Am I eating too much?

[KBD]

I started Whole30 five days ago and am feeling pretty okay, but do think that I may be overeating with each meal.  I've take a look at the recommendation of palm sizes and thumb sizes, but not really sure that it is working.  I'm following the recipes in the books and app, but the portions feel bigger than they should for me.  How do I know if I'm eating too much? 

Also, I am a snacker so I do munch on an apple a day and dried mango throughout the day.  Is that really bad?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[ShannonM816]

If you're used to kind of "grazing" throughout the day, have several small meals and snacks, the portions are going to seem big to you. The idea is to eat enough at a meal that you're not hungry for 4-5 hours after, and therefore don't need snacks. It may take you a little while to get to this point, but that's what you should be working toward. 

Why do you think you're overeating at each meal? Do you feel super stuffed and miserable? Or are you just used to seeing smaller portions on your plate? If you're stuffed and miserable, then it's possible you're overeating, or possibly that you need to make some changes to what you're eating -- sometimes raw vegetables or cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower) may make some people feel more full faster. If you want feedback on your meals, you can list a day or two of what you're typically eating, including approximate portion sizes, and we can see if it looks like you're on the right track.

If you are hungry between meals, we recommend having a mini meal with protein, fat, and vegetables, or at least two of the three. We don't recommend having fruit on its own for a few reasons. First, fruit on its own will make your blood sugar spike and then drop. Second, having fruit throughout the day will keep you craving sweets. Finally, especially with the dried fruit, it's really easy to overeat it that. An apple and a mango would be your two servings of fruit in a day (possibly more, depending on how big they are) -- how many mangoes worth of dried mango do you eat throughout the day?