This has been going on for a while, but it’s got even worse in the past three weeks or so. I eat a meal and then I’m starving hungry two hours later! And then a small “snack” won’t suffice as I am so hungry I need bulk and energy, so I have to eat quite a lot again. I’m just about managing to stay within my calorie limit of 1900 calories per day. I work out six times a week for an hour (running.) I can’t increase my calories as my weight loss will stall (I’ve tried this) and I don’t really want to decrease my exercise, either.
I was wondering whether it could be to do with the foods I am eating? Here’s a sample menu of the kinds of things I eat for Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Any advice would be very helpful:
Breakfast: One medium slice of wholemeal toast, 10g of low-fat/low-salt butter, 2-3 scrambled eggs, salt (on eggs.) Or - 50 g of porridge with 110g banana and 140 ml of semi-skimmed milk.
Lunch - 300 g Jacket/baked potato with 170 g of baked beans and 20 g of mozzarella or cheddar cheese (melted on top.) Or 2 medium slices of wholemeal bread, 18g of low-fat/low-salt butter, 3 slices of lean bacon, salad, tomatoes and 15 g of low-fat mayonnaise.
Dinner - 130 g of wholegrain pasta, ½ a small can of tuna (in water) and 1 TBSP of low-fat mayonnaise (mixed into the tuna.) 120 g of whole grain Spaghetti, bolognaise sauce with mushrooms (163 calories.) Stir-fry - mushroom and vegetable stir-fry (162 calories,) 300 g of stir-fry beef, 2 TBSP of low-fat mayo. 3 Vegetarian sausages, 400 g of mash potatoes, a portion of mixed vegetables, 160 ml of gravy.
For snacks I eat: low-fat natural yoghurt, fruit of all kinds (apples, bananas, grapes, berries, clementines etc.) I eat dark rye-vita with a small amount of low-fat butter and cottage cheese. I eat one tin of vegetables, which is 200g, (including carrots, potatoes.) I eat dark chocolate, (90%), usually two pieces. 10g of mixed nuts. And I think that’s about it for snacks! Obviously I don’t eat all of these in one day, but these are the kinds of things I do eat.
Drink 93 fluid oz of water every day.
I do feel that I probably don’t have as many vegetables as I should - I’m lucky to have one or two portions a day. I eat loads of fruit, but it doesn’t particularly fill me. Is there anything I can change or adjust that would help me feel full for longer? I don't eat chicken, lamb and fish (aside from tuna,) because I don't like them.
Help appreciated!
Last edited by Autumn Gold; 11-07-2010 at 04:27 AM.
If you're sensitive to carbs like a lot of us are... it may be the fruit. Try cutting back on it a little and replacing them with veggies for a few days and see if it makes a difference. Otherwise, I think you're doing great!
I took a different tack with this one, and decided that if I was still going to be hungry after I ate then eating more was not the answer. If I was hungry before I ate and still hungry after a yoghurt then I'd be still hungry after 2 yoghurts so stick with the plan and "decide" it must be psychological hunger. Now just to mention I'm in a slightly different place because I'm on treatment with hormones and one of the big side-effects is that you will always feel hungry even if you already ate, but actually after a week of just sticking with the plan and saying that feeding the hunger will not in actual fact make it go away, the problem has really resolved itself. Perhaps it was the attitude adjustment, perhaps something about my diet stabilised itself because I was not trying to eat through the hunger and causing myself another carb swing, I don't know what happened, but something did!
Obviously it's not recommended to go hungry on your diet, but then again if the hunger doesn't go away when you eat there's not a lot of point repeating that action because clearly it didn't work.
I eat more protein (plain, lean chicken, steak or fish) and vegetables and less bread, pasta,potatoes, butter, mayo, gravy or sausage. I eat some of those things but limited. Have you tried counting calories? You could try it for awhile just to get an idea of the calories involved in what you eat.
When I stick to south beach principles, I am not hungry two hours later. I am very sensitive to carbs, and when their sugar load wears off, I'm wanting to eat again!! If you're interested, check out our little section, and just apply the Phase II info to your diet and see if it helps?
I'm seeing lots of calories spent on things such as mayo and butter - no volume, no fiber, no protein = no filling power. Then there's pasta, porridge, potatoes, bread, crackers - again - no filling power. Bananas? High calorie, high sugar - not much in the way of filling power. I see a negligible amount of veggies - and for me, that is where I get tons of volume and tons of filling power and why I am able to adhere to a much lower calorie allotment than you and never be hungry.
You mentioned you don't like fish and chicken - there are TONS of ways to prepare them that are really delicious. A little delving, creativity and experimentation on your part may change your mind. I think it would be worth your effort.
I also think (know?) that you've got to really, really increase those veggies - a lot. Also, experiment with different types of veggies and ways to prepare them. And they're not just for side dishes - they can be snacks and main meals too.
