Forcing Myself to Eat

[Camillavilla]

Hi! I just started the Whole 30 on Sunday and so far have been doing great.  But I've noticed since yesterday that my appetite has dramatically decreased.  I'm not sure if it's because my stomach is shrinking, or if it's because my brain doesn't want healthy food (psychologically I'm going through leaps and bounds).  So far it hasn't been hard to refrain from anything unhealthy, but I feel different.  Not necessarily good, but not bad either.  

 

Anyway - my question is: have any of you gone through a complete loss of appetite?  I'm tracking my calories (even though I know it says those are irrelevant), and I'm only taking in 800 calories/day.  And to be fair, I am very short (5'1") and have a desk job.

 

Advice?  Stories?  Opinions?

 

Thank you!

[Brewer5]

I'm tracking my calories (even though I know it says those are irrelevant)

 

It doesn't just say calories are irrelevant.  A large part of the Whole 30 program is learning not to obsess about numbers.  That includes calories AND the scale.  Whether you think so or not, your eating habits and your relationship with food are different when you are tracking calories.  You are having to weigh and measure food, and that is not natural.

 

That being said -- 800 calories per day is not enough.  Are you following the meal template, including plenty of protein and healthy fats with each and every meal?  Keeping a daily food log here is a great way to stay accountable and to let others help out, if you are interested in suggestions.  Also, if you are consuming a lot of caffeine -- cutting back on that can help.  I just saw Tom tell someone the other day that coffee is an appetite suppressant & if you are drinking a lot of it, stop.

[ShannonM816]

It's not unusual to not feel like eating at some point during your W30, but I think the usual advice is to make yourself eat a meal at meal time anyway. Every meal should follow the meal planning template. Eat within an hour of getting up, and every 5 hours or so after that -- even if you eat on the small end of the template right now, make sure the meal includes protein, fat, and veggies.

 

For me, when the "I don't want to eat" moment hit, it was later in the 30 days, and was largely being bored with my food and being tired of cooking. I don't know if that could be going on this early on for you or not, but if it is, find some recipes you actually get excited to try and set aside some time to make them. It's great to keep things simple most of the time, food-wise, but sometimes mixing it up with something new can change your outlook.

[Camillavilla]

Are you following the meal template, including plenty of protein and healthy fats with each and every meal? 

 

I'm definitely eating enough healthy fats.  Avocados are a part of at least one of my meals per day (even if it's only a small portion), for instance. As for protein, I eat some kind of "meat" with every meal - except breakfast (generally I stick with eggs, sometimes throwing sausage/bacon in).  

 

It's not about what I'm putting in my mouth as opposed to how much.  I pack a great lunch, I simply can't eat it all.  And it's not because I'm full (at least it doesn't feel that way); rather, it's because my brain is telling me to stop.  Is this normal??  Should I just follow my body's notions?

 

For me, when the "I don't want to eat" moment hit, it was later in the 30 days, and was largely being bored with my food and being tired of cooking. I don't know if that could be going on this early on for you or not, but if it is, find some recipes you actually get excited to try and set aside some time to make them.

 

I don't think I'm bored with my food choices, necessarily.  It's became a little monotonous, but I certainly still enjoy the food I do  eat.  

[ShannonM816]

Is it that you eat part of your lunch, and then two or three hours later you're hungry again? That could happen if you're used to grazing throughout the day. If it's that, it's okay to eat more than three times a day, if you're hungry, just make sure each meal meets the template -- so if you take your lunch and only eat part of it, make sure you eat the protein, veggies, and fat sort of evenly, so if you go back and eat again later, you're still eating according to the template with some of each of those. 

 

If I'm totally misunderstanding, I'm sorry.

 

All I can think to tell you is, right now, especially if you're coming from a background of not eating healthy and not listening to your body's hunger/satiety signals, you need to be sure you eat. Eating regularly should cause you to want to eat regularly, although it might take some time. 

 

Hopefully someone with more experience can give you some more useful advice.

