Doing Insanity, eating lots of protein but still hungry?!

petithamu

The title basically says it all...I'm finishing Week 2 of Insanity and I haven't been following the nutrition guide to the T because I found I had to tweak it to meet the calorie requirement. The first few days in the first week I was really hungry and guys on here suggested I eat more protein so I dropped some of my carbs and changed it to more protein. That was great, I felt full and happy. This week I changed my meal plan but still heavy on protein/vegetables but I am finding myself back to being hungry again! I've calculated my TDEE and subtracted 500 from it because I want to lose weight and that gives me around 1700kcal a day but I am seriously still hungry!

Should I up my calories?! I'm really worried I'm going to gain weight though...my diary is open so please can people have a look and tell me what I should do? Everything I eat is homemade, even the chilli sauce and I've measured and weighed everything to be as accurate as possible.

I drink lots and lots of water and no other drinks, not even juice! I'm just still so hungry...all the time...advice?

cheerbabe080790

Add some quinoa, its a low cal grain thats high in protein and it should fill you up pretty great! Millet and Buckwheat are other great grains that will work with you body and are low cal. Also, hummus is a great option. I find that if I keep my good fats, mono and polyunsaturated, that I am very satisfied! I put hummus on my veggies, use it in place of salad dressing, and mix it in to my stir fry's. I wouldn't necessarily go up in calories but i would make some swaps for these healthy grains and some foods that are high in good fats. Just my opinion. hope this helps.

petithamu

Add some quinoa, its a low cal grain thats high in protein and it should fill you up pretty great! Millet and Buckwheat are other great grains that will work with you body and are low cal. Also, hummus is a great option. I find that if I keep my good fats, mono and polyunsaturated, that I am very satisfied! I put hummus on my veggies, use it in place of salad dressing, and mix it in to my stir fry's. I wouldn't necessarily go up in calories but i would make some swaps for these healthy grains and some foods that are high in good fats. Just my opinion. hope this helps.

That's not a bad idea, add some hummus, I do love hummus...

So you don't think I should up my calories?

Firefox7275

Maybe try spreading your calories and macros out better through the day, more protein at breakfast and more fat and more fibre overall - you are under on both and they work with protein to confer satiety. Whilst there are some great foods in your diary you are not meeting all our healthy eating guidelines: I don't see three servings of reduced fat dairy, oily fish, at least five a day of fruit and veg in the full rainbow of colours, a wide variety of different foods. Note that the research supports closer to nine servings and many countries do advocate this, it's very difficult if you don't start at breakfast and rely on salad leaves.

petithamu

Maybe try spreading your calories and macros out better through the day, more protein at breakfast and more fat and more fibre overall - you are under on both and they work with protein to confer satiety. Whilst there are some great foods in your diary you are not meeting all our healthy eating guidelines: I don't see three servings of reduced fat dairy, oily fish, at least five a day of fruit and veg in the full rainbow of colours, a wide variety of different foods. Note that the research supports closer to nine servings and many countries do advocate this, it's very difficult if you don't start at breakfast and rely on salad leaves.

I can't really have a lot of dairy because it makes me sick so I'm alternating one week having some cheese and one week off. I definitely can't have milk...I haven't eaten much fish so I think I will add that to my meal plan next week and more fruit as well. I do eat breakfast and I don't just munch on salad leaves...I feel like I'm eating a lot of protein already but am already under...so will try to find more protein somewhere...

Thanks for the tips!

Firefox7275

I can't really have a lot of dairy because it makes me sick so I'm alternating one week having some cheese and one week off. I definitely can't have milk...I haven't eaten much fish so I think I will add that to my meal plan next week and more fruit as well. I do eat breakfast and I don't just munch on salad leaves...I feel like I'm eating a lot of protein already but am already under...so will try to find more protein somewhere...

Thanks for the tips!

You don't necessarily need a lot of dairy - a serving of most hard cheeses is only 30g, in fact with parmesan you can get a full days' intake in just 60g. If the issue is lactose (milk sugar) you can get lactose free products or there are supplements to aid with digestion, I'm assuming you don't have an allergy or you would not normally be able to eat some. Otherwise you need three servings of fortified dairy alternative or to eat a ton of foods that are natural sources of calcium - canned oily fish with the crumbly bones mixed in, tofu, almonds, chia seeds. Tofu, oily fish and fortified soya cheeses/ yoghurt may also boost your protein without adding too much fat. Being powerful anti inflammatories fish oils are beneficial in some digestive complaints and some allergies.

I wonder if you are mentally overestimating how much protein is in foods other than meat or fish - eggs and dairy do contain useful amounts but vegetarian sources are much lower so you need to eat more of them. Your serving sizes of nuts are too small to make much difference. Or maybe you feel you are constantly eating protein because you are eating chicken and turkey repeatedly? Or maybe because you are not eating enough different foods with the chicken/ turkey, sometimes just one veggie OR some bread instead of a balanced meal?

petithamu

I can't really have a lot of dairy because it makes me sick so I'm alternating one week having some cheese and one week off. I definitely can't have milk...I haven't eaten much fish so I think I will add that to my meal plan next week and more fruit as well. I do eat breakfast and I don't just munch on salad leaves...I feel like I'm eating a lot of protein already but am already under...so will try to find more protein somewhere...

Thanks for the tips!

You don't necessarily need a lot of dairy - a serving of most hard cheeses is only 30g, in fact with parmesan you can get a full days' intake in just 60g. If the issue is lactose (milk sugar) you can get lactose free products or there are supplements to aid with digestion, I'm assuming you don't have an allergy or you would not normally be able to eat some. Otherwise you need three servings of fortified dairy alternative or to eat a ton of foods that are natural sources of calcium - canned oily fish with the crumbly bones mixed in, tofu, almonds, chia seeds. Tofu, oily fish and fortified soya cheeses/ yoghurt may also boost your protein without adding too much fat. Being powerful anti inflammatories fish oils are beneficial in some digestive complaints and some allergies.

I wonder if you are mentally overestimating how much protein is in foods other than meat or fish - eggs and dairy do contain useful amounts but vegetarian sources are much lower so you need to eat more of them. Your serving sizes of nuts are too small to make much difference. Or maybe you feel you are constantly eating protein because you are eating chicken and turkey repeatedly? Or maybe because you are not eating enough different foods with the chicken/ turkey, sometimes just one veggie OR some bread instead of a balanced meal?

You could be right on the money there. When I think about protein I do predominantly think about meat and fish. I just usually eat grilled chicken because I can make it in such a big batch and it's so easy! I should probably mix things up a bit...love tofu so should definitely put that into my diet...

Thank you again, you've given me lots to think about!