First of all, I have to thank you guys for your incredibly sweet (and in some cases enjoyably heated) responses to my encounter with the weight loss guru Starbucks barista. Rest assured that there was no harm done, and I’m still enjoying my cappuccinos, 2% milk and all…
… with a side of pink nails, naturally…
Newest nail polish obsession: Wild Strawberry by Revlon.
But I digress. Today isn’t about beauty or bimbo baristas; it’s about something far more enjoyable – food! It is WIAW after all. At this point I really don’t have any set theme in mind, so I’m just going to take a look at whatever pictures I have and go from there…
Unlike last week’s instalment, this week has me mercifully free of all stomach woes. Thank goodness. Not that I don’t enjoy eating breakfast all day, but sometimes even I get tired of cereal and yogurt…
Eggy bananafied oats cooked in 2% milk and topped with cocoa powder and roasted almond butter.
So I just realized that I’ve never really updated you guys on what I believe was an oat intolerance. It’s been about 8 months since I stopped eating oatmeal on a daily basis due to the adverse reactions it seemed to be giving me, and while I’m still not back to eating it regularly, the handful of occasions that I’ve had it over the past little while have caused me no problems. I guess I was eating too much of it and my body just needed a break? Whatever the case, I’ll be enjoying oatmeal again on occasion from here on in, but nowhere near in the amounts that I was eating before.
And while we’re on the topic of updates, I guess I should probably fill you guys in on the results of my little meal-bulking experiment. Going in to the whole endeavor, I had two major concerns:
- That I would eat bigger meals and still end up snacking just as much out of habit/boredom/whatever.
- That my stomach wouldn’t take kindly to bigger meals and I’d end up feeling sick/lethargic/whatever.
Well, I’ve still been snacking…
Deep Chocolate Vitamuffin with plain Greek yogurt mixed with coconut milk.
Maple-flax sweet potato fries.
Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
Plain Greek yogurt, strawberries, tangerine, Kashi GoLean Crunch.
… but nowhere near as much as I was before. I used to literally feel like I was eating all day because I always seemed to be picking away at something, whereas lately I haven’t been getting as hungry between meals and can usually get by with two or three snacks. Success.
As for my stomach not taking kindly to bigger meals? That one, unfortunately, turned out to be true. My stomach has never been a fan of having to work hard to digest bigger meals, and it made for some pretty uncomfortable times in the early stages of my experiment. Luckily, I think I’ve figured out something that works. Take this smoothie lunch for example…
Looks small, but packs a pretty good punch:
- 1 cup frozen mango
- ¼ cup oatmeal
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 Tbsp. coconut butter
- 1 cup milk
… and it kept me full for hours. Or how about this quinoa bowl dinner:
2 egg scrambled in coconut oil, quinoa with olive oil, dried cranberries, broccoli, avocado.
Low in volume, high in sustenance; and again, satisfied for hours. The trick? Adding energy dense foods (like oils). I used to be big on volume eating, scared that I’d be left hungry unless I stuffed my stomach ridiculously full, but all that really did was leave me uncomfortably bloated and still unsatisfied most of the time. With my current approach, it’s been the complete opposite: comfortably full and definitely satisfied. Success.
So, the main things I’ve noticed from my experiment? Well:
- I don’t snack as much.
- I don’t feel hungry all the time.
- My cravings for sugar have become less intense.
- I can focus on other things for a decent amount of time without getting distracted by thoughts of food.
- I did not become a whale by eating bigger meals.
All in all, I’d call it a success, and I’d highly recommend that you give bigger meals a shot if you find yourself feeling ridiculously snacky and unsatisfied all day. Happy Wednesday, friends!
. – . – . – .
Are you a volume eater? Or do you prefer more energy dense foods?
Random question: what kind of milk do you drink?
Oh my God, numer 5 cracks me up. A WHALE. Haha.
Yay for oatmeal!! So happy for you, cause it is SO good and so variable. I am totally with you on more satisfying meals. I used to eat 1000 different veggies in one meal, had cramps after and was still starving. Your success makes me happy. Congrats! Kisses from sunny Spain!!
