No Sugar Dragon Yet

[Gamecock]

Hello,
I started Whole30 with my girlfriend last Monday. Today marks day 10 for me and I have yet to have experienced the Sugar Dragon. Could I be doing something wrong or is it ok that I haven't had the sugar withdraw effects yet?
My girlfriend experienced it last weekend. My only assumption now is that being a male, the sugar dragon effects me differently because of my different hormone levels. So maybe that is why I haven't had it yet. Because I am eating right and [Mod edit to remove mention of weightloss]

Thank you. I look forward to receiving any help you can give.

[jmcbn]

Hey Gamecock

 

Firstly please note that I have edited your post to remove mention of any weight-loss - Not weighing is a rule, just like no grain, no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol etc, and since weight-loss is not linear we would ask that you respect this & step away from the scle for 30 days.

Re the Sugar Dragon - this very much depends on how you ate before Whole30 - were you a carb fiend, sipping on soda throughout the day, and topping up on cookies & candy mid morning/mid afternoon & night? Then you might have a battle on your hands... If not then count yourself lucky & enjoy the journey - just don't count your chickens & all that because your battle could be right around the corner...

If you'd like to check that you are on the right path feel free to post a few days worth of your food intake & we can take a look.

[Gamecock]

Thank you so much JMCBN. Sorry about the checking the scale. I will avoid it from now on.

My typical day's meal include:

Green smoothie for breakfast - kale, spinach, almonds, frozen fruit.

Lunch consists of a kale and spinach salad with carrots, peppers, grilled chicken, and avocado.

Dinner is usually grilled chicken, a potato (sweet or russet), and veggies (broccoli, zucchini, carrots, or sugar snap peas).

And if I don't have a potato for dinner then I am hungry enough for dessert. Which is usually a Whole30 compliant shake made of coconut milk, almond butter, peaches, and ice.

For snacks I usually have fruit and an Epic beef jerky bar.

[jmcbn]

Sorry, there isn't really such a thing as a Whole30 compliant shake - even with compliant ingredients. 

See below for the official take on it:
 

Smoothies: We’d rather you didn’t

 

This is a very popular question, with a very unpopular answer. Smoothies (generally made using lots of fruit) are technically compliant on your Whole30, but we strongly recommend against it. Food that you drink sends different satiety signals to your brain than food that you chew. So when you drink your meal, your brain isn’t getting the feedback it needs to tell your body that it’s had enough of what it needs. Plus, smoothies are generally really fruit-heavy, and starting your day off with a liquid sugar-bomb sets you up for cravings, hunger, and volatile energy levels throughout the day. In summary, we’d rather you just eat the food, and skip the smoothie.
 

You really need to start your day with protein, veggies & fat - loading up with frozen fruit having fasted over night is going to impact your blood sugars, and is probably the reason you're needing snacks. And as far as snacks are concerned you really shouldn't eat fruit on it's own for the same reason - the epic bar is a much better option, but if you're genuinely hungry between meals try having a mini meal made up at least two of the three food groups & then increase the size of your meals...

Lunch & dinner look much better, although I see no mention of fat in your dinner? Fat is what will keep you satiated and will undoubtedly remove the need for that post dinner shake.

Try keeping your consumption of nuts/nut butters to a minimum too as these may later impact your gut.

Hope this helps!



 

[Gamecock]

That does help! Thank you for the sound advice. I will work on making the adjustments needed.

Have a wonderful day!