Snack Attack!!

Throughout our lives we have been told to eat only three meals per day, or five meals, or three big meals and two small meals, or to snack between meals. Which is it?!?
Dietary guidelines for the Whole30 are:

• Eat three meals a day.
• Start with breakfast
• Don't snack, if you can help it.
• Stop eating a few hours before bedtime.

It is encouraged to stop thinking about meals in terms of breakfast, lunch and dinner and instead as Meal 1, Meal 2, and Meal 3. This will give you more freedom when planning your menu and when deciding what to eat when.

If you have not yet read or starting reading "It Starts with Food" by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig, creators of the Whole30 program, I strongly encourage you to get on it!  I'm a big believer in understanding the WHY of doing something, and this book explains it all - and backs it up with tons of research.

When it comes to snacking, this is a little of what can be found in "ISWF" -

"In general, avoid snacking between meals because it turns your eating habits into grazing, and grazing can disrupt the normal functioning of leptin, insulin, and glucagon, and may promote inadvertent overconsumption. It may take you a while to figure out the right-size meals, though, so if you find that you didn't eat enough at any given meal and need more nourishment, then we'd rather have you snack than spend hours being cranky, tired, and hungry. Make sure your snacks are just smaller meals and include both protein and fat - don't snack on veggies or fruit alone, as they're not very satiating all by themselves."

". . . each meal should be designed to hold you over until the next, eliminating your desire or need to snack.  And as you become fat-adapted, your body will begin to utilize fat as fuel more readily, helping you avoid between-meal cravings, energy slumps, and brain fog."

Bottom line - listen to your body and work on eating the amount you need at each meal to help satisfy you to the next.  If you find you're getting hungry in between meals, adjust accordingly.  Remember - we've got to move away from the "eat less + burn more calories = weight loss" mindset we've all been in for so long.  This is not about counting calories!


DAY 6 FOOD LOG:

Wake up/"pre camp" - a few bites of green chili pork, mixed nuts

Meal 1 - green chili pork scrambled with eggs, roasted green beans and carrots, along with some apples and almond butter

Meal 2 - broccoli chicken casserole, tomato soup (just returning from the dentist and mouth was numb, couldn't do much here!)

post workout - boiled egg and nuts (booo I know!) should have had more protein and carb...

Meal 3 - baked salmon with steamed broccoli, sweet potato fries.  **This is why you should eat more at each meal!  I was still hungry from not eating much meal 2 or post workout, so I also ate a beef burger patty and roasted green beans and carrots.


WATER ALL DAY!