[healthyAbby]

I'm definitely eating enough healthy fats. Avocados are a part of at least one of my meals per day (even if it's only a small portion), for instance. As for protein, I eat some kind of "meat" with every meal - except breakfast (generally I stick with eggs, sometimes throwing sausage/bacon in).

It's not about what I'm putting in my mouth as opposed to how much. I pack a great lunch, I simply can't eat it all. And it's not because I'm full (at least it doesn't feel that way); rather, it's because my brain is telling me to stop. Is this normal?? Should I just follow my body's notions?

I don't think I'm bored with my food choices, necessarily. It's became a little monotonous, but I certainly still enjoy the food I do eat.

Whatdo you mean by a small portion of avocado?

[GFChris]

I'm definitely eating enough healthy fats.  Avocados are a part of at least one of my meals per day (even if it's only a small portion), for instance. As for protein, I eat some kind of "meat" with every meal - except breakfast (generally I stick with eggs, sometimes throwing sausage/bacon in).  

 

It's not about what I'm putting in my mouth as opposed to how much.  I pack a great lunch, I simply can't eat it all.  And it's not because I'm full (at least it doesn't feel that way); rather, it's because my brain is telling me to stop.  Is this normal??  Should I just follow my body's notions?

 

Instead of listening to your brain, listen to your body.  Use the Whole30 to help train yourself to notice when you are truly comfortably full and satiated. 

Per the meal template, the minimum avocado portion is 1/2 an avocado - make sure you're at least having that when you use that as your fat.  When eggs are your protein, the minimum serving size is the number of eggs you can hold in one hand.  When meats are your protein, the minimum is the length width and thickness of your palm.  Combine that with 1-3 cups of vegetables at each meal to round everything out.

[Brewer5]

I'm definitely eating enough healthy fats.  Avocados are a part of at least one of my meals per day (even if it's only a small portion), for instance.

 

See, I guess I don't see how you can definitely be eating enough healthy fats, and still coming in at only 800 calories per day.  Eating a "small" portion of avocado (?) during one+ meal per day does not really mean much to me.  We could all help more if you wanted to post what you are actually consuming, including drinks.

 

I regularly cook my four eggs in the morning in a full tablespoon of ghee.  That, to me, is definitely eating enough healthy fats.  For that meal.

 

I eat an entire avocado with a meal more often than I eat only half.  That meal also contains some fat from the meat and/or cooking oil, so that is another example of a meal with plenty of healthy fat.

 

If you are stopping eating because you are truly full -- then by all means, don't stuff yourself and make yourself sick.  But you do need to EAT.  I would really encourage you to stop counting calories, stop tracking, and just keep a food log here if you feel the need to document things and/or you want some feedback and encouragment.  There, you can share your thoughts, how you are feeling (if you want to), along with keeping track of what you are eating each day.  

[Camillavilla]

To all of the above: yes, it would be approximately half an avocado - sometimes only around 1/4 because I get full.  Or another example is a small handful of approved cashews/olives.  

 

Either way, I think I understand where you're all going with this and I sincerely appreciate all your feedback.  The food log section sounds like a fantastic resource that I will definitely begin using. 

 

And listening to my body seems like the healthy way to go.  No more logging calories.  If I'm full, I'm full- why question it?  

 

Thanks again!

[Lynn L]

After 2 or 3 days I began feeling the same way. I didn't want to eat (which is TOTALLY out of the norm for me.) I am now on day 21 and dinner is the only meal that I really dive into. I have been making myself eat more than I feel comfortable with for breakfast and lunch to stay on the template and only eat three meals a day (with the occassional snack). I feel like I am forcing the food down sometimes, but the one day I experimented and ate only what I was hungry for, by 2 p.m. I was ready to smite the entire world and fall asleep at the same time. I ended up eating a little and taking a nap and the world was right again!. So, now, I am eating a little more than I feel is right, but it keeps my blood sugar up. I did tend to graze throughout the day before Whole 30 because my blood sugar kept dropping. So, I guess I have to teach my body about eating three times only on most days.

 

Hang in there! I can tell you that your body will rebel, but you will start to feel like three meals a day is normal and actually makes you feel best.