Jump to content

What can I do to make myself eat enough?


ana a

Recommended Posts

Hi, All!!

I'm on Day 15 of my third Whole30 (possibly a Whole45...), and I'm having some serious trouble eating enough. This weekend, it showed up in a big way in my workouts, and I took two rest days in a row to recover (which is unusual for me). I've eaten more today (so far), but just had to choke down some lunch and it was quite unpleasant. Does anyone have thoughts? (For reference, I run 3-6 miles 4-5 days a week, and lift 3-4 days a week for 45-60 min, taking at least two full rest days.)

My food log since Thursday is below. You'll notice that I've skimped on leafy greens a few days (poor planning), and that I have trouble eating both breakfast and lunch. I wake up at 4:30 to work out at 5, and usually don't eat anything until afterward (I know, I know, but I have such trouble eating before I work out, and getting up earlier is...not an option I'm interested in). If I eat breakfast (about 8am), I'm rarely hungry for lunch until 3-4pm, and then dinner doesn't happen until late. Is it something about the contents of my meals? Today I ate four eggs for breakfast, and chicken thighs with spinach for lunch. I literally gagged while trying to eat my lunch, but managed to choke it down. I've had the same trouble of not being able to eat enough during my other Whole30s and need some help!! Suggestions are EXTREMELY welcome:

 

day 11 food
needed some more fat. and more leafy greens. and probably just more food in general, particularly with that amount of exercise. goals for tomorrow.

breakfast - banana, four hard boiled eggs
lunch - chicken soup (lots and lots of chicken, onions, carrots, sweet potato), sweet potato fries with mayo
dinner - chicken soup, handful of cashews 

day 12
breakfast - coconut milk in my coffee..? and some cashews, if i recall correctly
lunch - chicken soup
dinner - chicken fingers, potatoes, kale

day 13
breakfast - coffee...(i need to be better at this, especially on weekends)
lunch - chicken soup
dinner - chicken fingers, potatoes, kale

day 14
breakfast - three eggs and sweet potato hashbrowns with homemade mayo
lunch - none (ate breakfast quite late)
dinner - a lot of chicken fingers and potatoes. no leafy greens today..?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am struggling with the Exact. Same. Thing. right now (Day 12 for me). The thought of food often makes me want to puke. A mod suggested plating up a full template meal, eating as much as you can evenly from each group, and when you just can't anymore - wrap it up until you can eat again (not hungry, but can eat). This, too, is a struggle, but I've started doing it. I have found a few things to be helpful, and believe it or not, it is getting a little bit easier to get food down. 

1.  I make very neutral, mild flavored dishes especially early in the day or at times I know I am most likely going to struggle with my appetite. Sometimes the stuff is only seasoned with salt. 
2.  I eat by time - period. If 4 hours has passed and I'm still not feeling hungry, I might let it go to 4 1/2, but never past 5. I plate up a template meal and force myself to eat as much as I can. One morning I truly ate Meal 1 two bites at a time. Two bites - can't do it - put it away, try again a few minutes later. Etc etc until I got through the meal. It took dang near an hour, but I did it. 
3.  Ginger tea and kombucha with my meal seems to help a little bit too. 

I'm sure a mod will weigh in on this as well. Hang in there. Sometimes I just have to repeat this to myself: I love working out. Food is fuel. Fuel the workout. Little mind tricks like that. Good luck!! 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, ana a said:

YESSS I want to fuel my workouts! I'm not afraid of food! 

It's like you are speaking from my heart!! :wub: Keep telling yourself that over and over. I don't know if you meditate or not, but if you do, include it in your meditation. If you don't, you could try repeating it to yourself each night as you fall asleep and in the morning as you wake up (and obviously every time you sit down to eat). Eventually your body will catch on. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You seem to be pretty active. Are you eating a post workout meal (lean protein like chicken breast and an optional starchy carb?) 

you may also want to include a small pre workout meal of fat and possibly protein (some favs I've seen mentioned are hard boiled eggs and may or a spoonful of nut butter but be careful of the latter as nuts can cause intestinal issues). These may not help much with the lack of appetite but @decker_bear gave some solid advice. Eat as much around the plate as you can and then the next time you think you can handle a little bit more, eat some more. 

