Always starving, never full

JessieLMay

SaBh93 wrote: »

Hey Jessie, I found that I'm never satisfied if I have something sweet (with sugar) in the morning. I find bread in the morning sets me up for disaster, too. It's just a matter for trial and error for me.

Also, if I don't eat enough the day before, I eat everything in sight. So for that reason I do no fast as binging becomes the norm the next day.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Thank you

JessieLMay

barneygood wrote: »

How much fat are you eating? I know you mentioned you tried eating more protein and fiber, but fat can have a big impact on satiety as well. The other thing is... how much are you eating? It is possible you are just not eating enough.

If anything, I am eating too much. I find it hard to stay under 2000 calories, even if all I ate was fruits and veggies.

JessieLMay

mistress8956 wrote: »

You body doesn't need to feel 'full' if your full then your over eating. Your body needs to be feed so your not hungry. Personally I could eat a whole large pizza or a quest bar and feel the same 'fullness' afterwords. It's mind over matter. Good luck on your journey

I don't even fell like I ate anything. Not so much full. Just that I've ate at all.

harmar21

I haven't read much of this thread, but I used to be like you, almost always hungry, rarely satisfied, and the only time I felt full was if I literally ate a kilo of food. This is why all my weight loss attempts in the past have failed.
I then came across how low carb can lower your appetite, so I tried ultra low carb (<10gram net carb per day) and within 5 days my appetite went away. I ate a salad for lunch and I was stuffed. A salad wouldn't even put a dent in my appetite 5 days earlier. For the next week I probably was eating <1000 calories per day and was struggling to get enough calories. I then upped my carbs to 20-25g and my appetite started coming back but not even close to what it was before.
If you have tried things in the past and failed, I highly recommend looking into the keto diet and maybe try it for 2-3 weeks and see how it goes, if it doesn't work for you then try something else. If you do look into it -- a warning you will absolutely be STARVING for the first 3 days while your body screams for carbs, this only lasted about 3-4 days for me, but was pretty miserable.

Liftng4Lis

kpedersen3 wrote: »

Don't eat cereal, bread, pasta, muffins, granola bars, added sugar, nuts, hummus, peanut butter, nuts, etc. I'm not kidding. DON'T EAT THEM. It's not about eating more protein, it's about NOT eating trigger foods that activate your desire to eat and those foods that spike and drop your sugar levels. Try it. Eat eggs, protein, vegetables, fruit, Greek yogurt, etc.

NO
You don't need to give up any foods, you just need to be in a deficit.

JessieLMay

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

kpedersen3 wrote: »

Don't eat cereal, bread, pasta, muffins, granola bars, added sugar, nuts, hummus, peanut butter, nuts, etc. I'm not kidding. DON'T EAT THEM. It's not about eating more protein, it's about NOT eating trigger foods that activate your desire to eat and those foods that spike and drop your sugar levels. Try it. Eat eggs, protein, vegetables, fruit, Greek yogurt, etc.

NO
You don't need to give up any foods, you just need to be in a deficit.

I agree. I also try to be in a deficit regardless what I eat, though I do try to eat the healthy stuff since I am in this for life.

JessieLMay

harmar21 wrote: »

I haven't read much of this thread, but I used to be like you, almost always hungry, rarely satisfied, and the only time I felt full was if I literally ate a kilo of food. This is why all my weight loss attempts in the past have failed.
I then came across how low carb can lower your appetite, so I tried ultra low carb (<10gram net carb per day) and within 5 days my appetite went away. I ate a salad for lunch and I was stuffed. A salad wouldn't even put a dent in my appetite 5 days earlier. For the next week I probably was eating <1000 calories per day and was struggling to get enough calories. I then upped my carbs to 20-25g and my appetite started coming back but not even close to what it was before.
If you have tried things in the past and failed, I highly recommend looking into the keto diet and maybe try it for 2-3 weeks and see how it goes, if it doesn't work for you then try something else. If you do look into it -- a warning you will absolutely be STARVING for the first 3 days while your body screams for carbs, this only lasted about 3-4 days for me, but was pretty miserable.

