the more carbs I eat the hungier I am

thelassiemickyjames

I ate a lot of carbs early today and I kept getting ravenously more hungry. Ended up eating more high carb food and not feeling sated at all whatsoever, exceeding my calorie goal quite heavily. Seemed the more I ate the more I craved carb heavy foods. Exceeding my calorie limit isn't normal for me, I'm usually pretty good, but now I see that's probably because I usually eat high protien low carb, and NEVER feel as hungry as I felt today! dang.

Anyone else with this experience?

IvoryParchment

Definitely I can control my appetite more by starting with high protein foods.

msespresso

Yep... especially if I'm eating wheat. I've heard its been genetically modified to make you crave it the more you eat. Don't know if it's true, but it sure could be!

Same thing happens when I eat lots of sugar... both are definitely things I'm trying to avoid!

marnie4ever

I've always found that eating carbs creates the craving for more carbs!! Vicious circle....so much nicer and easier to stay away from them plus you don't get so hungry!!!

sweet110

For me, it really depends on what the carbs are. Fruit, veggies (even the much maligned potato!), and rice...I don't have a problem. Even hard candy, with its simple sugars...I can overeat it, certainly, but I doesn't make me ravenous.

If I start eating flour, flour+fat, flour+sugar, or the triple whammy of flour+fat+sugar? I'm done for. I've always been that way. Even when I was a kid. I can eat one scoop of ice cream. Or a few pieces of candy. And I'm done. But Cake? Cookies? DONUTS??? Its incredible what happens to me when I eat these...Incredible like the Incredible eating Hulk!

SalishSea

This is soooo true for me. If I eat carbs I can keep on eating for the rest of the day. The craving to eat and eat and eat and eat is insane.

If I eat lots of protein (100g/day) my cravings are almost zero. Not quite! But almost!

My weight loss doctor encourages me to take my carbs in moderation. Her recommendation is 65g/day. This is pretty easy to stick with. Especially if I don't have carb cravings because I am not eating carbs. See the logic!

My weight loss doctor explained that carbs raise blood glucose levels for a couple of hours than our blood glucose levels fall down after insulin does it's job. Once our glucose levels are low again our body craves more carbs to raise the blood glucose level again. A viscous cycle.

I am sure some will accuse me of broscience. But it is a bariatric MD's science I am referring to this MD has been in the weight loss field for 20 years. Her advice works for.

SalishSea

Definitely I can control my appetite more by starting with high protein foods.

Yes! I am now a convert. I was never a breakfast believer. But now I must have a little bit of protein in the morning. And continue my protein all day. It helps suppress my cravings for old-habits food I don't want.

hopperja

This is the basic, shared principle between all of the low-carb and/or ketogenic diet programs. This is also why research on low-carb diets has found that people lose as much, sometimes more, weight than those on low fat diets. The big difference is those on low-carb diets experience less cravings (ie, feel more satieted) and those on low fat and high carb diets feel less satieted.

A low-fat diet will not work in the long-run for those who don't have iron will-power.

Think about how much money the agri-business/food industry makes off of you having carb cravings...

hollyberry2012

oh yehhh..when it dawned on me that I was NOT addicted to food, but specifically addicted to carbs.. a light bulb went off in my head and I got mad!!! I was like Yosemite Sam mad on those carbs!!!!

gregavila

It's absolutely true for me, so much to the point that I reset the balance between carb/proteins/fats from the MFP default which is nearly 55% carbs. Mine is now 40% carbs, 35% proteins, 25% fat.

Based on my 1400 calorie a day intake, this is 140g of carbs, 122g of proteins, and 39g of fats.

I very rarely have hunger cravings and can go 2-3 hours between feeling hungry.

CoryIda

No, I don't experience this; however, I tend to consume my meals and snacks in well-balanced portions - I usually eat carbs with something that has fat (peanut butter, for example) or protein. The carbs give me energy and the fat and/or protein keeps me feeling full for longer.

livinghcglacey

carbs and sugars produce insulin, insulin increases appetite and turns calories into stored fat...that's why diabetes and obesity go hand in hand.

cirellim

Very interesting I can't say through all my dieting I've ever experienced this. I mean possibly during binge nights but then again I was eating whatever I pleased so it's tough to pinpoint the exact macronutrient causing me to continue eating. I think one way of looking at though, is that high carb or fat for that matter, foods typically tend to be more tasty therefore inducing people to crave them. Whereas protein tends to be slightly more bland in taste maybe making us less likely to binge on high protein foods. Just a thought?

