PCOS/Insulin Resistance Support Support for us with any of the following: Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or other endocrine disorders.

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Old 04-25-2005, 06:02 PM   #1  
working off those pounds
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Just a quick question to all you other sufferers

I am wondering if this is PCOS related, or if I possibly just need to listen to my body more. Now, bear in mind that this doesn't happen to me every day...BUT....

Sometimes I get really hungry, and my mind tells me that I shouldn't be hungry. For example, today I had a small Subway sandwich. About three and a half hours later I was hungry again. I was GOING to eat some canned peaches (lite, and drain the juice of course..), but opted to eat something that I felt would fill me up more, because I had visions of myself eating this fruit IN ADDITION to the muffin that I decided to eat instead. Now I know muffins aren't the best choice, but I DID account for the calories. About half an hour to an hour later I was HUNGRY again...I mean what's the deal? I had a small bowl of Cheerios (whole grain)...and I was satisfied...but now here I am three hours later and I am STARVING AGAIN. I am concerned because at this point I have consumed nearly 1200 calories today.

I weight about 335, so I know I require more energy than the average woman, but days like this seem just SO ridiculous...do you guys think I need to just listen to my body and eat, or is my body tricking me into thinking I am hungry? I heard people with PCOS (since they have so much insulin in their blood), it often makes them hungry. Mind you, I am HUNGRY, not just WANTING food, you know?

I know I've babbled for a while now but I was just hoping some of you had some similar experiences....I mean now that I type it all out, it DOES seem realistic that I'd be hungry three hours later...but I don't know...

Any thoughts???
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Old 04-26-2005, 01:06 PM   #2  
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Hi There

I am not a genius or anything but I think maybe snacking on higher protein choices like a cup of cottage cheese lite or a slice of turkey with lite cream cheese spread on it or some almonds or a cheese stick might last longer in the bellie department...it does for me I also find if I snack on something with a higher sugar content makes me want more more more too

HTH,
Amy
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Old 04-26-2005, 09:09 PM   #3  
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Yeah, you are probably right..I did notice that despite feeling nauseated all the time on South Beach, at least I was never hungry..protein does make us more satisfied for longer...it's just hard to opt for protein snackage....I was thinking about getting myself a stash of beef jerky or something, because I love that stuff, but there IS some sugar in it, plus it's expensive. So hmm..cottage cheese..nuts...gonna have to work those back into my diet...I did south beach last year and for the longest time, the idea of eating another freaking peanut or cheese stick made me want to be sick.

Thanks for the thoughts though!
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Old 04-27-2005, 07:54 PM   #4  
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Hi Miss!!!

I had the same problem of being hungrier than I should have been. I was recently diagnosed with IR, and I went to a nutritionalist who had a lot of experience helping IR patients lose weight.

I remember being hungry shortly after eating something- and it was usually after I ate something with carbs. When you're insulin resistant your brain will tell you to eat and snack sometimes, especially after you've eaten carbs.

There is a mental hunger and a bodily hunger. Being able to identify between the two and cutting back on the carbs should help a little bit. There's the tummy grumbling hunger drom being empty, and the mental urge to eat.

What I do- and it has been working for me- is to ignore ANY urge to eat unless my stomach is physically grumbling at me. When your tummy is grumbling, it's because it's been empty for a while and it's time to eat!

If I feel hungry but my tummy is not growling, I assume it's my brain influenced by the IR telling me to eat and I IGNORE it entirely.

My nutritionalist has limited me to 2 servings (1 serving = 1 slice of bread, half a pita, 1/4 c. couscous, 1/4 c rice, etc...) of starch per day and all of it HAS to be whole grain- no white flour products and no sugar in any shape or form (thank goodness for splenda!!!). Fruit is limited to 2 servings per day, and dairy limited to two tablespoons per day. Non-starchy veggies are unlimited, and normal portions of protien are allowed. Throw in 1/2 c. of legumes and I'm set! However, this diet was specifically tailored for me so I do not know how well it will work for other people (everybody is different ).

It has been rough sometimes with the "mental hunger" but it's MUCH easier to identify now that I know what to look for, and the diet DOES help. I notice I feel satisfied for longer periods of time after I eat.

After hiring an experienced nutritionalist to help, I really have to recommend them! If you have the money to burn and want to diet properly for IR try to find a nutritionalist who has experience in this kind of thing. It's so hard finding out exactly how you need to eat for IR on your own!!
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Old 04-27-2005, 10:26 PM   #5  
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MissMeliss -- why are you upset about eating every 3 to 3.5 hours?...It's recommended to eat 5-6 mini meals/day this keeps your insulin on an even level and you don't get any sugar lows or get ravenous ... I eat every 2.5 to 3 hours and if I don't I get ravenous and want to grab anything and everything... instead I'll plan and have 1/3c cottage cheese and 10 strawberries with Splenda and a tablespoon of SF syrup....
If you're hungry EAT, but eat healthy, unprocessed and low fat... cottage cheese with those peaches would have been better than the muffin... eat again a few hours later... Drink lots of water too it keeps you full...

