Hungry!

[RHThomas]

Hi

I am on day 4 of my first Whole 30. I am having an issue with feeling very hungry between my meals. I am primarily doing a Whole30 to try to kick my sugar habit.  I exercise about 4-5 days per week (Crossfit, though I am not an elite athlete). Here is an example of what I ate yesterday and I still felt like I needed something else to eat between lunch/dinner.  I know I am eating too much fruit but we got out CSA the day before I started and I can't let it go bad. 

 

Post Workout-Banana, Chicken thigh

 

Breakfast- Coffee with coconut milk, Egg scramble (2 eggs, pork sausage, spinach, onion, 1/4 chopped up sweet potato)

 

Lunch-Pulled pork, broccoli, spaghetti squash with 1/2 an avocado, a nectarine

 

Dinner-Chili over veggies cooked in coconut oil, watermelon. 

 

I ate cashews between breakfast and lunch and then a cup of zucchini soup between lunch and dinner because I felt so hungry. Is this something that will go away? I don't think I can eat more at meal times w/o over stuffing myself. Should I listen to my body and continue to snack?

 

Thanks!

 

[GFChris]

Meals look good (double-check to ensure the sausage is compliant).

 

I would change your post WO fuel and snacks.

 

The post WO recommendation is lean protein and carb. No fruit or fat.  Substitute something like sweet potato for the banana and a leaner protein choice than chicken thigh.

If you are genuinely hungry in between meals, the recommendation is to have a mini meal that includes a protein, veg and fat. Nuts are a fat source on a Whole30.  So a proper snack would be soup, nuts and add a protein in there.  

 

Play with the portion sizes of your main meals until you get them to satiate you for 4-5 hours. Try including a carb-dense vegetable daily.

 

Also, be sure you're drinking enough water, at least 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of your current body weight, daily.

[Tom Denham]

Sometimes you have to eat nourishing foods for a while before your body gets what it needs and some of the hunger eases. However, if you are doing CrossFit 4-5 times per week, our meal template recommends you eat 5 meals per day 4-5 times per week. Pre and post-workout meals and three more main meals. I assume you are hitting the gym first thing in the morning. You might try to eat a boiled egg as soon as you wake as a pre-workout meal to get a little more food in you for the day. 

 

http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

[RHThomas]

Thanks! I think I was looking at the pre and post workout meals as optional but I will incorporate them consistently now. 

[Brewer5]

feeling very hungry between my meals.

 

I am primarily doing a Whole30 to try to kick my sugar habit.

 

I think you will find that both of these issues will decrease greatly when you are able to cut out the fruit.  Starting your day with a banana sets you up for blood sugar swings for the rest of the day.