Never feel full

shellux
shellux Posts: 164 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or how much, I never seem to feel full for long. I constantly want to eat, whether it be healthy or not.

Does anyone else have this problem, or has anyone got any tips in how to overcome this? I would like to learn how to live my life not spending every single minute thinking about food!

Replies

  • Gerald_King
    Gerald_King Posts: 2,031 Member
    Maybe you could try more protein and less carbs to feel full
  • kate216
    kate216 Posts: 23
    i have this same problem!! i always joke that i don't know what full feels like, but I really dont!
  • Odiliawine
    Odiliawine Posts: 116 Member
    I feel the same way, it's incredibly frustrating. The best thing I've found is eating a lot of protein things, such as peanut butter, holds me over for longer. Avoid things that burn quickly like white breads and carbs in general. Sorry I couldn't be more help!
  • Kejlina
    Kejlina Posts: 31 Member
    Hi! I'm typing on my phone so I apologise for the Wall of Text. Are you hitting your targets for calories and macronutrients? You might need to increase something. I'm a big eater too and I've been serving my meals on two cups of lettuce to make them ookbigger and feel more filling at only 30 extra calories. I also try to drinkall my water, and I take a fibre supplement to help me feel fuller. I'm no expert because I'm at thebeginning of this journey, but this is ehat's working so far to keep me from gnawing off a limb. ;)
  • Kejlina
    Kejlina Posts: 31 Member
    Ookbigger = look bigger
    (Amongst other typos) sorry :)
  • rubyjune27
    rubyjune27 Posts: 87 Member
    Sorry not going to be much help either. I try to eat a lot of protein but I still feel hungry. I am just as hungry at a lunchtime if I have had a big breakfast, than if I haven't eaten anything. I couldn't cope with 1200 a day but ate 1500. However 2 days a week I do 5:2 fasting so although this means I am very hungry on those days, one I know I can survive being hungry, it's just something I have to live with. Secondly I can eat more calories on the other 5 days which helps me feel satisfied.

    I am so amazed when people here say they can not eat 1200 cals as they are full!, I just don't know how they got fat in the first place. Me I could eat 1200 at a sitting!
  • brainfreeze72
    brainfreeze72 Posts: 180 Member
    When I'm really hungry I try to drink a 24oz bottle of water before my meal. I learned it helps me avoid over-eating during the meal itself but won't necessarily hold me till the next meal. I do find that eating lots of vegetables (I go for a really good mix of romaine, spinach, peppers, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers in a salad) and top it with 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and a Healthy Choice frozen meal or a small sandwich wrap keeps me going for hours. I love loading up on proteins and veggies for dinner. I use about 1 cup of baked sweet potato in place of a starchy pasta, rice or white potato side.
  • juliesjuke
    juliesjuke Posts: 93 Member
    I am doing NS and i eat 6 times a day.Mid morning i have a protein snack(string cheese/yogurt/p-nuts/etc) then in the afternoon i have a carb(small bagel/pop corn/etc) With portion control,veggies and fruits it is doable.I usually have a huge salad for lunch with 2 ounces of protein in it. Hope this helps.:wink:
  • fishifishy
    fishifishy Posts: 17
    I find that drinking a lot of water helps keep me feel fuller for longer.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    How many pounds are you trying to lose a week? You don't have much to lose at all so you really should only be set to .5 or 1 at the most. I just am wondering where you are getting your 1300 calorie goal on your non-workout days. That honestly might not be enough for you.

    Also, I would look into increasing the amount of fats and protein you are consuming as opposed to carbs. While I am not one of those anti carb people, I have found that healthy fats and good protein keep me fuller longer.
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
    It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or how much, I never seem to feel full for long. I constantly want to eat, whether it be healthy or not.

    Does anyone else have this problem, or has anyone got any tips in how to overcome this? I would like to learn how to live my life not spending every single minute thinking about food!

    I have this problem. I need to eat about every two hours. I usually do small meals as meal size seems to have zero effect on how long I stay full. My understanding is that this is pretty common when you start to reach a low bodyfat % for your gender. With males this usually happens at around the 8-12% range and with females around 15-20%.

    I read an article that inspired me to eat my meals as late in the day as possible as I find that as soon as I eat breakfast that's when the cycle starts. I'll post a link below that you might find helpful.

    http://www.leangains.com/2012/06/why-does-breakfast-make-me-hungry.html
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    Try intermittent fasting, eating nothing or very little through out the day and then eating the majority of your calories in a time frame that suits you. I do later in the evening so I go to bed satisfied.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    You are either not eating enough for your body's needs, or you are not getting the right balance to fill you up. I found I need fat to keep me full as well as the protein and some carbs. I also have to mostly avoid bread products as those leave me starving hungry for more. Sometimes also, the feeling of hunger is actually coming from a buildup of acid, and indigestion remedies can help, a personal trainer told me that. I personally don't find water remotely helpful for feeling fuller, it is a liquid, not a food, and seems to be a myth that is thrown around too often here.

