Struggling with only three meals a day

[FitStefTx]

I am constantly hungry and tired and cranky. I'm on day four and haven't been able to only eat three meals (+ pre and post workout meals on days I workout). Today was the closest I got but I'm not supposed to eat for two more hours and broke down and ate a couple servings of cashews.

Where do I start?? I know how big my portion sizes should be if I'm eating 5 or 6 meals a day. But if I eat more than that, my stomach gets too full and I want to keep eating (weird, I know).

Does this make sense to anyone? Any suggestions?

[ShannonM816]

If you're used to eating 5-6 meals a day, you may not be able to eat three meals a day at first, and that's okay. Think of three meals a day as a goal for you to work toward. (Unless there's some physical reason you won't ever be able to eat that much at once, which is the case for people who have had weight loss surgeries or have some medical conditions.)

 

One suggestion is to make up a full template-sized meal with at least 1 palm-sized serving of protein, at least 1 thumb-sized serving of fat, and then 1-3 cups of vegetables. Eat what you can of that, eating from the protein, fat, and veggies fairly evenly, and then when you're full, stop eating and set the rest aside. When you get hungry, go back and finish the rest of the meal. This way, you're definitely getting protein, fat, and vegetables each time you eat. Over time, you'll probably find that you eat more of the meal initially and leave less, and eventually you'll be able to finish the whole thing at once.

 

Even if you don't do that, if you are hungry between meals, eat a mini-meal of protein, fat, and vegetables rather than something like nuts or fruit.

[FitStefTx]

Thanks! I like that plan. And it is good to remind myself that I haven't failed because I can't eat three meals. Ha! Thinking of it as a goal to work towards is nice.

[Tom Denham]

I ate 5 meals a day frequently during my original Whole30. It took me awhile to learn how to compose meals that kept me satisfied long enough to live comfortably on three meals per day. The key with this practice is to make sure you are eating real meals with protein, fat, and veggies. You should exclude nuts and fruit during this period because they are the classic snack foods that get in the way of eating real food.

 

By the way, my meal 2 and 3 are typically double the size of a basic template meal. In other words, I typically eat two palms of protein. And when the template says fill your plate with veggies, I heap my plate full of veggies so that the mound is at least 1 inch deep and sometimes approaching 2 inches deep across the whole plate.

[FitStefTx]

Thank you again for this too. I am glad someone explicitly mentioned that I should stay away from fruit and nuts at first. Way too easy to overeat. (Really sweet, fresh-cut pineapple???!)

What I'm used to with my 5-6 meals a day meals, is about a palm of protein and about a cup of veggies, plus some kind of rice or quinoa. I guess I will start with more veggies and work from there! Thank you again very much!

[ladyshanny]

What I'm used to with my 5-6 meals a day meals, is about a palm of protein and about a cup of veggies, plus some kind of rice or quinoa. I guess I will start with more veggies and work from there! Thank you again very much!

Make sure you include fat also!