Enjoy Spain for me, girlie! Make sure to take full advantage and get some awesome eats in there!
I’m all about the energy-dense meals too. My stomach doesn’t do well with very large meals at all. I still sometimes overeat on squash or something and my stomach is in turmoil for days. I do better with small quantities. To get my calories in, I add a lot of healthy fats like coconut oil and olive oil.
Eventually, if I tolerate it well, I hope to add in some avocado too!
Oh man, I remember being out of commission for days after overdoing it on squash. That’s actually why I don’t really eat it anymore – it’s too hard to practice good portion control with that stuff, and I can’t handle the consequent stomach woes 😕
Your food ALWAYS looks delicious & makes me want to reach through the screen! I’ve also been eating more nutrient dense meals & have noticed a big reduction in my snacking, too. As for milk, I don’t drink it, per se, but I usually use 2% in my coffee and enjoy almond milk in overnight oats, cereal, smoothies, etc.
Also, I was reading your last post about the barista’s insane comment. First, you handled that much more gracefully than I would’ve, and it’s wonderful how you no longer think that way. I would’ve been snarky & rude. “Who speaks to strangers that way?” is my initial thought, but then I wonder if she hears comments like that in her home life. Maybe she struggles with body image herself or has a significant other who tells her she isn’t skinny enough or whatever. Anyway, I kind of feel sorry for her, although she’s probably just a brat!
It’s definitely hard not to automatically judge someone like that as being a straight up b*tch, but you’re right – it’s important to remember that everyone is dealing with their own thing, and since we don’t know what they’re going through, we really can’t judge what they do. And even if she is just a brat, hopefully someday she’ll learn.
So happy to hear the bigger meals worked for you! I found by adding more oils I was definitely fuller longer but yeah it can be hard on the stomach to digest! I sometimes drink almond milk or coconut milk but that’s it… and that’s rarely!
Hey Girlie! Well, even though I LOVE dairy, I have to limit it because it makes my tummy hurt if I have too much. That said, I usually save my dairy servings for cheese. If I do drink milk though, we usually go with Horizons Organic Whole Milk (because whole milk actually packs the most nutrition punch!) or the 2%. 🙂
Great that your experiment worked out! Adding some high quality fats is always a good idea. You have a nut-allergy, right? Because otherwise I would have suggested to add some nuts to your yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, salads and so on. Wasn’t it just peanuts which you cannot eat?
On another note: I love my oats eggy and with some nana! Just checked out your tutorial and for the first time ever I noticed that I had a wrong picture of steel cut oats. I always thought, they look like that (http://hookedoniron.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/oats1.jpg) but now I know that there exists an even less processed form of oatmeal. After some google-work I found out that they have a quite un-tasty name in Germany: Hafer-Grütze – it always reminds me of my childhoods worst food-nightmares. Guess now I have to give them another chance 😉
Yup it’s just peanuts that I can’t eat! Although some of the other ones tend to make me a little bit itchy, so I stick to almonds which don’t seem to cause me any problems. I like the in nut form well enough, but I prefer them buttered so I stick to adding AB to my cereal, oats, and smoothies. And I definitely recommend giving steel cut oats a try! I was skeptical at first, especially because of the extra time involved, but they have a really wonderful texture.
Your pictures are beautiful. Vita muffin, pink nails, and all
I don’t eat as much as others but I would consider what I eat meals. Others would diagree.
I’ll have to try your mango smoothie. I tend to stick with blueberries and strawberries.
I use rice milk in my smoothies and recipes but I won’t turn down a glass of chocolate cows milk. 🙂
Everything looks amazing! I’m definitely a volume eater. Popcorn and big smoothies are two of my favorite volume foods! That quinoa mix looks amazing too! I love unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It’s all I use now!
I don’t know if it’s because I’m kiiiind of hungry, but the smoothie bowl, dinner, and vitatop look delicious!!! And I think it’s so cool that your experiment is working! Glad to know that you can actually focus on other things better than before. Focus is something that I lack due to ADD to begin with, so I can’t imagine how scatterbrained I would be without eating ‘somewhat’ bigger meals
Maple-flax sweet potato fries? Those look amazing! Where might I go about finding some of those?? 😉
I actually do not drink dairy milk, but instead prefer either unsweetened vanilla almond milk or light vanilla soy milk. Both are super delicious on my cereal in the morning! Unsweetened plain almond milk is also great to cook with.
