Post Whole30 - Day 14

[saraip]

It's been 2 weeks since I finished my Whole30 - I'm still having troubles figuring out the exact portion I need to keep me going. 

I was often tired during my Whole30 because I wasn't feeding my body enough.  I was eating a lot already, I mean...the exact same portion, if not more than my partner.  We always have a good portion of meat with its fat and a large amount of veg.

I've attached pictures of my meals for reference.

For example, I thought I was quite full last night after dinner - roasted pork shoulder, brussels sprouts, and potatoes.  However, I kept waking up hungry in the middle of the night and I'm very tired today.

If I eat comfortably full at a meal, I'll be hungry in approx. 3 hours, but if I eat until I'm FULL, then the food doesn't seem to digest properly.  I was starving at lunch today so I ate my lunch really fast and it was a large portion too.  Now this Whole30 chili isn't digesting properly, it's just sitting in my stomach, I'm round as a ball

I tried eating smaller (comfortable) portions but then I'd need to snack in a few hours.  However, I don't always have time to snack, when that happens, my body goes into energy reserve mode - tired and slow.

Does anyone also have issues figuring out the right amount to eat? 

 

[ShannonM816]

Are you adding fat in addition to what you're cooking in? if you're not, that might help -- it's also easy to add without adding a huge amount of volume of food. Make sauces like pesto, hollandaise, or chimichurri to pour over your meat and vegetables, have a dollop of mayo or some guacamole to dip them in.

Also, don't eat too fast, and try limiting your water at meal time because it can dilute stomach acid. You might look into probiotics, whether in pills or in fermented foods like Sauerkraut, kimchi, or kombucha.

You might also think about what vegetables you're eating -- cruciferous veggies like Brussel sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower can cause bloating and gas for many people, so if you're eating more of them than usual, that might contribute to feeling like things aren't digesting properly.

[saraip]

Thanks @ShannonM816

We do a lot of roasted meat so there is plenty of animal fat still attached which I love indulging in.  We roast our veggies in olive oil or sometimes in leftover animal fat from the roast.  I did make pesto on a weekly basis but I was so addicted to it, I had to stop.  I'd eat it off the spoon!

I only eat fast when I've been hungry for too long, like today...I felt like I've been starving since 2am!  Other times, I eat very slow...I sit and enjoy my food, usually it takes me 40-60mins to complete my meal

I'd say we mix our veggies up a lot, I usually have kale and mushrooms with my eggs in the morning, zucchini or some sort of Chinese leafy greens at lunch with my meat, then Brussels sprouts in the evening, along with carrots, parsnips, potatoes, or whatever we get our hands on.

I'll think about going back to Pesto...but I feel like sometimes I have no self control over it!  OR...I could have some avocados ready.  I like putting fresh lime juice and pepper on my avos!

Just wondering if others are taking this long to figure out their meal sizes...

[ArtFossil]

@saraip, personally I don't think that the fat from roasted meat and the roasting oil is enough. I found that making sure I had a serving of additional fat was key to both satiety and satisfaction. I would add ghee, mayonnaise, avocado or another fat to your meals.

My acupuncturist always reminds me to CHEW my food. He urges that I chew my food almost to the consistency of soup. I understand wanting to eat fast when you're hungry but if you make your meals a sastisfying composition and size, it will be easier to remember to eat slowly.

Also, that's a LOT of brussel sprouts if you are having them every day. What about broccoli and asparagus, not to mention a million other vegetable you could eat. It's possible that making sure that you really have a lot of variety with your vegetables will help.

I also second the recommendation about NOT drinking liquid with your meal. Just eat the food and you may find your digestion much improved.

[saraip]

@ArtFossil We only started having Brussels sprouts everyday this week, if you look at my meals above, we do have a wide variety of veg ( I think) 

What sort of veg are you eating each week?

We often cook whatever we can get our hands on at the market/store after work, we never really have cravings for specific veg.  We have been using asparagus but not so much broccoli as organic ones costs a limb!

[ArtFossil]

38 minutes ago, saraip said:

@ArtFossil We only started having Brussels sprouts everyday this week, if you look at my meals above, we do have a wide variety of veg ( I think) 

What sort of veg are you eating each week?

We often cook whatever we can get our hands on at the market/store after work, we never really have cravings for specific veg.  We have been using asparagus but not so much broccoli as organic ones costs a limb!

I pretty much eat all the veggies. On my Whole30, I rarely ate raw greens as it takes a giant bowl just to equal one cup. I was more likely to have cooked greens or a chopped Greek type salad. I rarely had white potatoes as I found them hard to digest and had sweet potatoes once or twice a week as I didn't want them to crowd out other vegetables (they are very filling). 

I usually had two palms of protein and in general ate larger quantities than you show.  I ate on a roughly 7:30 - 1:30 - 6:30 schedule and had no trouble going 5 hours or more between meals. 

I also forgot to mention that olives were also another favorite fat source of mine.

Really, the key is to follow the template and to tweak your choices so that you are satisfied and fueled. 

[saraip]

@ArtFossil

Ah!  Yes!  Olives!  I recently did buy 4 jars for my upcoming travels and completely forgot about them.  haha...thanks for reminding me.

I can't eat raw veg as it bloats me and sometimes gives me a bad stomach as well.  I've tested many times...

I'll try and indulge in a some olives and avos at each meal from now on...

As for protein, I'm still confused...I feel like eating 2 portions of meat (unfortunately I don't like fish/seafood) at each meal seems a lot for me.  I'm quite petite, 5'1" and weighs about 46Kg?!  The strategy shall be to tweak the template until I find that balance!!!