MrsMcG Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Good morning, I am on day 14 of my Whole30 and since about day 3 my cravings have been nonexistent. I've finally gotten my portions figured out so that I can eat enough at each meal to keep me from feeling hungry between meals so I have eliminated snacking, yay! However, the last few nights I have found that I am still hungry after dinner. I don't think it's the sugar dragon because as I said the cravings are gone. However, last night and the night before I ate fruit and a spoonful of almond butter after dinner. I know fruit and nut butters are not an ideal snack, but I'm wondering how much of an issue this is and if I should be doing something differently. Here's a typical day of eating for me: Breakfast - Coffee with ghee & coconut oil, 2-3 eggs, spinach, 1/2 avocado Lunch - Chicken breast, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, unsweetened coconut flakes Dinner - 2 Aidell's apple chicken sausages, about 1/4 of a small potato tossed with olive oil, onions and peppers, blackberries, handful of raw cashews I am drinking a TON of water (about 100 oz a day give or take) in addition to a cup of mint herbal tea once or twice a day. I will occasionally have a coconut water if I'm feeling really thirsty or low energy (the electrolytes seem to make me feel better?) I work out in the mornings before breakfast; I do Insanity and I know from experience that I can't eat before my workout. First of all, I get up at 5 a.m. as it is and can't get up any earlier without being seriously sleep deprived, and also I have never been able to tolerate food before a workout of any kind; I end up getting nauseous and can't finish the workout. I do eat breakfast within 30 minutes of finishing my workout though. Any thoughts on where this evening hunger could be coming from? How should I handle it? I feel like I am eating plenty; I make sure to get plenty of healthy fats and I have moved fruit to my evening meal to avoid the sugar crash that happens if I have it with breakfast. What am I doing wrong?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMcG Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Whoops sorry - with my dinner I also have 1 - 2 servings of vegetables in addition to the onions and peppers that I eat with the potatoes. Last night it was green beans and jicama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misshannah Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 If I were doing a workout called INSANITY I'd likely need more starchy veg. Why just 1/4 of a small potato? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted June 16, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 16, 2015 You are not eating enough. On days you workout, you are due two bonus meals - one before and one after working out. You are skipping them. You are combining your post-workout meal and breakfast, but your breakfast is actually too small as a breakfast. The number of eggs you should be eating is as many as you can hold in one hand. Two is not enough. Three might be right, but since you are combining two meals, you should be thinking four eggs. It takes a bucket of spinach to produce much bulk, so you are probably light on veggies too. Coffee is an appetite suppressant, so drinking coffee at breakfast makes you feel satisfied too easily. An ideal post-workout meal is lean protein and a starchy veggie like sweet potato. By eating eggs, you are including a good dose of fat. That is important overall, but not good for feeding hungry muscles after a workout because it slows digestion. The coconut flakes are the only fat in your lunch. Chicken breast meals often set me up to get hungry sooner rather than later. Your dinner might be okay if you ate a whole potato and 2-3 cups of veggies with the protein. You are adding cashews with your dinner I guess to get some fat. Oddly, nuts are not as effective as other fat sources in my experience. They somehow do not satisfy as deeply as other foods. You should look at eating fattier cuts of meat, chicken, or fish to make your meals more substantial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munkers Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 My first thought was that the fruit/nut butter snack is often a sign of lingering sugar cravings and not necessarily hunger. My next thought was that your breakfast looks light in the protein department and although you're incorporating starch with dinner, a quarter of a small potato is next to nothing. Then I got to the part about doing Insanity each morning. You're hungry because you're underfueled. Do your workout, eat a post work-out meal of lean protein and starchy carbs, shower/dress/get ready for the day, and then have your meal 1. Eat TONS of veggies with breakfast. Greens cook down to a very small volume and aren't always as satiating as you'd like them to be. Remember that your serving of eggs is as many whole eggs as you can hold in one hand without dropping and that's your minimum amount. You can eat double that amount of eggs if it makes you happy and you're hungry for it. Or you can add a second non-egg protein like homemade sausage. Try eating the whole potato at dinner and see where that gets you. You may also benefit from additional servings of starchy veg with either breakfast or lunch. As for the coconut water, it's perking you up because of the sugar, not the electrolytes. While compliant, it's not always the best choice because it can still cause spikes and fluctuations in your blood sugar which impacts both energy and hunger. You'll have to figure out where to draw the line on how often and on what occasions. If electrolytes are what you're after, you'll get lots by eating a good meal and making sure that you salt to taste. Added salt is very important when eating a whole food-based diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMcG Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Thanks for the input! I guess all those years of sticking religiously to 1200 calories a day really warped my thinking about how much food is "enough". I feel like I am eating a ton of food every day! I sometimes add the other half of my avocado to my lunch, so that would help up the fat content of lunch. I'll add some more veggies to dinner as well. I often have nuts in the evening because after ghee, coconut oil, avocado, and coconut flakes I have a hard time thinking of anything else as a fat source! I will try to add a few more eggs to my breakfast. Any suggestions on starchy veggies other than sweet potato? I have tried so hard to like sweet potatoes but they are one of the few foods I just cannot eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted June 16, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 16, 2015 I'll add some more veggies to dinner as well. I often have nuts in the evening because after ghee, coconut oil, avocado, and coconut flakes I have a hard time thinking of anything else as a fat source! I will try to add a few more eggs to my breakfast. Any suggestions on starchy veggies other than sweet potato? I have tried so hard to like sweet potatoes but they are one of the few foods I just cannot eat. How about olives by the handful? Fattier cuts of meat (rib eye, properly raised chicken with the skin on) Starchy veggies: turnips, white potatoes, rutabaga, winter squash (acorn, butternut), carrots, beets, parsnips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyrea84 Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I guess all those years of sticking religiously to 1200 calories a day really warped my thinking about how much food is "enough". I feel like I am eating a ton of food every day! I definitely feel you on this!!! I did 1200 calories a day for almost two years and lost 35 pounds doing it. I now have a somewhat skewed view of what a "big meal" is. I've done well eliminating my after dinner snacking and snacking on all the goodies in our break room, but apparently haven't mastered the correct meal size. Glad to know I'm not alone!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMcG Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 I definitely feel you on this!!! I did 1200 calories a day for almost two years and lost 35 pounds doing it. I now have a somewhat skewed view of what a "big meal" is. I've done well eliminating my after dinner snacking and snacking on all the goodies in our break room, but apparently haven't mastered the correct meal size. Glad to know I'm not alone!! Definitely not alone!! I don't count calories on Whole30 because I know it's a big no-no, but years of counting calories and learning to eyeball portion sizes gives me a rough idea of how many calories I'm eating even if I don't track it in an app like I'm used to doing. I swear the hardest part of Whole30 is changing my thinking! At least once I day I have the thought "I'm eating way too many calories. I'm going to gain weight" and I have to consciously redirect my thinking and challenge that thought. I had no idea how deeply the low-cal low-fat idea was etched into my brain!! My husband has been saying for years "you're not eating enough food. You're starving yourself" and I would say "then why am I still 30 pounds overweight??? If I'm starving I should be skinny by now!!!" and would continue eating my "healthy diet" of whole grains and lowfat dairy. Sigh. Better to learn now than never I suppose :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyrea84 Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 MrsMcG, keep me updated on how you're doing...sounds like we're in somewhat similar situations! Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMcG Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 If I were doing a workout called INSANITY I'd likely need more starchy veg. Why just 1/4 of a small potato? The potato was actually sautéed with the onions and peppers so I just estimated about how much it was ... We are having the leftovers tonight so I will try to have a bigger serving and see if that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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