Eep! I forgot to link up the recipe for the fries http://www.runningwithspoons.com/for-spoons/maple-flax-sweet-potato-fries/ That’s the one 🙂
You just gave me a great nail polish color idea 😉 I plan on painting my nails ttnight hahaha Glad to hear your new system is working 🙂 I know personally I’ve always done the 3 meals, 2-3 snack kind of thing lol even when I was younger. As for milk, I’m an almond milk kinda gal 😉
That nail polish looks seriously fabulous. If I had an oat intolerance I would seriously die. Not even kidding. I eat them all the time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Well not three times a day, but yeah haha.
That’s exactly how often I ate them, and yup… that’s exactly what I said when I first found out. Turns out I did alright without them, though. You just have to find other things you like so you don’t miss them as badly 🙂
Just how do you take such beautiful pictures? I mean first i would have to control myself enough to not inhale that beautiful food and second I have shaky hands and no camera. You see my problem? But for real I a happy you found what works for you, it is nice to hear that you feel less ravenous and still pretty content with your overall eating. meal overhaul for the win! Now come cook for me. Please?
Deal… but we’d have to take pictures first 😉 Honestly, sometimes it sucks and I don’t bother photographing a lot of things, but it’s definitely easier when I’m not hungry. On the days I’m feeling ravenous? Yeah… food doesn’t even make it to the plate to be documented…
My days always vary with snacking/bigger meals. Some days all I do is snack, and others I just eat big meals! I kind of like the variety. I drink ALMOND milk..yuMM!!! That quinoa bowl looks sooooo good!
Love all your food choices! You always give me some new ideas to try out myself 🙂
One of the beautiful things about the bog world 😀
mmm all looks so yummy 🙂
i tried maple sastuma roasted sweet potato fries for the first time yesterday – they were amazingggg 😀
I used to do the same thing, fill up my stomach’s volume with lower calorie foods and then feel positively ravenous soon after. It really helps to balance it out more. Sure, you need vegetables (practically calorie free) but protein/carbs/fats on the side are necessary too. That’s where nut butters come into my life. Satisfying calories but they don’t take up too much room in your stomach leaving you uncomfortably full.
YAY for not going hungry!!!! 🙂 I tend to be a volume AND bulk eater; especially when it comes to olive oil, nuts, and numerous amounts of fluffy egg omelettes! I tend to drink skim milk (because that’s what my family drinks) and vanilla soy milk <—-SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!
Love all of your pics! 🙂
Oats! I’m glad the little experiment seemed to work well! Just shows out bodies build up intolerances to things we consume so much and then we can reverse those effects. It looks super delicious too! I’d say your experiment was a success, sometimes we just need to play around with things and figure out what works for us. Change is good, right! I definitely am more of a volume eater, I think it still stems from my ED and being afraid of getting hungry. Which is kind of dumb, but it’s kind of been a blessing being intolerant to eggs/egg whites because now I can’t fill up on a ton of them and I realize I can eat less volume without dying of hunger;) Who would’ve thought.
Also – love that you’ve been able to reintroduce oats! I’m seeing a lot of that lately – people are ODing on certain foods and the body is just not having it. It occurred to me that I was eating oats most every morning myself. I need something warm and creamy and nut-butter-friendly in the morning, though, so I’ve been having fun experimenting with other grains to mix it up. Buckwheat is a great one, and I mix in some quinoa too. I figure I can always rotate oats back in sometimes, especially if I’m in a rush. I know you tend toward yogurt bowls, but have you tried other grains if you’re looking for something toasty in the am?