Thank you. I will most definitely try it. It makes sense that I have been avoiding carbs the past few days, and I have noticed it even more.

Ludka13

Eat less sugar and refined carbs. They don't fill you up and they tend to make you hungry. Caffeine can also make you hungry. Fat can improve satiety so have some fat instead of some carbs. I don't know if you've ever tried keto but some people like it because they don't get hungry on it. All that fat is very satisfying so they actually eat fewer calories and thus lose weight. You do have to severely restrict carbs but that's all you have to restrict. It's also supposed to be very good if you have diabetes.

Missjulesdid

I've had weight loss surgery. Best thing I've ever done. I now feel satisfied with a smaller portion of food. I had VSG surgery over a year and a half ago. I eat a meal about the size of a lean cuisine and I feel full. ALSO, I'm not constantly thinking about food anymore. Before, if I was visiting someone and say, there was a plate of cookies in the kitchen.. throughout the entire visit, I'd be obsessing over if they were going to offer me some cookies or not.. and then if they did offer me, I'd be wanting to eat ten cookies, but limiting myself to only two and fighting the almost overwhelming urge to take more. NOW, I might notice a plate of cookies and think "oh, don't those look yummy" and then not give them a second thought. It's AMAZING how much of my problem was PHYSICAL and was rectified with a PHYSICAL solution. Of course I did/do struggle with emotional eating, eating out of boredom at times, etc... BUT it's SO much easier to combat the mental side of things when you don't also have to combat constant and nearly insatiable appetite. With the surgery I actually feel like a NORMAL PERSON now. I still love food and want it in my belly but I don't obsess over it anymore. I can eat to the point of satiety three or four times a day rather than feeling like I'm constantly STARVING.... If I'm somewhere and I can't get a full meal.. a banana or a hard boiled egg actually provides me with enough food to hold me over... whereas before, I'd need to eat three bananas just to feel like I have ANYTHING in my stomach. ALSO when you have VSG surgery, the part of your stomach that produces the majority of the hunger hormone ghrelin is removed.. so if you had a problem with too much hunger hormone before, having less of it is a Godsend. AND there have been studies that show that with WLS patients, the way their brains react to food post WLS is ALTERED. so yes, having the surgery helps you not just by restricting how much you can eat, but it can lead to reduced hunger hormone AND altered brain responses to food.

You seem to have your head in the right place for this surgery. It's a lifelong commitment and you are well aware of it. I wish you the very best.

MKEgal

JessieLMay wrote:

since having my first kid in 2011, I never ever get that full feeling. Heck, I don't even get a satisfied feeling. I am always left hungry.
...
I recently moved and no longer see the same doctor. In fact, my last visit 2 weeks ago, put me on phentermine and recommended weight loss surgery - Which I am doing.

Try the phentermine for a couple months. I used it & it reset my hunger mechanism. I went from always being hungry (I could eat half a pizza, then be hungry again an hour or so later) to where I am a little hungry if I haven't eaten in 5 hours. And I've lost 60 lb since January, mostly not using phentermine.

_Very_ carefully research whatever is being recommended to you w/r/t weight loss surgery.
The lap band is reversable (many people have it removed) and doesn't have the lifelong problems the other methods do (eating differently, malabsorption, etc.).
And give phentermine a try first.

This thread is for those who have struggled with this. How do you overcome it? I am a stay at home mom so my mind isn't always occupied enough to keep it off of eating. My willpower is crap too, how can I improve that?

For the willpower, ease into it just like you ease into exercise. You're developing strength.
The more you use your willpower, the stronger it will get.
So tell yourself, "you can't have that cookie for another 30 minutes". Then set a timer.
The next day, go longer.

