I am new here but not new to dieting. The same thing happens to me when I diet. I don't eat enough. I am a 3 meal a day person. I don't snack. My obesity comes from eating too much or the wrong stuff. My typical diet used to be:
Breakfast: Sauage, egg and cheese biscuit and large sweet tea.
Lunch: Big Mac, Fries and Dr. Pepper (biggie) or salad loaded w/ Cheese and fattening dressing
Dinner: A normal meal (because I have kids and want them to eat right) but I usually got seconds. And of course Dr. P or sweet tea. Actually, I drank sodas and tea basically all day. I think that's where many of my calories came from.
This diet yeilded me 352 pounds.
OK. I cut out all of the sodas and tea. I drink lots of water. Today and most of this week I have eaten something along these lines:
Dannon Oikos FF Greek Yogurt (12 g of protein), 1/4 of oats on top and two really small pears or oatmeal and bananna or apple
Last night 94% lean Ground beef spaghetti sauce on rice pasta (gluten allergy) and salad.
6 oz of baked marinated pork tenderlion, on a big salad with 2 tsp of olive oil, vinegar and lemon...an apple.
It's 4:40 and I am starving. Actually, I felt hungry soon after I ate. I am in a perpectual state of hunger...no, really.
When on WW I always had trouble making my points. Then when I would add things like real mayo or cheese to get my points it would trigger something and I would be swimming back in fat land. I am not craving anything now. I am just hungry and it's frustrating.
I want to eat right and lose weight. But apparently at my size I need to eat more not to be hungry. But trying to eat more even it's veggies or fruit doesn't help. I think I am going thru some kind of fat withdrawl.
Does anyone else have this problem. I know I need to put snacks in the mix but it screws with your mind that you are fat because you eat too much but then when you try to eat right, well, you are not eating enough.
Grrrr. Rant over.
Update: 7/23/12
Thanks so much everyone! I added one boiled egg as my morning and afternoon snckc and it had made a world of difference. I also went back on WW so I can be sure to eat enough. The eggs are 2 pts each. The hunger still comes but is getting better. I am adding back the condiments I took away to add more points. Since I started 7/14, I am down eight pounds. I know that's a lot and will slow down but I attribute it mostly to the calories from drinking soda and sweet tea that I lost.
Last edited by mzswalkerjr; 07-23-2012 at 12:06 PM.
Reason: Update
Your body is used to having something like 3000+ calories a days to much less. Its gonna be grumpy. I think you need to find foods that are low calories are filling. Are you doing WW or calorie counting....Are you hitting your target. I'm one of those people that if I am aiming for 1800 calories a day I would rather have 3 meals then 3 small meals and 2 snacks. I just not a snacker. The other issue i you may be going through withdrawal from the lack of sugar from all the sugary beverages.
Also maybe add in another big salad or steamed veggies at the end of the day.
That doesn't look like enough calories. How many is it? You are tracking right?
I eat around 1500-1700 per day.
Today:
Breakfast is a 3oz bagel and 2 scrambled eggs.
Snack is a 2 fruits and a 1/4 cup greek yogurt.
Lunch is 6-8 ounces chicken breast with 1/2 cup sweet potatoes and 1/2 cup zucchini, with 2 tsp oil drizzled.
Another snack is a glass of 2% milk.
Dinner is tacos: 4 oz 93% lean beef, reduced fat sour cream, lettuce, 2 whole wheat tortillas, 1/2 ounce grated cheese and a glass of wine.
it's high in protein, keeps me filled up and i never feel deprived.
To up your calories while staying healthy try using more meat or snack on cheese sticks with your fruit (just fruit has a lot of sugar and will leave you hungry soon after). And use a calorie tracker like Sparkpeople or Daily Plate or My Fitness Pal. It will also help you see what balance of carbs, fat and protein keep you filled up. When I'm starving, I look at my tracker and usually I haven't had enough protein.
I also visited a registered dietician for some help tweaking my diet, and it was really helpful.
fat is what makes us feel satisfied, have you tried adding a healthier fat - like adding in nuts, seeds or an avocado?
and i also agree that sugar withdrawal is probably a problem to, i have the hardest time with that, makes me achy, sore and moody
sometimes i suck a hard candy or add a squirt of peach or cherry syrup to my unsweetened tea - i can handle a couple calories (it is the gas that runs the engine after all) and i satisfy the emotional longing for a little bit sweet
Last edited by lostbutstilltrying; 07-18-2012 at 06:47 PM.
It's going take some time and trial and error to figure out how you best respond to a lower-calorie diet. Maybe it will help you to start including snacks of vegetables or low-fat dairy. Maybe if you eat more fiber and protein you'll feel fuller. Maybe if you cut out sugars and refined flours you'll stay fuller longer. These are a few suggestions that work for many people, and I hope you try as many of them as you can! This whole process is about figuring yourself and your body out.
Thanks, everyone. I know I have to figure out a way to get my calories up with healthy foods. Part of my problem is calculating and counting. I really hate it. I think I am going to add more protein to se if that helps.
When I got home was so hungry that I ate two servings of my dinner. That wasn't too bad since everything was healthy. But I rather spread those calories out through the day than load them up at night.
The good thing is that I didn't eat any junk or drink sugar sodas. But I made sure to have extra fruit in my bag today.
