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Day 4 and I haven't felt hungry since before I started?


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Since starting Whole30, I have eaten less than what is recommended every day because I just don't feel hungry. I still try to eat 3 meals a day, but sometimes only end up eating 2 (because of a very strange work schedule this week) and I haven't had an appetite at all. 

Does this mean I am doing something wrong? Is this a common problem?

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Hi @erinshina - how different is this way of eating to how you ate previously? Have you got food prepared, or just not really feeling up to prepping anything once meal time comes along?

Depending on where you've come from appetite could be a struggle initially - especially breakfast - and is often indicative of a hormonal imbalance and doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. We'd encourage you to keep trying because eventually the hormones start to come in to line & your appetite gets back to normal.

So keep plating up your meals, eating from them what you can (try to ensure you get some of each food group), and then the remainder as soon as you feel able. Eventually you'll be hungry for each meal & be more than capable of clearing your plate.

Let us know how you get on....

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It is a very different diet than what I had previously. In the past few years I have had a binge eating problem, where I would eat chips and candy and cereal, pretty much anything I wanted to eat even when I wasn't hungry. My meals in the past year have been relatively healthy, snacking was the problem. 

Prepping/cooking isn't a problem at all, in fact my boyfriend does most of that (we're doing the program together). I just genuinely don't feel hungry when it's time to eat. 

Thank you for the advice! I'm excited about this program!

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I'm having the same issue right now (though this isn't my first Whole 30).  Breakfast in particular I just do not want.  But, just last week, I would wake up starving and have no trouble eating a breakfast sandwich or something on my way to work.  My diet has really slipped since doing my first Whole 30 and I was having bread almost every day. :( 

I have my breakfasts prepared already and I even brought an entire week's worth to work on Tuesday.  I just have zero desire to eat though.  I start to think about eating around 11:00.  

Would it be horrible to eat only a piece of fruit for breakfast?  The frittata I made just has no appeal lately, I don't know why.  

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@creativenikki

Not wanting to eat your breakfast until 11am is a sure sign that your  hormones are unbalanced. Eating within an hour of waking is key! The way to fix this is to plate up that meal, eat as much as you can from it (evenly of protein, fat, veg) and then take it with you and as soon as you feel you could stomach more, eat more... don't wait to be hungry.

It wouldn't be 'horrible' to eat a piece of fruit for breakfast but it would not be our recommendation and it would not help the hormones get rebalanced or set you up for a good food day... fruit is high in sugar, it will cause a spike and then a crash and it's almost no fuel to go on until lunch.  Keep trying with your fritatta.. even if it has no appeal, eat it anyway... tough love: sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do, just to get over the bump... this is one of those... eat a template breakfast within an hour of waking! :)

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I have always had a hard time eating within an hour of waking.  How do other people do that, seriously?  I wake up, get in the shower and fix my hair/make-up immediately because I have to do it before my husband leaves/daughter wakes up.  My daughter usually wakes up before I'm totally ready so then I have to get her ready (diaper, change clothes, bottle).  Then I finish getting dressed myself.  It's been at least 45 minutes since I woke up by that point.  But the real challenge is actually preparing/doing anything because my daughter needs a lot of attention (15 months old and into absolutely everything) and my husband leaves at 6:30 for work.   We leave the house at 7:15 to bring her to school, then I go to work.  

I usually eat breakfast either in the car on my way to work or after I get to work, which is around 8:30/9:00 depending on traffic.  I wake up at 6:00.  I haven't come up with any whole 30 breakfasts that I can eat while driving, but even that isn't until 7:30 after my daughter is dropped off.  I'm open to suggestions though; at least 7:30 is closer.  

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I've had no appetite either. I haven't wanted to touch food until after 11am. Once I do start eating I feel full after a few bites. 

ive had a stressful week so maybe mine is more anxiety based rather than Whole 30?

Either way, I don't feel like I'm doing this right. 

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On 1/4/2017 at 8:29 AM, jmcbn said:

So keep plating up your meals, eating from them what you can (try to ensure you get some of each food group), and then the remainder as soon as you feel able. Eventually you'll be hungry for each meal & be more than capable of clearing your plate.

@whole_kat This is the best advice. Keep doing this and things will turn around. Your hormones won't fix themselves in a day, it may take time.

