How much is everyone eating?

[klnyc]

This is my first time on Whole30 (only on day 2) but I am curious to know what and how much other women typically eat in a day, I know you don't need to count calories, but I am not sure if I am eating enough, or even too much. After what I would consider a filling lunch I am now hungry again at 3pm and trying so hard not to snack. 

Today I have had 3 eggs over easy with 1/2 avocado for breakfast, a rotisserie chicken breast with 1 cup of roasted brussels sprouts and 1 cup of roasted cauliflower for lunch, and about 3 cups of herbal tea. Tonight for dinner will be compliant meatballs over zoodles.

Does this sound like the right amount? I am so used to low carb diets so I haven't been eating much in the way of fruit, so curious to know how much others actually eat fruit.

And, if I am truly hungry, is it ok to have a snack of some kind of no way?

[ladyshanny]

Did you have veggies w/ your breakfast? Veggies provide the volume so don't skimp on those, even at breakfast. Around 2-3 cups cooked or equivalent. Did you have fat with your lunch? Fat is your satiety and slows the absorption of protein so you stay full longer.

Yes, if you are legit hungry (like you would happily eat white fish and steamed broccoli), then go ahead and eat. Prioritize protein and fat between meals. Leave off fruit and nuts or fruit/nut combos, they aren't doing anything for you.

[Helen_]

Hey @klnyc It's okay to not know what your best meal sizes and ratio's are on day 2. I had to find my ratio's too and also am still working up to more veggies and a little less protein (I do not feel okay with eating so much animal protein and can only handle a couple of eggs a day, also meat and fish are expensive for me because I only want to eat grassfed/pasture raised due to my love for animals and me wanting them to have had a good life. I am always very grateful for the meat and fish on my plate and it makes me eat more conscious aswel). 

For me, I started with two eggs sunny side up, three bacon strips, half an avocado and during the first week upped the veggies by stir frying them for breakfast. (also, had to work up to eating within an hour of waking up)

On days I was hungry before lunchtime I would snack on some carrot and bacon (or other compliant deli meat), have some bone broth with veggies or some other combo of veggies and protein or fat.

Lunch mainly consisted of leftover diner with added veggies or protein or another stir fry with meat or fish.

Diner has varied a lot. I try to keep it simple but tasteful, upping my veggies even more by adding spices or compliant homemade sauces. (Also, I put a lot of chipotle on my meals, it helped me to grow into liking the vegetables. 
 

Everyday I made more when I noticed I still needed to snack to make it to the next meal.

I am on day 17 now and am confident of the amount of food I need to put on my plate and are now focused more on eating more veggies and finding a balance. How much fat do I need to add so I can eat less protein and more veggies...
 

My meals Monday, yesterday and today:

Breakfast:  Three eggs (hard boiled), sheetpan baked brussels sprouts, red onion and three slices of bacon with an avocado

Lunch: Spinach and dried tomato patties with grassfed beef (great way to eat more veggies is to put in in home made patties/meatballs and such) with a big salad that among other things holds steamed broccoli and asparagus and raw yellow and red belpepper with a very simple dressing of lime juice and olive oil

Diner: sheetpan diners like salmon with fennel and cherry tomatoes, chicken sausage with endive salade and tonight will be asian beef and broccoli (I believe this recipe comes from ' It Starts With Food'.

As you can see, I myself steer clear from nuts and fruits. This has more to do with the fact that those just not sit well with me. I am not allergic but do notice a negative effect on me. So I keep consumption to a minimum, an occasional recipe with orange juice, blueberries or almonds is fine, but I will incorporate those recipes after the whole30. Having said that, I do not lead a very active life at the moment, but would I still be doing crossfit every week and hiking more actively I would need to incorporate more potatoes and tubers. That is something you will figure out for yourself during your whole30. I have found that some "problems"  may come looking where you read others haven't or that it may take you longer to work through them. (for me this was loose stool, It has taken 2,5 weeks, but now it's fine, it just needed patience, and I do not have a tiger blood yet but notice my transition to more energy throughout the day is gradually growing and getting there on a slower steady pace and that's fine too).

Long story short, it's like Ladyshanny said: try to up the veggies and add fat to every meal. If you still need snacks (are you really okay with eating some steamed fish and broccoli?) then increase your next meal and see if that is enough. 

