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3 meals a day only? No snacks?


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Hi all!

 

New to the forum and on week two of my Whole30 way of life.

 

I'm chatting with a friend and she just told me I've been doing it all wrong so far and should only be eating three meals a day only, no snacks- not even fruit.  

 

Maybe I overlooked it, but I didn't see that rule in the book.

 

I lead a very active lifestyle, I live in a city, so I walk everywhere and exercise/train regularly.  I wouldn't survive if I could only eat three meals a day and nothing else.

 

Anyone care to clarify?

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

C

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Three meals a day without snacking is not an explicit rule of the program. You could snack all day on compliant nuts and dates and still technically being doing a Whole30, but we highly, HIGHLY discourage that.

 

The focus on three template meals per day and no snacking is to give you the best opportunity to reset your hormones and eliminate problem behaviors like the hand-to-mouth grazing that a lot of us fall into. When building your meals, focus on the meal template which is 1-2 palms of protein, 1-2 portions of fat, and at least 1 cup of vegetables (but aim for 2-3). Your meals should be keeping you satisfied for 4-5 hours and, if not, you may need to adjust your portions. You may need to eat more than the template calls for depending on your activity levels.

 

If you're very active, you should also pay attention to pre- and post-workout snacks. Focus on fat and protein (like a hardboiled eggs) prior to activity and then, immediately after your workout, eat lean protein (egg whites, skinless chicken, etc.) and starchy carbs (sweet potato or other root vegetable). This will help give you the extra nutrition to support your training.

 

 

 

Editted to add: Here's a link on rules versus recommendations of the plan. http://whole30.com/2015/01/rules-recommendations/

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I train as much as 2 hours some days, but am usually good on 3 main meals and one post-workout meal. It took me awhile to make the adjustment, but it makes life much easier (and healthier) to be comfortable going 5 hours between meals. 

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It helps to gradually work away from it. I am an all day snacker, usually. I just tried to move my morning snacking to earlier until I am hungry enough to eat breakfast. Lunch is still difficult because I can't eat a lot at once but it gets better! It just takes retraining your body to understand when you should be hungry and when you just want to chew on something!

Best of luck!

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Go Cold Turkey with all snacking.   Edging down slowly with snacks won't help your blood sugar at all.   Like Tom Denham tells everyone....4-5 hours inbetween meals is optimum.   Snacking ruins everything, especially if you want Tiger Blood.   There's Sugar Blood and Tiger Blood.   The two don't get along very well....at all.

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Yes, the goal is no snacking.  If, during the time that you are working with yourself to determine how much you need to eat at each meal to get you 4-5 hours, you need to eat, make it a mini meal of at least protein and fat, ideally also veggies.

 

It may take you some time to figure out your exact right formula of protein, fat and veggies.  If you are hungry enough between meals that you would happily eat something bland like white fish and steamed broccoli, please eat a mini meal.  We're not into you walking around starving while you figure out how to get to 3 meals/day.

 

Also note that for some people, myself included, it is not possible to go from lunch to dinner (or breakfast to lunch) because it is up to 6.5-7 hours in between.  I eat a little mini meal of protein and fat about 2-3 times a week.  It's not for pleasure and it's not usually much but it stops me killing my husband the second he gets home, so..........  ;)

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