I'm facing a Log jam......

[DaddyWill]

I've been pretty much adhering to the JJ VIrgin or Paleo way of eating for about 18mos.  I've taken a break here and there and went back to wheat, grain, and dairy but it was obviously making me feel fat and bloated.
My partner and I have been following Paleo since the end of January and I saw Whole30 on Nightline and liked the idea of having support, and to be honest, I really wasn't all that into Paleo alternatives, ersatz muffins, pancakes and such.  For me that was like not smoking but using a nicotine patch.  I wanted to break the underlying habit.
My thing is that I just EAT!  I stick with the allowed foods and do have three basic meals, but I continue to snack and eat little meals all day.  I've done this all my life.  My alternative behavior to that has been unintentional fasting by just drinking coffee until late afternoon and then gorging.
Being that I'm not really concerned with weight loss, is it ok for me to just eat when I'm hungry, provided I don't eat restricted foods?

 

[kindergartencowgirl]

No snacking on the Whole 30. If you need to eat because you are genuinely hungry, it needs to be a "mini meal" that includes protein, carbs and fat.

[GlennR]

To elaborate: the idea behind having three main meals and avoiding snacking in between is so that the food you take in during your meal is more or less digested completely, including the carbs, fats, protein, etc. They are processed by the body at different rates, so if you snack in the middle, the digestion of some of the food you had eaten during your meal is interrupted, which disrupts your ideal hormonal/digestive rhythm.

 

This is why Whole30 strongly encourages sticking to main meals, eating according to the meal template and in sufficient portions to satiate you for 4-5 hours or until the next meal, and avoiding snacking in between. If you absolutely need to snack because you haven't gotten the hang of how much to eat during meals, then kindergartencowgirl's advice is spot on: make your snack a mini-meal instead of just fruits or nuts or carb.

 

One exception to all this is having pre- and post-workout meals if your workout is intense, long, or both. See the meal template for details.

 

I think if you try it this way, it will feel natural in a couple weeks or so. It gives you the best chance to have a successful and beneficial Whole30.

 

Good luck!

[Tom Denham]

Drinking coffee all day long can cause its own set of problems, but you might try drinking herbal tea throughout the day as a way to do something, but not snack. I used to drink a cup of herbal tea every hour. Now after having gotten into the habit of eating just three meals per day, I don't drink nearly as much herbal tea.