Jump to content

I'M STARVING! Help!


Recommended Posts

  • Administrators

Can you give us a run down on your day of eating so far?  It's hard to give tips or tweaks without knowing what you've been doing.  To guess, I'd say you need to eat more. 

 

Check the template below and note that when breastfeeding we recommend at least 4 full meals per day and whatever in between eating you need to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's what I've eaten today so far:

 

Breakfast: Two eggs scrambled

half a granny smith apple (I gave the other half to my husband)

and a plum

 

Snack: Cashews (I'd say about a cup)

and some grapes

 

Lunch: Chicken fajita bowl (I felt like I hadn't eaten anything after this)

 

Then I ate a banana and I'm currently munching on some carrots.

 

For dinner we are having salmon, asparagus and red potatoes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Hoo boy. I'd be half starved if that's all I ate in a day and I am not also keeping another human being alive with my body.

 

Have you seen the meal template?

 

Every meal:

1-2 palms protein (length, width, thickness of your palm or, when eggs, as many as you can hold wihtout dropping....at least 3-4)

1-3 cups veggies (1 is OK, 2 is better, 3+ is optimal)

1-2 thumbs fat (or half to whole avocado or heaping handfuls olives)

**we also recommend at least one fist sized serving of starchy veggie per day, probably 2 servings until you start to feel better.

 

You should be repeating that template at least 3 times a day but more like 4 or 4 and a half.

 

An example on how you could tweak your meals:

 

M1: 4 eggs, scrambled with spinach, bell peppers & onion, topped with whole avocado, tea "latte" with coconut milk

M2: 1.5 full chicken breasts, 2 cups sauteed chopped green beans over a small sweet potato (or half a large) and cherry tomatoes alongside.  Healthy dollops of homemade mayo over the whole thing 

M3: 2 palms salmon, 15-20 spears asparagus drizzled w/ ghee, fist sized serving red potatoes, two heaping handfuls garlic stuffed olives

 

If you are going to snack (which is fine because you are nursing), try to make your snack a protein/fat combo (think hardboiled egg & mayo or chicken thigh & guacamole or meatballs & olives).  Sip on a can of coconut milk during the day to keep your fat intake up.

 

Eat more food.  You are keeping a human alive with your body.  You cannot do that on two eggs, half an apple, a plum and some chicken fajita mix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Lol What I've eaten today is actually a lot of food for me! Usually I don't eat a ton. I feel like I may go broke eating all of that though. :/ We have an incredibly tight grocery budget.

What did you used to eat before Whole30?

If you're trying to breastfeed and sustain yourself, the basic fact of the matter is that you're going to have to eat... a lot...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

There are lots of people who have done Whole30 on a strict budget.  It was before my time as a mod but there was a lady who did it on a Social Security pension.

 

Eggs and canned fishes are excellent and inexpensive options to help you get your protein requirements in (protein usually being the most expensive).  Try to go for seasonal veggies where you can but frozen or canned are also options.  

 

Here are some links that might help:

 

http://whole9life.com/2011/01/paleo-poor-your-guide-to-the-grocery-store/

http://forum.whole9life.com/tags/forums/budget/(<-- this is any post on our forum that was tagged with "budget", there are quite a few to click through while you're breastfeeding)  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My usual eating looks like this:

 

Breakfast: bagel and possibly some fruit

 

Lunch: Chicken something or other. I have two other kids so my lunch usually consists of munching on whatever is extra that I make for them.

 

Dinner is usually always: meat, potatoes (or rice) and a veggie. Dinner is always my biggest meal of the day.

 

I usually don't snack or have time to honestly!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whole30 doesn't have to cost a fortune, I do it on an incredibly small budget...a close friend jokes that I spend less in a week (£30 in Britain for 2 is not much at all) for myself and my son than she spends on her and her daughter in 2 days.

I cook whole chickens or joints of meat and use the carcasses and bones for stock. I use the stock to make vats of chili and ragu stuffed with veg to make the meat go further and trays of lasagna (with courgette ribbons), cottage pies, moussaka and so on. I roast trays of in season or on offer veg and sweet potatoes and squashes. I don't plan meals but I do bulk cook. I don't buy ready made much at all (frozen burgers sometimes)

I also grow some veg outside.

If I have extra money we'll eat steak or prawns or duck (I've sewed my fingers to the bone the last month so I do have a bit extra) but the main stay of our diet is my mothers, nannas and my own adapted recipes.