@creativenikki I would suggest having your breakfast prepared the night before. A strata/breakfast casserole is a great option because you can just pop a slice in the toaster oven or micro and it's ready. Or something like my husband's breakfast is easy too - he preps it (even pre peels the eggs) -  the night before. He eats 2-3 HB eggs, a sliced aidles sausage and roasted veggies almost every day. He heats up the sausage and veggies and has his HB eggs along side that with dollops of mayo on them. I do something similar, but it's usually just left overs from the previous dinner. Heat and eat :) 

 

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@J9er What is a strata?  Is that like a frittata?  

I guess the trouble I have is that Whole 30 food really can't be eaten while driving.  The only way I can sit down and eat a meal that requires a plate/fork is if I do it before my daughter is awake.  I don't know if it is smart to get up an extra half hour early or not.  I sleep from 10:00 to 6:00 now, give or take.  So, do I sleep less so I can eat within an hour?  Which is more important?  

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4 minutes ago, creativenikki said:

@J9er What is a strata?  Is that like a frittata?  

I guess the trouble I have is that Whole 30 food really can't be eaten while driving.  The only way I can sit down and eat a meal that requires a plate/fork is if I do it before my daughter is awake.  I don't know if it is smart to get up an extra half hour early or not.  I sleep from 10:00 to 6:00 now, give or take.  So, do I sleep less so I can eat within an hour?  Which is more important?  

I wouldn't cut back on sleep.

Could you have something premade -- like the frittata or whatever -- and heat it up while you shower, grab and eat it, then do your hair? Or if you're okay eating it cold, can you just grab a slice and eat it just before your shower? Can your husband help with getting your daughter changed, or at least keep her entertained for a few more minutes so you could get some food at that point?  Or could you take the frittata slice with you and eat it in the car -- mine usually hold together well enough to pick them up with my fingers.

At the very least, could you get yourself a mug of a blended soup to drink as you get ready, so at least you have some food within an hour of waking, and then have the rest of your breakfast at work?

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1 minute ago, creativenikki said:

@J9er What is a strata?  Is that like a frittata?  

I guess the trouble I have is that Whole 30 food really can't be eaten while driving.  The only way I can sit down and eat a meal that requires a plate/fork is if I do it before my daughter is awake.  I don't know if it is smart to get up an extra half hour early or not.  I sleep from 10:00 to 6:00 now, give or take.  So, do I sleep less so I can eat within an hour?  Which is more important?  

Haha, sorry! I meant frittata. Strata is a baked egg dish and it contains bread lol....

Yes, I see your predicament. And yes I would probably vote for sleep being more important overall. And eating in the car is not enjoyable either. I guess I would say just do the best you can. If happen to get to bed early, maybe you can get up earlier, but you can only do what you can do. 

 

 

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@J9er  At least I've got the frittata thing right.  That's my staple Whole 30 breakfast.  I really do hate eating in the car, but with Chicago traffic I spend a lot of time in there, unfortunately.  I only drive 16 miles but it takes over an hour and sometimes over 90 minutes.  My schedule is just really challenging right now.  My daughter is really young and needs to be watched all the time.  My husband has to get to work early in order to be able to pick our daughter up from daycare on time (she can only be there 10 hours max), so I end up with the mornings.  Even eating when I get to work is a challenge because I own my own business so the second I walk through the door I am bombarded with questions/problems/whatever.  

Anyway, I'm going to see if I can try eating at home tomorrow (so not in the car or at work)... it will take a small miracle, but maybe my daughter will sleep in or something.  The last time I did a Whole 30 was before I was pregnant/the first 2 weeks of pregnancy (so before I even knew).  Life was much simpler then.

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Ugh. Chicago traffic! I've only driven through a couple of times, but it was terrible! 

Sounds like you have a plan. Just do your best and don't feel bad if it doesn't work out. In an ideal world it would be so nice for you to have the moment to eat, but your daughter won't be 15 months old forever either, and eating any breakfast at all is probably a small feat!

Good luck!

@creativenikki

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Yep, I'd second the meatballs (and maybe some mayo for dipping?), and you could always have a mug of hot blended veg soup alongside - it's soothing first thing in the morning, you don't have to be sitting (granted, not ideal but we're talking time saving here!), and gets you closer to the template.