As for how I've overcome being fat & struggling with eating too much: little by little.
Phentermine helped me get my hunger under control, so I wasn't in pain, wasn't constantly fighting that battle.
Then I could work on increasing exercise little by little, as I learned to eat right.
The first time I went to the gym, I think I was on the treadmill at 2.5 mph for maybe 5 minutes. I felt so stupid! It took me longer than that to drive there.
But I did it.
The next day I did 6 minutes, then 7, and eventually also increased the speed, then went to the elliptical, and now I'm back on the treadmill doing 90 minutes of hills almost every day.

gothchiq

How I have dealt with it is by eating nonstarchy vegetables like it's going out of style in order to fill up.

meanmutha

take the time to set the table, and sit at it to slowly eat your meal. eat smaller meals more often. don't eat after dinner. It is ok to feel hungry. don't eat until it is time for your next meal. Keep a food journal. give yourself a pat on the back for the small comforts that you have.
I was the opposite. I ate all the time so i was never hungry. now feeling hungry is a signal to me that i am eating less and eating when I should be. I've gone from scarfing down burgers and fries to slowly ENJOYING salmon and peas or a spinach salad. if my mouth tells me i need something and my stomach doesn't - I have green tea or eat a pickle.

MKEgal

kpedersen wrote:

Don't eat cereal, bread, pasta, muffins, granola bars, added sugar, nuts, hummus, peanut butter
... it's about NOT eating trigger foods that activate your desire to eat and those foods that spike and drop your sugar levels.

No. Just, no.
Completely removing any food is a bad idea. Eating less of it, or less frequently, is reasonable.
Nuts, hummus, & peanut butter are healthy fats & proteins which should be eaten more often.

I can eat an entire carton of eggs and feel nothing. Same with fruits and veggies. I can eat and eat and eat them and feel nothing... I can eat an entire chicken, and it's (sic) eggs and still feel like I haven't ate (sic)... my hungry feeling IS constant, sometimes it hurts so bad like I haven't eaten all day, even after eating.

Obviously there's something very wrong. Why aren't the doctors trying to figure it out, instead of pushing surgery?? The medicine will help control the hunger while they get to the root of the problem.

I lose about 20 lbs in a month before I fall off the track, and gain it all back. I have over 100lbs to lose.

20 lb in a month is way too much, even if you're morbidly obese.
And if you're not learning to eat right, it's no wonder you're yo-yoing (which is not healthy).
I started out with a goal of losing 110 lb. I'm over halfway there, and am thinking that once I do, I'll think about maybe losing another 10 lb, depending on how I feel.

I am not looking into advice into what I am eating, because it is not what I am eating.

Yes, the problem is what you're eating, or rather how much you're eating.
The calories don't jump into your mouth on their own while you're asleep.
Controlling calories in is the biggest part of losing weight. Exercise is vital to maintaining weight loss, but it's much harder to exercise away 300 calories than it is to eat that much.

I was just fine until 2 seconds ago my toddlers started yelling, and immediately I felt very hungry.

Interesting. So working on relaxation might help, or be aware of the connection & work to undo it.


Eating higher protein & lower carbs leads to more weight loss
(links to studies in the post)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-08-09-high-protein-diet-685553
Try 45% carbs, 20% fat, 35% protein

Eat about half your calories for breakfast, and a small dinner (see the last half of this post for the studies)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-06-10-some-studies-about-weight-loss-667818

gothchiq

... the other thing is that it took me 3 months of pretty constant suffering with hunger and eating only what was planned and no more before I stopped feeling like I was starving all the time. I took Phentermine for one month only at the very beginning. The side effects sucked so hard. I had to take stool softeners all the time, and I felt weird and spastic. I just did it to kick start me so that I could have one month to NOT deal with constant hunger and begin the process and shrink my stomach a bit. After that, I had a head start so I was able to apply will power. I was always hungry, I ate vegetables rather than going completely mad. At month 3 the hunger finally subsided. It's not like I never deal with hunger any more but it's not crazy out of control like it used to be. I now can eat just like a double portion of broccoli or green beans rather than needing the whole bag of vegetables to feel like I had eaten anything at all. I put a little olive oil on the vegetables, just a teaspoon, because without any fats there's no satisfaction. and a little salt. If stress is a big problem in your life, I would see if you could find ten or 15 minutes a day for meditation. Before the kids get up, after they go to bed, or something. It's very restorative and the effect is cumulative. There are lots of good guided meditation videos on youtube if you need a little help with it. It just gives your mind a badly needed break.

RockGutCharlie

I never ever get that full feeling. Heck, I don't even get a satisfied feeling.

