snacking

[minty]

Hi,

I'm on day 8. I have been tired and spacey the last few days. I find that I get hungry between meals. I work till 7 or 8pm 3 nights a week, and it's hard to go from lunch and wait till later to have dinner. I've been munching on almonds or a boiled egg or a paleo banana muffin (almond flour, eggs, bananas, chia, coconut oil, spices). This is my first time doing the Whole30 and I'm wondering if I'm missing something, or is it okay to have a snack if I feel hungry/light-headed.

 

Thanks for your help!

[ladyshanny]

Hi Minty!

 

We discourage "snacking" but encourage "eating".  

 

Snacking is hand to mouth, all day grazing and it is discouraged.  If you are having to go from lunch until around 8pm for dinner, of course you're going to need to eat.  We would recommend that you eat a mini meal of protein, fat and ideally also veggies.  If you are able though, can you bring a full sized meal to eat around 5-6pm and then either have nothign for the rest of the night or the mini meal when you get home? That's a long time to go between meals.

 

If you are hungry between meals, also have a mini meal but then start to use that information of hunger between meals to tweak your meals and make them larger so that you don't get hungry for 4-5 hours.

 

The paleo "muffin" you describe would not be compliant on Whole30, part of our SWYPO, No Baked Goods rules (see the rules linked in my signature below).

[minty]

Thank you for the clarification.The muffins will stay in the freezer or be shared with my gluten-free friends.

 

I have been doing the snack as a mini meal and not continuously through the day.

I find that sometimes I cannot eat as much at a sitting. I feel full, but then am hungry in a few hours. I've tried twice this week to eat a mini meal before walking home in the evening. I often walk to work - up and down a hill - 2 miles one way, carrying my stuff in a small backpack. I do classes 2x/wk, plus walks/hikes of 5 - 8 miles weekly. Is there a rule of thumb (no pun intended) about what levels of activity or exertion would warrant a small pre- or post-workout meal?

 

 

 

[jmcbn]

Pre & Post WO meals are fairly personal & relative to intensity of the workout.

If I'm training first thing in the morning I always take a preWO & postWO as the session is usually intense & I found that about two weeks in training fasted just wasn't going to work for me.

If I'm training in the evening I'll judge it on how hungry I am, & how intense  the session will be.

I'll only eat postWO in the evening if I know I have enough time to also eat meal three before going to bed.

MOst hikers I know seem to take something on board as they hike rather than before starting.

It's something you can play around with, but stick to the recommendation of protein & fat for PRE, and protein & carbs (but not fruit) POST.