How much fruit is too much?

[Bethann67]

I started my whole30 on 4/1/13 and am feeling so good ( with the exception of several hours on Friday where I was exceptionally annoyed at a few of my co-workers and a slight hangover type headache upon waking since day 2) I am worried that I am not being compliant to the program...

Before I started I was eating ... Crap... And drinking most of my calories ( coffee all day with vanilla creamer) now I am eating three square meals... And having a couple mandarin oranges a couple times a day at work and today I had a cup of fresh pineapple ( in between breakfast and lunch...is this considered occasionally?

Also VERY worried about the craving phase...I am a carb addict...I want to finish this whole30... In 30 days😉

[JJB]

In my opinion, "occasionally" means a couple times a week. I think you just described 3 or 4 servings of fruit in a day? That sounds like too much if it's an every day thing. Is it always in between meals? Is it in response to a sweet or carb craving? Are you eating the oranges instead of vegetables at any meal? If the answer to any of those is yes, then you probably should consider cutting back. If you have major cravings for sweets, they recommend very little or no fruit during your W30...at least until you get past the cravings.

[Ari.]

I agree with JJB, the best thing to do if you are worried about the craving phase, is to not reward your cravings. In other words, "STARVE THE SUGAR DRAGON"! I am a huge sugar addict and have been really trying to abstain from fruit because I want to teach my body that it can ride out a craving without me grabbing a momentary stand in to quiet the craving. Part of the Whole30 is about reprogramming unhealthy relationships with food. I know you can do it! I hope you find something that works for you

[Bethann67]

Thank you for responding! Not a craving ( the only craving so far is for Splenda ... Black coffee is.not.delicious... But is a necessary evil) before whole 30 I rarely ate fruit, and mid morning my stomach has been growling. I eat a pretty huge

( and awesome) breakfast ... At 6 AM Tons of veggies, eggs and avocado. I had 2 mandarin oranges ( they are the size of a golf ball ... 35 kcals each) mid morning and again in the afternoon .... ( now that I think about it I probably am missing the sweet coffee, and am using the mandarin oranges to fill that void.. My bad😞)

I shouldn't know this probably but a friend (firefighter/paramedic) put the idea of ketosis in my head and I've been testing a couple times a day... ( an OCD thing to replace stepping on the scale?) and I am consistently at 80 ml so I'm fairly certain I am not consuming too many carbs...lots of ketones exiting my body ...but whole 30 isn't about limiting carbs just crap...right?

[Megan H]

Instead of having fruit or any type of "snack" between meals, the W30 program says to have "mini meals". They should follow the meal template but just be a lot smaller than you're normal meals. While the main idea is to eat enough at your three meals to keep you full until the next one, that doesn't always work. Especially at first. An example of a my mini meal yesterday was a small bowl of leftover steamed vegies and fried eggs. Some people cook an ever bigger breakfast and put a portion in a container to eat later.

I shouldn't know this probably but a friend (firefighter/paramedic) put the idea of ketosis in my head and I've been testing a couple times a day... ( an OCD thing to replace stepping on the scale?) and I am consistently at 80 ml so I'm fairly certain I am not consuming too many carbs...lots of ketones exiting my body ...but whole 30 isn't about limiting carbs just crap...right?

I recommend stopping this. The most important measurement you can take during Whole30 is of how you feel. As long as you're staying complaint and following the meal template, that's all you need to think about. Have fun

[Kirsteen]

Hi Bethann. You're right, it's not about counting carbs and you shouldn't be counting the calories in your mandarin oranges either . I used to say once or twice a week was occasional but you'll be glad to know I've lighhtened up as the other mods say once or twice a day . Ideally you should eat enough at each meal to last you till the next one but it can take a while to work that out, in which case have a snack to keep you going.

