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...snacks when hungry


Alisonlcarver

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I am a 32 year old female, healthy, active, and thin, and I am doing my second whole30 (day 10 today). Even when I eat a satiating lunch high in protein, fat, and veggies, I find I am hungry for a snack about 3 hours later in mid-afternoon. I am legitimately hungry. I want to know whether snacking on a mini-meal is acceptable, or if I should just get through it and wait until the next meal. Often, I eat a pre-workout snack, go to the gym, and eat a post-workout meal around this time, and this helps me get through the mid-afternoon hunger, but I do not always exercise after work every day and am still hungry for a snack. Are snacks really bad and should they be avoided, or is the negative thinking about snacking more about the avoidance of grazing and mindless snacking? If snacking is to be avoided in this context, then I would need to eat a bigger meal, probably past the point of satiety, in order to fill myself up until dinner...I do not think this would be in line with the whole30 principles though. So I guess my options are 1. Eat lunch to satiety and eat a snack if hungry, 2. Eat lunch to satiety and do not snack even if hungry, or 3. Eat enough food at lunch to keep me full until dinner even if it is past the point of satiety. Thoughts??

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 I guess my options are 1. Eat lunch to satiety and eat a snack if hungry, 2. Eat lunch to satiety and do not snack even if hungry, or 3. Eat enough food at lunch to keep me full until dinner even if it is past the point of satiety. Thoughts??

You want to go with the option of building meals that keep you satiated for 4-5 hours. :)  Until you get there, if you are genuinely hungry in between meals (litmus test: you could eat something bland like steamed fish and broccoli), then have a mini meal of protein, veg and fat.

 

Also, be sure you're staying sufficiently hydrated: aim for at least 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of body weight, daily.

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Look at your fat sources and make sure you're getting enough fat. Remember that cooking fat tends to mostly stay in the pan so either make an effort to scrape all of it out onto your plate or make sure you add a fat source to your plate. You may also find that certain fats stay with you better that others. For example, I'm learning this week that avocado oil doesn't keep me as satisified for as long as coconut oil. My tummy's been rumbling since breakfast.

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I can build my breakfast to keep me full for 5-6 hours with no problem, but have a real problem with lunch. Maybe more fat and protein?

What are you consuming more of at breakfast that you aren't getting at lunch? Are your protein and fat servings larger? Are you eating cooked veggies at breakfast as opposed to salad green at lunch?  It's clear based on your breakfast that you can get 4-5 or more hours between meals if they are correctly balanced....so we need to figure out what your balance is!  :)

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Usually at breakfast I have a lot of protein (either eggs or chicken or leftovers from dinner) and a lot of fat (homemade mayo if I am eating chicken salad, sausage, nuts or nut butters, 1/2 avocado), with some veggies (usually cooked but sometimes raw) and occasionally a serving of fruit. At lunch I do tend to eat a higher proportion of veggies (mainly raw in salads), but still try to eat a serving of protein (4-5 oz. canned or baked salmon) with either 1/2 avocado or olives as my fat. I use olive oil no balsamic vinegar as my dressing.

Maybe it is out of habit, but my stomach grumbles and I don't know if I can make it until dinner with a rumbling tummy!

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Salad greens can be less filling than cooked veggies; once you chew them they lose almost all of their volume. Maybe try adding a more substantial veggie with your salad (throwing roasted beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, radishes etc into your mix) and maybe bump up your protein and fat just a smidge and see how you do.  Growling rumbly tummy is not generally a craving.

 

Are you drinking half an ounce of water per pound of bodyweight (ie, 120# gets 60oz water/day)?

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  • 4 months later...

Another question about snacking...

I know that we are supposed to use the template to create 3 meals including protein, veggies, and fat with occasional fruits and nuts. I know that these meals are supposed to fill us up for 4-5 hours without dips in blood sugar. Here is my problem though: I eat breakfast at 7am, and then eat lunch between 11am-12pm. 4-5 hours from this lunch time is 3-5pm, depending on which times you use. I don't really want to eat dinner at 3-5pm but since I am creating my meals to last for 4-5 hours, this is when I would expect to be hungry. When I work out, I can just eat a pre- and post-WO meal to tide me over until dinner...and this meal serves the dual purpose of filling me up and fueling my workout. But, I don't exercise every day (usually 2 days a week I rest). I don't know what I am supposed to do if I want to eat dinner around 6-7pm like a normal person, but my lunch is filling me up until anywhere between 3-5pm, depending on the time I eat lunch.

Thoughts on what I can do to bridge the gap between afternoon hunger and dinner? Should I snack if legitimately hungry or wait until dinner?

Right now I am on day 3 of my third whole 30, so maybe this is my body still figuring out this while fat-adapted thing. Should I just suck it up and see whether these afternoon hunger pangs go away, or give into my rumbling tummy? What is better for my hormones and my metabolism?

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Here is my problem though: I eat breakfast at 7am, and then eat lunch between 11am-12pm. 4-5 hours from this lunch time is 3-5pm, depending on which times you use. I don't really want to eat dinner at 3-5pm but since I am creating my meals to last for 4-5 hours, this is when I would expect to be hungry. When I work out, I can just eat a pre- and post-WO meal to tide me over until dinner...and this meal serves the dual purpose of filling me up and fueling my workout. But, I don't exercise every day (usually 2 days a week I rest). I don't know what I am supposed to do if I want to eat dinner around 6-7pm like a normal person, but my lunch is filling me up until anywhere between 3-5pm, depending on the time I eat lunch.

Simple. If you're hungry between 3-5pm and you don't want that to be your dinner, have a mini-meal of protein, carb and fat.

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Hey Alison,

 

You articulated pretty much the EXACT question I had about eating when hungry (not at template meal time).  Sounds like you and I are candidates for a 4th mini-meal.  In my case, my deal was going from M1 (breakfast) to M2 (lunch).  Fine if I work out during the noon hour (pre and post-WO tide me over) but not so much if I don't.  I solved it by increasing my breakfast with more protein (more eggs), more cruciferous veggies (i.e. broccoli or cauliflower vs. salad greens) and "fat you can chew" (coconut butter is more satiating for me than coconut oil).

 

You might want to see if added fatty protein (think chicken thigh vs. chicken breast) and/or added satiating fats (coconut cream or coconut butter vs. EVOO) in your lunch will get you all the way to supper on non-workout days.

 

Cheers,

 

-Lauren (GGG)

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GPChris,  why is it a carb and not just a veggie (which of course could be a carb)   Did I miss that in the book?  I always thought it was Mini meal period, I didn't know it was carb specific.

Proteins, Fats & Carbohydrates are the names of the macro-nutrients - it just so happens that in Whole30, for the most part, that when we refer to carbs we are generally talking about vegetables. A snack/mini meal should comprise at least two of the three macro-nutrients.

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GPChris,  why is it a carb and not just a veggie (which of course could be a carb)   Did I miss that in the book?  I always thought it was Mini meal period, I didn't know it was carb specific.

What jmcbn said. And, if one of your mini-meal macro-nutrients is a carb, you can have it be a fruit instead of a veggie.  This is on p. 79 of The Whole30 book. 

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