Portion Control

[Elana Finkel]

Hi community. Day 15 here and beginning to wonder if I am overeating or not. I know the portion control link shows about a palm-sized portion of protein per meal, thumb-size amount of fat, lots of veggies etc and I try my best to follow this however I am finding that I am generally eating more than a palm-sized amount of protein (especially at dinner!) because my meals have not been filling enough. I look at other people's portions and food posts and I follow different whole 30 food ig accounts/ bloggers and so forth and if I am being honest and comparing my meals, my meals always look bigger than my friends meals! Or they are sometimes the same size as the meals of a fully-grown adult man, not a woman. 

My concern is this: I love this eating lifestyle, I love my meals, I look forward to everything I eat, but at the end of the day I don't want to develop bad eating habits because I love to eat so much. And I don't want to gain weight because I am accidentally going overboard on my food intake.

 

Here's an average day in my food life right now:

Breakfast: Big slice of "quiche" (sweet potato crust) and some veggies on side.

This week it's two egg "muffins" (egg mixture with veggies, wrapped in prosciutto) with arugula/radicchio salad (just lemon squeeze for dressing).

Lunch: Handful of shredded roasted chicken at bottom of jar of tahini-dressed kale salad with some cranberries (juice-sweetened) and walnuts.

Snack: usually one or two boiled eggs with a fruit.

Dinner: Often a full sweet potato, big salad or pile of veggies and two sausages (in photo) or steak or fillet of salmon.

Pre workout has been an approved almond butter packet because it's fast and I can eat it quick in the morning before my swims.

Exercise: I swim every other day about 2200 meters, and in-between days I do an A/B lifting routine (Upper A/Lower A/ Upper B/Lower B ) kind of thing. I also teach first graders and run around a lot in-between sitting for periods of planning. 

 

 

 

[kirkor]

The template is a range not a fixed amount, so it's 1-2 palms of protein, 1-2 thumbs of fat, 1-3 cups of vegetables.  So eating at the higher end of the template is no problem at all.

With your lifestyle and the descriptions and photos you posted, I don't see any reason to scale back.  I think "in general" the pics you see of other people may look like less food than you because (A) many people approach the Whole30 as a weight loss gimmick and (B) they aren't as active as you are.

[Elana Finkel]

Thank you @kirkor ! I think I just needed some reassurance. It’s kind of nerve-racking to undo and revamp my entire diet considering I was eating nearly the same meals every day before, thinking they were healthy and basing them off calories rather than portions and listening to my body. Plus I’m doing this alone in my household so even more uncertainty since I don’t have an in-person partner to watch and struggle with through this stuff. 

So yeah, thanks!

[ultrarunnergirl]

You're definitely not eating too much.

If you find you need a snack every day, try making your lunch bigger. You should be able to go a minimum of 4 hours before you get hungry again.

Keep up the good work!

[ladyshanny]

On 18/01/2018 at 4:22 PM, kirkor said:

I think "in general" the pics you see of other people may look like less food than you because (A) many people approach the Whole30 as a weight loss gimmick and (B) they aren't as active as you are.

It's also worth mentioning that people will plate up what looks like an "insta-worthy" meal, snap a picture and then load up the REST of the food. Social media is, at best, an illusion and at worst, a manipulation.

[SugarcubeOD]

1 hour ago, ladyshanny said:

It's also worth mentioning that people will plate up what looks like an "insta-worthy" meal, snap a picture and then load up the REST of the food. Social media is, at best, an illusion and at worst, a manipulation.

I do that... I've fessed up to it here somewhere... I either take a pic of half my plate or I put two eggs down, take a pic and then plate the rest so as to remain 'socially acceptable'.  It's idiotic at best and damaging for others at worst...