HOW MUCH Can I have... starches?

[Rita B.]

I'm on Day 13, have read the success guide and ISWF. I'm confused about the amount of starch I need. I feel great until late in the afternoon when I hit a slump around 5 or 6 until I have dinner. As I make dinner, I tend to snack on turkey slices/ olives / maybe a few raisins. Should I be including starches with every meal? Just lunch maybe?

Typical day:

Meal 1 - 2 omelet muffins with homemade ground pork sausage and usually a veg (broccoli, spinach, etc)

bell pepper strips, 5 or 6 olives

Meal 2 - 1/2 grilled chicken breast with large mixed salad (lots of greens, avocado, olives, carrots, bell peppers, olive oil and vinegar and lemon juice)

Meal 3 - Typically larger protein "entree" (pork chop, roasted chicken, steak, fish) with two large vegetable sides (kale or collards and cauliflower, sweet potato, zucchini)

I cook with olive oil, coconut oil, and ghee.

I posted a few days ago. Hubby feels awesome and I feel kind of blah, but admittedly better than before Whole30 started.

I need instruction and encouragement. I want to feel like I'm doing this "correctly."

[JimS]

There's nothing wrong with W30 approved starchy vegetables, so don't feel like you need to cut out or severely restrict them, even if you're not very active. Just be aware that your need for starchy veggies has a lot to do with your activity level, goals, and other individual factors that require some tuning over time. How much exercise do you typically get? What are your W30 goals?

Here are a few hypothetical examples with ideas for starting points for starch in the diet:

• not much exercise, trying to lean out: limit starches and stick with less caloric, nutrient dense veggies
  
• work out 3x / week, want to lose a few pounds: add some starchy veggies (squash, sweet potato, etc) on workout days as required to support the activity
  
• endurance junkie, runs several times per week, fairly lean: add a good amount of starchy veggies to support workout load and recovery
  

We're all different... so just play around with it and see what works for you.

[Robin Strathdee]

There's nothing wrong with a little starch at every meal, though if you aren't very active (not just "exercise" persay, even being on your feet all day adds to your body's workload) you won't need as much to support your energy levels. I would start with adding a little more starch at lunch for a few days and seeing if that helps. Then you can always increase or decrease if you see/don't see any improvement.