Ate a lot of protein but still hungry!

OddballExtreme

Okay, here's something strange. I ate a Chobani Peach Yogurt with 14 grams of protein and a chocolate crunch protein bar with 10 grams of protein for breakfast this morning. Now, assuming protein is supposed to help curb the appetite, it's only after 9am and I'm already hungry. How does this happen?

arl1286

I can think of a couple of reasons.

First, that just isn't a lot of food, in terms of calories. It's called breakfast because you're literally supposed to be breaking the fast that you had when you slept-- for this reason, breakfast is meant to be a big meal. I totally get the mentality of eating a small breakfast to save calories for the rest of the day, but think about it this way: if you don't eat much for breakfast and you're starving, you're going to eat more for lunch and probably throughout the rest of the day. You're better off just waking up and eating more to prevent being hungry and eating more later in the day.

Second, how much fiber do those have? Protein does keep you full, but fats and fibers keep you fuller.

Papillon22

I think it might have to do with eating processed foods that are usually also high in sugar. I think you'd be better off eating a couple of eggs and it'd be cheaper too!

kristen6022

I'm gonna go with the high level of carbs also in those foods that's making you hungry. Eggs and turkey breakfast meat are the only things that keep me satisfied in the AM. Quinoa does that to me too, even though it's got a good amount of protein in it, when I eat it I'm still hungry after (Carbs). I'm not saying Carbs are bad (you need to eat them), but if you want something that sticks with you, eat more solid protein items instead.

Mishinmite

I think it might have to do with eating processed foods that are usually also high in sugar. I think you'd be better off eating a couple of eggs and it'd be cheaper too!

And taste better.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

I can think of a couple of reasons.

First, that just isn't a lot of food, in terms of calories. It's called breakfast because you're literally supposed to be breaking the fast that you had when you slept-- for this reason, breakfast is meant to be a big meal. I totally get the mentality of eating a small breakfast to save calories for the rest of the day, but think about it this way: if you don't eat much for breakfast and you're starving, you're going to eat more for lunch and probably throughout the rest of the day. You're better off just waking up and eating more to prevent being hungry and eating more later in the day.

Ignore all of that ^ because meal timing and number of meals doesn't matter

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11319656

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1905998

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15085170

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8399092

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8383639

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21123467

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

Second, how much fiber do those have? Protein does keep you full, but fats and fibers keep you fuller.

Here's ^ the little grain of truth in this post. Protein is the most satiating macro, but not eating enough fats will make you hungry. Fiber slows everything down, so if you mix protein, fats, and fiber you'll stay full.

cwolfman13

It's a good bit of protein, but it's not very much food overall. If all I had was a yogurt and a protein bar, I'd be ready to shoot someone...what is that...like 200 calories or something? That's a snack, not breakie....

One of my favorite lighter breakfasts is 2 eggs scrambled, 1/2 avocado, and whole nectarine or peach...only about 335 calories...good ratio of protein, fat, and fiber...with some sugar in the fruit to give you an extra bounce.

MzManiak

Eggs are awesome. Also want to add, that for all the calories in that "protein" bar... you could be eating one with double the protein. Try getting ones with at least 20g! More protein for the calories.

And yes, protein fills you up easier... but more like, for a snack to hold you over until your meal. If you want a filling meal, try using a combination of carbs/fats/proteins. My favorite low-cal breakfast is 2 eggs, and a turkey hotdog cut up and mixed together. Whatever, hate on it if you want! I think it's delicious! lol And then you can have the protein bar as a morning snack to hold you over until lunch.

OR

If you're going to do protein + yogurt... blend some protein powder with the yogurt and water and make a protein shake. :bigsmile:

stephanieblay

Try eating a handful of almonds vs the protien bar, and you might add a bit of fresh berries to yogurt. My breakfast is a plain fat free greek yogurt smoothie with a handful of berries and the 1 oz of almonds separately. that will keep me satisfied until around noon. Also you might up you water intake, sometimes you think you are hungry when in reality your body just needs more water.

HealthyVitamins

I have over 100g of protein a day, the first day of my new eating plan I was still hungry, the second day - still hungry. After about a week it was like I had slowly adapted and I became less ravenous throughout the day, give it time

cmh7770

I hear ya! I have found that I do much better with a protein and fat in the morning. Add a healthy carb and you will not be starving! If you are going low or no carb, do like I did this morning: two poached (or fried in pam) eggs, over two slices of canadian bacon with tomato slices and 1/4 sliced avacado. DEELISH - under 300 calories and a good full start to the day. PS: I am ALWAYS hungry too since I workout a lot..:laugh:

talbertlouise

I stopped turning to carbs for comfort and worked out daily to shed 85 pounds. And luckily with focus and determination I achieved my ideal weight. I firstly saw this kilokiller in France, and the price is good so I tried it and it turns out better. You do have problem in overcoming hunger? well this is the solution because I tried it and it really works good. At first I wasn't interested but since the result is good so I continued using this. Well, there's no harm in trying. I've been on that position before and thanks that I found this supplement really fell in love with this .

Akimajuktuq

I think it might have to do with eating processed foods that are usually also high in sugar. I think you'd be better off eating a couple of eggs and it'd be cheaper too!

This.

Ok, so how many grams of carbs and fat are in the yogurt? A high sugar content, or even artificial sweeteners, will often make one feel even hungrier after having it. Fat and protein together make a wonderful, filling snack... but you probably need more calories than what's in one yogurt.

To me, 14grams of protein is not a lot. I eat two big meals per day that are full of fat and protein. I never, ever feel hungry. If I do, then I know I need to eat more fat. When one does not eat lots of carbs/sugar it is very easy to trust hunger signals.

QuilterInVA

That little bit of protein + all those carbs = hunger. That protein bar is little better than a candy bar. Eat real food.

OddballExtreme

Appreciate all the advice so far. I have lost a lot of the weight, but I always have problems about balancing out the proteins and carbs properly.

For the record: Chobani Peach Yogurt has 20 carbs and 14 g of protein while the Designer Whey Chocolate Caramel Crunch protein bar contains 19 carbs and 10 g protein.

As a Type 2 Diabetic, I should NOT have more than 45 carbs for each meal.

As for the real food, I do eat that, too, but you'd be surprised at how many carbs can be found in some real food, like bananas and potatoes. They're GREAT on potassium but HIGH on the carb content.

Francl27

Some days it's what I have for breakfast too. Some days it will be enough, other days like today I'll be starving at 9am (but I was up before 6am and was starving, which doesn't help).

I enjoy the 'protein bars' that have 10g of protein too, but really they're not the best nutrition-wise. I ate only quest bars for a long time, then switched to others, but they just didn't fill me up as much, so I switched back to quest. 20g of protein and 20g of fiber, only 3g of net carbs, can't go wrong with that. Heck most days one will keep me full until 11am. They're not as tasty though, but definitely more nutritious.

I'd replace your yogurt with plain yogurt and fresh fruit as well. Now, as I've said, I eat the cups with fruit too, but they don't fill me up anywhere as much as half a cup of plain yogurt with 100g of strawberries, and have pretty much the same amount of carbs.

The breakfast that fills me up the most is a breakfast burrito with egg, turkey sausage, and cheese. 20g of carbs or something, 24g of protein, and less than 300 calories.

In the end though, we're females, so some days we'll just be naturally more hungry than others.

OddballExtreme

I guess the question is how much protein should I have for each meal. I did a pair of wraps this morning with some drummettes and vegetables. The end result was 25 carbs and 37g protein. Does this sound reasonable?

Also, I've already have two full glasses of water this morning.