Hungry all the time
 

Hey all just looking for some insure on what's been going on. I've been on this program for two months. Down 15 lbs in total. The last two weeks I have been hungry all the time. Last week I couldn't stick to the plan. I had fast food chicken fingers twice. This week I have been 100% on program but I have been hungry all day everyday. My hunger is consuming me. At times I stand up and feel dizzy. When I first started the program I was never hungry. Also I have hit a plateau this last few weeks. Currently I am at 158lbs. Is this what happens after a few months. Do things slow down. Any ideas on why starving?

We have some very powerful hormones, including leptin and ghrelin. Ghrelin is responsible for all that hunger.

What is your coach saying? Many people who run into problems find solutions from their coaches.

I suggest having a plan for how to deal with that kind of hunger, until you can discuss with your coach. Hard boiled eggs, lean meats, large salads are all OP ways to manage it, rather than chicken fingers, which could cause the stall.

Are you getting all of your oil and salt? Are you trying to keep to lean meats only? Red meats have more fat and may be a more satiating way of helping you stay OP. Again,discuss with your coach!

sadly - i buy the products at a store in my town, it does not include ANY coaching. They will do my weigh in and measure but thats about it. When I asked last week about the increase in my weight she just shrugged.

thanks for the ideas, i am getting the oil and salt. I alternate between lean beef and chicken, but this week I have added salmon to the mix.

The only other thing I'm going to suggest is how well this plan works for people who have developed insulin/metabolic resistance. For others (perhaps not insulin resistant?), I see a LOT of hunger complaints.

One gal recently shared that her coach moved her to phase 2. She's still losing weight and not nearly as hungry.

[QUOTE=ingrid1221;4730935]Hey all just looking for some insure on what's been going on. I've been on this program for two months. Down 15 lbs in total. The last two weeks I have been hungry all the time. Last week I couldn't stick to the plan. I had fast food chicken fingers twice. This week I have been 100% on program but I have been hungry all day everyday. My hunger is consuming me. At times I stand up and feel dizzy. When I first started the program I was never hungry. Also I have hit a plateau this last few weeks. Currently I am at 158lbs. Is this what happens after a few months. Do things slow down. Any ideas ?

maybe you should think about moving to phase 2. I felt the same way as you on phase 1.... Weak and hungry! My coach said it could because I have a high metabolism. She suggested a hard boiled egg here and there and sugar free fat-free jello. I am now on phase 2 and I feel so much better! I just started phase 2 so I'm not sure about weight loss yet. I am 3 pounds from goal so I'm sure I will get there eventually.

http://diettalktoday.com/wp-content/...act-Sheet3.pdf

[QUOTE=Jen02719;4730985]Don't know how that link got in there! Oops!

Ingrid, are you exercising? If you stick to the plan 100% you are not getting enough calories to exercise. You may need one more unrestricted on days that you workout.

You can nibble on cucumbers, celery, or lettuce. You can have an egg white omelet. Or try p2. I'm not a coach, but you may want to stick it out a bit longer and have a couple of weeks of being 100%. Sometimes the scale does not show a loss, but it is made up the following week. It's possible the chicken fingers stalled the loss, but I'm not an authority, just another IPer.

Good luck and kep us posted.

I'm not on the IP plan, but what I do when I get hungry and I don't want to spend points is brew up a cup of tea without sugar or creamer. I also like the diet snapple singles to go that you can mix into water. I try to use my hunger as an excuse to fill up on water until I feel sated.

Good luck!

Whenever I complained to my coach that I was hungry in P1, she asked if there were any carbs sneaking in to my meals - too many restricted s in one day, any kind of sauces or dressings on my food (especially at a restaurant), fruit or sweets that 'snuck' in willingly or unwillingly...

No exercising. Except walking up stairs to get to my condo. And no sauces or sweets sneaking in. I do out Splenda in my coffee in the morning. IP drink for breakfast. Coffee At work. Lunch is IP meal and the veggies. Dinner is plain protein and the veggies. Dill zippers after dinner. And repeat. Once a week I have a diet Pepsi or a Xevia soft drink.

Hey,

I just wanted to let you know that I'm hungry all the time too. You are not alone! For a while i wasn't hungry at all, and then it happened.

It really helps me to split my protein into two meals: for lunch I have a salad of romaine hearts w about 2 or three oz protein chopped up and my veggies, then I have my IP drink or soup around 3pm, the rest of my protein and veg for dinner then my last packet before bed.

I think I neede to eat more frequently. Also: I am pretty carb sensitive, so I found when I started measuring my veg again that I was eating too many veggies, I fixed that and I don't do a restricted every day. Keeping my carbs lower helps w the hunger too. I think I was having trouble staying in Ketosis.

I have also found that getting some of my protein with my lunch salad helps my hunger tremendously!

