Meal Size

[larazee]

This is my first time on a Whole30, but I've been paleo for about 7 months so it hasn't been a huge change in the food content for me. Aside from issues with insomnia (which has always been a chronic problem for me), I'm feeling good. My problem is trying to eat only 3-4 daily meals, and reducing snacks- I usually eat many smaller meals. I've increased the amount of fat/protein per meal and I eat until I'm full, but I feel full very quickly, and then get hungry again within a few hours. If I increase my meal size any more I feel uncomfortably bloated and a bit sick. Should I force myself to eat more even though it makes me sick, or just continue with my more frequent eating pattern?

[Tom Denham]

I ate 5 to 6 meals per day when I did my first Whole30. Over the following months, I worked down to 4 or 5 meals and then 3 or 4 meals. It was more than 1.5 years before I was eating just 3 meals per day ever. I honestly can't say whether I am eating bigger meals or fattier meals now than I was at first. Or whether I just don't need to eat as much. I just know that after many months of eating this way, I got to where I was comfortable going 4 to 6 hours between meals.

So basically, eat a meal when you become hungry. If that is every 3 hours, so be it. It is important to eat protein, fat, and veggies when you do eat to really nourish your body and not to just fill your stomach with a snack to hold you off until meal time.