Also, make sure you have veggies at every meal. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the same problem! I'm on day 28 and for the past few days I have had no appetite.  The thought of food makes me nauseous.  I don't train as hard as Ana A, but I do walk 5 miles a day (broken up into 2.5 mile walks, twice a day).  The walking is something new that I started since beginning Whole 30.  I found that I had considerable energy and actually WANTED to exercise for the first time in my life. That was a big surprise!  But now I can't wait to go to the gym and walk my laps.

I am concerned about not wanting to eat though. I've read other posts where people have similar problems. Can anyone explain why this lack of appetite occurs?  I know that I am not eating enough lately, and I don't want it to mess up my metabolism. I've had problems in the past when I was super stressed and couldn't eat, and then when I could eat again, I ballooned up in weight. Hence the reason for starting Whole 30.  I wanted to get myself started on a path of healthy eating to heal my body. 

In the meantime, I'm making coconut milk smoothies to get anything down (coconut milk, 1/2 a banana and either cacao powder or strawberries or blueberries).  And trying to eat some real food with it. But it's a struggle to eat very much anymore.  What causes this, and what can I do to correct it?  It's hard to eat when it makes you want to gag.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Carlacinni!  I was hoping it was something that wouldn't be long lasting. I want to have a healthy relationship with food, and it was concerning to me.  I've decided to try a few new recipes to maybe get myself excited about eating.  I found a great hot wings recipe on Pinterest that was so simple even I could make it. 1 tablespoon of ghee, a cup of Frank's Red Hot Original, chicken wings, and throw it in the crockpot for a few hours.  Can't wait to try it tonight.  I do tend to get tired of eating the same old food quickly, so that could be part of my problem.  Three more days until I finish my first Whole 30!   Although I plan to continue a Paleo diet as much as possible. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes everyone goes through a version of this - food boredom or food adverse.  Food boredom is a little easier to deal with as it's just a matter of trying something new as opposed to the same ol' same ol'.  Food aversion is a little more tricky as you really don't feel like eating - and you are forcing yourself to eat when you could throw up.  But I promise this phase really does get better and it does pass.  

Another point of view is that its just your brain throwing a temper tantrum wanting you to go to you old way of eating.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Carlaccini said:

Another point of view is that its just your brain throwing a temper tantrum wanting you to go to you old way of eating.

That's interesting, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's some level of truth to it! My brain is in full on revolt then, because it doesn't even want off plan foods (or old breakfast foods, or old treats, etc) - my brain says "No way man, we're not doing this." But I make it do it anyway, so we're fighting. Hope we can make up and be friends again soon. I bribe my brain with coffee - we can have some as soon as we eat some of this food. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. 

I've told my brain that we're not done with our Whole30 until we can eat veggies comfortably at M1. If that means a Whole35, Whole40, Whole45 - whatever - that's what it takes. I think it might be coming around just a little bit.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

On 9/14/2016 at 1:05 PM, Carlaccini said:

 But I promise this phase really does get better and it does pass.

Totally true ! I gained mine back on Day 17. Any advice on what to do in the meantime for others who struggle with this issue? (and for me if it happens again the next time I do a Whole30?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
1 hour ago, ana a said:

 

Totally true ! I gained mine back on Day 17. Any advice on what to do in the meantime for others who struggle with this issue? (and for me if it happens again the next time I do a Whole30?)

Eat something, don't skip meals -- that'll ultimately make you feel worse. If the thought of food makes you feel queasy, go with bland foods like grilled chicken, scrambled eggs, baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, or whatever is a tried and true favorite if you have one. If it's that you're bored, find new recipes or new spice blends or sauces to use to change things up. As was mentioned above, sometimes it's helpful to set an alarm and just make yourself eat your meal every 4-5 hours, whether you think you feel hungry or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...