Wake up starving in the middle of the night

[jlgriebner]

Hello! I'm on day 13 of my whole30 journey and so far so good! It didn't take long to kick my sugar cravings and I'm not really missing anything from my pre-whole30 diet. For the past couple of days though, I've woken up in the middle of the night STARVING! I almost feel dizzy I'm so hungry! I keep a bag of almonds by my bed and eat a handful before falling back asleep. When I wake up in the morning, I'm hungry, but not overwhelmingly so.

 

I'm also finding that I get really hungry around 10am and 4pm. I'm trying to avoid snacking, so I know I should probably eat larger portions, but I just get full so easily! I've typically always eaten smaller meals and snacked in between.

 

Here's a sample of what I've been eating the past few days. I typically drink 64oz of water throughout the day, and I usually do an hour barre workout either first thing in the morning or right before dinner (5:30-6:30, eat around 7)

 

B: Egg bake with spinach, asparagus, chicken apple sausage, onions, and peppers- I make this at the beginning of the week and just reheat a couple pieces, black coffee

L: Leftover spaghetti squash with ground beef and tomato sauce

D: Turker burger with salsa, roasted sweet potatoes and carrots in coconut oil

Snack: apple with almond butter

 

B: Egg bake, 1/2 avocado, black coffee

L: leftover s.potato and carrots, hard boiled egg, tomato and cucumber salad with oil and vinegar

D: Baked chicken with roasted brussel sprouts and potatoes (in coconut oil)

Snack: cashews and raisins

 

B: 2 scrambled eggs with peppers and 1 chicken apple sausage, black coffee
L: leftover chicken and big bag of steamed green beans
D: grilled pork chop, steamed broccoli, and roasted asparagus

S: nuts and fresh berries
 

Any ideas how I can fill myself up more so I'm not waking up hungry or snacking at work?

 

 

[SugarcubeOD]

You're not really eating enough and because nutrition is cumulative, it's likely that it's only catching up with you now.

 

Eggs when they are your sole source of protein are as many as you can hold without dropping.  When you make an egg bake, you need to eat a portion that is equivalant to that amount of eggs.  I see you have sausage in there as well but you still need to be eating a portion that is at least equal to 2-3 eggs.  

 

The recommendation is 1-3 cups of veggies, 3 being optimal... I doubt a slice of your egg bake is getting you even the 1 cup, let alone 2 or 3.

 

In the first day there is no fat in your breakfast or lunch and if the coconut oil in your dinner is what you used to roast the veggies, that's not nearly enough.

 

I can see from the fact you're snacking that you are not eating enough... the aim is to go 4-5 hours between meals... if you DO need to snack until you get meal sizes sorted out, that's fine but protein and fat or protein and veggies or ideally all three... not fruit, dried fruit and nuts/nut butters.

 

Most of your meals are missing fat, which is going to be a huge cause of your hunger.

 

I would also ask if you are nearing or on your period (if you are a menstruating aged woman) because often our appetite increases exponentially at that time.

[jlgriebner]

Thanks for your response! I guess I am about to start my period, so that could be it- I didn't even think about that!

 

I do eat a pretty big portion of the egg bake. I make it with 10 eggs and it usually lasts me about 4-5 days, but I'll try it with more veggies on the side next week.

 

I used nuts/dried fruit for snack primarily for the convenience, but I did buy some epic bars for on the go, guacamole packs to have with carrots, and I made up some tuna fish to eat with peppers if I need a snack in the afternoon.

 

Do you have any suggestions for adding more fats to the meals? I'm not a huge fan of olives or strong coconut flavor...I'm trying to eat more avocado, but I'd like some more variety.

[SugarcubeOD]

The only favor dried fruit and nuts are doing for you as a snack are their convenience.  Ideally, you're going to figure out how to make your meals last you 4-5 hours so you don't need to snack... your body can't become fat adapted if you keep giving it fuel every couple hours... it will burn the easiest fuel first and only move to fat when it has no other choice.  Not snacking is also very helpful for your digestion... you need to give it a rest so we eat, digest and then the hours between our meals are when our body rests... 

 

Epic bars are for emergencies only.. stuck on the tarmac in a blizzard... your boss makes you work late into the night at the last minute etc... the tuna fish and peppers is a perfect snack... consider how much more that resembles 'real food' than snacky nuts and processed bars... that's what we want you doing.

 

As far as fats, how about mayo, pesto, mayo based sauces... I used to haaaaaate olives but I worked on trying different ones and in different configurations (packed in brine, packed in oil, stuffed, not stuffed, pitted, not pitted) and eventually found ones I like... Halkidiki olives... lots of olive haters do well with Calvestrano olives also... and the entry level for olives is canned sliced black olives... rinse them off really well after you open the can and they have next to no flavor so you can put them in everything.

You can put ghee on your roasted veggies after you plate your meal... same goes for tallow (beef fat), lard (pig fat), schmaltz (chicken fat), duck fat... I sometimes use the costco Sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil (making sure to get that generous scoop of the oil) to add as a finishing condiment to my meals... 

www.meljoulwan.com has sunshine sauce (huge fan fave around these parts) and other fat based sauces.

anything in there that sounds good??

[jlgriebner]

Today I made it to lunch without feeling hungry at all- progress! I'm going out of town this weekend and have several long flights, so I bought the epic bars to make sure I had something just in case.

 

I guess I'll have to jump into the world of olives and try some that you suggested! I didn't like red wine when I first tried that, so maybe they will grow on me  I'm also going to try those sundried tomatoes- sounds yummy! 

 

Thanks for your help!

[SugarcubeOD]

Today I made it to lunch without feeling hungry at all- progress! I'm going out of town this weekend and have several long flights, so I bought the epic bars to make sure I had something just in case.

 

I guess I'll have to jump into the world of olives and try some that you suggested! I didn't like red wine when I first tried that, so maybe they will grow on me  I'm also going to try those sundried tomatoes- sounds yummy! 

 

Thanks for your help!

Perfect use for the Epic bars!

Make sure the sundried tomatoes you get from your costco are packed in olive oil, that's the only way it works out compliant... they probably are but always read your labels!

Have a good trip!

[DMKC]

In the book it says until you have adjusted your meals that you can eat a snack or a meal an hour or two before bedtime. We know eating to close to bedtime is bad, but is OK for a short period of time until you get your meals adjusted.