I feel like I'm starving.
 

Jesus, I can't take this much longer. I'm not even on a diet, I just try to incorporate better foods into my life and have little of the bag I used to eat. But no matter what I've done so far (eating every three hours, eating hearty meals)I always feel like I'm starving. I mean, I get this painful feeling of hunger and bad headaches. This is so not cool. I'm seriously in a bind here. Maybe I have a condition I don't know about yet or maybe my stomach has stretched out due to years of my abuse of food that it's elasticity can't bounce back?

What do you eat and how much? Do you drink a lot of water? How long have you been doing things differently for? It takes some time to get used to smaller portions.

I am sorry you are not feeling well. Can you tell us what you are eating? Are you calorie counting or on another specific plan?

Off the bat, I would say, drink more water. A load of it. Secondly, I would advise checking Www.freedieting.com for a height/ weight calorie advisemet to make sure you are eating the correct calories. Make sure you are eating protien. That will help with hunger.

The first few weeks of eating better all I could think about was food, all the time! It was so dang frustrating!!!!

Eventually I found a food combination that helped keep me fuller longer. Fiber, fat, and protein. Until my stomach became use to my new eating I ate a lot of chicken and spinach salads. Eventually I cut out the salad dressing and started using cottage cheese on my salads for more protein.

You're right, it's not easy, but it does get easier. You just have to want it.

Yeah, that was my question too. There are some foods that will give you more nutritional "bang for your buck" and some that people find make them hungrier.

There are also ways to incorporate more vegetables right into your meals to eat a lot of volume with little extra calories, which will fill you up.

I second the suggestion to check how many calories you should be eating. If you're getting headaches and feeling hungry all the time, your body could be telling you that it isn't getting enough food to function properly.

Some other suggestions (take 'em or leave 'em):

- Are you ingesting a lot of aspartame? Aspartame gives me headaches and makes my stomach feel empty. I stopped eating diet soda, sugar-free yogurt, etc. and now I feel a lot better.

- Are you getting enough fat in your diet? What about protein?

- Are you typically a big sugar and simple carb eater? I am addicted to sugar. I have to avoid it or I go nuts and binge on white bread and baked sweets. When I come off of sugar it feels really awful (horrible headaches, intense cravings), but once I stick with it for a few weeks I feel a lot better. I try to only eat whole grains and things low on the glycemic index. Whole grains fill me up faster, and I don't get wild blood sugar swings that trigger the headaches and hunger pangs.

I'd suggest to either journal what you eat or get a calorie counting app or website. You might think you're eating healthy, but until you see EVERY little thing that goes into your mouth, on paper, it makes a difference.

As someone else stated, I'd stay away from carbs. Don't cut them out but slow down on them. Often times they leave us starving and also make you feel "heavy" and "slow". Just a thought.

It sounds like carb withdrawal to me. Have you gone from a large amount of carbs to low carb?

Sorry for the late reply guys. Lets see, recently I have only been eating rice and veggies, muscle milk, broccoli, stone ground bread, fruits and more veggies, grilled chicken. You know, stuff like that. I can't really afford too much because of a shortage of money recently. When I save up a bit more, I'll buy more brown rice and beans and stuff.

I believe so since for the last three days I haven't gotten to eat much. But I've always had his problem and finally decided to seek help. It just got worse over those three days.

Protein is your friend, because it takes hours longer to digest. Not so much, the rice or bread. Also, like you're doing, lots of veggies for bulk. I'm in NYC too. We're lucky because we have all those produce stands on the street that sell fruit & veggies very cheaply.

Oh yeah!! You are sooo going through carb withdrawl!! No doubt in my mind. Headaches, irritability, empty feeling in your stomach, and so on. I went through the same thing! No worries though....you'll get through it!! I'm going to be quitting smoking on Friday, and I've tried before and wasn't able to get through the withdrawl period....WE CAN DO IT! You are strong and getting through the initial part of this is the tough. But these new eating habits will pay off! Stay strong and good luck chick!

That looks very low fat to me. I know it is counter-intuitive, but fasting and eating a ton of fat when I do eat has completely undone my insane appetite. If I'm eating carbs, I just want to eat all day long in large quantities. The diet that you're eating looks very... 80s to me. :o I think that does work for some people, but it absolutely does not work for me. My metabolism is too damaged, probably from years of carb addiction.

Power through it, huh? Carb withdrawal. I'll speak to my PCP about that.

Where do I get these vast amount of protein? Besides the usual. Oh and can I drink glucera and muscle milk for its protein?

Muscle milk has a bunch of sugar. You can get a big container of protein powder for cheap that will have less sugar and less calories. It will cost a lot less than muscle milk.

Personally, I suspect it's not so much carb withdrawal as a sensitivity to the carbs themselves, especially if you happen to have blood sugar issues such as hypoglycemia, diabetes, or insulin resistance.

