Why am i suddenly hungry all the time?

clafairy1984

I have been back on the healthier eating for about a month now, I was hungry for the first week, but then I got used to my calorie intake, but oddly I am now feeling hungry all the time again. i have cut down on caffeine and cut out fizzy drinks. I feel that I am eating regular healthy meals, plenty of veg and fruit, plus a daily treat. I don't understand why this is happening, I stay close to my calorie limit, and eat back exercise calories.

Typical day:

Breakfast: Porridge/toast/ in the week and a cooked breakfast at weekends ( usually scrambled egg, mushrooms, bacon and tomatoes or spinach) coffee, and 200ml juice.

Snack: 100g some kind of berries or grapes, and health food snack box (graze box) or pack of walkers sunbites.

Lunch: Homemade vegetable soup (butternut squash or parsnip or carrot and lentil etc) , 2 ryvita and an apple. Sometimes a hard boiled egg depending on calorie content of soup

Snack: 80-120 calories. I like to unwind when I get home (while house is empty) with a cup of tea and either a dark choc kitkat or 2 Jaffa cakes.

Dinner: This really varies. I eat fish 1-2 times a week, vegetarian 1-2 times a week, then mainly white meat with the occasional red. I make everything from scratch, curries, stews, stir fry, and pack them with veg. and make my own sauces and gravies (mostly). I limit the oil used and tend to use brown rice and pasta, cous cous, sweet potato, and mix of veggies as sides.

Pudding: if I have enough calories at the end of the day, I have a low calorie mousse and a low cal hot chocolate in the evening.

So why the hell am I hungry?

jgnatca

I think you are hungry because...you are hungry. Your meals look fantastic. I give in to those feelings of hunger just a little bit. Maybe have a healthful hunger stash, pre-portioned, for those days. Who knows what your body is doing? Maybe it's trying to go back to it's former size. Perhaps your body is reshaping muscles where there were none before. Bodies are funny things.

EmmieBaby

I've had days like that, for me at least, its my body telling me I need more water. Also when I am around TOM i tend to be a bottomless pit so I just have to deal with being "hungry"

TheTiagooo

My diet has slipped a little recently. Not getting such a good deficit, but I think it's just hard to keep up for a long time. Being hungry sucks tbh. I'm going to try and step it up again though.

eldamiano

Because you keep on unnecessarily thinking about food....

cardbucfan

I'd also suggest upping your protein a bit. Your food looks good from a calorie standpoint but kinda light on protein and good fats.

clafairy1984

It could quite possibly be in my head. Filling out the tracker, recipie hunting and cooking from scratch all the time, basically means im constantly thinking about food. Maybe whenever I think im hungry I should just have a glass of water and see what happens.

jgnatca

Yeah, thinking about food.... I was diabetic for so long, tracking, planning, getting my proteins in, working out my snacks, yadda yadda, that when my dietitian put me on a liquid diet for two weeks, I was lost. It was five high protein Ensures a day and half a cup of skim milk. That was it. No planning. Nothing. I instantly got a migraine from not having to plan out my next meal. I spent those two weeks counting the days when I could eat normally again.

One strategy you might try clafairy, that was talked about in one of my classes, is "wait ten minutes". If you are still hungry after ten minutes, then have the extra snack. I guess it teaches restraint. It doesn't work so well for me.

DeWoSa

I have a very hard time telling the difference between hunger and thirst. When I've eaten a meal, and find myself oddly hungry too soon after, then I get a big ole glass of water. Works like a charm.

Sabine_Stroehm

Based on your diary: I'd echo the earlier comment. More fat, more protein, fewer carbs.

mulecanter

Water definitely helps, sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger. However, if someone told you that you can lose weight without ever feeling hungry they were lying. I've been pretty successful on MFP by following their guidance--I have often felt hungry, sometimes even a little light-headed. I think this is normal--it's your body telling you that you are in calorie deficit which is what you are tying to do in order to lose fat. I try to tell myself that some hunger pangs along the way are a good thing as I must be in deficit. Embrace it, no pain, no gain-so to speak. Look for low-cal, high-fiber snacks to take the edge off if necessary.

clafairy1984

any suggestions on how I could up the protein without taking in too much fat and calories? I think my main meals are ok, but I seem to be low on protein for breakfast and lunch. I need quick options, or things that can be made the night before.

