Thoughts on how to get more calories...Pretty tired....

[bjcsoln]

Okay, we are day 28 into the whole food plan, and with the exception of one chocolate chip about 2 weeks ago we are sticking right on the plan.

6'5" 215lbs (to start), now around 195lbs.

Medium active - run (light) 2-3 times a week, beach volleyball (2 hrs) once a week, a lot of walking.

General results:

- 1st couple of weeks - energy levels definitely more stable - replaced Gatorade and power bar (for vball) with 1/2 liter of coconut water and cup of tuna/avocado mixture

- sleeping really well, concentration levels at work much higher

- by 4th week, starting to feel really dragged down - energy level really low, moody,

I am not feeling hungry all the time - usually only get hit with a severe craving around 11:30 and 6ish (so I feel like I am eating enough / satisfied). I drink probably around 1 to 1.5 liters of water a day (with a 500ml coconut water maybe every other day).

I have a feeling like I am just not getting enough calories - couple of calcs online show that I should be getting 2600-2900 a day, and I have a feeling I am getting around maybe 1500-2000?

Any thoughts? Should I just be trying to pack down more food during the meals, or in between?

Sample daily meal (see below):

Breakfast:

3 eggs scrambled (with ghee)

1/4 cup spinach, couple slices of onion, carrot

1/2 an avocado

1/2 palm extra protein like chicken, roast beef (leftovers)

Snack - 1/2 cup pecans

Lunch:

Palm size (maybe a little more) meat (chicken or beef usually)

1/3 cup sweet potato

1 1/2 cups of mixed vegies (carrots, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes)

1/2 cup mixed fruit (pineapple, melons)

Snack - 1/2 cup pecans

5ish:

1/2 coconut milk

1/2 cup raspberries / blueberries

tablespoon slivered almonds

Dinner:

1 1/2 palm sized protein portion

1/2 an avocado

1 cup mixed vegies

1/2 coconut milk

1/2 cup raspberries / blueberries

[Tom Denham]

Losing 20 pounds in 28 days is a fast pace. I lost just 2 pounds per month when I started. It continued for 15 months, but never faster than about 2 pounds a month.

I'm 6'2" and weight about 195 now. I do just 3 short sessions of kettlebell training each week, but a lot of yoga lately. I thought your breakfast would be enough to satisfy me, but not your lunch or dinner. If you feel satisfied by these meals, you might try converting your two afternoon snacks into a meal as big as your lunch or dinner so that you are eating 4 meals per day.

I ate 5 to 6 meals per day when I began the Whole30 approach to eating in 2010. I drifted down to 4 meals per day in 2011 and just got down to eating 3 meals per day routinely earlier this year.

By the way, I got down to 183, but changed my approach to exercise and now am up to 195. I've never measured, but I think I'm eating about as much now as when I was at 183.

[bjcsoln]

I wasn't actually expecting / wanting to lose the weight. My main goal for this was to actually get a more stable / consistent level of energy. I know I was carrying a few extra pounds around the waist / ass (which is now all gone...clothes are just hanging off).

I guess I can see if I can pack in a dinner around the 4-5 area and then follow that up with supper and just try and pack down the food.

It's definitely strange - I really feel like I am eating a lot more real food and am crapping less (so I think the food is actually getting used). In the next couple of days, we are going to start reintroducing a few things (little bits of cheese, maybe some greek yogurt, occasional slice of gluten free bread and plain peanut butter) just to see. Oh yea, and I will have a beer again during beach vball..

[Munkers]

What kind of protein are you eating? How lean is it? I made my way to Paleo via the 4 Hour Body routine and found myself really suffering due to how little fat I was consuming. I wasn't trying to limit my fat intake, but I was still stuck in the rut of chicken breast and other lean cuts. I started cooking my eggs in coconut oil or butter and switched to dark meat, skin-on chicken several times a week which made a huge difference.

Instead of focusing on calories, I would think about shifting your macronutrients a bit. With the exception of pineapple, all of your fruit choices are pretty low glycemic. It's entirely possible that you're not consuming enough carbohydrate to support your activity level. 1/3 cup of sweet potato is a pretty small amount--I'm about 50lbs lighter than you and less active (2x/week weight training, daily walking) and I'll easily down a cup of sweet potatoes with dinner in addition to whatever fruit/berries I eat that day.

Personally, I don't believe in force feeding. If you're not hungry, you're not hungry. Forcing yourself to eat, over time, teaches your body to stop paying attention to hunger/satiety cues and that's a road that leads right back to mindless eating, poor choices, and weight gain. Your body is pretty well-tuned to regulate its energy and nutrient needs and that's not a mechanism that you want to go mucking around with.