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I had this problem during my first Whole30- just had no appetite or even felt nauseous eating.  i forced myself to try to eat until I just felt too nauseous but would then come back to the meal when I felt slightly better. For me it passed by about Day 10, so good luck on that front!

For portable breakfasts I like pre-cooked sweet potato sausage balls. I mix about 1lb ground pork, 1 cooked sweet potato, sautéed onions and a handful of raisins (spice as desired- I like harrissa).  Form into golf ball size balls and bake at 350 for about 30 min. They freeze well and can be heated up in the microwave in minutes.

And my favorite lite breakfast that helped me ease into eating more in the mornings (and enjoying it more) was sliced pears wrapped in prosciutto. Couldn't be easier and it feels like an indulgence, but compliant!  Good luck!

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Egg muffins are good too and they are freezable, you can also eat them cold and with one hand.  Eat one as soon as you get up and then take a couple to sneak in here or there when you have a minute to take a bite. Its not ideal but better than waiting 2-3 hours to eat. Hopefully you have some options that might work for you now.

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I too have been having trouble not being hungry most of the day.  I'm on day 5 of my first Whole30. On day 1, I  had normal hunger.  However on days 2-5, i have had minimal hunger and no difficulty resisting a break room that is always full of cookies and candy.  (My pre-Whole30 normal was to succumb to the temptation of the sweets several times a day.  And on prior diets, I felt starved and found resisting goodies to be agonizing.  So the lack of agony is surprising. My prior normal was also to be quite hungry at each meal and to eat a much larger portion of food that I am eating now.) The headaches and "flu" feeling of the first few days has passed.  And i feel great.

I'm not much of a cook.  So my "go to" meal for breakfast and lunch during the work week has been the protein salad on page 161 of The Whole30 book.  I make it the night before and have a few bites of egg salad before i leave for work and then have some more about 11am.  And then the rest of the egg salad about 3 hours later.  I'm not hungry at either mini meal, but I make a point of eating. I also made the protein salad with chicken, veggies and half an apple for lunch. However, I have not gotten to the chicken salad all week and it is still in the refrigerator at work.  The volume of egg salad i make is about two cups.  I use two hard boiled eggs, 10 grapes, 1 T Primal Kitchen mayonnaise and lots of chopped veggies.  I also have 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries or raspberries. So I'm having a couple of bites before i leave for work, about 1 cup around 11am and the rest around 2 or 3pm.  I eat the berries a few at a time with each mini meal and i finish them with dinner. I also have a tiny fingerling red or purple baked potato with each mini meal.  I'm reasonably hungry at dinner and have protein salad with tuna or one of the perfect seared chicken breasts on page 157 of The Whole30 book with a salad that includes 1/4 of a small avocado and has aged balsamic vinegar for dressing. It was reassuring to read the responses of jmcbn and sugarcubeOD that the lack of hunger is due to hormonal imbalance that will correct itself. So my remaining question is whether this ok or whether I need to try to eat more before i leave for work or during the day? 

 

 

'''''

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Sorry, just to clarify, you make egg salad using two eggs and then split that for three meals?

Have you seen the meal template?  It's the bare minimum an adult human needs to eat... eggs when they are your sole source of protein are as many as you can hold in one hand without dropping.  Vegetables we ask you to fill your plate, so 2 cups of egg salad split over those meals is not nearly enough.

The only way to fix this is to eat three template meals a day... it won't correct itself, you need to correct it with how you eat.  I don't think your hunger signals can be trusted and would recommend that you make and eat at least three template meals a day, the first one being within an hour of waking.

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Thank You SugarCubeOD.  To clarify, I had been splitting the Protein Salad with 2 eggs over two meals (one egg per meal).  The first meal was further split with a couple of bites before i left for work and the rest at 11am.  Then the second meal at 2 or 3pm.  The third meal (dinner) was a template meal. I followed your advice today and made three template meals.  For breakfast, i had the Kitchen Sink Scrambled Eggs with two eggs from The Whole30 book. I just ate them slowly as i was not hungry.  It's working fine that way.  The Protein Salad with two eggs made the night before is fabulous for my busy work mornings.  Next week, I'll just eat it slowly as I'm getting dressed and have a separate template meal at lunch and dinner. Thank you for the advice.

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