SalishSea

Think about how much money the agri-business/food industry makes off of you having carb cravings...

I have thought about this before. So much of our store-bought food is carb loaded. We eat it, we crave it, we eat more. Agri-business/ food industry makes more. They know how carbs work.

littlebluej

Definitely how I am. If I eat a carb-heavy meal, even in combination with protein and fat, I just crave more carbs. Take Kashi Go Lean cereal for example: it has 13g of protein (which is excellent for a cereal), a bunch of fiber, and 30/40g of carbs, yet I can eat bowl after bowl and not feel full. A chicken breast with a side of broccoli and some butter? I'll be full for hours.

gregavila

My weight loss doctor explained that carbs raise blood glucose levels for a couple of hours than our blood glucose levels fall down after insulin does it's job. Once our glucose levels are low again our body craves more carbs to raise the blood glucose level again. A viscous cycle.

This is absolutely true, and discussed in depth in The Perfect 10 Diet by Dr. Michael Aziz. Carbs, particularly simple carbs, are quickly broken down into sugars and fats. The sugar causes the insulin spike which then cause the cravings.

issyfit

My weight loss doctor explained that carbs raise blood glucose levels for a couple of hours than our blood glucose levels fall down after insulin does it's job. Once our glucose levels are low again our body craves more carbs to raise the blood glucose level again. A viscous cycle.

This is absolutely true, and discussed in depth in The Perfect 10 Diet by Dr. Michael Aziz. Carbs, particularly simple carbs, are quickly broken down into sugars and fats. The sugar causes the insulin spike which then cause the cravings.

Exactly, It's also the way Dr. Agaston explains it in the South Beach Living books. I just finished reading "The Perfect 10 Diet" and it is very similar to South Beach.

sweet110

Very interesting I can't say through all my dieting I've ever experienced this. I mean possibly during binge nights but then again I was eating whatever I pleased so it's tough to pinpoint the exact macronutrient causing me to continue eating. I think one way of looking at though, is that high carb or fat for that matter, foods typically tend to be more tasty therefore inducing people to crave them. Whereas protein tends to be slightly more bland in taste maybe making us less likely to binge on high protein foods. Just a thought?

I don't know. Its hard to overeat high fat foods if its only fat. Fat only becomes "bingeable" for me if its paired with simple, floury carbs. I don't binge on ice cream (some people do, but I don't). I've been known to throw away ice cream if I'm given too much. But put that ice cream over apple pie? Then its on! I agree that its hard to pinpoint the macronutrient. I call it "carbs," but that's not really accurate. I eat cream of rice cereal with bananas and nuts every morning for breakfast...no problems with that. Too much fruit does't make me binge either. What is it about flour that drives me insane? I don't know. I just know it does.

IvoryParchment

Carbs don't make me hungry, so long as I have the protein first. My body knows what it needs, and it isn't going to be satisfied with calories alone.

Kymmu

carbs and sugars produce insulin, insulin increases appetite and turns calories into stored fat...that's why diabetes and obesity go hand in hand.

So well said i'm going to quote this and back it up. My aunty had type 2 diabeties and used to take a sugar reading after foods. Bread and pasta would shoot it up just as if it were a sweet.
Worth thinking about.

Zichu

I've not really noticed a pattern, but I did crave chocolate last night. I was fine throughout the day until last night. I had a pretty high carb meal. The rest of my meals throughout the day were pretty much a 2:1 ratio of protein:carbs. I wasn't hungry or anything, I did have my protein powder with some greek yogurt which kept me feeling full. It's just that high carb dinner I had which made me a little hungry. I had like 3 times the amount of carbs compared to protein.

roymun60

me too, just had a high carb day and i feel hungry still, back to low carb tomorrow, more control there.

acpgee

Simple carbs spike blood glucose. Your body then tends to overcompensate so a few hours later, your blood glucose is too low. The low blood sugar triggers renewed carb cravings.

ladymiseryali

Hello ZOMBIE THREAD! But yea, when I was eating higher carbs, I wasn't truly full and satiated. With keto, I am.

*Disclaimer; This is how it works FOR ME. Not in any way endorsing one eating plan over another*