I have! I’ve tried quinoa, buckwheat, spelt flakes, rice, and kamut. All of them were pretty tasty, but they still don’t quite have the appeal that oats do. They’re definitely nice for a little change though 🙂
So much yes to this – my tendency has been to fill up on lots of veggies, which I love, but would end up uncomfortably bloated and still not totally satisfied. So I’ve been trying to do quality over quantity. Still including good veggies, but adding a bit more in terms of whole grains and fats. I don’t find myself as distracted by “scrounging” when I do this. I can move on and then later really appreciate hunger – and my next yummy meal!
Awh this post made me smile after your last one 🙂 I was really interested to hear how you got on and that’s great news – and not only that but those meals sound delicious!! I think I may take inspiration from you and give it a go as I do currently volume eat and snack a lot which miggghtttt not be helping my poor digestion problems right now. I do generally like energy dense foods, especially nuts, too so there’s no reason why I can’t just have more of them, but left often.
As for milk, I’m an unsweetened almond milk fan after trying basically every milk available hehe!
All of your pictures always look so pretty! Love the looks of those sweet potato fries and that smoothie. It’s been months since I’ve had a smoothie..I never feel like them during the winter. However, seeing that picture of your’s just gave me a major craving! 😉
I have no idea why I crave cold things in the dead of winter, especially when winter here is pretty darned cold. You are very, very lucky to be in Texas where it’s not currently snowing and blowing. Brr.
It’s 75° right now, but the summer will be brutal!
I think eggs/avocado/broccoli/quinoa is going to be my dinner tonight. That looks so darn good! I’m glad your body is responding well to the experiment (minus the gross full part). It’s amazing how smoothies can fill, fill you up for HOURS! I used to always believe that there was no way that could happen, but recently, smoothies with vanilla protein powders keep me fuller for longer than chewing meals. Who knew?
I always look forward to your wiaw posts 🙂 i’m still more of a snacker (although I am trying to bulk meals a little more), and i think i need to give your oil trick a try…oil still wigs me out sometimes (leftover ed thing) but i know some are good and necessary so maybe that’ll be a feb goal: cook with olive and coconut oil instead of the usual spray! And i love fully sugared almond milk (non of that unsweetened stuff for me) and 1% cows milk
Oil was a big hangup for me as well after my ED, but it really does make a huge difference! Not only in terms of satiety, but for improved mood and things like your skin, hair, and nails 🙂
I always forget about those extra awesome benefits…definitely working on it starting now 🙂
Glad that you’ve figured out something that works for you! I’ve been really increasing fats in my diet and now I can get by on more or less 3 square meals, which for me is working well. I like not having to think about food 24/7! I love almond and coconut milk the most but I’m looking forward to trying some full fat jersey milk soon 🙂
I’m still in shock the barista said that to you! I have to eat very small meals or else my stomach becomes overwhelmed as well! My girlfriend just found out she was allergic to oats and its shocking to see how much she cpnsumed ! I love oats so much not sure what I would do although in was able to give up dairy 🙂 love and shine courtstar
Yay, I’m glad the experiment worked out for you, Amanda! All of your results sound like my (eating-wise) dreams come true but … I’m still scared to try it myself. Volume eating has been part of my life for too long and I’m so afraid I’ll just keep eating. Telling myself that now is a bad time to try changing it because studying for my last exam and essay-writing keep me inside all day. Not moving a lot at all, constantly surrounded by food :(. But then again, won’t I always find a reason to put off trying?
My favourite vegan “milk” is Provamel’s hazelnut milk which actually has the same amount of calories and fat as full-fat milk. Just like my mum keeps saying: Fat adds flavour so no fat means no flavour :). When at my parents’ we use 1.5 % milk simply because that’s what they usually keep around for no specific reason. If there’s none of that at one store my mum will just buy full-fat – no big deal.
Don’t be scared to try it, girl! I was a volume eater for a long time as well, and I was afraid to experiment because snacking was such a habit, but when a good meal fills you up, believe me that you don’t even think about snacking more after that!
This is great!! Oats and less tummy problems? Sounds like a win win in my book 🙂
Im still trying to figure out all my issues, and this whole giving up dairy thing is tough, especially considering I bought 2 huge on sale containers of chobani yesterday and had an ice cream cone lol
Ugh I don’t think I could survive without dairy. I mean, obviously I could, but I would prefer not to. Have you tried probiotics? My stomach used to be a lot more fussy before I started drinking kombucha regularly and taking probiotics with my meals.
