Started January 1st - day 22 - Starving!

[theyreinwa]

Today is day 22. Normally I fill up on carbs at lunch and don’t eat much for the rest of the day. Ever since whole 30 I have not been full. Ever.

 

I am a small person (110 lbs) so I’m not doing this to lose weight. I’m doing it for the health benefits and the nutritional restart (as they say.)  Interestingly, I felt a little better (or healthier) in the first week but ever since, things have just gone blah. I am always hungry.

 

I am following the plan. I have not cheated and don’t think that eating more is the answer either. Does anyone else feel this way?

 

Here is what I am eating:

Preworkout: hard boiled egg

Postworkout: ¼ sweet potato and a can of tuna

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of salsa, and 2 cups of spinach

Lunch: 1 chicken breast, ½ tomato, ¼ cucumber, 6 almonds, and 2 slices of apple

Dinner: 1 chicken breast or ½ lb ground beef, 1 potatoe or sweet potato, and a giant salad that overflows my plate.

 

My concern is this. I am not just a little bit hungry. I am so hungry that all I ever think about is food. I feel like I could eat a horse so increasing something like 1 egg or more almonds or whatever isn't going to help. One day last week I tried adding a fourth meal in (homemade sweet potatoe fries and some cashews) and I was starving again 30 minutes later. I am craving things I have never craved.  I don’t understand.

 

I have 8 days left to go.

 

Edited: also I am very cranky about food in general. I hate everything about and I hate going out in public and looking at restaurants. I never use to care this much about food until I started Whole30.

[GlennR]

A few suggestions:

 

Up your starchy veggies. Try eating them every meal.

 

Can't tell from your list if you're getting adequate fat. Chicken breast is very lean, so additional fat (olives, avocado, EVOO, coconut milk, etc.) might be in order.

 

Speaking of chicken breast, maybe more of it (more protein in general) might help. The 1-2 palms of protein is a minimum; you can have more if you need it.

 

Try cooked veggies. It may look like a lot, but spinach and salads are not a lot of bulk. (Imagine squishing them into a ball; even a huge bowl won't take up much space.)

 

It's all about adjustment.

 

I get how the intense focus on food can make you cranky. (Personally, I rather enjoy giving food its due consideration -- to each his own.) But maybe you can think of it as basic training. Get it done and get it right and it becomes more and more automatic over time, so you don't have to think about it as much. It becomes second nature.

 

Good luck!

[ShannonM816]

I think GlennR has some good suggestions there. I also think since you don't need to lose weight, you might want to read this article about maintaining your weight during Whole30: http://whole30.com/2013/12/keeping-weight-whole30/

Try to incorporate some of these suggestions for the last few days of your whole30 and see if it helps at all. You definitely shouldn't be hungry, so hopefully you can figure out how to fix it. And I think when you're not hungry all the time, you'll probably also be less cranky about food.

[ladyshanny]

It's a hard thing to wrap one's head around but when you've done everything right "on paper" and you are still arm-chewingly-hungry, we feel like we're doing something wrong.  Only our bodies don't abide by "on paper".  If your body is sending you very obvious signals about its hunger, EAT.  Just because "one chicken breast should be enough" doesn't mean it is for YOU.  Further, if you came from somewhere less healthy and lacking in nutrients, your body may be seeing the influx of real food and rejoicing that it's getting proper fuel and it Wants More!

 

Seriously, eat food.  Lots of it.  Take that fourth meal you tried to add and put some protein in it, you were probably starving 30 minutes later because it was just sweet potato and nuts.  

 

It is entirely possible that you are one of those small framed people who can pack away food like a linebacker.  It's all real, whole, nutritious foods, embrace that and eat up.

 

How much water are you drinking?  We recommend to aim for half an ounce per pound of body weight.

[ultrarunnergirl]

I definitely notice that raw veggies & greens do not hold me if those are my only veggies for a meal. I mean, I eat a HUGE salad of spinach, peppers, carrots, broccoli, etc. and a good sized portion of meat but come dinner I'm always starving. I have to have another 'substantial' veggie to keep me satisfied.