However fruit is not the ideal snack, it should be eaten with a meal in the portions recomended in the meal template http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf which would probably be only one mandarin orange. A snack should ideally be a mini meal containing some protein, fat etc. But don't worry and obsess about it It'll get easier as it goes on and you may even end up loving black coffee. But ditch those ketostix - you don't need them any more than you need scales or calorie charts. Feed and nourish you're body - don't try to limit carbs or calories. honestly it really won't help. good luck

[Bethann67]

Thank you for the support Megan and Kristeen! I am going to dump the Ketostix. I am the most non-OCD Person I know until it comes to food!

I feel great (sleeping like a... Teenage boy 😊... Which is a welcome and much needed improvement ... It is mind boggling how I could be so bad at something I love so much) ) my mood is much better... ( I know i was up and down all day from the excess sugar and caffeine... Proof is the number of quick trips i made the gas station down the street) ) And my stomach doesn't feel loggy and bloated. The only bad feeling I have is a hangover type headache when I first wake up... Which goes away without Advil after I have a cup of not so yummy coffee. And a grumbly tummy between meals...

I have not had cravings per se yet, but rumor is they may rear their ugly head this week...I'd say the biggest challenge has been moving from a grazing style of eating to 3 square meals, and not grimacing with every sip of coffee!)

Last week was not as well organized as I'd like, but I found good pastured and organic chicken and pork loin and made a batch of mason jar salads for the week, the most amazing homemade mayo, a balsamic reduction and clarified butter last night! and I will do more prep today ... Planning meals isn't my strong suit so wish me luck ( an unplanned and very delicious surprise last week was a couple poached eggs with sea salt and pepper on my salad.... The yolk morphed itself into a rich and very satisfying dressing!)

Knowing when fruit is ok is still a mystery... How do i figure out in advance which days are fruit days? ( I am trying to eliminate impulsive eating, right?)

Im guessing I need to read ISWF...which I ordered on Friday from amazon ( been using the free materials to get by so far)

Thanks again for your advice and support!

I decided In march I wouldn't just try the whole 30... ( trying makes failure an option) I would DO the whole 3O... So encouragement and advice are a blessing and a lifeline! â¤

[JJB]

I think it really is helpful to read the book, for anyone starting this lifestyle. As far as the fruit goes, I guess one thing to aim for is like Kirsteen said...try not to sweat it too much, especially during your W30. Focus on following the meal template and trying to get enough food at each meal that you are not often tempted to eat snacks (I'm still working on this...). Most people say fruit should be included with a meal, and not treated as a dessert or snack...just to get away from that dessert mindset. If you are not trying to lose weight and your cravings for sweets are not out of control, maybe what you're doing will work out just fine for you. Otherwise, it might be better to limit to one serving a day or even less, but it doesn't seem good to try and schedule which day is a fruit day and which isn't. Try to just go by how you feel. I love fruit but find that my desire to eat it comes and goes...I might have some every day for 2 weeks, and then a week or two will pass where I only have it once or twice. I just try not to keep too much of it around, because I still have major sugar cravings and I know fruit will not help me get over that.

[Bethann67]

I can't wait for the book to arrive ( i'm sure my productivity at work will be impacted until I have devoured it...) I have never enjoyed fruit ( too much of a crap shoot for me... One strawberry makes me see God, another makes me wince) i have always been that weird kid that loves veggies, and would eat one bite of meat and a bowl of brussell sprouts!

i decided this morning after looking at the replies that I am going to try eating at the high end of the meal template and see if that stops my tummy from rumbling between meals...when I was a grazer I never got hunger pangs...

my goals for doing the whole 30 are to sleep better, have enough energy to start exercising consistently ( I have a very badly injured/ damaged shoulder that has made me not very motivated to exercise...) so while I am not overweight ( god knows I should be!!!) I am the polar opposite of toned... In my shoulder and upper back I actually have atrophy),and for my moods to not be so mercurial ... ( god bless anyone who crossed my path during a sugar crash) oddly i have no true cravings yet...But I am only on day 7.

Thank you for your suggestions and sharing your experiences with me, it's very helpful and inspiring!