Day 3, Need Advice

[Atreides]

Hi Everyone!

 

Today, I start my 3rd day of The Whole 30. The last couple of days have been interesting and I've already learned a lot. First of all, apparently my meals were insufficient. When you're so hungry that you're looking at napkins and thinking they'd be pretty good with some Rosemary and Avocado Oil, you've truly miscalculated your needs. I hope I've self-corrected, but here are my meals so far:

 

Day 1

 

Meal 1 - 2.5 eggs, 2 C mixed steamed vegetables drizzled with Avocado Oil

Meal 2 - chicken breast, 2 C roasted vegetables drizzled with AvOil, Mango

Meal 3 - grilled salmon, 1/4 C coconut milk, 2 C mixed vegetables

 

Day 2

 

Meal 1 - 2 eggs, 2 C sauteed broccoli, carrots drizzled with AvOil, Mango

Meal 2 - chicken breast, 2 C steamed mixed vegetables drizzled with AvOil

Snack - coconut milk

Meal 3 - chicken thigh, 2 C sauteed vegetables drizzled with AvOil, sweet potato, 1/4 C coconut milk

 

Day 3

 

Meal 1 - 2 eggs, serving of black olives, 2 C steamed vegetables drizzled with AvOil, Mango

 

So after meal 2 on day 2, I was ravenous within a couple of hours. The type of ravenous that would cause one to go to the store and just start eating everything in your cart before paying, including the cart. I got to the point where I was shaking, lightheaded, and generally in a very bad situation. One of the things I wanted to challenge myself to do with The Whole 30 was prepare all my food fresh. Mistake, big mistake. Having no prepared items to reach for meant that I couldn't create a decent mini-meal and things were grim. I ended up chugging down 1/4 can of coconut milk just to stop myself from shaking and feeling so horrible. Once I did that, I was completely not hungry. Go figure.

 

What did I learn from this? I thought I had prepared, I hadn't prepared enough. I now have sliced, cooked chicken in the fridge that I can reach for if I've miscalculated my needs. I'm also looking at my meals with a much more critical eye. They lacked enough fat to keep me going, and although I felt full after eating them, they just didn't hold me over for 5 hours. Meal 3 on day 2 was the adjustment. I made Cracklin Chicken from the Nom Nom Paleo site. Yum. And Yum. I threw in the starchy vegetable which I ordinarily wouldn't eat (must change my thinking). Dinner last night was very satisfying and held me over until this morning. I hope I'm moving in the right direction.

 

So aside from additional eyes looking at my meals and giving me some feedback, what is the advice I need? I read in the book that before starting The Whole 30, I should look 30 days ahead to be certain nothing was going to sink my newly floating ship. I did, but between family events, and upcoming holidays, there seemed to be no good time to start in the next 6+ months. I opted to start anyway because I want to be healthy now. So my question is this, if my 30 days is interrupted by something major (annual family trip to an amusement park), and there's really no 30 day block of time to get around these consistent interruptions over the next several months, is it not still a good idea for me to do as much as I can, then start over when my events have ended?

[GFChris]

On the meals feedback:

- I'd suggest upping your eggs. When eggs are your sole protein, the serving size is the number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand without dropping them. For most folks, that's 3-4 eggs.

- If you're genuinely hungry between meals, the recommendation is to have a mini-meal of protein, veg and fat.  

- I can't tell how big your other protein portions are, but be sure to aim for 1-2 palm sized servings a meal, where a palm is the length, width and thickness of the palm of your hand

With respect to your last paragraph, yes, follow the Whole30 for as many consecutive days as you can, and then if you get interrupted by whatever, resume when you can. 

 

[CaGirl]

I'd say your drizzle isn't a full serving of fat …   see how you feel tossing in a half  avocado  Or even a whole one for your fat.. you can still keep that slight drizzle on your veggies…