictive at first (hard to shake those old dieting ideas), which I believe can hamper your transition to a fat burning machine!  For me, that breakfast would be skimpy, and the sweet banana first thing in the morning would make me feel snacky all day.  But that's me, not you ;-)

 

On the number of meals thing - have you read ISWF?  It explains why the number of meals is important hormonally.  Perhaps someone will chime in with a link to posted information about this also.

[tracilee77]

Alyson, I'm reading the book now. I'm about half thru. My breakfast fills me up usually for 4-6 hours, sometimes I add spinach or zucchini to my eggs but didn't this morning. Yesterday I ate the same bfast and had to force myself to eat lunch about 6 hours later mainly because I knew I needed to eat.

I ran 2 miles this morning then ate a sweet potato with ghee and cinnamon then ate bfast a few hours later. I read on the plan to eat after workout. I wasn't hungry but ate to eat. I definitely eat more than I did when dieting, and eat 3 meals a day unless I workout then I eat after a workout. I am satisfied all the time, no cravings probably the 2 past months of paleo have helped with that I'm hoping to have no real issues with whole30 seeing I already went thru the carb flu in March!

Traci

[Brewer5]

I ran 2 miles this morning then ate a sweet potato with ghee and cinnamon then ate bfast a few hours later. I read on the plan to eat after workout.

Just a tip (which you will read in the book) -- try not to have much fat in your post-workout meal.  Fat takes longer to digest and will slow down that sweet potato getting to your muscles to refill your glycogen.  And ideally, include some protein.  Even if you aren't hungry.  Next time maybe have 1/2 sweet potato with cinnamon (or a whole ~ sweet potatoes come in ALL shapes & sizes, so you be the judge) -- anyway, add a hard boiled egg or two, a leftover burger you have in the fridge, whatever.

[GFChris]

Just a tip (which you will read in the book) -- try not to have much fat in your post-workout meal.  Fat takes longer to digest and will slow down that sweet potato getting to your muscles to refill your glycogen.  And ideally, include some protein.  Even if you aren't hungry.  Next time maybe have 1/2 sweet potato with cinnamon (or a whole ~ sweet potatoes come in ALL shapes & sizes, so you be the judge) -- anyway, add a hard boiled egg or two, a leftover burger you have in the fridge, whatever.

Right, and to this point, we don't recommend a hard boiled egg post WO, because the yolk in the egg is considered a fat.  Lean protein and veg carb is the post WO recommendation.  Many go for chicken or tuna as their protein choice here.

[Brewer5]

Right, and to this point, we don't recommend a hard boiled egg post WO, because the yolk in the egg is considered a fat.  Lean protein and veg carb is the post WO recommendation.  Many go for chicken or tuna as their protein choice here.

So is the fat in an egg only considered a fat Post-Workout?  

 

What I mean is, when I cook myself 3 eggs with veggies as a regular meal (or when I have my 2 scrambled eggs plain on a workout morning), I am still adding a decent amount of pastured bacon grease as my fat with that meal.  Is that not necessary?

[GFChris]

So is the fat in an egg only considered a fat Post-Workout?  

 

What I mean is, when I cook myself 3 eggs with veggies as a regular meal (or when I have my 2 scrambled eggs plain on a workout morning), I am still adding a decent amount of pastured bacon grease as my fat with that meal.  Is that not necessary?

 

Again, it's all about satiety. 

 

Remember, you're not consuming all the bacon grease in your cooked eggs - some of that is being left behind in the pan.   If your meal is 3 hard boiled eggs and 3 cups of steamed veggies, and you're hungry 2-3 hours later, and/or your energy is lacking, I'd suggest adding something like 1/2 an avocado to see if that keeps you satisfied for closer to 4-5 hours afterward.

[querida]

Thanks everyone. Since I get my animal protein strictly from eggs, chicken, fish & other seafood, I feel like I would go crazy from lack of variety if I cut out nuts/seeds completely. At the moment I'm feeling into how to limit my fruit intake (no morning smoothie?? OMG!). I'll watch the nuts and perhaps later in the 30 days I'll see how it is to go without for a day here and there. 

 

I'm seeing that one of my biggest learnings here is going to be how to bust out of my very limited repertoire of preparing chicken, fish and seafood. Nothing like necessity to push you in new directions. Score!!

[missmary]

I'm seeing that one of my biggest learnings here is going to be how to bust out of my very limited repertoire of preparing chicken, fish and seafood. Nothing like necessity to push you in new directions. Score!!

 

I love how you see this as an exciting challenge not a dastardly chore. Nice job.

 

On fat, I really find eating this way helps me self-regulate. If I have "extra" fat at one meal, I simply won't be as hungry at the next one. Eventually everything balances out. The template (a "thumb" of fat per meal) is really intended as a minimum. Get at least that amount, and if it gets you to the next meal without hunger, you are all set. If you personally find you need a bit more to make it from meal to meal, make that your minimum and carry on. The maximum should take care of itself with reduced hunger as you go through the day.

 

That said, some people struggle with nuts and seeds in particular--something about them makes it easy to ignore hunger cues and just keep eating. Those I would watch more carefully, maybe portioning out a certain amount to eat with a meal, but making them off limits at other times. Personally, I've found most nuts give me a stomach ache (even or especially my beloved almond butter packets), and over time it has been "worth it" less and less often. I might add nuts or seeds as a garnish occasionally, but they aren't really a staple food for me anymore.