My mother laughs that I cook the way she did as a newly wed mother in the 70s..and her mother in the 40s before her. But that's really where I learnt to cook!

Not much gets wasted round here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read through some of the budget posts. It kind of makes me worry honestly. I spent $40 today on salmon (on sale), pork chops (on sale), chicken, asparagus (on sale), red potatoes and rhubarb. I was kind of shocked. We have a budget of $300 a month for our family of five.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Check out this thread.  Our moderator, Munkers, did a Budget Whole30 and listed out what she bought, what cost and what meals that created.  I'm not sure how many are in her family, you could probably PM and ask her though.  :)

 

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/29302-whole-30-budget-edition/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few other tips that I've had help with grocery budget during a Whole 30 (currently pregnant with my first):

 

Cheapest proteins at most stores per serving size are typically:

 

- ground beef

- eggs - if you do 3 per day for breakfast then 2 dozen will last you a week with extras to make things like homemade mayo or Paleo Parents' egg drop soup (homemade stock will make that a cheap meal - onions, shredded carrots, etc. go great in the soup)

- whole chickens

- big cuts of meat like a pork shoulder/butt roast

 

Cheapest veggies at mine:

 

- white potatoes (bake them, fry them, shred and make 'hashbrowns', breakfast potatoes, etc) Actually, breakfast potatoes last me a while...2 pounds of russet potatoes lasted me 5 breakfasts.

- sweet potatoes

- onions

- frozen veggie mixes. My favorite is the California blend - carrots, cauliflower, broccoli. Since you mentioned 3 kids that will help with your time factor too.

- whole carrots (peel, season, add cooking fat, roast about 45 minutes)

- squashes

 

I use canned tomatoes whenever possible in a recipe (because who has the time to chop 10 tomatoes? Not me) because they're cheaper when you're outside of tomato season. Canned green beans are a fabulous way to add an extra veggie, especially if you can find dented cans for cheaper (I find those about every few weeks at the grocery store for $0.35 a can, and dented diced tomatoes for $0.55 per can). Zucchini are still pretty cheap right now and go really well in a pureed zucchini soup (use the bones from your whole chicken to make bone broth and 2 pounds of zucchini at around $4 total plus a couple of spices and you've got lunch veggies for yourself for a couple of days).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I'm literally in tears reading this.

My one year old just hit a growth spurt.  He only has just started eating a lot of solid meals with us.  I'm on Day 9 and am so shaky that I couldn't get up out of bed just now when I fed my boy.  I thought my supply dropped initially so I upped fat intake.  He's nursed all night for 4 nights.  I'm beat down tired and am pretty sure I couldn't drive if I needed to.  So nauseus that I couldn't eat the bowl of beef stew that my husband just put in front of me.  Remember pregnancy nausea?  Like that.  So sick I didn't want to eat.  But when you know it must be hunger and only eating will make it better...

 

I feel like giving up.  We have spent more than our grocery budget for the month and it's only the 18th.  I love this program but I'm feeding 3 - 4 people on the normal recipes.  I know it's not enough and I go to bed hungry.

 

Today I ate for breakfast:  4 eggs, 1 avocado, 3 strips of bacon and bulletproof coffee

Lunch:  Well I was busy so I had some coconut milk and a few pieces of chicken.  That's my downfall.

4pm:  Two hard boiled eggs, a carrot and some slices of turkey lunch meat.

Now it's 6pm and I'm hosed.  But I have amazing beef stew in front of me.  Too tired to cook my sweet potato.

 

I'm commited to eating clean, GMO-free food.  At this point I'm wondering if I need to just get plain ole feed lot ground beef, but the thought makes me sick.

 

Looking for help and encouragement please!  My 4 year old is on this with me and I am trying to heal our food issues, and his pooping only 2 times a week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

I'm literally in tears reading this.

My one year old just hit a growth spurt.  He only has just started eating a lot of solid meals with us.  I'm on Day 9 and am so shaky that I couldn't get up out of bed just now when I fed my boy.  I thought my supply dropped initially so I upped fat intake.  He's nursed all night for 4 nights.  I'm beat down tired and am pretty sure I couldn't drive if I needed to.  So nauseus that I couldn't eat the bowl of beef stew that my husband just put in front of me.  Remember pregnancy nausea?  Like that.  So sick I didn't want to eat.  But when you know it must be hunger and only eating will make it better...