I always make sure I have protien with my breakfast. I make my own egg mc muffins. A whole wheat english muffing toasted, 1 egg, 3 oz of Canadian bacon and a slice of swiss cheese 311 calories. Lots of protien and some carbs, keeps me feeling filled up. Some mornings I skip the english muffing and make 2 egg a swiss cheese and avocado omlet.
If I have fruit as a snack I have some protien along with it. A piece of string cheese or some almonds. I don't eat just carbs for a snack I always add some protien.
Not only does protien keep you feeling fuller, it will help you maintain lean muscle mass, which is just as important as losing fat.
I could so relate to your post. I have found fiber helps me stay fuller longer. And like KateB said, whenever you have a carb/sugar, have a protein with it, will keep your glycemic/sugars down and keep you fuller longer. My new snack passion is Special K crackers and hummus. Lots of fiber and protein, small amount of fat. Hummus rocks!
I have to have protein with BKF or I am starving in an hour and it sets me up to be hungry ALL day. Lots of people LOVE oatmeal for BKF, i cant do it, i will starve all day long if i start with a carb like that. Put an egg on the side of oatmeal, i am good to go!
KateB and GetnHealthy, I think you guys are on to something with the protein. I have always been a protein person. I's much rather have an omlete over pancakes. That's why I have changed to greek yogurt because it's 12 g of protein. But Maybe I need to add some more protein to my lunch and snacks.
Thanks so much. It's good to know that it's not in my head.
Location: The beautiful Pacific Northwest! Tacoma, Washington
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I hope this helps!
I'm a lot like you in the fact that my weight gain came more from unhealthy foods and disregard for portion control rather than a bunch of snacking. Here's a few tips that works for me. (I'm on WW)
-figure out when you are hungriest. For me it is evening. I admire those people who don't eat past 6pm and try to make breakfast and lunch their heaviest meals so they have time to burn the calories throughout the day but pretending I'm one of them just doesn't work for me! I know if I don't save nearly 1/2 of my daily points for evening I will probably run out of points but keep eating. I eat lite throughout the day and have a good dinner plus a late night treat like a low-cal ice cream bar and piece of fruit.
-eating filling foods that are great in volume but not fat and calories definitely helps. yes, your body will be cranky about the change but replacing a candy bar with an apple time and time again will produce results soon. Even if you don't generally snack, try making yourself have a couple lite snacks. You won't feel so hungry at mealtime if you had some baby carrots an hour before. Celery does it for me. It's filling so I make myself have a couple celery sticks even if I don't really want it much.
-exercise. Ugh I hate it. But the reality for my body is that my metabolism moves like molasses when I don't work out. Also, exercise curbs my appetite. I don't eat much before a planned workout because who wants to workout after a heavy meal! I don't feel very hungry for a while after a workout either. Also, it will keep me on track after I work out in a mental way. After working so hard at my workout I tend to make wiser diet choices so I don't ruin all my effort. One good choice becomes two and so on and so forth.
-bulk up meals with veggies and salad instead of just one or the other. By themselves they aren't filling for long. I can eat an entire head of lettuce and be hungry an hour later. But if I have small portions of carbs and protein and bulk it up with veggies I get fuller and stay that way much longer. Most of my dinners consists of a piece of meat the size of a deck of playing cards and a small potato the size of a light bulb. That would be a child-size meal if I didn't bulk it up with a dinner salad, a corn on the cob, and usually one other veggie side dish. My fave is asparagus. That makes it a much larger meal and I can honestly say I'm stuffed when I finish dinner without adding extra meat or potatoes.
Hopefully you find what works for you, we are all different!
When I really try to get snacks in during the day, I just can't do it. I am a bona-fide three meals a day person too. I am learning that trying to go against the grain with my deeply seated ways/habits/lifestyle just causes eventual mutiny within. I fight a losing battle with myself when I do what doesn't feel right.
I find that embracing what feels right, what fits my personality and lifestyle is going to work much better than trying to fight it with change imposed by someone else, no matter how logical it may sound. So go with what makes you feel terrific and gives you a sense of wellbeing. If it is three meals a day, then work with it instead of against it.
Start by making sure that what you eat at each meal is just enough to carry you to the next. You should be hungry, but not ready to eat the furniture, lol. If you are too hungry (or not hungry at all), experiment with changing the ratios and amounts until you feel really good. This usually takes about 1-2 weeks for me to get what I call stabilizing my eating. After I get to that place, I start reducing my portions until I am in weight loss mode.
When that is all feeling good, I continue the momentum by paying attention to just what it is that makes me feel good. Protein and healthy fats as my base, veggies and full fat dairy as a compliment and fruit and nuts as a treat work wonders for me. I notice that grains and sugar make me feel worse. So I work with that and continue to watch what the scale and my body tell me I need to do. I now notice I crave walking outside, or a glass of fresh water. Sometimes I want something hot and spicy, sometimes I just want it tasting natural and plain. Paying attention to what I really want and need has changed this experience into something I now want to live rather than making it a do or die diet.
I still have to work through my binge tendencies, and that is not always easy. But I have noticed that I am changing how I think bit by bit by not being too rigid with dieting rules. I make sure I pay attention to how eating a whole package of sugar laden teacakes makes me feel. I compare that to when I eat veggies and a serving of roasted meat. I discovered that if I put snacks into my day, I can't stop eating and I stop feeling hunger for the next meal.
Bet with a bit of experimenting you'll find your pace with it all.
Frustrated, non-snacker...hungry!
I hope this helps!
