shodack Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 So I brought home a bag of unsweetened toasted coconut shavings, knowing my husband would enjoy them... Handed him the bag thinking he'd take a handful. Just went and removed the nearly empty bag from his desk- according to the package he just ate 10 servings, nearly 1000 calories of coconut... Soooo, do I just not buy it again? We are on Day 13 of our first Whole30. I was surprised he wanted to participate at all, but he has taken it quite seriously and seems to really be enjoying being a part of meal planning and cooking. However, in the last 2 days his appetite has been out of control. Like eating an amount that I would think would make him feel ill. Of course what he's consuming is all compliant, but the quantities are like teenage boy quantities. My husband is disabled and has a relatively low energy output. He gets very little exercise as a general rule, although he does go through phases of walking on the treadmill. Should I worry about portion control with him? I should say that both of the "overeating" episodes have been while I'm not around to slow him down. Any advice? He's come so far, I don't want to see him sabotage himself almost halfway through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanmuri Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I don't remember if it's the Whole30 book but in the Food Freedom Forever book it says that if something becomes a bit of a replacement for your usual sweet fix, you should probably avoid it during the Whole30, since you're just replacing one thing for another. I don't think you have to start over, just take note that this is something you better keep out of his reach for the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted October 10, 2016 Moderators Share Posted October 10, 2016 If he's hungry, truly hungry, be sure he's eating enough at meals. Even if he's relatively inactive, he may need more food, and that's okay. Just try to make sure he's eating in the context of full meals. Make sure when you plate up food, that you're each basing your meals on the size of your own hands -- his hands may be bigger than yours. And remember that the meal template specifies a range of serving sizes -- 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein, 1-2 servings of fat (thumb-size servings of oil, heaping handfuls of olives or coconut flakes, small handfuls of nuts/seeds, half to a whole avocado), and then fill the plate with vegetables. Most people don't really do that last part. We'll say 1-3 cups of vegetables, but really, one cup is hardly filling the plate. Meals done this way should keep you satisfied for 4-5 hours between meals, and some people find they are able to go longer when they need to once they're fat adapted. If he's hungry in less time than that, have him eat a mini-meal of protein, fat, and vegetables, or at least two of the three, and then work on making his meals bigger going forward. If he's eating because he's bored or emotional, that's a different issue altogether, and one you won't necessarily be able to fix unless he realizes that's what's going on and wants to change. Usually what we tell people is, if they'd eat something fairly bland like steamed fish and broccoli, then they're hungry and should eat, but if they wouldn't eat that, but would eat something tastier, they're probably not really hungry. If he's not really hungry, he might find it helpful to find a way to distract himself -- go for a walk, read a book, clean something, work on a hobby, journal how he's feeling/why he thinks he wants food, just something to keep his hands and mind busy for a little while. Many people find it helpful not to buy things that they are prone to overeating, so if it's specifically the coconut flakes that he overeats, it might be good not to buy them anymore. If he's overeating whatever he can find, not just very specific foods, then you need to figure out why he's eating, and fix that, whether it's that he's truly hungry, or that he's using food to deal with boredom or emotions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shodack Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 Thank you both! I think I wont buy the coconut again for starters. In general I think his overeating is and has always been a product of either boredom or emotions. He spends the majority of his time playing computer games, and is sort of an absent minded eater- will just keep eating whatever is in front of him. Thus 5 oz of dried coconut in one sitting... I'll work on talking to him about it, but my experience has been he doesn't want to work on it. It can be frustrating... But he IS making progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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