Lisajohnston

I usually try water, tea and changing up my meals. Maybe try some higher protein snacks during the day it may help.

Sabine_Stroehm

clafairy1984 wrote: »

any suggestions on how I could up the protein without taking in too much fat and calories? I think my main meals are ok, but I seem to be low on protein for breakfast and lunch. I need quick options, or things that can be made the night before.

No suggestion there, because I'm suggesting UPPING the fat.

lemurcat12

It could be psychological and it could be physical and fixed by messing around with your meals. I know that's not helpful! What I'd do (but I'm kind of a nerd) is take notes of specifically when you notice you are hungry (in a way that's not easy to ignore) and what's going on. Doing that for me helped me understand that it was a psychological thing--I tend to feel hungry when I'm stressed at work or when I want an excuse to take a break. It happens to lots of people when they are bored, too. Just understanding that helped a lot, but also sometimes nibbling on something (carrots, celery) is enough, since I just want the sensation of eating. Typically it goes away after a day or two.

If it seems like it's related to what you are eating--like you get hungry a couple of hours after particular meals--I think it's good to experiment with adding more protein and fat. I have noticed that when my breakfasts are too carb-focused and don't have enough fat (I'm pretty good about getting the protein in), that I'm much more likely to get hungry before lunch.

I've also found that sometimes thoughts about food that I perceive as hunger can be channeled into other things (like planning a menu or a recipe) and I end up being fine waiting until my next meal.

For more protein for you, could you do eggs during the week? I sometimes do oatmeal (and add protein powder and fruit to it), but I find that eggs work for me better on average (I have a vegetable omelet). I also usually have something else with protein on the side--greek yogurt or cottage cheese or leftover meat from dinner (had some shrimp today). I also really like smoked salmon with breakfast. (These are personal taste things, so I'm not claiming it would work for everyone.)

In general, I think lowfat dairy is one of the easiest sources of protein without too many additional calories, though (or skim, but sometimes having a bit of fat is more filling still). I use greek yogurt and cottage cheese a lot for this purpose.

Linnaea27

clafairy1984 wrote: »

It could quite possibly be in my head. Filling out the tracker, recipie hunting and cooking from scratch all the time, basically means im constantly thinking about food. Maybe whenever I think im hungry I should just have a glass of water and see what happens.

I have this problem too! At least in the first month or so of logging/trying to lose weight. Sometimes one thinks about food way too much, especially when being borderline hungry a lot of the time during a "diet."

Sometimes I do feel like I get hungry when I'm actually dehydrated, too, so drinking enough can be a good way to avert the hungries.

Like you said, the list of stuff you usually eat each day is very low in protein, until dinnertime, and weekday breakfast is mainly grains/carbs. When I eat like that, I am also very hungry for much of the time; I highly recommend eating a high-protein breakfast; that will help you be less hungry all day, whether or not you add more protein to your lunch.

My go-to high-protein breakfast is low-fat or no-fat Greek yogurt mixed with half a serving of unflavored whey protein powder, some berries, and vanilla. You can vary what you add to the yogurt, but that type of breakfast got me through months of weight loss last year without being super hungry too soon. As for lunches, soups are great (I tend to like freezing single servings of homemade soup to bring to work for lunch) but I've found that a good way to keep from getting too hungry after lunch is to eat something high-protein with the soup, like sliced turkey or other (high-quality) lunch meat, a hard-boiled egg or deviled eggs, or tuna/other fish.

For me, eating lots of grains/carbs makes me hungrier later on, so I avoid oatmeal for breakfast and lots of bread at lunchtime.

Also, maybe try assessing whether your calorie goal is too low and weekly weight loss goal too high for the amount of weight you have to lose.

Abby2205

clafairy1984 wrote: »

any suggestions on how I could up the protein without taking in too much fat and calories? I think my main meals are ok, but I seem to be low on protein for breakfast and lunch. I need quick options, or things that can be made the night before.

Tuna and other canned fish or seafood, deli sliced turkey or chicken, or cottage cheese.

coueswhitetail

beans are a good way to up protein with almost no fat and lots of fiber to feel fuller....perhaps incorporate some beans into your meals.

Sabine_Stroehm

Ewa_dario wrote: »

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Is it your plan to post your spam for your product on every thread?

