wils0537 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I'm on Day 2 of my first Whole30 and am following the Week One Meal Plan in the book. The problem is that it seems like the portions are HUGE and I can't finish my meals because I am too stuffed. I've re-read the plan several times to make sure I was reading the portion sizes correctly, but it is a ton of food! Has anyone else had this issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted January 5, 2016 Moderators Share Posted January 5, 2016 Compare what you are doing with this guide: http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf If your meals meet this criteria, you have some adjustments to make because this is an amount appropriate for human beings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmon22 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 hi wils0537 i am also on day 2 and had intended to follow the 7-day meal plan. i am having exactly the same experience you are. the book reiterates several times that the recipes as written serve two, and even says "if you're cooking for a family, make more than this..." well, after eating half the frittata, plus avocado and grapefruit, and then 4 hours later half the protein salad (both delicious!) i was so full i didn't get hungry again until nearly 9 pm. and i had made the italian meat sauce -- which filled an entire full-sized cast-iron skillet -- and spaghetti squash. i was supposed to eat half of that for dinner and the other half for breakfast this morning?! that's a family-sized meal and we would have had leftovers! i decided that "serves two" means "serves two giant lumberjacks doing extreme sports every day!" also re that 7-day plan -- for 3 days (not counting the roast on day 3 b/c i have to go to a different store in town for that) of food, at the most reasonable store in town, i spent $148. yup. $148 for THREE DAYS OF MEAL PLAN FOOD. AND i was on my feet cooking and cleaning and cooking and cleaning in the kitchen more in 24 hours than i ever have been, even when i was cooking for my family every day back in my youth. by last night i was not just exhausted, i was totally stressed out. so i decided the 7-day meal plan is not for me. or rather, i can follow the 7-day plan but it's more likely to be a 14-day plan, because i already have leftovers to last a couple more days. and i'm going to just eat my normal portions. and going forward i am going to radically simplify. anyway...it's a learning curve for sure. the food is delicious though! caedmon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wils0537 Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks Tom. Yes I've read that guide but am following the meal plan that's in the book to a tee, and it seems like a lot compared to that guideline. For example, last night's dinner called for 1/2 lb of ground meat, half a spaghetti squash, and half of the Italian seasoning red sauce. Does that seem right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted January 5, 2016 Administrators Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks Tom. Yes I've read that guide but am following the meal plan that's in the book to a tee, and it seems like a lot compared to that guideline. For example, last night's dinner called for 1/2 lb of ground meat, half a spaghetti squash, and half of the Italian seasoning red sauce. Does that seem right? Hi Wils, Tom's suggestion was for you to compare the meal template which takes into consideration your own unique palm and thumb size with what the book is saying is a standard serving rather than just taking the book at face value. Everyone is different so if you are an extremely tiny person, your palm sized serving is going to be smaller than the average. Also if you are not used to eating around 3 cups of veggies with every meal then please know that yes, you are going to need to take some time to get used to these appropriate servings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wils0537 Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks for reply caedmon22. I'm glad to know I'm not crazy and doing something wrong and that others are having the same experience. I seriously spent $300 for the whole 7 days...insane! I also work out every morning, so have been incorporating the pre and post workout snacks as they indicate. My approach has been to eat until I'm pretty full but not make myself force it all down. I've had leftovers from every meal so looks like I will be making it a 14 day plan as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wils0537 Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks ladyshanny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted January 5, 2016 Administrators Share Posted January 5, 2016 hi tom, i am also on day 2 and had intended to follow the 7-day meal plan. i am having exactly the same experience you are. the book reiterates several times that the portions are for two, and even says "if you're cooking for a family, make more than this..." well, after eating half the frittata, plus avocado and grapefruit, and then 4 hours later half the protein salad (both delicious!) i was so full i didn't get hungry again until nearly 9 pm. and i had made the italian