I'm borderline diabetic/insulin resistant, and sugars and starches (even the "good ones" from fruit, whole grains, and higher calorie starchy veggies like potato) increase my hunger dramatically. So much so, that the more I eat, the hungrier I feel. On a lowish carb paleo diet, hunger and hunger headaches aren't a problem.

On a low-fat, lowish calorie, but high glycemic diet like you describe, I too would be feeling very hungry and headachey.

If you're only mildly carb sensitive or insulin resistant, a whole food diet such as The Zone or The South Beach diet might work best.

If you're extremely carb-sensitive, you might do best on a low-carb diet such as Atkins or some of the stricter paleo diets, as even whole grains and fruit may spike hunger.

If you have medical coverage, I'd recommend testing for diabetes and insulin resistance.

There is no test that determines your exact degree of carb sensitivity, so you're left to trial and error. A food and hunger/symptom/emotion log can be helpful to see which foods and food types trigger positive and negative results.

Just as an example, many of us find that sugar and starches can even cause or at least worsen emotional issues. For decades I thought I was fat because of emotional problems (mild depression and impulse control issues), as it turns our carbs were causing the emotional crises. On a carb-controlled dirt, I'm much more emotionally stable and able to think more clearly.

'm not suggesting you give up any foods permanently, just experiment to find your own ideal carb level by experimenting and keeping good notes on how you're feeling and how weight loss, weight management is going.

Hey! You can drink the Muscle Milk if you want, but I'd spend calories on something that fills up your stomach, as well! I know you're on a budget, but chicken, eggs, tuna, tilapia--whatever is on sale!

Oh, gosh! I am feeling you! I started again last week, and I have been battling hunger feelings as well. For me, though, I suspect it is more emotional. My body is not happy with me for not giving in! Carbs may have something to do with it. I would love to know what the PCP says. The one thing I guess I have done to help that is that I save my calories for actual food, meaning I really limit juices and sodas so that I am physically chewing my calories. it helps..a bit. Good luck with the Dr. visit and hang in there!

I'm also rooting for you...it's so hard in the beginning. If you persist, I'm sure you'll figure it out. I'd say the white rice is not a good idea but at least if you combine it with protein such as chicken/turkey/fish and fiber (non-starchy veggies), then it should help a lot. Don't forget to check the prices on frozen veggies, which have at least as much nutrition as the fresh kind (if not more) but sometimes have good sales.

Muscle milk is 230 cal with 6 grams of sugar o.O

You guys are all great. Thanks for the feedback. This is definitely going to be a trial and error session. I will speak with my PCP and let you guys know if this thread hasn't died by then about what she says. Also, I was given a tip by someone about some new way of helping the pounds drop. Called sleeve gastrectomy? I looked it up and sounds promising. Even Chris Christie is doing his thing to lose his way by a similar means.

Chris Christie got lap band, not a sleeve. Either way, weight loss surgery is a tool. You still need to eat right, exercise and take care of your body.

But I know when I eat healthy, I fill my plate with 85% veggies. I make sure it's multiple servings of veggies in one meals. It could help. If I were to have just one normal serving of veggies. I bulk up with veggies. You can find frozen veggies, veggies on sale, fruits, and healthy meats on sale sometimes. I've been able to eat well very cheap before. Also check out the shoes string meals section where there is amazing ideas on cheap/eating well. I really like protein/veg snacks between my bigger meals.

Also if you are used to eating 5000 calories a day, 1200 would feel awful. So I'd definitely not go too low calorie wise. You just need a 500 deficient

Absolutely....obviously there is no way to get over any "addiction" unless you stop taking it. Of course your body is being "shocked into submission" and it's gonna fight back for a while.

It might be a good idea to talk to your Primary anyway though, your right. Just to rule out that there are no underlying conditions that have reared up. And maybe if it's too bad for you, you could try a weaning process, but I have always found that bad carbs make me crave more carbs...so proceed with caution and good luck. It sucks and I'm sorry you have to go through this. But I think it will get better.:hug:

Thank you very much, you guys are great and informative.

Drink lots of water throughout the day that keeps me filled. Also from my experience nuts can also help but watch for calories. Snack light I recently tried kale chips from Trader Joes low in calories yet very yummy. Hope this helps

I will be curious to know what your PCP says. Most will not endorse a low carb diet, but remember, vegetables are carbs. They are complex carbs and are good for you. The carbs people have been talking about in this thread are starchy carbs, such as the rice you are eating and also bread, potatoes and sweets. I say don't try to eliminate them altogether but eat them in small portions with your meal of veggies and protein. This is probably what your PCP will recommend.

Also, exercise, like taking a walk, can reduce your appetite along with strengthing your muscles, heart and lungs. It seems to give you a feeling of well-being. It doesn't have to be high intensity, just get moving.