Not hungry at all..

[genp717]

So I started my first Whole30 Friday, then caved Saturday and Sunday. Since then I've been good, so I guess that makes this day 3? Since I started I am not hungry. Like at all. I can't finish any of my portions at all but have CRAZY cravings. I've always had an intense sweet tooth and eat a lot of junk, so I figured this would be hard. Any ideas on why I'm not hungry at all though? On the rare occasion I am hungry I eat 4 or 5 bites and feel stuffed. 

 

Thanks!

[Staggolee41]

You have to retrain your body... those early-in-the-plan hunger signals are not trustworthy, because your body is used to using sugar as fuel. I struggled a bit the first few days, to be honest, but I'm now hungry at all of the appropriate times and could probably consume a whole bucket of spaghetti squash if prompted.

 

Also... the cravings will eventually start sounding really crazy. They start off sounding really reasonable, like: "Hey, we're friends, right?" They'll start to sound like a screaming child in the grocery checkout line who isn't getting the candy he wants (and it'll make you a little nuts). Then... suddenly... they start sounding insane. Laughably so. Think about the subway preachers with sandwich boards and handouts saying the world is ending. You barely even hear them, and when you do, you think they are completely nuts.

[ShannonM816]

You could try plating up a template meal within an hour of waking up, eat as much of it as you can, and if you can't finish it, wrap it up and eat the rest as soon as you feel you could (not when you're super hungry, but when you feel like you could eat some more). Then do the same every 4-5 hours after that for three meals a day. You can make them on the small side of the meal template to start with -- 1 palm of protein, 1 thumb of fat (or 1/2 an avocado, or some olives, or whatever, based on what the template says), and a cup or two of vegetables. I suspect if you start doing this, you will start to feel hungry at appropriate times throughout the day.

 

I'm assuming this is a change that just started when you started Whole30, not something you've been dealing with for a long period of time, right? If it's been going on for longer than just the time you've been doing this, you may want to talk to a doctor to rule out any kind of underlying issues. If this feels like food boredom, you could try more interesting recipes -- the Well Fed site has a bunch that are mostly Whole30. If it's not so much food boredom, but that this is a huge change from what you've been eating, it may be a little harder, but think about the kinds of foods you like (other than obviously non-W30 ones) and see if you can find a recipe for a Whole30 version of your favorites.

 

Here's the meal template, many people find it helpful to print a copy and keep it on the fridge for reference.