At first even if you have to put a timer on eat every 2.5 hours then extend that to 3... when you KNOW you're going to eat something planned soon you'll just wait it out, after all what's 30 minutes?...

Keep away from the white stuff and sugars... white bread, white rice, popcorn, anything processed, muffins, granola bars... instead eat oatmeal, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, beans...eat lean meats, chicken, eggwhites....

I eat at 8am, 10:30am, 1PM, 3PM, 5 or 6PM, and sometimes around 9PM depending ... Have a look at my Fitday journal for some food ideas...

It does take a LOT of planning to eat this way, but aren't YOU worth it ?? I sure think you are... I hope this helps... TTFN
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Old 04-28-2005, 08:51 PM   #6  
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Subcriminal -
That's the thing...to eat just two servings of starch a day, that's just so heartbreaking!! I don't even think I could do it, I'd get ill from the thought of protein (psychological, of course). And you answered my question, I was concerned because I was still experiencing physical hunger after eating something.

Ilene - I knew as I typed that, that I was beind ridiculous...It's just I get this slight sense of like..mania...I can't describe it...I'm not so concerned with eating every three hours, as the fact that after I ate something, I was STILL experiencing hunger..like tummy grumbling sorta thing - and I wasn't sure if this had anything to do with my PCOS, because they say if you have a lot of insulin streaming through your blood you get hungry....but I have a feeling it makes you crave carbs so you can raise your blood sugar back up, since a lot of insulin tricks your body into thinking your blood sugar is low. I will definitely go check your fitday journal..and you bring up a good point, it is IMPERATIVE that I eat the second I feel hungry, or else I will be more likely to binge later...and it shouldn't be carb or sugar based, it should be something with protien like cottage cheese or nuts.

You've all been a tremendous help to me!!

Melissa
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Old 04-30-2005, 09:14 PM   #7  
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Miss-

When you feel hungry after you've just ate, it's your insuln talking and it isn't real hunger. If you decide to eat every time you feel this "false" hunger you're probably shooting yourself in the foot.

I've just had a really bad day with hunger. I slept really late because I didn't sleep well and skipped breakfast as a result. I had a breakfast metagenics shake (part of the diet, I replace breakfast with it every other day) at 11am and a medium banana and some wheat germ for a snack a little while later. Then I made myself chicken and snow pea stir fry for a late lunch. Even though I did eat I just felt NON-STOP hunger, though my stomach was aching it wasn't grumbling from being empty... My insulin seemed to be in a MAJOR mood swing today, and I've been cranky and grumpy as a result (by poor fiance). Today was really hard, I am not gonna lie, this has been the WORST day on this diet...

Carbs are part of the problem, our bodies can't handle them like non-IR people's bodies do, and it makes things worse!!!! Insulin abd blood sugar spikes galore!!!

Unfortunately there is no cure for IR, you can't control what it does to your body. But you CAN control what you put in your mouth, and if you can eliminate an IR aggrivating factor (carbs) then you're better off.

It really does suck doing a low carb diet like mine sometimes. But if I don't do something I am going to get diabetes and die a very slow and miserable death. All my life I tried calorie counting and exerice only to have IR + carbs negate ALL my efforts towards weight loss. If I knew then that eliminating carbs was the key, I would have done this a long time ago. I've been on this diet a couple weeks and five pounds are gone.

My nutritionalist put it to me this way when I protested the "low carb" diet she was insisting I do for the sake of my health "You can have that bread, in exchange for your vision- which you may loose to diabetes. You can have that big bowl of rice, in exchange for your foot which you will have to amputate because if diabetes related compliations."... When someone puts it to you like that, whenever you get a carb craving or "false" hunger from the extra insulin floating around, you end up putting down that slice of bread and walking away.

I think it's absolutely FANTASTIC that you've lost weight!!! A big hug and a pat on the back to you! However if you notice any appetite spikes when you shouldn't be hungry, you may want to consider the carb-insulin connection. It's a big pain inthe butt for anyone in our shoes!
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Old 05-04-2005, 03:55 PM   #8  
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Awesome advice ladies It has helped me too !

Yay MissMeliss on your weight loss
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Old 05-05-2005, 02:33 PM   #9  
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Today has been good to me... The scale was at 255, thats 7 pounds gone on the diet my nutritionalist has placed me on. I've only been on this diet a little over 3 weeks. If any one is in the NYC tri-state area I'd be happy to recommend my nutritionalist (send me a PM). I was very pessimistic that I would get results but now I am thanking myself for making an appointment with a good nutritionalist!!
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