If it's filling power you're after, and why wouldn't you be, I think some major tweaking of your food plan is in order.
Reduce the empty carbs from grains (wheat, rice, oats, corn, etc) and starchy veggies. Increase good fats and protein, and bulk up with more veggies, esp. if you're concerned about fiber. Even if your calories stay the same, you won't be as hungry and your body won't go through the sugar spike / crash cycle that comes from eating all those empty, low GI carbs.
I agree with everyone. Protein is the key to keeping myself full. Large salads with fiber rich veggies like broccoli, go a long way as well. I would suggest taking your can of tuna and adding it on top of a salad, along with a boiled egg and some low cal dressing. Try not to add too many extras like mayo and butter if you can help it. You would be surprised how much these little extras increase your calories. I would also give chicken another chance. It is a bland food on its own but that means it is a great starting point for any flavors you do like. You can add almost anything to chicken, from sweet to spicy, to savory. Try looking on this site for some great recipes.
I feel like I have the exact same problem! I find when I eat carbs (like, a bowl of pasta) I'm hungry only a little while later. I'd say listen to the other folks here and include more protein in your diet. Or, you can do what I do and distract yourself and wait for your hunger to pass/the next meal time (spending time on 3FC is a great way to make the time go forget about that psychological hunger!)
A lot of folks find protein substantial enough to stave off hunger by itself, but I find that my meals need to have a bit of everything to provide satiety. You can get a lot more bulk, though, by playing with the proportions of calorie-dense things like fats and starches.
For example, instead of making a regular sandwich with two slices of bread, try an open-face sandwich on one slice (or make a half-sandwich by folding one slice of bread in half) and having it with a big bowl of homemade vegetable soup. Lose the pasta and eat your tuna atop a big green salad; if you want some starchy carbs in there, toss in some croutons.
I would ditch the low-fat butter and mayo entirely, but that's just me. I tend to pile them on in a vain search for the richness and taste of the original, which never works. Instead, I just use the full-fat versions and apply them sparingly; it actually works out to fewer calories, but more satiety because nothing replaces the rich taste of the real thing.
I'm seeing lots of calories spent on things such as mayo and butter - no volume, no fiber, no protein = no filling power. Then there's pasta, porridge, potatoes, bread, crackers - again - no filling power. Bananas? High calorie, high sugar - not much in the way of filling power. I see a negligible amount of veggies - and for me, that is where I get tons of volume and tons of filling power and why I am able to adhere to a much lower calorie allotment than you and never be hungry.
You mentioned you don't like fish and chicken - there are TONS of ways to prepare them that are really delicious. A little delving, creativity and experimentation on your part may change your mind. I think it would be worth your effort.
I also think (know?) that you've got to really, really increase those veggies - a lot. Also, experiment with different types of veggies and ways to prepare them. And they're not just for side dishes - they can be snacks and main meals too.
If it's filling power you're after, and why wouldn't you be, I think some major tweaking of your food plan is in order.
I had your EXACT problem a while back and Robin gave me the same advice and she was 100% right. Your meal plan needs some work. Because you're a runner I wouldn't ditch the whole grain pasta, but I would make sure the serving is small and it's loaded with veggies and lean protein and you limit it to days before you have longer runs, it will help you have better runs if you haven't noticed that already.
I would also add that if you are running 6xs a week for an hour (I'm assuming your running 5-6 miles) that you consider changing up your exercise a little and getting a little more variety and balance. That is A LOT of running. I'm training for a half marathon and I barely run that much. Running that much and trying to lose weight is very difficult because you are asking your body to do two very different things - stay at a deficit to lose weight, but eat enough to fuel your body to run. If you don't eat enough but continue to run that much you will set yourself up for injury. Personally I prefer to run 4xs a week (3 shorter runs and one long run) and strength train 2xs a week. That's a pretty typical exercise routine for runners. Strength training is really important to runner because it helps prevent injury and it has a multitude of other benifits, but you didn't ask for advice on that, sorry I'm getting side tracked. But changing your routine up a little would likely help with your hunger levels.
Anyway, when I took Robin's advice and cleaned up my diet and added protien, fiber, volume and less processed stuff I actually didn't need to adjust my cals at all and I start losing again quickly and wasn't hungry at all. Now that I actually have the opposite problem and sometimes I need to eat when I'm not hungry because I know I'll need to fuel for my workouts and to keep my metablolism stable. So I think following her advice is your first step and looking at your exercise would be the second. Keep in mind too that not only should your food plan be something that is sustainable for the long term so should exercise, you don't want to burn out. Right now I'm in the process of establish a post race maintenance running program that will maintain my weight, challenge me and not make me burn out.
I'm hungry ALL the time!
