Hashimotos + breastfeeding and I never feel full

[Jenjenattack1]

I am on day 25 of my first round and I am still struggling with constantly feeling hungry. Background on me: I am 2.5 months post partum for my second baby. With both pregnancies I had gestational diabetes, but it cleared up immediately after delivery. With this pregnancy I was diagnosed with hashimotos (hypothyroidism) and I am on a low dose of medication for it now. I wanted to do the Whole 30 to kick my dessert addiction, get energy and hopefully loose some inches

So far, I have the energy, but that's all. My pants still fit the same and I still want sweets. My real struggle is I hardly ever feel satisfied after a meal- I am constantly hungry and because I am nursing I don't want to not snack. I have been eating things like olives, hb egges, guacamole with veggies or apples with almond butter for my snacks.

Here is my question- how do I know that I am hungry vs just wanting to eat? I have been checking myself with "would you eat a cucumber/carrots/chicken dinner right now?" And almost always the answer is yes. I only don't want to eat when i'm uncomfortably full- is nursing really driving that or could it be an auto immune thing? I'm a little perplexed on why I don't see results - I for sure thing that I am eating enough (sweet potatoes with two meals usually)

I have also recently picked up more physical activity (running & light weights)- I crossfitted through my pregnancy, so I have

[Karen_Suep]

It's acceptable for nursing moms to have a 4th meal or two mini meals that follow the template. Some moms sip cans of coconut milk through the day for added fat.

To better help you, what are you eating in relation to the new template?

[Jenjenattack1]

Here are the last few days of eating:

B: 3 cups sweet potato pumpkin mash + unsweetened coconut and pecans

Workout- hb egg post

L: potato pancakes (3), half a plate of broccoli and 2 palm servings of pork, carrots and guacamole cup

Snack- handful of hazelnuts and 2 cups watermelon

D:1 sweet potato, 2 cups roasted veggies, half a tomato with some balsamic and 4 1/2 inch strips of London broil

(I was hungry 39 minutes after eating this)

B:full plate of breakfast hash (sweet potato, onion, pepper and chicken sausage) topped with 3 eggs

S: strawberries topped with coconut butter

L: large salad- 2 handfuls of spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, guacamole cup and pork (1.5 handfuls)

S: ~6 olives

Hungry an he later- ate banana with almond butter

Still hungry after that - handful of hazelnuts and 2 dried mango slices

D; 2 large bowl servings of zucchini lasagna ( with cashew "cheese" and ground beef)

- hungry 2 hours later

What I have found is breakfast is satisfying until around 11- sometimes I'll just eat lunch then, other times I will eat a snack, but when I get a little hungry I never feel full with a snack. It is a real problem from like 2-4 in the afternoon. Right now I a, eating more at each meal than my 200 lb husband plus snacking more and still never really feeling satisfied.

I have learned through this process that I mindlessly snacked a lot before on mostly healthy stuff, but I always was eating. Even now I feel like the only time I will stop thinking about my next meal or snack is when my stomach is uncomfortably trails full- it's like the signals from my intestines aren't getting to my brain to tell me I'm not starving

[jmcbn]

Hey there

 

Your meals look good overall, although breakfast on the first day you listed is completely lacking in protein unless you've missed something out? And youo're probably a little light on good fats overall.

Your HB egg post WO would be better switched for something like chicken, tuna or some lean pork - the fat in the yolk of the egg will slow down absorption of the nutrients to the muscle when they need it most. You're probably fine without a preWO seeing as you've eaten breakfast.

Have you tried holding off on the starchy veg until meal 3? Many people report feeling hungrier sooner when they include fruit and/or starch early in the day so it may be worth playing around with that. The other thing is that in that first day you ate a lot of starch - this could impact blood sugar, skew your appetite & energy levels etc so maybe all the more reason for holding off on the starch for meal one at least.

I think you'd fair better if your snacks were made up of protein & fat - they provide much better satiety & improved (& sustained) energy levels - so maybe some chicken & guac, a HB egg dipped in mayo, or pork & olives, that sort of thing. And actually it's perfectly fine to make it a 4th meal if you think you could eat it and prevent the need for snacking both am/pm. I'd ditch the nuts in favour of superior fat sources like home made mayo, coconut milk, compliant bacon etc. Nuts should be limited to a closed handful maybe every other day, max.

The other thing about the feeling of constant hunger is that many people misinterpret indigestion for hunger. There are some foods you're eating here which are pretty hard on the digestive system so it's possible that your body is working hard to process them & so it's taking a while for you to feel their benefit. Things like onion, sweet potato, guac, nuts/nut butters, dried fruit.... It might be worth keeping a food diary going forward so that you can identify patterns of how you feel in relation to what you have eaten that day.

