Confused, slightly frazzled, frustrated, terrified of this not working for me

[pattyw]

I am looking at the meal template and am confused about fats, fruit.  The meal template says closed handful of nuts, thumbsize of oils, handfuls of olives (hate olives) and handfuls of shredded coconut plus butters?????  And the fruit.....I thought I read somewhere to limit fruit to 2 servings a day?????  I can actually do without fruit, maybe an apple or banana, 1 per week....

 

I do so much better with following macros (concrete boundaries) ....how do you know if you are eating enough?  

 

I think I could just sit here and shed a few tears.  I was on a program called Ideal Protein from July - December and I lost 40 lbs.  I've been floundering since going off it.  I am terrified of ending up back where I started.  I know what the body does if you don't eat enough.  I still want to lose 25ish lbs.  I exercise 5-6 days - weights and cardio.

 

PLEASE, is there someone who would be willing to mentor me thru this till I get going???

 

Patty

 

[jmcbn]

Hey Patty

First take a deep cleansing breath....

Better?

Ok, good.

So... olives - if you don't like them don't eat them. Stick to fat sources you DO like. There are plenty of options to choose from - home made mayo being my current personal favourite because it goes with absolutely everything... Then there's ghee, avocado, coconut milk/butter/oil/flakes/meat, nut & seed oils (although like nuts these should be limited), olive oil, tallow, lard, duck/goose fat, schmaltz, fatty cuts of meat, compliant bacon & salad dressings made from your mayo.... 

Ignore the oils you use for cooking as most of it stays in the pan & then add anoyther source (or two if you like) - so you might have some oven roatsed veg with roast chicken & mayo.... or a tuna salad with avocado & mayo...... or a beef curry made with coconut milk....

As far as fruit is concerned again you don't have to eat if if you don't want to. Personally the only fruit I eat is pretty much some blueberries thrown into a salad.

How do you know you are eating enough? Do your meals keep you full for 4-5 hours? If they do then you're on the right track. If they don't you need to eat more. If 7 hours have passed & you're still not hungry you maybe need to scale back a bit. 

 

Build your meals to meet the template and you won't go far wrong - 1-2 palm sized pieces of protein, 1-3 cups of veg (with 3 being optimum), and a generous serving of fat.

Pre WO eat a small amount of protein & fat (a hard boiled egg works well here). Post WO eat a small amount of lean protein & optional starchy carb (the favourite being chicken & sweet potato). No fat post WO as it will slow down absorption of nutrients to the muscle when they need it most. Pre & Post WO meals are in addition to your three main meals. You might find you can forgo the preWO depending on when you train, but don't skip the postWO.

That's really it.

And if you're in any doubt at any time there are plenty of us here to talk you through it.

Hope this helps 

[pattyw]

Thank you!  Not counting the oils added to cooking helps alot!  
 

Going for a long walk to breathe in some cool air!

[Xandra]

Hi Patty, Welcome.

Like jmcbn says, this plan can be simplified to suit your tastes. I also eat fruits as a condiment in meals (not as a dessert or snack), and I don't eat nuts at all (I have braces on my teeth). So my fats are pretty much avocado and homemade mayo, which are enough for me. I mix mayo into all kind of foods like ground beef or breakfast casserole, in addition to traditional things like tuna or egg salad.

You can start with these simple ideas and then expand as your tastes require.

[AmyS]

Dude. Chill. My first Whole30 (coming from a diet composed primarily of Starbucks mochas and barbecue potato chips, eek), consisted of this:

 

Spinach

Compliant chicken apple sausage

Tomatoes

Avocado

Oil and vinegar

 

I may have eaten some other stuff during that 30 days, and I'm not recommending this strategy for anyone, but I am saying that this is not that hard.

 

To repeat what jmcbm said:

1. 1-2 palm-size portions of protein (go to the store and buy the on-sale ground beef and chicken: done!)

2. 1-2 thumb-size portions of fat (go to the store and buy olive oil: done!)

3 2-3 cups veggies (go to the store and buy sweet or white potatoes and that enormous bag of kale you can get for six bucks: done!)

 

That's probably going to get boring after a day or so, but really. Don't overthink this stuff. It's just meat, veggies, and fats. Really. You can do it.

[tmhampton1]

I'm a little confused also. I think I've been eating way too many starchy veggies. For lunch I ate sweet potatoes and roasted beets, and I'm thinking this is why I feel a bit boated and am not seeing the results I thought I would see. I will start to switch it up and eat more of the less dense veggies like brocolli, cauliflower and squash. Also more tomatoes and cucumbers.

[ShannonM816]

I'm a little confused also. I think I've been eating way too many starchy veggies. For lunch I ate sweet potatoes and roasted beets, and I'm thinking this is why I feel a bit boated and am not seeing the results I thought I would see. I will start to switch it up and eat more of the less dense veggies like brocolli, cauliflower and squash. Also more tomatoes and cucumbers.

 

There are so, so many vegetables out there -- the more of them you have, the less likely you are to overeat any particular type. Try a variety of greens (raw in salads, or cooked -- there's two recipes here that should work with any greens, like kale, collard greens, turnip greens, chard, beet greens), and try things like green beans, cabbage, bok choy, jicama, zucchini, radishes, mushrooms, parsnips, rutabagas, asparagus, artichokes, brussel sprouts, snap peas -- just go look through the produce section at the store, and pick something you've never tried before, or whatever looks interesting. Look it up online to find cooking tips. Try everything more than once, cooked in more than one way, because whether they're cooked, and the way they're cooked, definitely makes a difference -- I can't stand raw cauliflower, but love it roasted. Roasted jicama, on the other hand, is a thing I think should never, ever happen -- it's just way too tasty raw (do peel it first), and a disgusting mess once it's cooked (YMMV).

[tmhampton1]

Thanks so much ShannonM816. I'm taking your advice and learning to eat new veggies in different ways. 

 

I did try jicama but it was a beast to peel so I just gave up on it. I'm kind of surprised that it's not a starchy veggie like regular potatoes though. 

[Physibeth]

Thanks so much ShannonM816. I'm taking your advice and learning to eat new veggies in different ways. 

 

I did try jicama but it was a beast to peel so I just gave up on it. I'm kind of surprised that it's not a starchy veggie like regular potatoes though. 

 

If you are willing to spend the extra money I've found pre peeled and sliced jicama at Trader Joe's. Whenever I'm feeling particularly lazy about chopping and peeling I stop in there because they have a lot of veggies that all you have to do is cooked. Best? No. Better than not eating veggies? Yes.

[tmhampton1]

That's a great idea. I did get some of the pre-riced cauliflower and it made making my rice so much easier.