[ultrarunnergirl]

I follow the Meal Template. It's more food than you probably think you "should" be eating. Remember to include 2-3 cups of veggies with each meal. Possibly more if you are eating salads - make sure you have some carb dense veggies in addition to your greens. Fat at every meal - if you're only using the fat you cook in, you need to scrape it from the pan onto your food. You may still need to add additional fat - olives, avocado, etc.

You'll get the hang of it as you go. 

[chichi]

I also feel like, since we're in the ladies section, it's worth saying that you may find your meal size shifts a lot. I still can't get over how much I eat when I'm in a hormonal hunger cycle. But if I don't eat enough when my body requires it, I start missing cycles and my brain folds in half. So allow yourself to eat enough that you're full and satiated and feel good, and don't worry how much that is.

[Sue K]

I'm on my third whole 30, and on the first one I got REALLY hungry a couple of hours after I ate. I also think that a diet high in veggies "feels" different in your stomach - so sometimes I would be confused about if I was hungry or if my stomach just felt different than I was used to. I would take chicken broth (sometimes with coconut milk in it), a baked sweet potato and hard boiled eggs with me to work in case I needed something between meals (i.e. was distracted enough that I felt it was effecting my ability to work). That all seemed to work itself out in a few weeks, and on subsequent whole 30's I haven't noticed it as much.

[TanyaV]

I'm struggling with this too.  I'm doing Whole30 for several reasons (migraines, asthma, etc) but one of them is definitely weightloss.  Because of that, I question every bite.  I'm at around day 10 and so far I'm staying compliant without feeling hungry or deprived, but I'm not noticing any changes in my body.  Shouldn't I by now?

Most breakfasts I eat 2 eggs scrambled with a variety of veg ('power greens', bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado, onion - it changes daily), some chicken sausage and sometimes diced white potato.

For lunch, I usually have leftovers from the night before. Today it will be white potatoes, compliant home made guac, mexican seasoned ground beef with peppers and tomatoes and  snap peas on the side.  I have an emergency banana with me in case I'm dying for a snack at 3pm.

Dinner tonight will be lamb chops, veg (not sure yet - maybe artichokes with homemade mayo) and sweet potato.  Followed by some almonds and dried fruit. (I am having trouble breaking the 'dessert' concept)

 

[ladyshanny]

55 minutes ago, TanyaV said:

I'm struggling with this too.  I'm doing Whole30 for several reasons (migraines, asthma, etc) but one of them is definitely weightloss.  Because of that, I question every bite.  I'm at around day 10 and so far I'm staying compliant without feeling hungry or deprived, but I'm not noticing any changes in my body.  Shouldn't I by now?

Most breakfasts I eat 2 eggs scrambled with a variety of veg ('power greens', bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado, onion - it changes daily), some chicken sausage and sometimes diced white potato.

For lunch, I usually have leftovers from the night before. Today it will be white potatoes, compliant home made guac, mexican seasoned ground beef with peppers and tomatoes and  snap peas on the side.  I have an emergency banana with me in case I'm dying for a snack at 3pm.

Dinner tonight will be lamb chops, veg (not sure yet - maybe artichokes with homemade mayo) and sweet potato.  Followed by some almonds and dried fruit. (I am having trouble breaking the 'dessert' concept)

 

No, I don't think it's particularly realistic to really see noticeable weight loss in 10 days. Sorry.  I get it, it sucks. But this is a long game. Like........looooooooooooooooooong. Your ticket right now is to figure out your meal composition and portions, balance your blood sugar and hormones, find your migraine triggers and figure out how you relate to food.

One of the things you can do is pack a protein + fat snack (hardboiled egg + guac or chicken thigh + mayo) instead of the emergency banana. The protein + fat has more staying power and gets you further nutrition and hormone/blood sugar balancing than a banana. Blood sugar balance and hormonal balance are where weight loss lives. Bodies that are not hormonally balanced don't typically lose weight. You can eat fruit but have it WITH a proper meal (protein, veggies, fat) rather than just as an emergency.

The almonds/dried fruit dessert thing is also something WELL worth working on because of the long game aspect. Right now although the foods are compliant, you're just reinforcing that dessert mentality and when Whole30 is over it's a pretty simple slide back to the sweet/sugary/carby things we normally get used to eating as dessert. If you can break that habit, you'll set yourself up better for when Whole30 is over. This work also lets you prepare your mind for changing your relationship with food which helps the long game as well. 

