Hey, this is my third week of calories counting and so far its been good and I've been loving it! I eat about 1400-1600 a day (usually leaning more towards the 1600). I don't starve myself, but I can deal with a little bit of hunger. It doesn't bother me, especially if I have a meal coming up in an hour or half an hour. I'm usually still ungry after I eat too, but only because it takes my brain like twenty minutes to notice my stomach is FULL and then the hunger obviously goes away. But today I did my normal routine, breakfast at 6:30, lunch at noon, small snack around 3:00 and dinners gonna be in another hour (6:30) but for some reason, today, I am STARVING and have been since 4:30!!! Even with a snack (and I don't usually snack). And when I say starving, I mean the "my stomach hurts getting dizzy" kind of starving. This I can't handle
My lunch is close to the same I always have, plenty of veggies (a whole orange pepper and baby spinach salad today) some cheese, hard boiled egg, fruit and kellogs fruit crisp bar for dessert. And usually I'm full at the end and last straight until dinner, so why is body suddenly so empty today?!?!
I usually have a smaller breakfast, I'm building up to bigger breakfasts cause I used to just skip breakfast but I know that's not healthy. So I have yogurt, and or fruit. Today though, I actually had protein (some salmon and soy beans) Could that be why my stomach is suddenly starving??? Did it like, boost my metabolism or something? Or is my body changing and starting to adapt to eating proper meals (I didn't before, no breakfast, no lunch, just snacks then a HUGE dinner and note snacks. But lots of snacks,and bad snacks... definitely over eating) and should I increase my breakfasts??? Introduce another snack??? (I snack on fruit typically, sometimes Kefir or yogurt).
EDIT: I posted this in the wrong thread, sorry! Is there any chance a moderator could move it to general diet plans and questions please (or wherever else it should go??)? I'm so sorry about the error, I'll be more careful in the future
Last edited by SenseAndSensibility; 12-18-2014 at 09:04 PM.
A fitness trainer I had for a while told me to throw back a shot of protein isolate mixed with water first thing on waking up every morning, because it would get my metabolism moving for the day. I suppose it's possible that by having higher protein than usual in the morning, you got your body in action earlier and have burned more calories up to and after lunch.
Your body does burn calories on its own all day, and more so when you have excess energy to expel, which you can do unknowingly in the form of things like leg shaking, twitching, or just getting up and down more and things like that. When people of a normal body weight are fed extra calories they have a tendency to burn off various amounts of the excess by doing things like this - not exercise, just small changes to activities that they aren't doing on purpose. (I read a study where participants were fed more, and calorie intake and exercise were measured closely, specifically to find out why some people don't gain weight when they eat more).
Thing is, I don't think that's something you can really enter into your calorie log as exercise.
Another possibility is that your lunch is too carb-heavy to keep you feeling full, and your body's going "hey, you did a good job at breakfast, why are you only giving me an egg now?" Personally, I don't feel full for long after carbs and even protein alone, with notable exceptions like steel cut oats. Protein and fat together make me feel full. From your post I'm thinking maybe you're vegetarian, or red meat is out for other reasons? If so, it might be good to try out some other foods at lunchtimes to see if they keep you feeling more full through to dinner. Something with protein, but with a more complex makeup like beans?
I don't personally snack much between meals, except if there's a treat available at work or something, but even then... it actually causes hunger problems for me. A little bit of food seems to prepare my stomach for more food, and then I'm ready long before my next meal. But that might just be me. Not sure.
Thanks for the reply! I actually love meat, I'm not trying to avoid it or anything at all XD I usually have two hard boiled eggs, but I thought maybe I'd only need one since I had more protein for breakfast. I also thought cheese had protein in it too. If I had my way, I'd eat more meat than anything really. I'll definitely look into changing up my lunch! I didn't realize I was so carb heavy, I thought carbs came from grains and breads and I try not to over eat tbose things because my mother said that's what you have to cut out to be healthy. But if you're suggesting more protein, I am all ears and definitely willing to add nuts and what not.
My strategy is to try and cram as many fruits and veggies in the day, which is why I guess I must look like a vegeterian from breakfast to lunch. Before, I was barely eating enough vegetables. I thought I had to "save" the bulk of my protein for dinner before working out. So dinner is when I eat the most protein. Today I had chicken breast, green string beans and tortellini in tomatoe sauce for dinner. But thanks for the tips! Guess I'll have to start playing around a bit until I find the right balance. I was just so surprised because I haven't been THAT hungry in a long time, and especially not since I started this new life style! It baffled me because I hadn't done much different.
I agree with the snacking thing too, I don't usually have a snack, unless dinner is delayed or something, butbtoday I had too! I usually try and drink water instead, as sometimes I notice when I feel hungry, I'm actually just thirsty.
Last edited by SenseAndSensibility; 12-19-2014 at 01:50 AM.
Did you increase your exercise/do something different? I'm generally more hungry on days I run than other days.
A combination of protein/fat is a good way to stay satiated. Your lunch salad with the egg and cheese sounds good in my opinion. You might try an oil-based dressing to get some additional healthy fats in there if you aren't already. You could try adding some chicken breast to your salad too. I think you can do about 3 oz for 100 calories, give or take. Meal timing in relation to your exercise isn't important for your overall weight loss goal, so you don't need to save protein for the evening. However, I personally find I perform better in my activities (I'm a competitive dancer) if I have a protein/carb combo before I head to class.
Breakfast isn't required, many people simply do not need breakfast. Current research indicates eating breakfast isn't necessary for maintaining a healthy weight and plenty of people (I think there are some around here too) do okay with not eating breakfast in the morning. If not eating breakfast allows you to stay on track all day, don't feel like you have to cram it in. Personally I'm hungry within an hour of waking up, so I like getting a good combo of protein/carbs/fat in the morning to keep me going until lunch. That whole jump starting your metabolism in the morning thing is also being disproved by current research. Unfortunately no citations off the top of my head right now.
Next time you are feeling quite hungry after your lunch, you might try a small protein snack to keep you going. I like throwing veggies into some cottage cheese. Cheese and veg or fruit or yogurt and fruit is another good option. Both of those snacks can come in 100-150 calories depending on specific foods and portions chosen. I have a "protein shake" I like to make with chocolate soy milk (soy because I like the taste), frozen banana slices, and peanut butter. This is higher calorie, around 300, but I usually use it before a dance class that goes through proper dinner time and follow up with a small ~300 calorie dinner when I get home.
You might want to check out the intermittent fasting threads around here too if your preferred eating schedule is a couple large meals rather than small ones and snacks.
What happened?!?!
