I'm always hungry now...

[GAPeach]

After starting over like 5 times since I decided to do the whole30 program at the beginning of the month...my menu plans have backfired a few times...I'm more hungry now than I was before I started restricting myself from all the good food.

My headaches have been more frequent now than they were before. Normally I would get a headache after consuming some gluten products but I haven't been consuming gluten and I have headaches...yesterday it lasted all day and eventually I broke down and took some headache medicine.

I'm bored with my food options. I spent the whole morning saturday making up some breakfast patties that I can have during the week, and I made up some salmon patties just to have on hand for quick meals. I tried the breakfast patties today and I hated them. I actually ended up throwing the 6 patties that I cooked this morning in the trash. They had ground beef, sweet potatoes, and apple. I'm not a big fan of sweet potatoes so maybe that's why I didn't like them or it could have been the cinnamon that I put in them although I love cinnamon flavored foods.

Anyhoo, I made like 20 patties so now I have to get rid of the rest and come up with another breakfast option other than eggs.

I just realized that I hate the taste of olive oil so there goes my salad dressings. Before starting the whole30 I ate a salad daily for lunch but now I have to stop that because I don't like the taste of my homemade salad dressings.

I know that I'm not eating enough per meal but I can't find what I like.

I am trying to follow the food template, so I'm adding guacamole with every meal for my fat because I can't drizzle any oil on my food (I don't like the flavor of the avocado oil that I just bought). But I know that I'm going to get tired of eating guac because I'm not a crazy fan of it either..well Chipotle has some awesome guac but that's unnecessary money to spend.

I'm just bored and hungry....and struggling to not get a burger or a baked potato.

Last week I was in a very down mood but when I broke down and ate a burger and drank a soda my spirits lifted instantly. I guess knowing that I can't eat what I want when I want was depressing me. I don't like feeling SO restricted. Especially when I'm not a bad eater as it is. I just thought it would improve my skin issue which is very minor compared to some. But stressing over what to eat can be worst than just eating it. ha!

This is day 4 for me and all I've had to eat today was a green smoothie, a few small pieces of beef & veggies from beef stew I had to buy because my patties were gross (but the beef stew was not that great so I didn't finish it), an apple and I.5 glasses of water. I haven't been drinking as much water now either.

At this rate I'll be the invisible woman....*shrugs

I'm just ranting I guess.....this is not easy.....if only i had a personal chef....hmmmm the possibilities!! lol

[kb0426]

"...I'm more hungry now than I was before I started restricting myself from all the good food."

Are you ready for some tough love?

If you focus on the "good food" that is making you less healthy and the food you can't have being the only thing you want, you will not survive this.

This is your time to change your relationship with food. I am not one that has ever been a believer in "eat to live not live to eat". I LOVE food, and you have to find a passion for the foods you CAN eat. You are going to have to put in some of the effort here and get excited about your food choices. Search the recipes here, read other food logs and get inspired, find a way to love this journey.

I can tell you from my own experience that the first few days of my first whole30, even foods I loved didn't taste good to me. I had to charge through it though, and once you do, you start experiencing food like you never have before.

Perhaps you are in the day 4 "Kill all the things" phase, and are just frustrated, but it order to not be bored and hungry, you are going to have to do something about it! Besides hiring that personal chef .

[missmary]

...I'm more hungry now than I was before I started restricting myself from all the good food.

I had to read this three times before I understood what you were saying. At first, I though "wait, is she post-whole30 and not allowing herself to eat whole30 food anymore? why!??!!"

This is the good food.

That said, if you had been eating a lot of processed food before, be aware it will take some time to "retrain" your taste buds. being bombarded with scientifically formulated combinations of chemicals/sugar and fat for so long, it takes a while to really taste the flavors in good food. Don't give up! DO give yourself a fighting chance to like something. That means trying it more than just once. Believe me, I've been there. Just a month or two ago I trained myself to eat liver. Seriously, I was like a little kid, but I knew it was really good for me, so I tried prepping it a couple different ways and I ate it a bunch of times and guess what: I now LOVE liver. I crave it, because I took the time to figure out a way to prepare it that works for me, and I gave my tastebuds time to get used to the flavor.

