couture_my_body Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Hi! I'm new to all this and planning to start Whole30 for the first time next week. I just want to be clear. If I workout in the morning, say 5:30 AM. According to the program I am to have a pre-workout snack, then go workout, then have a post-workout snack, then have breakfast, then lunch, then dinner. For those who workout in the morning, it just seems like a lot of food in the morning? Like 5:15 AM pre-workout, say 6:45 post-workout, 7 AM breakfast... But then figure lunch isn't until noon and then dinner isn't until 7. Am I on the right track or missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted August 29, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 29, 2012 You are on the right track. The issue is that the demands of training warrant bonus meals; you need more calories when you workout. The purpose of pre-workout meals is not to fuel a workout, but rather to signal the body to prepare to release energy. By eating as little as a boiled egg or two (protein and fat), your body gets a hormonal signal that helps your body get up to speed. The purpose of the post-workout meal is to get protein to hungry muscles during the brief window they are especially receptive right after exercise. That window is open 15 to 30 minutes maybe, so you typically need to eat where you train. To keep digestion moving quickly, you need to avoid/minimize fat in the post-workout meal. Carbs in a post-workout meal are optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couture_my_body Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 Thank you for the quick response! But doesn't this leave me to being really hungry later in the day? Doesn't the space between breakfast and lunch (5 hrs) and lunch and dinner (7 hrs) seem huge? Or am I just not accepting the principal of this program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Quates Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 I'd like to hear the response to your last question as well! I'm having a hard time with the meal spacing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couture_my_body Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 I played around with timing a little bit and I think what I'll do is when I workout early in the morning, of course do pre-workout snack, workout and then post-workout snack, but then wait until 10:30 AM to eat my breakfast, 2:30 PM to eat my lunch and 7:00 PM to eat my dinner. I really think that's the only way to do it... That way 7 hours isn't going by where I'm famished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Strathdee Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 couture - That sounds like a great plan. 7 hours IS a long time to go between meals, so we'd probably recommend having a snack in that window anyway. You generally want to give it about 4 hours between meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted August 29, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 29, 2012 When I first began eating this way, I ate 5 to 6 meals per day. It took me two years to work down to 3 meals per day. When you've been eating like this for a while AND when you eat a big (protein and fat heavy) lunch, not eating for 7 hours until supper is not especially difficult. I do it a lot because I frequently participate in a yoga class at 6:30 at night and usually don't eat after lunch on those days. But it took me many months to become comfortable going 6 or 7 hours. So do what you can now and see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mich Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Hi Tom, just a quick question, when you say to took many months to be comfortable going 6 or 7 hours, did your body adjust and you didn't get hungry? I am finding just this week that I am hungry every 3-4 hours. I think this is hormonal and will pass but the end result is that I am eating more than I normally would. I've been on the whole30 for 13 days and it is only the last few days where I have felt more hungry more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lyon Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Could the greater feeling of hunger be a sign that your body is becoming more responsive to the food its consuming? I've found I had to play around with portion sizes to find what fitted for me. Add a little more to meals until I reached lunch without needing a snack or feeling low on energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted August 30, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 30, 2012 The biggest reason I ate 5 to 6 meals per day for so long was because I didn't know that spacing meals 4 or 5 hours apart was a good thing. I ate smaller meals than I do now and just ate them more often. Becoming comfortably fat adapted came pretty quick for me. I wasn't really looking for it, but I think it was by the time I finished my first 30 days or soon after. I just noticed that I no longer became fiercely hungry and mean when I didn't eat. I remember the first time I needed to fast from 9 PM until noon to have some blood work run... It was easy. I felt hungry, but it was not uncomfortable and I could go all day without being bothered. I used to have a reputation at work for becoming mean when I was hungry. If I was snarky, people would ask if I had had lunch and invite me to go eat. I was mean when I was hungry. I still feel hungry nowadays when it has been awhile since I've eaten, but it is much milder experience that does not influence my mood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couture_my_body Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Wow, thank you all for the amazing replies! Really helped and super supportive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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