Do you ever have those days when the calorie budget just seems way too small?
The past few days I just seem to be much hungrier than usual and it is driving me crazy. I am eating wholesome, nutritious food, lots of fruits and vegs, but I am constantly hungry. I tried all my usual tricks, drinking green tea, water, snacking on apples...nothing is making the hollowness go away. I have been over budget the last few days and have been saved from more serious disaster by the fact that I was able to eat back some exercise calories, but I can't keep doing that or I will not make any progress. Today I probably went about 400 calories over because I just needed to feel full for once. I cannot imagine the early days in this diet when I nibbled on a few spoonfuls of tuna on a Wasa cracker and called it lunch, and it didn't bother me at all.
Do any of you go through phases where you are more hungry than usual, and does it ever go back to where you can continue to stick to the calorie budget somewhat comfortably without feeling like you're starving all the time?
This is nuts and I am really discouraged. I was doing so great the first few months, but it just seemed to suddenly get harder all of a sudden.
Absolutely. Luckily it doesn't last more than a few days at a time for me. I notice that I tend to have a "whoosh" when this happens so that helps. I chew a lot of gum, drink a lot of tea, eat a lot of salad, make sure I'm eating high protein. It will pass!
Carol,
Are you eating enough proteins? Carbs burn off rather fast and can leave you hungry. Proteins metabolize more slowly and so can keep you satisfied longer. Try a handful of nuts or a cube of cheese between meals if you're a snacker or maybe eat more proteins with your meals.
Thanks guys. I will try eating more protein as snacks. I suppose fruit is still carby, so not always a good choice for a satisfying snack. Glad to hear it passes. I was starting to wonder whether I "hit the wall" and was not going to be able to keep this up.
Nuts, cheese, yogurt are all good. Fat-free greek yogurt is great once you get used to the tangy flavor.
One of my favorite snacks is half an apple diced, sprinkle w/ cinnamon and nuke until soft. Mix it with some plain 0% greek yogurt and it's a ton of food for a few calories and keeps you full for a while.
Four days out of every month, I am a ravenous beast. Just one of those awesome girl things. I usually give myself a couple hundred extra calories those days and call it good.
It happened to me today and I ate about 500 calories over my usual. I only slept about 4 hours last night, I worked out and now have a horrid migraine, so at least I know why I wanted to eat more. Sometimes it's from low grade stress. Sometimes, the body just needs more for whatever the reason. Try to make a huge veggie soup and then puree it. There are studies showing that this actually helps us feel fuller longer. You could also try making a smoothie. My husband makes great ones that are super filling. He puts in 1 green apple, 1 banana, a bag of frozen strawberries, and a huge cup of water. He'll sometimes use celery, but rarely. You can drink this before your meal or as a snack and it goes a long way for not that many calories. Hope that helps!
Juliana, Fage plain Greek yogurt was on sale at the store today! I bought some and will try your awesome idea the next time the beast rises up in me again. Thanks for the suggestion!
Luckymommy, the soup and smoothie suggestions are great too. I sure hope your migraine goes away soon, you poor thing.
Last edited by gardend1va; 05-03-2012 at 12:21 AM.
Absolutely. Luckily it doesn't last more than a few days at a time for me. I notice that I tend to have a "whoosh" when this happens so that helps. I chew a lot of gum, drink a lot of tea, eat a lot of salad, make sure I'm eating high protein. It will pass!
This is what happens to me as well. I just ride it through and end up with a nice drop!
I find that "hollow"/"empty" feeling happens to me when I eat too much fiber and drink too much water at the same time (because your system is meant to digest and flush out fiber with adequate amounts of water through your body quickly)... So I guess this could happen with certain combinations of fruits and veggies... But I also have a lot of tummy issues... Anyways, if you've upped your fruit and veggie intake you might want to make sure your fiber intake isn't too high (20-25 grams I believe is the recommended daily dose, that's about 5 apples). I'm not at all suggesting you don't included good sources of fiber into your diet, just that sometimes over doing it, as with anything, can have adverse effects and whole foods normally have quite a lot of fiber.
Whoa, EricAnn, this is interesting. I had an attack of diverticulitis a few years ago and as a result I've been a bit compulsive about fiber. I take fiber supplements as well as eat all kinds of fiber rich foods. I thought you never could eat too much fiber, but maybe it is the culprit for my hollowness. I will have to pay attention to how much fiber I eat and see if it corresponds. Thanks for giving me something to think about.
How many calories are you eating? Believe it or not, my nutritionist raised my daily intake 200 calories because my metabolism was running so hot from working out.
How have the extra calories impacted your weight loss if at all? How do you feel?
(ps and yes, even on 1800 cals now, which seems like a ton to me some day, other days I'm still hungry!)
Last edited by fyreflie24; 05-03-2012 at 08:23 AM.
Yes, my hunger levels definitely vary from day to day and week to week. A couple of months ago I had a two-week period in which I felt hungry all the time, which led me to do some research online and find this site. If I'm sure that it's stomach hunger and not mouth/mental hunger I'm feeling, I usually allow myself something extra, like a granola bar or some crackers and cheese.
do I ever!! usually around TOM. Sometimes though when I am craving a food I dont want to eat like chocolate and instead I eat a whole lot of other things, go over my calories and then realsie if i had had the chocolate in the first place, i'd have saved myself a lot of mental anguish and calories I find a large mug of sugar free cocoa with stevia and hotwater really helps in times like this. Add a bit of cheese and its even better acoz of the sweetness and saltiness and protein and lots of water
Yes! I've also noticed it matters WHEN I eat things. I cannot have fruit in the morning or I am ravenous all day long. When I do eat fruit, I have some cheese with it because otherwise I can feel a snack attack coming on. I make sure to have protein with every snack, otherwise I'm hungry again within 2 hours. And for whatever bizarre reason, eating peanut butter with breakfast also doesn't work. I can eat it any other time of day, just not breakfast, or something bad seems to happen!
Also depends a lot on exercise. And sleep.
I feel your pain. But remember this, too, shall pass!
Do you ever have those days when the calorie budget just seems way too small?
I usually give myself a couple hundred extra calories those days and call it good.