Now for the tough love: you have a choice. Figure out a way to make it work for you (or don't). It's that easy.

ps. If all you want to do is eat a burger and a potato. MAKE A BUNLESS BURGER AND BAKE A SWEET POTATO. (eat it three times a day if you want) you. can. do. this.

[Physibeth]

I will echo what both these smart ladies said. Give yourself time to adjust to new things. I used to be a much pickier eater and I'm slowly learning to like and eat things I never thought I would like. Are you trying to make up your own recipes or are you using other people's? Are there any vegetables you do like? Don't make it complicated. Start with what you like and try adding one or two new foods at a time.

[Jinkse21]

Maybe you are just not mentally ready for Whole30 yet. There are several "healthy eating" programs out there and not one works for everyone, especially if they are not ready to accept the changes that have to be made in order to be successful with that program.

Do you think you would be able to slowly work yourself into the healthier eating changes that come with the W30 program? It can be very overwhelming when you make drastic changes and feel like you have to buy all of the oils, meats, and veggies, especially when you are not even sure you will like them! I have seen where some people have been following the Paleo/Primal lifestyle and then tried the W30 and were successful because the changes they had to make weren't so major. W30 is about building a better relationship with food but how can we do that if we obsess about everything we eat and what we can't eat?

Would you be able to cut down/eliminate your sodas or some other food/beverage and then when you feel that you just HAVE to have one, ask yourself why and be really honest with yourself? If you can describe eating it like there was nothing else in the world to replace it with at least 5 descriptive words (i.e. "Heavenly...succulent...rich...lucious..." or "Makes me wanna slap my momma, it's so good!" ), then enjoy every once in awhile. If you say, "I just have to have it because it makes me feel better", ask yourself WHY it makes you feel better and if you can't come up with those descriptive words, you don't NEED it.

Believe me, I have had to ask myself this a lot but it's BEFORE I put those foods/drinks in my mouth. Following W30 makes me realize that I don't NEED those foods to be healthy and happy. Good luck on your journey to figuring out how to become a healhier you!

[Derval]

Following up on jinkse post re other halthy eating plans, beforeI started my whole30 journey I did this stumptuos plan - how to go primal without really trying. I id 1 step a week and it really worked for me. Afer 3 months I was ready to try my first W30.

Her server is down so I am c&p'ing the cached version of that webpage

How To Go Primal (without really trying)

August 16th, 2011 | Published in Eating, What to eat | 34 Comments

From a reader comment — “I'm interested in trying Paleo/primal-style eating. How do I start?â€

Good question. Here's my advice, expanded from earlier comments.

Start small. One step at a time.

In this order:

1. Add more fresh fruits and veggies to your diet. Expand the variety that you do eat. Get some diversity in there. Make them colourful if possible — dark leafy greens, blueberries, purple beets, etc.
   
2. Make sure you have a good roster of lean, ideally animal-based protein sources: chicken, turkey, duck, fish, eggs, seafood, lean red meats, game, etc. Get accustomed to having a bit of this protein with every meal.
   
3. Eat only whole, unprocessed foods — again, fresh fruit/veg, fresh meats/fish/poultry, etc. Get used to eating these foods. Make sure you know how to shop for, prep, and make them taste good. (Not hard to do, luckily.) Learn where your food comes from.
   
4. Once you have #1-3 solid, THEN remove ALL sugar. For carbs, have fruit or starchy veggies such as yams or butternut squash. I'm a hardass about sugar; some folks will say honey or maple syrup is “primalâ€, but unless you're willing to climb a tree and stick your hand into a beehive, or suck on tree sap, I'm not buying that argument. (Here is a step-by-step guide to dumping sugar.)
   
5. Remove ALL processed vegetable oils (e.g. corn oil, safflower oil, soy oil, cooking spray, margarine, etc.). Replace with small portions of good fats from whole foods: whole avocados, butter, fresh coconut, extra-virgin cold-pressed coconut oil (not the hydrogenated/refined crap), fattier cuts of grassfed/pastured meats, fattier fish, olives and extra-virgin olive oil, high-fat raw dairy, raw nuts, etc. But keep your portions moderate — one or two “thumbs†of fat per meal. Many a primal eater has “mysteriously†packed on a few pounds after heeding the siren call of cashews and bacon.
   