This weekend I was sooo hungry and I am on week 14 prior to that I was only hungry the first week!! I haven't cheated once not one bite but it was sure tempting this weekend but I stuck it out and I too find that tea helps to settle the hunger.

Thanks everyone - its nice to know i'm not the only one! I did try splitting up my protein yesterday and it did help. I think I will go out and pick up some keto pee tests and make sure i'm staying in ketosis.

Regarding KETOSIS: be aware that MANY people feel the sticks are way less than accurate in measuring whether you are in Ketosis. More people can chime in but just wanted you to be careful not to put all that much faith in the results. If you are following the program, you ARE in Ketosis no matter what the sticks show. By virtue if the fact that you are eating few calories, controlled carbs and little fat, then everything IS working.

I personally wouldn't waste my time or money on keto sticks. They are highly inaccurate.

It is possible that ketosis is partially respsonsible but ketosis is not an on/off switch like many here would have you believe. I think the suggestion to count your carbs carefully and see where they fall for the day is a very good one. Keep it under 50 and you're guarenteed to be in ketosis.

The suggestion to split up your protein is also a very good one which I see has helped.

The final suggestion I would make is to stay away from artificial sweetners as much as possible and see how that works for you. Some people find their cravings are affected by sugar or sugar substitutes. (Others don't)

Goodluck!

Ingrid: Really. Don't waste your money.

I agree with above. I don't go anywhere without my 24 oz refillable water bottle. It is especially helpful in the afternoon while I am in the car driving the kids around. If I know I can put *something* in, even water, it helps! Then once we get home, dig in to some yummy meat and vegetables!!! :flow1:

I have been using my fitness pal to count my carbs and daily I am some where between 70 and 100G of carbs. And thats just from the IP snacks and the veggies. Should I cut out the Restricted snacks??

100g of carbs is higher than you should be even including restricted items. Can you post an example menu from a day where you were that high? there might be something else going on...

I am often hungry at 10 am and usually have some stir fry spinach and mushrooms.

Afternoons can also be a hungry time for me, and it helps when I
-have 3 oz protein at lunch
-graze on veggies ( roasted cauli, kale, plain lettuce & celery,!)
-have both IP packs in the afternoon if really desperate ( skipping the dinner one then!)

Then if STILL starving, I come hang out on these boards. =)

Wow! My Total carbs yesterday were 48 (WITH a restricted!) I had 30 g fiber so that is 18 net carbs.

I had spinach (1c), asparagus (1c), cauliflower (2c) for veggies and
IP milk choc pudding, IP potato puree, and 1 Quest Bar for "packets"

If you list what you've been eating or give us your MFP user name, we can take a look and try to help.

It may also be the fiber content. I did Medifast 5+1 and was never hungry. Then I switched to IP and was starving the whole day. Even more on the alternative products. Now I mix the two and am much better.

ok so here is my menu for yesterday - ** my days are all pretty similar.
Breakfast 7am - WIld berry Yogurt IP drink, coffee with milk and splenda, Carbs = 8g
Lunch noon - iceburge lettuce, green pepper (1 cup), oil & vinegar dressing, IP chocolate pudding Carbs = 25g
Snack - 2pm IP chocolate chip cookie = 23g
Dinner 6pm - 2 cups steamed broccoli and chicken breast cooked on George Foreman grill Carbs = 12



Total carbs = 97g

oh my fitness pal name is Bowie1221

You need to be subtracting the fiber to get net carbs. For example, the cookie has 9 grams of fiber, bringing the net carbs down to 14 grams.

Also, unless I'm over-looking something, did you only have 3 cups of veggies?

The problem I've found with Myfitnesspal is that a lot of the data in there is not accurate. You may have selected green pepper from the list and it showed up with really high carbs. I just checked green bell peppers and one came up with 5g carbs per cup and another showed 9g.

Knowing that, you shouldn't worry too much about what numbers you are getting for total carbs. If you are using the IP products and the approved veggies you will be ok.

oh I didn't know the fiber rule! I have said before - my coach is useless!

I have been hungry lately also, I just try to drink more water. I think it has to do with hormones also, I have missed my last two cycles, so it may be that time it is slowing down for me!

As Ragdoll said, be careful what entries you are selecting from MFP when you are searching for a food. For example, when I entered your lunch into MFP I come up with 14 g carb (7 from pepper, 7 from pudding). Subtract the 5 g fiber and it ends up being 9 g net carbs. When searching in MFP and there are a lot of options to choose from, I always check the nutritional info and how many confirmations there have been. For the green peppers, I use the entry named "Peppers-sweet, green, raw, 1 cup, chopped" which has 212 confirmations. Also, be sure when selecting meat and veggies from the MFP entries that you select "raw" entries. If you can't find an entry with the correct nutritional info, you can correct an existing entry or make a new entry with the correct info.

If you want to friend my on MFP my user name is pocahontas812. It might help to see what others are entering into their diaries.