Insatiable Days?

Latronibus

So yesterday I got close to my goal before dinnertime. I had dinner and was a little over, maybe 200, but still hungry. Not just having an appetite, I was actually hungry. I tried to keep eating until I stopped being hungry even if I still had some appetite. In the process I wound up being 1100 calories over my goal. By contrast, 2/3 of the time I've been using MFP (6 weeks), I've had at most 200 calories over my goal. I've tried eating low calorie but highly filling things like salad without much success, too.

Why does this happen? What do you do to avoid it, or to resist it when you feel this way?

Additional context:
I'm 23M, 180cm, ~160 lbs.
I'm very lightly active. I commute to class by bike, which winds up being about 100 minutes a week in 10 minute increments. That's the extent of my cardio. I recently started lifting a little bit as well.
I'm attempting to lose 0.5 lbs/week. I'm not sure where exactly I want to stop, seeing as I've been between 160 and 170 lbs for 7 years. 150 seems like a reasonable goal for now.
My goal is 2200 net calories/day. This was based on weight/calorie measurements over the first 2 weeks or so of using MFP and the weight loss goal.
If I trust my measurements, I've lost 7 lbs in 6 weeks. I don't really trust them, though.

Justinbernardkerr

Are you just starting out on the diet? If so you should just try and eat fewer calories each day, say 100-200, and slowly ramp down. Your body will fight you if you drop off a cliff. You also need to give yourself an hour after eating of potentially being hungry to let your mind and stomach sync up.

It helps to remind yourself that it would probably take a week to starve if you truly ate nothing, and constantly remind yourself you aren't actually going to starve.

cathylaine712

Why do you not trust your measurements? My issue is not so much "insatiable", but rather emotional eating. You specifically stated that you were hungry. If you feel physical hunger, I personally would eat. Your body is telling you it needs nutrients.

You mention you are active (bike to work and some weights) - the easist way for you to create a bigger calorie defecit would be to add more activity. It doesn't have to be crazy or high impact. It can be as simple as a walk, short exercise DVD, etc. Matter of fact Gold's Gym has some 10 minute workouts on DVD (3 workouts per) that are fast and effective!

Sounds like you just had a bad night (likely eating past not being hungry w/ the 1100 calories). If this is just an isolated incident - cut yourself some slack and drive on.

Best of luck on your journey!

verades1

i chew gum. a lot. I've spent a fair amount of money on gum in the past few months to help curb my appetite/hunger pangs.


this trick also seemed to work a few years ago when i quit smoking.

sigsby

I eat a lot of popcorn in the evenings. It keeps me full for very few calories. I would also ask if you are drinking enough water. I've read that thirst can sometimes make you feel hungry.

Latronibus

Are you just starting out on the diet?

No, I have been at it for 6 weeks and spend most of my time on target. In fact almost all of my exceptions except yesterday were caused by something in particular, like Valentine's dinner, movie popcorn (won't be getting that anymore!), or my SO making cookies (which we will be dividing into servings in the future).

You also need to give yourself an hour after eating of potentially being hungry to let your mind and stomach sync up.

That is a good point, thank you.

Why do you not trust your measurements?

They're infrequent (4 measurements in 6 weeks), and the most recent one is on a different scale than the previous ones. Previously I was weighing at the gym, where I was swimming a bit, but I haven't been going much since the semester started properly again.

You specifically stated that you were hungry. If you feel physical hunger, I personally would eat. Your body is telling you it needs nutrients.

I agree, which is why I continued to eat. I'm trying to pay careful attention to be sure that I don't eat way more than my body actually needs.

Best of luck on your journey!

Thanks, you too.

I would also ask if you are drinking enough water. I've read that thirst can sometimes make you feel hungry.

I did feel a bit dehydrated later in the evening. Perhaps this was actually the cause.