ErinMcMom

I find myself hungry all the time when I eat the same thing (or a similar thing) every day for a bunch of days in a row. I figure it's my body's way of telling me that it's bored with what I'm eating and it's time to switch it up!

Autumn_babe

I read an interesting statistic that most of us are chronically dehydrated without even realizing it. And that can cause feelings of hunger. So I would say after you've eaten your food for the day, if you are still hungry, try having a cup or two of water before snacking on anything else. If that doesn't curb your hungry, then your body is most likely trying to tell you it needs more nutrients, so snack on some veggie sticks or fruit. Also, try drinking more water throughout the day to help keep you hydrated and full

justaboat

try to eat more protein (seafood, white meat, yoghurt, and eggs are good lower-cal sources)

2013sk

You need more protein and good fats in your diet.

Peanut butter, nuts, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, fish/chicken, eggs, avocado, olive oil etc - I think you probably need to eat a bit more.

kiwigirl007

Whenever I eat refined sugars, I get monstrous cravings. I know it's tough, but try cutting those out for 2-3 days, and see if afterward you're more satisfied with other foods.

ithrowconfetti

After looking at your diary, I'd say definitely try to increase protein and fats, which can aid in increased satiety. I used to pack away 14 Weet-bix biscuits and half a litre of milk, and be ravenous 2 hours later. I realised that my fat intake was unintentionally low, while my carb count was off the hook. Once I bumped my fat intake up, my constant hunger pangs went away. Try eating avocados, peanut butter, egg whites (if you're concerned solely about calories), et cetera. I also like eating chicken with its skin for my daily protein and fat intake. Fat isn't the devil. Moderation of different food groups should help. Good luck, OP!

harmar21

Looks like pretty much your entire diet is carbs except for some evening dinners.
I am not suggesting low carb (even though I am on it) but try reducing carbs by a bit and putting in more proteins and fats. Also try drinking more water.
For example breakfast swap with bacon and eggs, piece of toast, coffee
Snack maybe replace raisins with nuts
Lunch can be fine, but maybe add in some protein.
Dinner make sure you always have protein.

Just some examples.

Torontonius

OP: you need more fat and more protein as a percentage of your diet. do that, you won't be as hungry - guaranteed.

DawnieB1977

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Based on your diary: I'd echo the earlier comment. More fat, more protein, fewer carbs.

Agreed. Try having egg for breakfast in the week too. Poached egg doesn't take long, or an omelette. I often have egg with ham or bacon and some tinned tomatoes, especially as I don't like too many carbs.

Nuts are good for snacks, or cottage cheese, or mini babybel lights. I also like apple with peanut butter.

Maybe have chicken soup for lunch, or tuna and salad, although the soup does sound nice.

Your dinners sound good.

Low calorie mousse probably isn't that filling, so maybe find something else for pudding. Kit kats and Jaffa cakes probably aren't that filling either.

kyta32

Don't underestimate the power of shark week. I can get the crazy hungries, and have my weight refuse to budge for a week, only to wake up with my period, and pee out 2.5 lbs. Overall it doesn't affect my weight loss.

I've been having 2 tbs of chia seeds with my morning cereal, and a scoop of chocolate whey isolate with greek yogurt as a snack, and that has helped a lot with my hunger (maybe because it pushed me into ketosis, without having to go low carb). My nutritionist suggested getting .8 g of protein per kilo of body weight per day. Thats about 15 grams more than MFP was recommending, and 30 grams more than I was eating.

I also find that regular exercise helps to keep the hunger demons at bay. Go for a walk, dance in your living room, do some yoga or calisthenics to change what you are focused on.

Sometimes you just have to live with the hunger, especially if you've just had a cheat day, or a famiy celebration, while your body gets back to the program. Remind yourself that your next meal is in a couple of hours, and you just have to wait that long. If you are going to snack, try to wait 15 minutes first. Know that the hunger is temporary, and you will be back on track soon.

If you break down and snack, try for low calorie (soup, veggies), or very small portions of highly filling (nuts, trail mix, deli meats).

Everybody's been there, and you can get through this. Good luck

GaleHawkins

cardbucfan wrote: »

I'd also suggest upping your protein a bit. Your food looks good from a calorie standpoint but kinda light on protein and good fats.

That really helped me because protein and good fats causes us to feel less hungry better than carbs.

LumberJacck

Change of medicine?