ALWAYS HUNGRY

Canonoch1

I've been down this road before and I'm struggling with it still. A few years ago I started working out. A LOT of walking then started watching what I ate. added in some strength training and some jogging went from 460 to 298( with help of this site). Then the arthritis in my foot got worse and my knee went to crap ( torn cartilage had surgery removed 33% more than 10 yrs ago). it hurts like hell just to walk a lot of times. Not to mention i work about 12hr days mostly on my feet. So i fell and am now back around 400 and now I'm trying again but not sure about the workout aspect of things. But even when i was around 300 I was always hungry. I can eat a large bowl of steel-cut oatmeal and I'm talking LARGE bowl and a very short time late be hungry ( i can have a LARGE bowl for dinner another LARGE bowl for breakfast and then a more normal size helping for lunch before I fell full for sometime). I can eat a sandwich now and be hungry. WTH!! anybody have simular issues or ideas for me on how to cope with this? Wish I can afford a gym membership that had a pool but the money is not in the pocket for it.

now_or_never13

What kinds of foods are you eating?

You need to ensure you are eating enough. You need to ensure you are consuming enough protein, fiber, and fat.

Also, is the hunger real hunger? Or are you bored? stressed? etc.

Are you drinking enough water? Our bodies sometimes confuse thirst with hunger.

cmriverside

Depending on how much you're eating in general, maybe you need to eat more. Choose more protein and less carbs. Get enough fats. Protein, fats and fiber will help you stay satisfied. But you need a lot of food when you weigh 300 lbs. Don't try to go on some super low calorie plan when you are working. You'll have a hard time sticking to it.

You can lose weight by focusing on food alone. Exercise is really good for you though, so maybe you could buy some resistance bands for $10 at Walmart to get some exercise without it being weight-bearing. Look on craigslist for used exercise equipment.

Do you know anyone with a stationary bike? That would be good. Can your doctor prescribe physical therapy? They have all kinds of machines they could work with you on.

jesspi68

Often I will be really hungry shortly after eating a carb heavy meal. I'm not saying you have to eliminate them by any means - I am a carbaholic - but if my meal is protein focused I will stay full longer than after a carb focused meal.

Cyndieann

Try backing off the carbs. Eat protien, vegetables and good fat like cheese. I'm always hungry very soon after eating any kind of breads or starchy foods...so I stay away from them. Works for me. Perhaps you could do some research on low carb diets.

styledsky

I'm also pretty new, and I started this at about 365lbs, at my heaviest I was around 390lbs (I work in metric, conversions are not perfect). I've found the main factors seem to be:

1. Avoiding habitual eating. This is when you feel "hungry" more out of reflex than anything else - kinda Pavlov's Dog in essence. This you just have to force yourself to stop.

2. Ensure your energy sources are balanced. If you add "sugar" to the default MFP nutrients list, you can see how much sugar vs other carbohydrate sources you have. Something with low sugar but high carbs will burn longer. Same for protein - that will assist. I've found this works pretty well.

3. Eat "bulk" food - by this I mean fibrous foods such as your fruits & vegetables. This lets you intake a large amount of food with lower caloric content

4. Eat your meals. Have breakfast with low sugar, fibre rich items like porridge, wholegrain bread, flakes & fruit. Have a small snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon (fruit & nuts), keep your sweeter stuff for later in the evening, cook your own dinner from fresh ingredients where you can control what you eat, etc.

5. Consider alternate foods. Low fat or no fat milk, wraps instead of loads of bread, wholegrain pasta over egg noodles, greek yoghourt, brown rice, high % chocolate, etc. You can save a lot of calories and you may discover a whole heap of stuff you really like.

Finally, keep remind yourself it will get easier. I reckon if you can hold it for even 4 weeks you should be pretty right. The habitual stuff goes away and you build a balance.

Canonoch1

Thanks all. I do drink a lot of water something that continues to carry over from my previous success. I do try and balance out my meals. with proteins veggies and such one thing that was really handy about the calorie counter and the component break down this site gives. a lot of the good stuff still carries over. Bored no way to busy to be bored. STRESS yeah that is a big one here. and that is probably a big issue with the lose of physical activity. I do have an stationary bike @ home i need to re-pad the seat though it hurts my backside also I found from before I would rather walk around the same route day after day then ride a stationary bike in the same room. Things change outdoors. (mental thing?) but WTH I need to do something right? So i need to suck it up even if it is the same room. And I cannot read while riding tried it cannot do it. I look at all the ideas and see if anything may help for me. I was happier @ 300 lbs need to get back there. Thanks all for helping and letting me whine.