 

So, yeah, in summary: limit the starch, ditch the nuts, switch the fruit snacks for protein & fat (or a 4th meal), increase fat in general and you should see improvement soon.

Hope this helps!   
 

[Jenjenattack1]

I was told by a few people that I NEEDED to eat starch to feel full - especially with breastfeeding

Today for breakfast I had 4 eggs + roasted sweet potato/onions/bell pepper around 730- by 10 I was hungry and by 11 I was famished. I ate an apple at that point and then had lunch (salad with tomatoes, pork & peppers + 5 big olives)

Are you saying eating sweet potatoes in the morning is making me hungrier? I cut fruit from my morning meals already, so that shouldn't be the problem.

When you say feeling hungry could be indigestion- are there tell tale signs of that? I guess I'm curious how I should distinguish it

[Karen_Suep]

Your breakfast today had no fat listed. Fat will help with satiety, and 5 olives isn't a lot of fat either. Fat is going to be your friend especially breastfeeding

Starchy veggies will help, but it may be that you have to play around with timing. It may be that you'd do better with it at lunch or dinner. You may also do better with a 4th template meal

@jmcbn - another thread on the forum said BFing moms may need more starch.

[Jenjenattack1]

Am I wrong in thinking that because the breakfast was all cooked in a healthy amount of ghee that doesn't count as my fat?

[SugarcubeOD]

We generally advise against counting the fat used for cooking as the additional fat in a meal as much of it ends up cooked off or left in the pan.

 

As mentioned earlier, breastfeeding women are advised to eat at least 4 full meals and from your meal timing it sounds like you're trying to hold out for proper meal timing... you should not be starving or famished... was your roasted veggies 3 cups full with the eggs at breakfast?

 

This is going to take a bit of experimentation on your part... try eating the starch at breakfast and then tomorrow try eating it at lunch and then the next day at dinner and see which feels better.  Eat the four full meals and additional fat throughout the day.  The fact that you're asking if the cooking fat counts towards the breakfast fat leads me to believe that you've not really taken on board the suggestions for really increasing your fat consumption while breastfeeding.

[jmcbn]

I was told by a few people that I NEEDED to eat starch to feel full - especially with breastfeeding

Today for breakfast I had 4 eggs + roasted sweet potato/onions/bell pepper around 730- by 10 I was hungry and by 11 I was famished. I ate an apple at that point and then had lunch (salad with tomatoes, pork & peppers + 5 big olives)

Are you saying eating sweet potatoes in the morning is making me hungrier? I cut fruit from my morning meals already, so that shouldn't be the problem.

When you say feeling hungry could be indigestion- are there tell tale signs of that? I guess I'm curious how I should distinguish it

Yes, it could be. A lot of people report that it does as the starch acts in the same way as sugar in impacting blood sugar.

As for indigestion v hunger - are you feeling STUFFED once you've eaten & then hungry again? Are you feeling bloated at all during the day? Are you drinking adequate water?

 

Am I wrong in thinking that because the breakfast was all cooked in a healthy amount of ghee that doesn't count as my fat?

SugarCube has answered this for you - you still need more, particularly when BFing

 

@jmcbn - another thread on the forum said BFing moms may need more starch.

This is more about emotional well being post partum (and often supply) rather than satiety - and as with those not BFing starch levels are very personal. Some cope better with more, others cope better with less. 

[Karen_Suep]

Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification!

[Jenjenattack1]

I am not anti fat- I was counting what I was cooking with incorrectly I guess

I don't love avocados or coconut- I'm ok eating guacamole once a day and I bought hazelnuts specifically n cause I thought they were better fat nuts.

It sounds like I Should start having more mayo which is doable- any other suggestions for fat?

[ladyshanny]

Ghee, guacamole, lard, tallow, olive oil, fattier cuts of meat, mayo, olives.

 

Nuts are not a great fat source and they are way too easy to overeat, never mind being major gut-disruptors.  They are recommended to be limited (think one closed handful every other day).  Use them more as a condiment for crunch rather than a fat source.  They may also be giving you some indigestion which is playing around with your hunger/fullness signals.

[Jenjenattack1]

As for indigestion v hunger - are you feeling STUFFED once you've eaten & then hungry again? Are you feeling bloated at all during the day? Are you drinking adequate water?

 

After meals I don't feel stuffer- in fact I feel satisfied (especially after breakfast), but then I am hungry within 2 hours and that feeling never seems to go away- I'll eat something then be ok for a bit, then I'm hungry again.

Today I am upping the fat and protein - hoping that helps