All meals the same size?

[rach291]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I've just started W30 today and I'm a little confused about portion sizes! Do all three meals on the programme usually end up being the same size? Or do people generally have bigger breakfasts, smaller lunches, bigger dinners, etc? Ive read the book and the guidelines on portion sizes, but I've always eaten a bigger dinner and a smaller lunch and it's hard to get out of that habit! Today I ate:

Breakfast:

3 egg omelette with red onion, spinach and tomatoes. Fried with a tbsp oil

Tbsp of homemade mayo

Dinner (which I ate at lunch time):

Roast chicken

Carrots

Broccoli

Sautéed Spinach (in oil)

Roasted peppers (in oil)

1 baby potato (with a little bit of oil)

"Tea" (which would usually be my lunch-type meal):

Grilled pepper

Smoked salmon

Tbsp homemade mayo

Broccoli

Mandarin orange

My dinner was really big (big portions of veggies) but my "tea" was smaller because that's what I've always done. Except now it's only been 2 hours since I've eaten and I'm hungry again! Should I try to eat the same amount at every meal? Do people generally eat about 1 portion of starchy carbs (e.g sweet potato) per day or do they eat more? I'm not particularly active at the moment - just day-to-day walking, so I would be reluctant to add starchy carbs to my "tea"/lunch meal.

Also, help with the "fat" portion, please! I have no idea what a thumb sized portion is when it comes to things like oil and dressings? I've just been going with a tbsp because that's what I've read here. Am I missing something here, how does everyone seem to know the volume of their thumbs haha.

Sorry for all the questions - I'm so nervous about this and I want to do it right to get the full benefits! I'd also love to lose about 5lbs and am terrified of accidentally gaining. I've been a compulsive calorie counter for years and I hate it!

[SugarcubeOD]

Basically all the meals that you eat should keep you for 4-5 hours between without the need to snack.  It's an evolving process to determine exactly what that looks like for each individual but if you're building your meals to the template then you should be okay as you go along.  it's hard to tell what your volumes are as there are no portion sizes listed but remember, 1-2 palms (your own palm's thickness, length, width), 1-3 cups of veggies and 1-2 thumbs of added fat or half to whole avocado or heaping palms of olives.

 

As far as fat, we don't expect you to figure out down to the drop how big your thumb is... Just look at your thumb and pretend you're filling up a vessel that big with oil... The fats are what's going to keep you going for the 4-5 hours so be generous... a good blob of mayo, nice dressingy salad etc... a tbsp isn't much... it's not referenced anywhere in the template to use that type of measurement so while you may see other people posting about a tbsp, that could be their own thumb size.  Mine's probably around 2 and a bit tbsp... ish... 

 

Please don't step on the scale during your Whole30.  I know you didn't mention it but your last paragraph has me concerned.  Also, please eat to the template 3 times a day.  If you've been a compulsive calorie counter and then likely restrictor your hunger signals may be off... eat a template meal three times a day. Don't count, weigh or really measure... use your own palm/thumb to size portions and then fill your plate with a variety of vegetables.

[rach291]

Thanks for the reply! I'm not exactly sure if the portion size of my veggies match the template as we don't typically use cup measures where I'm from. I just try take what I consider a "portion" for about 3-4 different veggies (a portion of each, that is). All the protein I ate yesterday was about 1 palm size for each meal.

Thank you for your concern - I'm not planning on weighing myself, thankfully! Ultimately my goal is to develop a better relationship with food, improve my energy levels and improve my skin. I am however about 5lbs heavier than I usually am (thanks, Easter), which is quite noticeable as I'm only 5'3 and have a small frame. I'd like to get back to my normal weight, which usually happens when I'm eating healthily anyway, but as this whole thing is so new to me I was worried about doing the opposite and accidentally gaining weight somehow! If I could finally break free of calorie counting that would be amazing.