So hungry all the time lately

MrsLannister

I've been doing a medically supervised weight loss program for about 6 weeks. As part of the program I was told to cut out most starches and focus on protein. I was doing great with it for about a month, and then everything went pear-shaped. For the past two weeks I've really struggled. I'm hungry all the time. I've been going way off plan and ended up gaining a pound this month, after being down about 3 - 4 pounds two weeks ago when I went off plan.

I met with my nutritionist yesterday and she just kept really pushing that I need to focus on protein. I don't think she believed me that I was getting a lot of protein. I had stopped logging and didn't bring in my previous logs from before I went off plan.

Today I am back on plan, but I am facing the same problem. I was okay most of the day, but immediately after dinner I started to feel like I was starving. It's been an hour since I ate and I feel like I could eat everything in the house. The hunger drives me crazy and it seems like I don't feel satisfied until I've stuffed my face with bread. I'm trying really hard to not do this tonight. I need to break that habit. But I don't even understand why I'm so hungry.

My nutritionist said I may be dehydrated, but I don't see how I could be, I drink more than two liters of water a day.

So, what helps hunger?

Sabine_Stroehm

Are you eating enough FAT?

MrsLannister

I think so. My fat goal is 40% and I hit it almost square on the head today.

Carbs: 82 g
Fat: 68 g
Protein: 129g

ndj1979

how many calories a day are you eating?

MrsLannister

~1500. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but I usually get within 50 calories of the goal.

ndj1979

MrsLannister wrote: »

~1500. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but I usually get within 50 calories of the goal.

is 1500 what they told you to eat or is that what you have been eating since you went off the program?

zyxst

Do you have medical problems that require you to be on this diet program?

MrsLannister

@ndj1979 They didn't give me a specific calories goal, just told me to cut starches and make better choices. 1500 is what I was doing when I was counting calories only and it was always fine for me. (I lost 83 pounds that way but started to gain it back when I stopped counting.) During the past two weeks I haven't been counting at all and have eaten way, way over that.

@zyxst I have to do a three month program to get approved for gastric bypass. I know some people here are very opposed to bariatric surgery, but studies show that it is the only thing that it that actually addresses the disease state of obesity. I can do okay on my own for a while, but I definitely need the additional support if I really want to lose it and keep it off.

ndj1979

OP - I am going to give you the following advice.

1. ditch the clean eating it is necessary for nothing and impossible to define.
2. enter your stats into MFP and set it for one pound per week loss.
3. get a food scale and weigh all solids
4. make sure you are using accurate MFP database entries
5. log everything that you eat
6. realize that no foods are bad/clean/good/whatever; you can eat the foods you like on a daily basis like cookies, ice cream, processed foods, etc; however, make sure that the majority of your foods are nutrient dense
7. make sure you hit micros/macors
8. find a form of exercise you like and do it < not necessary but is good for overall health.

PAV8888

So it sounds like you're eating about 1450 - 1500 Calories, and trying to keep yourself under 100g of carbs get about 130g of protein?

I guess the next question is, how big of a deficit is that for you? Are you exercising? How active are you? What is your current weight, height, age?

I mean, lets face it, if 1500 Cal represents a 50% cut on your TDEE, then yes, you will get hungry, I don't see how it can work otherwise.

But if it represents a 20% cut, or less, then it might be worth trying to troubleshoot the why's

jaga13

Maybe it's not hunger. Maybe you just really miss bread?? Just a thought.

SherryTeach

The OP paid someone to tell her to "make better choices?"

MrsLannister

@ndj1979 I did that for two years and it was fine, but I have to do this medically supervised weight loss program and these are the requirements.

@PAV8888 I'm 5'7.5" and 346 lbs.I'm fairly sedentary and work at a desk all day without a lot of opportunity to move around since I have to meet certain expectations and don't have the luxury of walking away outside of my normal breaks (customer service). My doctor wants me to get my BMI under 50 in three months. So that is about 20 lbs I need to lose in three months.

MrsLannister

SherryTeach wrote: »

The OP paid someone to tell her to "make better choices?"

My insurance company pays them, actually.

fr3smyl

What helped me, in addition to the suggestions above such that said accurate logging and water in intake, is fiber.
I added unflavored psyllum power to my meals.

fr3smyl

I also upped my fat and protein intact. Before that I was so hungry all the time.

PAV8888

OK: I looked through a couple of your diary entries... and they don't look that bad; in fact I've often made similar choices.

For what it's worth here are a couple of observations from my own experiences:

Swap the cottage cheese for greek yogurt. More protein and less calories for a larger quantity. Kirkland's Signature three pack of plain is not bad. I personally prefer the Oikos 0% 810g, but it runs more expensive.

I don't know how the sugars in the yogurt might affect things for you, depending on your reason for "lowish" carbing.

Nuts and seeds ARE healthy fats and kewl and all that. And I eat pumpkin seeds all the time too for the crunch. They do pack more calories (as does cheese), than say eating fresh fruits. But, again, if you are low carbing fruits and veggies may be an issue for you.

Similarly fish (frozen fish, Superstore if you're in Canada) tends to be low calories for good volume. You can even put some frozen fish fillets and some veggies in one dish and in the nuker and "presto" after a few minutes at 50-60% out comes a ready to eat "meal" (pour some spices, or carefully measured butter, or olive oil, or just lemon/dill/what have you on top to make it edible ;-)

Chicken breasts and pork tenderloin are also high protein/low fat/lower calorie cuts of meat. Pork tenderloin is probably the best "meat" price/calorie/satiety bargain I'm aware off right now.

So basically I would try to increase the volume to make you feel fuller, but I am not sure what limitations you are operating under.

MrsLannister

@PAV8888 Thanks for the advice. My only real limitation is no starches. I should have mentioned part of the reason for this is that I have PCOS with insulin resistance.

I go back and forth between yogurt and cottage cheese. My yogurt of choice is fage, but sometimes I want something with more texture and then I go for cottage cheese with sunflower seeds.

sdraper2014

I try to eat lighter meals in the morning, a bit more in the afternoon and a very filling dinner otherwise I am just like you and starving at night!

Odd question, but do you stay up really late and find this is when you are hungry? I often do since I am a night owl and find that if I am hungry at night, and I should have gone to bed already, if I drink a big glass of water and eat two spoons of Greek yogurt for some protein (save some calories for this) and just go to bed it solves my problem.

Also, I second recommendations to make sure you get lots of fiber. When I manage to get my 25-30 grams of fiber in a day I am much fuller. I never felt full using things like fiber you mix in a glass, it needs to come from foods for me to feel full.

MrsLannister

I actually don't stay up late, since I have to get up at 4 AM for work. Once challenge I face is that my "lunch" is at 8:30 am and then I don't get off work until 3:30 PM. even snacking on my break, that long stretch has been difficult. Today is different, though. Today is my day off and I ate steadily throughout the day, but was hungry within minutes of eating a fairly large dinner.

Bhlinebee

Maybe it's not hunger, maybe it's stress or anxiety... Maybe it's loneliness. I'd think about what else is going on in your life and maybe your feeling it as hunger. From my own experience I find this to be true!