For you to have a bit more comfort in your meals, make sure you're hitting the template for protein, fat and veggies. Load up on 2-3+ cups of cooked non-starchy veggie (or equivalent) and adequate protein (1-2 palms). And before you snack between meals (preferably on protein and fat as mentioned above), ask yourself if you would eat something super bland like steamed green beans and plain baked white fish. If the answer is "nope!", you're having a craving and you need to just work through it. If you WOULD eat the fish/broc, go ahead and have that snack.

[Lucyk8]

So glad this thread is here!  I'm on day one, after a restart from freakin SOY LECITHIN in hot tea!!!!  I'd like to know a general time frame of what to eat and when.  (I understand the meal planning guide and the allowed foods, everything is compliantly balanced)  I wake up at 5am, usually have black coffee, a hb egg and a banana while I pack my breakfast and lunch.  Then a commute to school.  Breakfast at 8, luncheon at 12:30, commute, dinner at 5:30-7, bed by 10.  All meals except the first one are balanced, but I eat a king's breakfast, a lady's luncheon and a paupers dinner.  

Long story short: am I eating appropriately? 

 

[ShannonM816]

4 hours ago, Lucyk8 said:

So glad this thread is here!  I'm on day one, after a restart from freakin SOY LECITHIN in hot tea!!!!  I'd like to know a general time frame of what to eat and when.  (I understand the meal planning guide and the allowed foods, everything is compliantly balanced)  I wake up at 5am, usually have black coffee, a hb egg and a banana while I pack my breakfast and lunch.  Then a commute to school.  Breakfast at 8, luncheon at 12:30, commute, dinner at 5:30-7, bed by 10.  All meals except the first one are balanced, but I eat a king's breakfast, a lady's luncheon and a paupers dinner.  

Long story short: am I eating appropriately? 

 

Usually we recommend having breakfast within an hour of waking up, and then plan other meals 4-5 hours apart.  If the eating schedule you have now is working for you and you feel good it may be fine for you, but if you're not feeling great, maybe try to do something closer to a full breakfast first thing, and then a mini-meal between that and lunch if you need it. You could make up frittatas or egg muffins beforehand to have for breakfast -- they can be reheated, or they're not bad cold if you're really short on time. Or even meatballs or burger patties or something like that. Soup can be a great breakfast option too -- an easy way to get more veggies in, can be blended to be somewhat drinkable. 

[Bootsie1947]

On 1/16/2018 at 3:24 PM, klnyc said:

This is my first time on Whole30 (only on day 2) but I am curious to know what and how much other women typically eat in a day, I know you don't need to count calories, but I am not sure if I am eating enough, or even too much. After what I would consider a filling lunch I am now hungry again at 3pm and trying so hard not to snack. 

Today I have had 3 eggs over easy with 1/2 avocado for breakfast, a rotisserie chicken breast with 1 cup of roasted brussels sprouts and 1 cup of roasted cauliflower for lunch, and about 3 cups of herbal tea. Tonight for dinner will be compliant meatballs over zoodles.

Does this sound like the right amount? I am so used to low carb diets so I haven't been eating much in the way of fruit, so curious to know how much others actually eat fruit.

And, if I am truly hungry, is it ok to have a snack of some kind of no way?

 

[Bootsie1947]

Hi that sounds like a perfect amount to eat. I’m on day onesmdjistcpuldnt eat threeeggs but never have. So I judge by what I feel. I stop before I feel full and wait to see if I do. 

If im  hungry I will have a glass of some Silk unsweetened almond milk as that’s ok to have. 

I had tuna fish on tomatoes with avacadi gor lunch. Dinner will be fish and veggies. 

Hey what does “compliant food” mean? 

Bootsie

[SugarcubeOD]

1 hour ago, Bootsie1947 said:

Hi that sounds like a perfect amount to eat. I’m on day onesmdjistcpuldnt eat threeeggs but never have. So I judge by what I feel. I stop before I feel full and wait to see if I do. 

If im  hungry I will have a glass of some Silk unsweetened almond milk as that’s ok to have. 

I had tuna fish on tomatoes with avacadi gor lunch. Dinner will be fish and veggies. 

Hey what does “compliant food” mean? 

Bootsie

Unsweetened almond milk IS okay to have but we strongly discourage drinking milk as a substitute for eating food.  If you're hungry, eat food.  Drinking your food messes with satiety signals and does not have staying power to keep you feeling full. 

Compliant food means food that matches the rules of the program.  So a store bought mayo that is made with soy oil would not be compliant to the rules of the program but a store bought mayo made with olive oil that also has no other ingredients off limits WOULD be compliant.

Don't forget to add fat to your dinner