meat sauce -- which filled an entire full-sized cast-iron skillet -- and spaghetti squash. i was supposed to eat half of that for dinner and the other half for breakfast this morning?! that's a family-sized meal and we would have had leftovers! i decided that "serves two" means "serves two giant lumberjacks doing extreme sports every day!" also re that 7-day plan -- for 3 days (not counting the roast on day 3 b/c i have to go to a different store in town for that) of food, at the most reasonable store in town, i spent $148. yup. $148 for THREE DAYS OF MEAL PLAN FOOD. AND i was on my feet cooking and cleaning and cooking and cleaning in the kitchen more in 24 hours than i ever have been, even when i was cooking for my family every day back in my youth. by last night i was not just exhausted, i was totally stressed out. so i decided the 7-day meal plan is not for me. or rather, i can follow the 7-day plan but it's more likely to be a 14-day plan, because i already have leftovers to last a couple more days. and i'm going to just eat my normal portions. and going forward i am going to radically simplify. anyway...it's a learning curve for sure. the food is delicious though! caedmon Hi caedmon, For sure you should use some judgement as far as the portions. The book was written not knowing your exact palm size, context, issues. I would say to probably use the meal plan as a jumping off point and then take a look at the meal template (linked below) and make adjustments based on your palm and thumb size. Make sure you are never eating less than the template minimum and you'll be fine. The other way to know if you are eating enough (or too much) as you discovered, is satiation. If you are getting hungry around 4-5 hours after a meal, you're in the right range. If you're starved after 2 hours, eat more next time. If you are still stuffed in 7 hours, scale back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted January 5, 2016 Administrators Share Posted January 5, 2016 OH! And about the cost. You can make this as expensive or as inexpensive as you like. Canned fishes, ground meats, on sale produce, batch cooking etc is all far cheaper than making a custom menu in a book. Use what you have (that is compliant), stick to simple ingredients. Use recipes you already know and just modify them for Whole30 (eg, remove the cheese, don't use honey etc). You can also google "Whole30 on a budget" and you'll get tonnes of links and forum threads discussing how to do this inexpensively. We had a couple people log their budget versions in the Whole30 logs sections also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyS Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I agree with ladyshanny here. Since you're aiming to compose meals according to the recommended template (kudos!), go by this: 1. 1-2 palm-size portions of protein 2. 1-2 thumb-size portions of fat 3. 1-3 cups vegetables Also, the idea of cooking a whole lot of new recipes might be appealing to someone who is in the kitchen all the time, but I've spent most of the last three years eating Whole30 style at home, even when not on a Whole30, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of actual recipes I make. And I'll have fingers left over. I strongly suggest batch cooking. A whole chicken or roast in the crock pot. A big tray of vegetables in the oven to roast. Unless you're averse to leftovers, you can eat off of that, with added fats like avocados, olives, or drizzled EVOO, for a couple of days at least. I spend most of my time working and taking my kids to various things. There's no time for recipes, and my money goes to their piano lessons (and my mortgage). Scale down on becoming a Whole30 chef, unless that's a personal aspiration. Eat protein, fat, and veg. Do that three times a day. Cook in ways that works for your life. You can do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miri Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I am delighted to know I am not the only one having these issues. I do not typically eat this much or this type of food (I found it to have a lot more calories per meal than I would typically fix, even with a smaller portion). Tonight is the end of day 1 & I think I have gained 5 lbs! LOL! I obviously need to scale down portion-wise and possibly freeze or use leftovers several days in a row. While my goal isn't to lose weight, I certainly don't plan on gaining any, either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I am delighted to know I am not the only one having these issues. I do not typically eat this much or this type of food (I found it to have a lot more calories per meal than I would typically fix, even with a smaller portion). Tonight is the end of day 1 & I think I have gained 5 lbs! LOL! I obviously need to scale down portion-wise and possibly freeze or use leftovers several days in a row. While my goal isn't to lose weight, I certainly don't plan on gaining any, either! Make sure you're not counting or calculating calories, as this will inhibit your results http://whole30.com/2013/02/you-count-more-than-your-calories-do/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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