never feeling full

heathlynnt · June 2014

Hey there! I've been eating healthier and tracking my calories but I'm having insane cravings for junk - chocolate, ice cream, chips - and I never feel full. Any tips? I don't know if its all in my head too. Everytime I go to lose weight and change the way I eat, it works for a week and then I panic and binge on total junk and never go back to eating healthy again. Ugh. I don't know how to get past this but I need to lose some major weight.

lotr4000 · June 2014

Add more fat. It'll keep you full much longer than carbs will.
( Stay away from rice, pasta, bread, cereal, and sugar. =These all turn to various forms of sugar and cause an insulin release which triggers fat storage. )
Good fats: Butter (not margerine), avocado, bacon, coconut oil, peanut butter, almond butter, macadamia nuts, ghee, animal fats.
Maybe make some fat bombs as meal replacements.

Annesoucy1957 · June 2014

maybe you are trying to change too many things at once, reduce gradually until you feel comfortable with the changes.

hnsaunde · June 2014

Hi OP, take a read through this link, it'll help you in getting started:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

tibby531 · June 2014

I can't see your diary, but I would say make sure you're eating enough, first off. "eat more, binge less."

and I've noticed that since switching from low/non-fat to whole fat products, I get full easier, and it lasts longer. that low and non fat stuff has sugar added to help the flavor since they take the yummy fat out. and processed sugary carbs tend to beget more processed sugary carbs.

and most importantly, keep in mind that one bad day isn't going to ruin everything.

best of luck! :drinker:

acollis1 · June 2014

You should open your diary so people can see what you're eating and give you advice. I know they saw it's all about calories in vs calories out, but 1200 calories of lean protein, veggies and complex carbs go alot further than 1200 calories of processed foods/junk. Try to make sure you are getting enough protein and fiber, that will make you feel fuller.

nomeejerome · June 2014

( Stay away from rice, pasta, bread, cereal, and sugar. =These all turn to various forms of sugar and cause an insulin release which triggers fat storage. )

A calorie surplus triggers fat storage.

OP:
Read the sexypants link and all of the links in it.

doctorsookie · June 2014

DON'T change the way you eat. Well, not entirely. Add in more healthy choices but DO NOT give up your 'junk' ( I don't like to call it that because in moderation its not all bad). DO eat the foods that arent as good for you in moderation. In fact, eat everything you eat in moderation. DON'T give up! DO keep trying and maybe try eating several smaller meals a day as opposed to three big ones. I recently started feeling more hungry so I increased my calories to suit my raising metabolic rate. this is my first week doing it but I say, I haven't felt that 'my stomach is eating itself' sensation. That is the description my daughter gave me one day when she was hungry after school and I must say it fits the feeling well. LOL

Good luck on your journey and stick to it.

Samstan101 · June 2014

You don't say how many cals you're eating and your diary is private so can't see what you're eating but I know if I eat too little I crave junk (ie high fat/ carbs so high calorie foods) more. I also eat loads of veg as it fills me up. Best advise is definitely to read the thread linked to above

hnsaunde · June 2014

( Stay away from rice, pasta, bread, cereal, and sugar. =These all turn to various forms of sugar and cause an insulin release which triggers fat storage. )

A calorie surplus triggers fat storage.

OP:
Read the sexypants link and all of the links in it.

I was trying to think of a nice way to say exactly that, you nailed it!

FatFreeFrolicking · June 2014

Open your diary please so we can see what kinds of foods you are eating!

SeaDragonIsland · June 2014

totr400 - "Maybe make some fat bombs as meal replacements. "

What do you mean by fat booms?

I've been on this diet for almost a yr. Done fairly well, 85lbs lost, but now it's gotten real hard.
I have the same food cravings as heathlynnt. I even went to a weight loss center and got diet pills. I take the pills wait for a good hour and am still craving. This is driving me crazy.

ezloshead · June 2014

I completely understand the panic part. Change scares me and I guess I'd rather chose not to lose weight than try and fail. But I'm fighting past that and I'm about to hit pounds number twenty! As for feeling full, fat and protein will be your best friend. Don't be afraid of fat! And as for the cravings I've found that drinking only water with no flavorings helps kill the cravings. Drinking sweet makes you want to eat sweet also. I've heard it explained with diet drinks as you tricking your body into thinking it got sugar, but it didn't so it's confused and gives you cravings for sugar. Something about insulin levels or something, I don't know how true the explanation is, but the in practice it works for me and many others. Feel free to friend me if you want. I'll nag at the proper times and congratulate when deserved as long as you do the same for me. I actually thought I was the only one who would panic and eat a whole cake.

lotr4000 · June 2014

You're correct. Both do. Still have to watch the calories!

hnsaunde · June 2014

You're correct. Both do. Still have to watch the calories!

