Snacking....

[MrsE44]

Sooo....I'm on day 3 and having a hard time not snacking. For example, this morning for meal 1, I had 3 eggs scrambled with tomato and 1/2 a sweet potato with cinnamon and coconut milk in my coffee. This was at 7am. By 10:30, I am hungry again. What am I doing/not doing? Also, allergic to avocado & banana, so adding more fat or fruit seems hard.

[Kirsteen]

Snacking isn't really encouraged because your meals should be enough to keep you going from one to the next but it can take a while to work out how much you need to eat so if you're really hungry have a small mini meal some protein, fat and veggies to keep you going. Maybe some more veggies with breakfast would help. I really wouldn't worry about not having banana or fruit but if you want to up the fat without avocado, you could use more coconut oil or ghee in your scrambled eggs. For other meals you could always add olives or home made mayo or olive oil. i'm sure you'll soon work out how much you need to keep you full. good luck

[Samphire]

You could try increasing your breakfast as Kirsteen said. Or you could just ride it out. I'm on day 15 and I wanted to eat today about 10.30ish and it's because I would often have a snack at that time. I just had a cup of tea instead and took a 5 min break from work to relax and then was able to go quite easily to lunchtime. The urge to eat subsisted.

Don't fret. Unless you have something seriously wrong with your blood sugar levels you're not going to come to any harm before lunch! We're all so used to eating at the first signal of hunger that it takes us time to realise that appetite comes in waves and doesn't last.

[kat2021]

Drinking a big glass of water can help curb the urge to snack and make you feel fuller.

I used to snack at 10:30 everyday, too - but then I noticed I only did it at work, and not when I was at home. Decided it was just out of boredom/routine and now I don't miss it.

[elora.sharon]

I'm having sort of the same issue (I'm on day 4, a first-timer). I worked in a restaurant for the past 7 years, so I have become a habitual snacker. Now, that's definitely a habit I'd like to break, but I also just can't bring myself to eat bigger meals. If I eat a big meal at breakfast I don't really want to move the rest of the day. And yet, I'm hungry a few hours later usually. So I'm not quite sure what to do. I guess I just need to make my meals bigger and pay more attention to the suggested template of portions, and my body will eventually adjust. When I do snack, I think that I'm pretty good about assessing whether I'm actually hungry, so I feel like, if my body needs something, feed it. But I don't really know what are good snacks apart from hardboiled eggs, fruit, and veggies. I also did sort of a half-assed shopping trip last week, but I'm stocking up this weekend so I'm prepared. Sorry this is long; I'm very wordy.

[Beets]

Also, why hold back with the other half of the potato? It's hard to break our ideas about what meals should look like, especially if we've counted calories or followed the more meals are better mentality.

From what I've been reading, it takes awhile for your body to adjust to fewer meals and no snacks. Our bodies are used to getting a blast of sugar every couple hours so in these early days the snacky feelings can be expected. However, rather than looking for snack ideas, I think the idea is to figure out how to feed yourself better at your meals.

I try to follow what I've read monitors saying in different threads, if you need to eat don't think about the usual "diet" snacks, but rather eat a mini meal that follows the meal plan--but in smaller proportions. I have this printed out and taped to my fridge: http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf

OP: are you eating enough fat? I don't see any fat listed in your meal, but maybe you just aren't listing them. THrow a spoonful of ghee on your potato. Fat is your friend when you are trying to get rid of those snacky feelings. (And, in general.)

[Michelle13]

I'm on day 2. I had that problem yesterday. Today, I had a preWorkout and postWorkout meal (breakfast) then waited for lunch without a snack. This afternoon I've been feeling very hungry, but had some tea and waiting it out. I did increase my meal size today so hopefully my body will get used to it. I worry about not having enough to get me through my workouts. Good luck!

[Jtandi]

I'm going to agree with adding more fat. I would have a scoop of coconut butter or add 1/2 to a whole avocado, the fat will keep you full longer without making you want to sit all day!

I found that, for me, in the beginning I needed to eat larger meals to help carry me between meals, as I've continued I found at one point that I needed to reduce the size of my meal because I was stuffed after eating...and there will be days when I'm more hungry or less, it's sometimes hard to eat more than my "normal" serving because somehow I feel like I should be done, but adjusting is part of the process...

[Beets]

Yes. I'm on Day 8 and I'm finding that what I needed to eat three days ago is now too much food.

Very interesting!