6. Once you nail steps 1-5, only THEN remove ALL wheat and wheat gluten. (Read labels. But if you're eating whole foods, there should be no labels.)
   
7. Once you're comfortable with both the no-wheat groove and carbs from veggies/fruit, take out all other grains — oats, rye, barley, etc. (Rice is usually well tolerated so the occasional sushi probably won't break you.)
   
8. Take out all non-fermented or non-raw dairy (e.g. raw milk cheese). Some purists say “all dairy†— I say take it all out, add fermented stuff back in slowly, and see if your skin breaks out or you get sniffly. Butter is usually OK, as is real whipping cream (read the label — often it contains milk.)
   
9. Optional — take out beans and legumes such as lentils, soy, black beans, chickpeas, and peanuts. Personally, I find a few lentils or a bit of hummus now and again is no big deal, especially if the beans and legumes are soaked, sprouted, and/or fermented. So it's your call on this one. But definitely chuck out soy.
   
10. Add some fermented foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, etc.
    

I suggest doing it this way because it's easier to add first, then take away. It's also easier from a practical standpoint to learn one small step at a time. I suggest one week per step. If you need more time, take it.

Understand that you won't really be rocking “primal†till step 7, but that steps 1-6 are a “primal warmupâ€, if you will. And understand that you will see improvements with each step, but usually not massive changes until you get rid of grains, sugar, and dairy.

Still, if you only ever do steps 1-5, you're way ahead of most people.

Don't get too hung up on fiddly details. Get it in the ballpark for now.

Other folks advise just leaping in and going full-on primal for a month. They argue that you need to remove all the crap right away so you're hooked on how good you feel, and you get a lot of the junk out of your system immediately.

I don't dispute that; I just prefer the one-thing-at-a-time method because it works better for the vast majority of my coaching clients.

It can be so overwhelming to learn, prep, cook, and live on a new diet, it's easy to go off the rails. Then you feel like a screwup. Or you start nurturing a nascent eating disorder. Not really what we're going for. So let's keep it real, go slow, and make this work!

However: if you absolutely love the “cold turkey†approach, go for it! Check out RobbWolf.com and grab the Quick Start guide. Mmmm turkey.

In any case, give yourself time to “warm upâ€, learn the ropes, and prepare. Check out Everyday Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods for recipe ideas.

Then let ‘er rip. Set yourself up for success with this experiment!

Handy tips

Don't be intimidated — you're probably farther ahead than you think. If you already eat pretty healthy, then you only need to make a few small changes and substitutions.

Keep a food journal as you do this. You don't have to be obsessive. (In fact, you shouldn't be obsessive with your food, ever, and if you are, UR DOIN IT RONG.)

Just write down what you're eating and how you feel. The point here is to connect food with experiences and feelings.

You might discover things like “trigger foods†for health issues such as allergies, joint pain, migraines, depression, GI upset, etc. Notice how you feel after eating — even the next day. See if you observe any connections.

Keep it real. Don't go down the rabbit hole of “Paleo products†just yet. Eat real, whole, fresh, unprocessed foods. Whatever your ancestors could have hunted, gathered, or dug up counts. (But it's OK to cook things. Our ancestors had much tougher stomachs than we do.)

Portion size still matters. Ignore the folks who say you can eat anything you like and get ripped on primal eating. Folks who say that are usually 22-year-old dudes who are Crossfitting 15 times a week. The laws of thermodynamics still apply, so if you're looking for fat loss, eat slowly and only until you're just satisfied (not “full†or “stuffed†or “in a groovy bacon comaâ€).

Use this project as a way to connect with your own food history. Quite likely your family heritage involves traditional recipes that can easily be modified to suit a primal way of eating, and/or ancestral cooking techniques such as making real bone broths (soup stocks) or oven roasts. Heck, take the kids berry picking or something.

Above all: HAVE FUN! Don't make this about restricting or controlling or being “perfectâ€; make it into a fun game and self-experiment.

Old school, baby!