You definitely need to watch calories, but that doesn't mean you have to cut out all of those foods. They can all be consumed in moderation and it won't do any harm, provided the OP doesn't have a pre-existing medical condition that could potentially affect weight loss.

iPlatano · June 2014

Carbs and fat play a huge role when it comes to hunger. Make sure you hit you fat/carbs intake daily.

sarahrosheen · June 2014

What i noticed was that before I started eating healthier, 'full' to me was feeling SUPER full, bloated stomach, feeling tired, and exhausted from stuffing my face with so much food! However, I went to a vegetarian restaurant one day, got this amazing dish, super healthy and full of stuff I had never eaten before, had a green smoothie and felt this new 'full' feeling of feeling nourished and satisfied. It doesn't have to be vegetarian, that's just my example but I think this is all so new, you have to experience what 'full' really is.

MeganAnne89 · June 2014

Carbs and fat play a huge role when it comes to hunger. Make sure you hit you fat/carbs intake daily.

For me personally I find that it all comes down to protein. If I eat protein in every meal I'm generally good for a decent while before I feel like I need to eat something else again.

I agree that opening your diary could help so we could see how many calories you're actually taking in, however, I feel like a good suggestion would be to see your doctor to make sure that there is nothing going on that you're not aware of. If you're eating enough and you think you're getting what your body should need, that would be a good start.

lotr4000 · June 2014

Also correct.
Moderation is key.
I should have been more clear.
Less of those foods, unless you're planning on going full Keto or Paleo or some other such lifestyle change.
Less processed foods, more whole foods, more full-fat items, watch those calories, and lots and LOTS of water~!

Shalaurise · June 2014

DON'T change the way you eat. Well, not entirely. Add in more healthy choices but DO NOT give up your 'junk' ( I don't like to call it that because in moderation its not all bad). DO eat the foods that arent as good for you in moderation. In fact, eat everything you eat in moderation. DON'T give up! DO keep trying and maybe try eating several smaller meals a day as opposed to three big ones. I recently started feeling more hungry so I increased my calories to suit my raising metabolic rate. this is my first week doing it but I say, I haven't felt that 'my stomach is eating itself' sensation. That is the description my daughter gave me one day when she was hungry after school and I must say it fits the feeling well. LOL

Good luck on your journey and stick to it.

I vote this. Small changes are way easier.

I cut my soda out a long time back and started drinking water with the mixes in it (found the Hawaiian punch brand to not have the nasty artificial sweetener aftertaste). A month or two later when I tried a soda again as a treat at lunch, it tasted wrong. I tried the diet and I was oblivious of the aftertaste I expected. I was able to make a smooth transition to diet (on the occasion that I really just wanted a cola) and cut out a HUGE portion of the calories I previously took in each day (at least 2000 from soda alone). Now that may not be the place you are at, but one small change made difference and was a good stepping stone. In prior attempts where I just stopped eating breakfast and had salad for every meal I always failed and reverted back to eating what I wanted.

The sexy-pants link it good too if you can get past the TLDR feeling it initially creates (at least in me). I mean, who spends more time obsessing about food, what to eat, what not to eat, what the internet will yell at you for and how friggen hungry you are all the time now that they are trying to "make a lifestyle change" than they ever did when they weren't trying to loose weight? I mean I never do that while I should be working. Not me. Nope. Nu uh. Most certainly not.

1princesswarrior · June 2014

Read the sexy pants link. Also read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

Be sure to get plenty of protein and don't forget fiber.

I eat the same foods I always did, just in less amounts and obviously many things less often (cake, ice cream, etc.) but I still eat them.

Also be sure you are fueling you body for your activity level.

hnsaunde · June 2014

Also correct.
Moderation is key.
I should have been more clear.
Less of those foods, unless you're planning on going full Keto or Paleo or some other such lifestyle change.
Less processed foods, more whole foods, more full-fat items, watch those calories, and lots and LOTS of water~!

Totally agree!

healthygreek · June 2014

Eat lots of nutrient dense food: veggies, fruits, meats, fats, eggs, nuts etc but
Don't stop your fav treats in moderation!
Eat back 1/2-2/3 of your exercise calories
Don't give up!

lotr4000 · June 2014

They're these sugar-free treats made almost completely from various forms of fat. One or two can keep a person full / satiated for hours.
I mentioned them as a meal replacement, since they're fairly high-calorie, and treating them as snacks could be detrimental.