Momto4minions

To get over it I do a few things.
1) my hunger even when I was eating well subsided when I started a multi vitamin. My body was sasking for something.
2) drink a large glass of water and wait 30 mins.
3) if you are still hungry eat something filling, but low cal. Salad, raw veggies, chicken breast portion, etc.
4) if this isnt workng, you may need to re-evaluate your calories and decide if your deficit is too large and you need to slow down weight loss for a bit. If you picked 2lbs a week, tht deficit isnt great for everyone. It depends on your weight, activity level, amount you need to drop, etc.

lilRicki

What does your protein look like? Salads aren't filling, but chicken breasts, salmon fillets, boiled eggs or a handfull of almonds are filling. And I agree with the above poster, increase your water intake

beamer0821

im going to put my money on emotional eating vs. true hunger. you.just.ate.dinner.
if you are still hungry following a meal its probably emotional. slow down, try to evaluate whats really going on. sometimes for me it can even be something that happened the day before that was upsetting, or im overwhelmed. etc.

imo, this will be a key to your satiety.

Latronibus

What does your protein look like? Salads aren't filling, but chicken breasts, salmon fillets, boiled eggs or a handfull of almonds are filling. And I agree with the above poster, increase your water intake

Low. But that shouldn't have been relevant yesterday in particular, because I'd had a fair bit of protein earlier and my dinner was pretty high protein as well.

DoctahJenn

My question would be WHAT are you eating? You can eat a lot of chicken or veggies, for example, for very few calories. Tacos or sugary cereal or pizza, on the other hand...

You can fit a lot of food into your calorie goal if you aren't drinking sugary drinks or eating junk food. If you're finding you're still hungry even eating healthy, it may be emotional eating, like others have said. I definitely find that on days I eat bad foods I wind up hungry even when my calories are gone for the day.

Latronibus

My question would be WHAT are you eating?

Yesterday I had:
Cereal (20 g of sugar in 50g of starch, so moderately sugary) in milk
Homemade lentil soup
2 chicken drumsticks
A salad
A few cookies
2 oz of nuts
2 bananas
A glass of juice
An ounce of triscuits
300g of pineapple
400 calories worth of wheat thins

I also biked for 40 minutes.

This puts about 250 calories of my excess in sugar, 250 in complex carbs, 450 in fat, and 150 in protein.

DoctahJenn

I think it's entirely possible that the things you're eating are full of calories but aren't going to keep your belly full, such as the crackers and juice and cookies. If you're looking for ways to stay under your calorie goal on days you can't feel full, don't let yourself eat those types of things until after dinner, when you know you have room for "fun" foods. It's what I do! I can have my cup of coffee in the morning, then I work hard to resist temptation all day, eating my usual lunch and then dinner. When dinner has been over at least 30 minutes, I fill the rest of my calories with the fun things, like cookies or a can of soda or a glass of milk, or if I'm still hungry I find something filling. But not letting myself eat between meals sort of makes me drink a ton of water to stave off munchies and pick really filling meals.

Latronibus

I think it's entirely possible that the things you're eating are full of calories but aren't going to keep your belly full, such as the crackers and juice and cookies. If you're looking for ways to stay under your calorie goal on days you can't feel full, don't let yourself eat those types of things until after dinner, when you know you have room for "fun" foods. It's what I do! I can have my cup of coffee in the morning, then I work hard to resist temptation all day, eating my usual lunch and then dinner. When dinner has been over at least 30 minutes, I fill the rest of my calories with the fun things, like cookies or a can of soda or a glass of milk, or if I'm still hungry I find something filling. But not letting myself eat between meals sort of makes me drink a ton of water to stave off munchies and pick really filling meals.

Yesterday was unusual for me in the snacking department. Provided I get 3 meals in me, I tend to have about 600-700 calories worth of snacks through the day, and most of that is healthier snacks (carrots, hummus, and fresh fruit). Yesterday was 1300, about half of which was after dinner.

opdahlhartwig

You need more protein. Take out the cereal, cookies,crackers, and juice. Replace them with an apple, boiled egg, P3 pack(it has meat, cheese and nuts) , cheese sticks, or PB and celery.

DonnaJones7

Gum really is helping me out too!