 

I feel like giving up.  We have spent more than our grocery budget for the month and it's only the 18th.  I love this program but I'm feeding 3 - 4 people on the normal recipes.  I know it's not enough and I go to bed hungry.

 

Today I ate for breakfast:  4 eggs, 1 avocado, 3 strips of bacon and bulletproof coffee

Lunch:  Well I was busy so I had some coconut milk and a few pieces of chicken.  That's my downfall.

4pm:  Two hard boiled eggs, a carrot and some slices of turkey lunch meat.

Now it's 6pm and I'm hosed.  But I have amazing beef stew in front of me.  Too tired to cook my sweet potato.

 

I'm commited to eating clean, GMO-free food.  At this point I'm wondering if I need to just get plain ole feed lot ground beef, but the thought makes me sick.

 

Looking for help and encouragement please!  My 4 year old is on this with me and I am trying to heal our food issues, and his pooping only 2 times a week.

 

You can do this -- but you really need to make an effort to get in more vegetables at every meal. Have at least one cup of them at each meal, and it's better to aim for three cups at every meal. (As a side not, the only place you're going to get fiber on a Whole30 is from vegetables and fruits, so if your 4yo is eating the same as you, it's really not surprising he's having some issues pooping. You'll want to make sure he's eating vegetables and fruit, and that he's drinking plenty of water.)  Have starchy vegetables at least once every day, and right now, as you recover from under eating (because I'm pretty sure that's why you're feeling weak and shaky), have them at every meal. You can cut up and roast a bunch of potatoes or sweet potatoes at once and add them to your meals, or put whole potatoes or sweet potatoes wrapped in foil in your crockpot overnight and they'll be baked and ready to eat in the morning.

 

If your budget doesn't allow for all organic, grass-fed, pastured everything, that's okay. You can absolutely do a Whole30 without buying anything organic. It may not be what you really want to do, but try to keep the big picture in mind -- you have to eat enough, or ultimately you will erode your health, even if the stuff you are eating is the best quality. You might find this article helpful in deciding how best to spend your money. 

 

You probably also want to find ways to make sure there are always leftovers or easy to grab items in your fridge so that you don't have any reason not to eat. You can keep hard boiled eggs on hand pretty easily, and every time you cook, try to cook extra to have later. Keep extra chopped vegetables in the fridge that you can either eat raw or cook in the microwave or throw in a pan to stir fry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mamas and others,

 

I'm on day 29 (!!) while nursing an almost 7 month old who was a preemie so he's little and nurses A LOT still. I was very hungry in the beginning, but was committed to seeing it through because I felt so good when I did whole30 a few years ago.

 

Here are a few things that helped me:

-the microwave--not my favorite way to cook, but easy when you are holding a little one or have limited time--great for cooking potatoes, sweet pot, beets, squash

-from above you can see I needed starchy veg at pretty much every meal--not a ton, but about 1/2 a regular size potato or a small sweet potato; this made a big difference in feeling full and I think it helped keep my milk supply up; I would microwave a few and then keep them in the fridge to re-heat or throw in scrambes etc.

-avocados, olives, coconut milk--these are my go-to fats and helped me feel full with meals; I would also have about 1/2 cup coconut milk before bed which helped avoid the hollow-tummy while trying to fall asleep feeling

-sauerkraut--easy already prepared veggie to throw on your plate; our local health food store makes their own, but there are lots of prepared ones that are good

-chicken-apple or other compliant sausage--these are great for any meal and so quick; I would cook up a package at the beginning of the week so I had protein on hand

-container of nuts beside the bed--after nursing during the night I would sometimes need a few calories to get me through to breakfast

-letting go of ideas about what a meal "should" be and piling my plate with lots of veg, some protein, and some fat at every meal--my breakfast this morning was leftover chicken, pile of sauerkraut, sliced radishes, half a potato with ghee, and half an avoacado--random, but delicious

 

I'm feeling so much better and not dreading wearing a bathing suit when we head to Maui next month!