Here's just one of the many recipes out there for these delicious little gems.

http://ketojenic.com/post/43984577737/recipes-fat-bombs

SeaDragonIsland · June 2014

Thanks! make sense. I'll give that recipe a try.

MuseofSong · June 2014

Start slowly and don't cut out everything. Very restrictive diets can lead to binging. You can eat whatever you want, and not think of food as junk, as long as you're willing to measure it and keep track of what you're eating. You can 'bank' calories during the week to give you more flexibility as well.

By banking calories, I mean you can be under by say 150 calories through calorie restriction and/or exercise 3 days and then on the 4th day you have an extra 450 calories. Stuff like that.

It sounds like you have cut out everything you enjoy and then you run back to it for comfort. Try portioned amounts of food you enjoy. Buy chips in the little one ounce bags. Eat only one bag. Buy chocolate as a gourmet treat in pre-portioned little squares and eat one square. You CAN have your cake and EAT it, too. You just have to eat less of it or eat less/exercise mores on other days to balance it out.

The hunger is hard, especially if you're used to eating until you're full. And if you are used to eating that way, I know I was, the stomach is not telling you you're full when you should probably stop eating. Luckily, this reset can happen naturally over time without surgery (lapbands etc).

~~~
Myth or Fact: If you cut down on your food intake, you'll eventually shrink your stomach so you won't be as hungry.

Answer: Myth. Once you are an adult, your stomach pretty much remains the same size -- unless you have surgery to intentionally make it smaller. Eating less won't shrink your stomach, says Moyad, but it can help to reset your "appetite thermostat" so you won't feel as hungry, and it may be easier to stick with your eating plan.

Myth or Fact: Thin people have naturally smaller stomachs than people who are heavy.

Answer: Myth. While it may seem hard to believe, the size of the stomach does not correlate with weight or weight control. People who are naturally thin can have the same size or even larger stomachs than people who battle their weight throughout a lifetime. "Weight has nothing to do with the size of the stomach. In fact, even people who have had stomach-reducing surgeries, making their tummy no larger than a walnut, can override the small size and still gain weight," says Levy.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/women/features/stomach-problems
~~~

The main exceptions I would point to regarding this is Louis XIV and Diamond Jim who had stomachs 2-3x the normal size for adult males and competitive eaters like Man vs. Food. However, they commonly indulged in large quantities of rich food and gave their stomachs less of a chance to 'deflate' as it were. If pushed, our stomachs can hold about a gallon of food.

~~~
Does your stomach really expand and shrink, depending on how much you eat?

Yes and no: It does expand every time you eat a meal (and contracts again after you’re done digesting), but it won’t shrink if you diet or fast. The organ has an average resting volume of about 50 ml (.01 gallon), but after a normal meal it expands to about 1 liter (0.26 gallon). If really pushed, the stomach can accommodate up to 4 liters (an entire gallon) of food.

So what if you really push it? Say you go for the tasting menu one night and end up eating twice as much as you normally do at dinner—will your stomach permanently expand a little bit? Nah. It will probably remain distended for longer than usual, because rich, fatty foods slow digestion and thus stay in the stomach longer than leaner fare. And when high fat content is coupled with a large volume of food, your stomach definitely has more work to do than it normally would (plus, it needs more acids and enzymes to do the job, and these add more volume). Still, we’re not talking days here; typically, the stomach is fully empty and “deflated” anywhere from three to five hours after a meal.

Except if you’re a competitive eater, routinely testing your stomach’s 1-gallon limit by eating massive amounts of food. In that case, says Dr. Carol Semrad, a gastroenterologist at the University of Chicago, “the stomach may not get a chance to completely empty and therefore stays enlarged—and this may account for [competitive eaters’] ability to chronically eat a large amount of food without stomach rupture.”

On the “shrinking” side, the only thing that will permanently reduce the size of your stomach in its deflated state is gastric bypass surgery; dietary changes don’t alter the physical size of the organ. “If we eat less, we get used to eating less,” says David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University. “But the change is behavioral—it’s not due to actual shrinkage.”

Source: http://www.chow.com/food-news/53701/does-your-stomach-really-expand-if-you-eat-more/
~~~

So, it is mostly behavioral, which means you can choose to do this. Start by cutting some calories off your TDEE, maybe not 1000, maybe 500. See how you feel, then try 750, etc. See how you do with that balance, and go from there. In my experience, if I cut too many calories, I'll get too hungry and binge. If I restrict all my foods, I'll feel deprived and binge.

Amerielle · June 2014

Are you trying to do the "six small meals a day" thing? I personally hate that and find myself hungry all of the time. If that is what you are doing, you might want to try just eating some real meals instead of the constant snacking. I am much happier putting my calories together for big satisfying meals that fill me up.