Hahah, I wish you could see my face when I read the part about volume of meals, my dear!
I discovered that energy dense foods always make me much more full that just big meals… I used to be a volume eater just like you but I’m glad it’s changed. 🙂 It makes me feel just more comfortable because I don’t have to eat a huge meal to fill up. I judge it a big success. 🙂
IF we’re talking about milk – my favourite one is just cow’s milk but I also like soy or rice milk and I find these quite tasty.
Hahah, I wish you could see my face when I read the part about volume of meals, my dear!
I discovered that energy dense foods always make me much more full that just big meals… I used to be a volume eater just like you but I’m glad it’s changed. 🙂 It makes me feel just more comfortable because I don’t have to eat a huge meal to fill up. I judge it a big success. 🙂
IF we’re talking about milk – my favourite one is just cow’s milk but I also like soy or rice milk and I ding these quite tasty.
Volume eater all the way. That said, I don’t think it’s a brilliant way to eat. I don’t think volume eating is something people without weight problems or overeating disorders really need to do, simply because it’s not fantastic for anyone digestive system and it does waste a lot of time eating huuuuuge meals as slowly as possible like I do. Energy dense foods just don’t work with me because I am never really ‘full’ due to my warped reliance on food, and I can (and have) eaten entire jars of nut butter all at once in the past…without even feeling particularly sick.
I’m really happy the experiement has been going well for you – I think it’s a good approach to have, even though it hasn’t worked for me personally (obviously -we’re different people with very different relationships with food!)
I don’t drink milk. I’ll have rice milk in my coffee and I use unsweetened almond milk in GF ‘porridge’ but that’s it for vegan alternatives.
xxx
Thank you for reminding me that I have chocolate vitatops in my freezer…might be pulling those out today.
And I think I’m somewhere in between on energy vs volume – I used to try to eat all high-volume, but my stomach would be none-to-impressed. But if I focus on pure high energy, I’ll feel like I’m not eating enough to satisfy me, keep eating, and realize 20 minutes later how ridiculously full I am.
Loved reading your results, Amanda…especially as I’ve been doing the same! I’ve personally found most of those to apply to me as well! I rarely snack/have the urge to because I’m full enough! As much as I love food, it’s nice not thinking what I’m going to eat next all the time. LIke you, adding in fat is definitely a key to staying full without that bloated after a bigger-than-what-I’m-used-to meal. For example I’ve been trading in my egg whites for yolks, carbs with every meal, more nuts/peanut butter on my yogurt bowls. I kinda love it and I feel like I’m a lot more in tune with my hunger signals and not just eating out of habit!
As for milk- I usually drink soy milk. I love organic cows’ milk but it tastes nasty in India so I make sure to lap it up when I’m abroad!
Woo! You were behind a lot of my initial inspiration for trying out a different way of eating, so I’m glad to hear that it’s working the same magic for you 😀 I never thought I’d say that I kind of like not having to constantly snack but… yeah… it’s great to not have to constantly think about food!
I’m glad your stomach is doing so much better! Those oatmeal cookies look amazing! Actually, all of your snacks do! I bought vitatops while I was home and then never ate them but they seem really yummy! That’s so great that it had the desired effect for you!
I dedicate this mornings breakfast to you – I mixed greek yogurt & goat yogurt together, then topped it with banana, apple, raw trail mix, a blob of sunbutter, hemp seeds & kashi cereal. So good!!! I wish I could eat dairy all day every day, but my stomach hates it.
I drink almond or coconut milk, although I “believe” raw cows milk or goats milk are the “healthiest” options.
Stomach hates dairy? Oh noes! Have you tried taking probiotics? My stomach used to be a whole lot more finicky before I started drinking kombucha and taking some probiotics. It’s worth looking into!
I love the look of your lunch, yum!
That nail polish looks so nice 🙂 And your smoothie is so similar to one I always make (with the mango!)
Your meals look amazing. Especially those sweet potato fries! Have a great Wednesday!