I never in my entire life thought I could possibly get satisfaction from food, until I did, it f'cked me up. If you're looking for that kind of thing, enjoy those moments, but not too often. Like any other fun activities there's only so much you can take In the end it's always a mind game in it's pursuit of happy endings.

If you don't feel full, the same story, avoid sugars, learn to love protein, good fats and complex carbohydrates. What works for me (we'll see if it does over the long haul) is drinking my vegetables and fruits during the day and eating the rest at night in one meal. This way I feel more than full and I don't feel hungry the rest of the day. I hope you find something that works for you .

wmcmurray61

I used to be hungry all the time, too. Then I added just a little more fat to my diet and it solved the problem. No hunger, was still able to maintain a deficit and stil lost a lb a week and have kept it off for almost 2 years, now.

Editied to say that when I say "a little" fat, I mean it. We're talking under 5 grams a day,

JessieLMay

I can eat an entire carton of eggs and feel nothing. Same with fruits and veggies. I can eat and eat and eat them and feel nothing... I can eat an entire chicken, and it's (sic) eggs and still feel like I haven't ate (sic)... my hungry feeling IS constant, sometimes it hurts so bad like I haven't eaten all day, even after eating.

Obviously there's something very wrong. Why aren't the doctors trying to figure it out, instead of pushing surgery?? The medicine will help control the hunger while they get to the root of the problem.

That is exactly the point of the phentermine. I have 6 months of dr supervised diets before I can even get the WLS. I hope in the process, they can figure it out. If not, they will advise me in the best possible direction.

I lose about 20 lbs in a month before I fall off the track, and gain it all back. I have over 100lbs to lose.

20 lb in a month is way too much, even if you're morbidly obese.
And if you're not learning to eat right, it's no wonder you're yo-yoing (which is not healthy).
I started out with a goal of losing 110 lb. I'm over halfway there, and am thinking that once I do, I'll think about maybe losing another 10 lb, depending on how I feel.

No, it was all good diet and exercise at the time. Now it's just diet. My dr has no idea how I keep gaining so much weight in short amounts of time when my diet hasn't changed and all health problems have been ruled out. I gained 50lbs in 4 months from mirena, but recently I was 272 at my 6 week post partum appointment, and then up to 290 only 6 weeks later. Now almost 4 weeks later, I am down 11 lbs at least.

Juvenica

fraklein wrote: »

I eat lots of healthy fats, just enough protein to maintain muscle mass, and little to no sugar and carbs. No grains or starches.
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

what food is there left???

Junebuggyzy

I had the same issue as you, just wanting to eat all the time, and never feeling full.

For me, the answer to losing 25% of my body weight in the past nine months was from eating how I like eating.

Before, I always used tricks and tips. The Paleo diet, high carb, low carb, whatever diet was in vogue. This is the first time I paid no attention to diets. I even paid no attention to how my bariatric physician said to eat! I did not want to know what the celebrities eat, or how anyone said is the right way to eat.

I DID NOT GO ON THIS DIET OR THAT DIET or WHAT SOMEONE ELSE SAID IS THE RIGHT WAY. I just eat the foods I like and don't eat the foods I do not like.

I happen to mostly like foods that do not come in a package, but that's just me. Trust your gut feeling on how to eat. Not listening to anyone else has been what has changed my life.

When it comes to stuff I love like pizza, cake, and cookies, I only eat it when I go out to eat. And when I do, I still try not to overdo it. But if I do overdo it, it might set me back for a week or so, but then I move on.

I also have been taking Phentermine all this time. It does make me feel fuller. I am weaning off of it now, very slowly. I am scared, definitely. But the idea for me is to start eating right, and then I will not need it anymore.

If you want to friend me, you can see how I eat. I like to keep it real simple. Lots of fruit, lots of vegetables, and at night either fish, chicken, or meat.

I love chocolate and butterscotch candy, so I make sure to have it every day. Because of the Phentermine, I can keep candy in the house and not chow down on the whole bag like I used to.

I am lucky that I don't like bread that much except when it is fresh. So the only time I eat bread is when a restaurant has crusty bread. I had to give away my bread machine, way too tempting!

Good luck, I think you are doing great!