    Edit to add - try snacking on hard boiled eggs, chicken or duck, but duck eggs are amazing as a snack, keep you full for a few hours, so imagine if you add an egg to your main meal.
  • BossyAngel
    BossyAngel Posts: 4
    yes, I too am never full. It is frustrating. More protein - well I don't really like meat - I eat it but just don't like the taste. So it's a problem to eat more protein. Good luck! I will read what others say hopefully might find something to help me as well. Thanks for the post.
  • BossyAngel
    BossyAngel Posts: 4
    I will try this
  • IndigoFlowers
    IndigoFlowers Posts: 221 Member
    I find that if I don't eat fiber in the morning I feel starved all day long for some reason. Fiber for breakfast helps me tremendously.
  • louiselebeau
    louiselebeau Posts: 220 Member
    Drink a glass of water before you eat and take a sip between most bites. Take a fiber supplement, and add a small salad (with a vinegar based dressing) vineger and cinnemon make you feel fuller and it helps regulate blood sugar, White potatos and sweet potatos make you feel fuller longer (they have a specific kind of starch that makes you feel fuller) Omega-3's(fish), oats, nuts, green/yellow veggies, and beans help a LOT. You will even eat less at the next meal because of some of the good things in these foods.

    Small tips, but helpful. Oh and almost all of these things can cause gas, BEANO IS YOUR FRIEND HERE!.. just an fyi
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
    My brain hardly ever tells me I am full but I know that I am. I just have to fight hard to ignore my brain when I KNOW I have eaten enough I AM actually full.
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
    Lots of helpful advice. For me, one of the biggest things was to not eat when I'm not actually hungry, just because people told me I'm supposed to. If I don't get hungry till two or three or even five pm, then I just dont eat till then. Also, I played with my macronutrient ratios and eventually upped my fat intake. A tablespoon of olive oil (on my salad or drizzled on meat), an ounce of pecans, a half ounce of super dark chocolate. All of those things satisfy me for much longer than an equivalent amount of calories from carbsor protein. Also, water in and of itself, while making me feel "full", never made me feel satiated. However a hot beverage actually does, so I prefer to drink green tea.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
    Water, black coffee, lots of leafy veggies
  • ClaireM8
    ClaireM8 Posts: 26
    Try to drink plenty of water. It helps.
  • shellux
    shellux Posts: 164 Member
    I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who suffers with this. I don't think that I could mentally cope with fasting though. I suffer with mild Fibromyalgia and am controlling the systems and think anything too drastic may not help.

    Trying to up my water intake today,will see how that goes for now.

    Thanks all.
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
    I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who suffers with this. I don't think that I could mentally cope with fasting though. I suffer with mild Fibromyalgia and am controlling the systems and think anything too drastic may not help.

    Trying to up my water intake today,will see how that goes for now.

    Thanks all.

    Looking at your diary, I see two things pretty quickly. You almost never eat all your calories (you're supposed to lose weight by eating to that goal, not significantly under it), and you never get all your protein. Pretty sure if you worked on those two things, you'd be fuller.

    Plus, do you have MFP set to just lose .5 lbs/week? With little weight to lose, you'll be much better off this way than having it at 1 pound/week or more. I was a grumpy mess eating about 1400 calories a day, and I'm much happier at around 1700. Good luck!
  • mousepaws22
    mousepaws22 Posts: 380 Member
    I've found that eating fat helps keep me full as well. For example, I have chicken and avocado with my salad or veg for lunch and it keeps me fuller for longer. I have found that if I eat carbs like rice, bread, pasta, I'm hungry again 30 minutes after I've finished my meal.

    ETA: I also find I have this problem with fruit so I don't really eat it anymore. I think it;s the sugar that makes me hungry.
  • Oh2BeMaintaining
    Oh2BeMaintaining Posts: 188 Member
    This is the opposite of most of the advice given but I don't drink with meals. The theory is that if you drink with your meals you are flushing food from your stomach at a much quicker rate. If you put applesauce in a funnel it will drip out slowly, if you pour water on top of the applesauce it will go through much quicker and empty the funnel. Think of the stomach as the funnel, you want to keep it full to digest food and absorb the nutrients you need.
  • allknowingtomato
    allknowingtomato Posts: 42 Member
    I looked at your diary: Eat more protein and less sugar/carbs from grains! you never get enough protein. i am a bottomless pit if eat too much sugar or bread/pasta. on days i have eggs with spinach and cheese for breakfast, chicken salad lettuce wraps for lunch, fruit and veg with hummus, and steak with grilled pepper and onions and salad for dinner, i stay full. on days i have oatmeal, for breakfast i could eat a house and am trying to satisfy my "carb tooth" with small candy bars and single-serve bags of chips. it won't work, you'll just want to graze all day!

    try seriously cutting the grains and sugars for a few days and see if your hunger evens out.

    also, someone else mentioned fat. fat helps you stay full, and also helps you absorb vitamins from the veggies and fruit you eat. try a small amount of regular dressing (or oil/vinegar) instead of "light" salad cream/dressing (which usually has sugars to mask the fact there is not much fat).
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or how much, I never seem to feel full for long. I constantly want to eat, whether it be healthy or not.

    Does anyone else have this problem, or has anyone got any tips in how to overcome this? I would like to learn how to live my life not spending every single minute thinking about food!

    What is this "full" feeling you talk about, i'm unfamiliar with it

    Teamneverfull
  • stines72
    stines72 Posts: 853 Member
    i always drink a full 16 oz bottle of water before i take my first bite, and i also drink another 16 oz bottle during my meal and after. this helps
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Fullness tips...

    1. Drink an entire glass of water before any meal
    2. Increase the amount of fiber and protein in your meal
    3. Eat slower, taking pauses to chat or read

    Go buy 10 bags of raw spinach and just eat as fast as you can non-stop. You'll feel full and have eaten very few calories.

    Using the above tips, I've managed to go from hungry to full with a 200 calorie lunch before. >.>
  • shellux
    shellux Posts: 164 Member
    Thanks all for your replies. Some very helpful advise but a lot of my carbs are used up by fruit. Is there an alternative that anyone can recommend or is this ok because it is fruit?

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