[missmary]

hmm, I'm wondering if I was a bit harsh above, and I hope it didn't come across that way to our original poster. Although I firmly believe you CAN do this, Derval and Jinkse are correct in that, for some people, the whole30 is just too big of a leap to take at once. This doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with them, it just means that right now, at this moment in time, smaller steps are more realistic. SO, if the tough love motivated you to take the whole leap now, awesome! If it just seemed mean and overwhelming, maybe look at making some smaller changes. good luck in whatever you decide.

[JJB]

In my opinion, it doesn't sound like you're really motivitated to do this right now. I think you need to follow the advice above and ease into it in stages. I thought about eating healthier for over a year before I was finally ready. I went from "I'd rather DIE than give up bread" to "well maybe I could go gluten-free" to "what the hell I can totally do this for 30 days." At the time I started my W30 in January, I had no idea how long I could keep it up. Now I can't imagine going back to the way I used to eat. I still wish I could eat those things, and I do on occasion, but it's just not worth it to allow myself to fall back completely. When your heart is really in it, I think you will find this process much easier.

[GAPeach]

thanks for all the advice. giving up what is necessary to do the Whole30 is not hard its only hard when I don't have suitable replacements. If I love white potatoes and hate sweet potatoes then I'm going to crave white potatoes. I've been finding replacements for a lot things that I love for the past two years when I started following Paleo although I wasn't 100%. Giving up sugar is hard but I've manage to do it. That required drinking different types of tea, buying organic breath spray because I can't chew gum or mints anymore, eating more fruit etc. No big deal. I just have problems when it comes to eating more food per meal because I'm not a big eater for one, and most of the recipes I see aren't that appealing to me and the ones that I've tried that seemed appealing didn't sit well with my taste buds.

I'm all about eating healthy, the only processed foods I was eating at home before trying whole30 were condiments, salad dressings, sauces, and sweets and the occasional fast food. So I'm willing to change for the sake of seeing if it will work for my skin because I'm not a terrible eater to began with. I'm modifying my healthy eating, "skin clearing", plan a bit now that will work better for my likes, my lifestyle, and the time it takes to prepare each meal. It's probably going to steer away from the whole30 a little though. I've decided to still give up sugar for the next 45days because that is my biggest temptation and maybe the reason for the breakouts and I'll probably stick with more seafood than meats. This will hopefully keep the stress levels low and still allow alot of options for meal ideas.

thanks again for taking the time to reply to my post!!

[Guest]

thanks for all the advice. giving up what is necessary to do the Whole30 is not hard its only hard when I don't have suitable replacements.

This resonated with me when I read it. I have replaced some foods when following a diabetic diet and when I went gluten-free. I found that there was a space on my plate that was empty or the replacement simply did NOT get the job done. Gluten-free bread, pasta, etc. - all of it left me so very hungry physically and psychologically.

On Whole30, that place on my plate can have any kind of vegetable and I feel so much more satisfied to have freed the plate to veggies (and fat - nom). There are so many satisfying things that can go where a potato went - this week I have had rutabaga and celeriac. But, if you want it as a potato replacement, you may feel disappointed.

You can do this. You may not get there in 30 days, but you can do it. A gradual start may work for you or maybe you will wake up ready to recommit tomorrow. Remember your motivation and compare that to your frustration. The potential benefits tend to outweigh the challenges.

[SpinSpin]

Since you are trying to slay your sugar dragon, perhaps you should try giving up the more sugar heavy fruits--bananas, mangos, other tropical fruits, and stick with the lower sugar options--blue berries, strawberries and the like. And perhaps rather than having them as a smoothie, add them to a meal, a handful of blueberries in a salad, a few blackberries with roast pork, citrus with chicken/duck or turkey.

[bi0nicw0man]

Two things regarding flavour likes and dislikes that I can comment on...

1) People often interchange the term 'sweet potato' and 'yam'. They are NOT the same. I loathe sweet potato, but love love love yams. It makes a huge difference if you don't realize they aren't the same thing.

2) If you like a good burger, don't try to change things up too much. I make mine exactly the same as I did pre-W30...just without bread crumbs. Don't add stuff just because you think it will be healthier... like your apple/sweet potato additions. You can always put that stuff on the side.

Also, if you don't like extra virgin olive oil, try a light olive oil...it isn't nearly as strong of a taste.

OK, that's three things. Good luck!!