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I'm In the same boat. I have a 5 month old who is starting real food and BF at the same time.  I'm trying to start Whole30 again, cause I did it when I was pregnant and felt great, but now it's so much harder.  And this go around my other son is 2, and the rest of my family (there's 6 of us) tries to eat healthy, but not to the extent of the Whole 30.  I find that by 3, I'm starving, tired and dragging, right when the other kids get home from school and the house gets nuts.  I keep saying that I'll start again this morning, and then the sugar fairy/deamon creeps up on me when I get milk for my 2yo at 3am.  I haven't slept all night for almost 4 years, getting up numerous times a night to feed one or another of the kids, and by 6am coffee is my only friend.  LOTS of Coffee.  So, I guess my question is what would be the best way to transition from dead on my feet at 6am to eating the right foods to fuel my body and produce enough milk for the baby when I can't function any further than the coffee pot?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

I'm In the same boat. I have a 5 month old who is starting real food and BF at the same time.  I'm trying to start Whole30 again, cause I did it when I was pregnant and felt great, but now it's so much harder.  And this go around my other son is 2, and the rest of my family (there's 6 of us) tries to eat healthy, but not to the extent of the Whole 30.  I find that by 3, I'm starving, tired and dragging, right when the other kids get home from school and the house gets nuts.  I keep saying that I'll start again this morning, and then the sugar fairy/deamon creeps up on me when I get milk for my 2yo at 3am.  I haven't slept all night for almost 4 years, getting up numerous times a night to feed one or another of the kids, and by 6am coffee is my only friend.  LOTS of Coffee.  So, I guess my question is what would be the best way to transition from dead on my feet at 6am to eating the right foods to fuel my body and produce enough milk for the baby when I can't function any further than the coffee pot?

 

So, you're probably not going to like this suggestion, but the first thing to work on is not having that first cup of coffee until after you've had your breakfast. Coffee is an appetite suppressant, and you really need to be eating plenty of real food, not tricking your body into thinking it's not hungry.

 

Things like frittatas, egg muffins, meatballs, scotch eggs, or breakfast casseroles are all pretty good cold if you don't have time or energy to reheat them in the morning. Or just grab leftovers from the previous night. Basically, make sure you always have some food in the fridge so you have something to grab first thing in the morning. For vegetables, roasted vegetables are not bad cold, or do things like potato salad or broccoli salad or something that you could make up ahead of time and just grab out of the fridge in the morning.

 

If you're truly hungry at any point in the day, eat. Try to eat a combination of protein, fat, and vegetables, or at least two of the three, but eat. Depending on how much you're nursing your little one, you may still be needing a fourth meal every day, and you may also want to have extra fat as well -- think grabbing a handful of olives between meals, or sipping on coconut milk during the day. 

 

When you crave sugary stuff, if you can't stop thinking about it, distraction techniques like going for a walk or getting a drink of water or doing something else are not working, grab some fat and protein instead. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm In the same boat. I have a 5 month old who is starting real food and BF at the same time.  I'm trying to start Whole30 again, cause I did it when I was pregnant and felt great, but now it's so much harder.  And this go around my other son is 2, and the rest of my family (there's 6 of us) tries to eat healthy, but not to the extent of the Whole 30.  I find that by 3, I'm starving, tired and dragging, right when the other kids get home from school and the house gets nuts.  I keep saying that I'll start again this morning, and then the sugar fairy/deamon creeps up on me when I get milk for my 2yo at 3am.  I haven't slept all night for almost 4 years, getting up numerous times a night to feed one or another of the kids, and by 6am coffee is my only friend.  LOTS of Coffee.  So, I guess my question is what would be the best way to transition from dead on my feet at 6am to eating the right foods to fuel my body and produce enough milk for the baby when I can't function any further than the coffee pot?

I cook whenever I have time and load up the fridge with easy to microwave or even eat cold foods.

Do you babywear? That is my saviour when it comes to cooking, so I can babywear and whip up a batch of anything. Try to get the two year old going on colouring or playdough while you are cooking so they don't bug you - or get them to help where they can. My son started with whisking eggs.  I make an egg bake for breakfast in a 9x13 pan and cut it in 6 - there I ony have to cook breakfast once a week. I make big batche of sauteed cabbage and roasted vegetables and can take servings for whatever meal out of the fridge - drizzle with olive oil and salt - yummy and easy. I also hard boil eggs so they are always around for an easy protien source.  So yeah, just make it when ever you have a bit of energy - stick with easy things - buy precut veggies when you can - precut broccoli - throw in a pot to steam for 8 minutes and it's done - olive oil and salt makes it more delicious and make extra for more meals....

I have a 7 month and 3.5 year old so I get it, but you have to eke out the time somewhere to make the food but find what's easy for you and go for it. Oh and crockpot - my preferance these days is dump a piece of meat and some seasoning/liquid and leave it. No chopping, no nothing - 5 minutes. Serve with the veggies you have on hand and there ya go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...