Always hungry...and I eat, and eat and eat!

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13

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  • egoodman21
    egoodman21 Posts: 1 Member
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    So it seems like you have a decent strategy for staying full, but perhaps it's the food you are eating. You are only mentioning protein and fiber, where you really should be thinking about the type of carbs in that cereal you are eating. It's probably highly processed, with a very high GI (glycemic index). Spiking your blood sugar, making you feel full for a little while, but then rapidly your blood sugar drops, and you get hungry again. I have always felt that cereal has primed my hunger, never helped me to feel full for any period of time.

    What I do: I get up at 5am, make 5 eggs for breakfast, and put a little salsa on them, and put them in a tupperware container. I will also grab any fresh fruit I have, currently it's bananas and oranges. I will eat the banana when I get to work at 7am. Then, around 8:30 I will eat the 5 eggs. Now, you have some carbs, lower GI from the fruit, and a healthy dose of protein. This should last you until your 10am snack.. Where you eat those carrots, and perhaps some almonds, or other nuts to keep you satisfied.

    You should then be able to make it to lunch, and just follow the same scheme. Of course you can eat carbs, but dont' eat so many that your blood sugar is all over the place, and you are starving an hour later. I eat at 7,8:30, 10am, 1pm, 3, 5:30pm and thats usually it.. They aren't large meals, the largest is probably 650 calories like your dinner. I try to leave at least 800-900 calories for my after work eating. In a day I will have eaten about 2000-2200 calories in a day.

    Water: I have at least 1.5 gallons a day. I have a 28 oz blender bottle that I fill up 2-3 times before 10am. I have made a habit of sipping on water, instead of having food at my desk. I work a desk job, and am there basically all day. The water serves 2 purposes, keeps me full, and walking around to get more water, or you know... use the restroom.

    Good luck! Find something that works with your body, hopefully some of the things I do can translate over for you.
  • boggsmroz
    boggsmroz Posts: 20
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    For whatever reason, I find that I am often hungry during the day when I eat cereal for breakfast. What about higher protein, lower carb breakfast foods like eggs, turkey, etc? I even like to toss in some leftover broccoli or other veggies and cheese for an omelette to keep me full.

    Are you drinking enough water? Many times when I feel hungry, I will drink a big glass of water and that will actually help me get over the hump. When I want to chew/eat, but know I'm not really hungry, I have some sugar free jello or chew some gum.

    I'm a HUGE fan of Quest protein bars, too. Just had a chocolate peanut butter one for 160 calories and 20 grams of protein...it will keep me satisfied for the next couple hours before lunch.


    I don't have the time in the morning to cook breakfast. Even though I start the day with cereal I soon after have a turkey sandwich. In the past 4 hours I have eaten 36g of protein and am still hunger. I am on my 2nd 32oz bottle of water. I'll definitely look into the Quest bars tho!

    I'll make my omelettes the night before to eat at work the next morning and they taste fine. I do 3 egg whites + 1 whole egg with either some guac on top or a little bit of cheese and veggies. I eat around 7:30 and stay satisfied until lunch between 11:30-12:30.
  • ifaber
    ifaber Posts: 195 Member
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    My go to snack is a mini babybel cheese with an ounce of almonds (current fave is habanero bbq) and sip on my water that I usually add life to by putting in a packet of crystal light or something like that in my 50oz water bottle. The fat and the protein in the cheese and nuts should definitely fill you up!
  • lorib75
    lorib75 Posts: 490 Member
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    No time to cook? How about just eating Turkey and a low fat cheese stick for breakfast? Add some baby carrots and eat a lot of them. Fat free popcorn is a good filler. Can you eat at work? I always snack at my desk, but my boss is cool with it.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
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    My suggestion is to eat WAY more than 800 calories each day. Problem solved!
    she eats dinner after work. not 800 total.
  • micheleld73
    micheleld73 Posts: 914 Member
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    More sleep can help as well. If you are not getting enough sleep it can affect the hormones that control appetite, (leptin and ghrelin). Shoot for 7 or 8 hours if you can. Be patient and consistent. Good luck!

    I forgot that sleep plays a big role in diet. ^^This^^
  • cljabusc
    cljabusc Posts: 48
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    try sipping on hot tea (no sugar). it's supposed to make you feel full. i drink a couple cups in the morning inbetween breakfast and morning snack and it works for me.
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
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    I have found the days I eat cereal I am famished a hour or so later. I don't have a lot of time in the morning either so I make homemade egg mc muffins. They take like 2 minutes ( make them while getting m shoes on) English muffin, two slices Canadian bacon, I slice full fat cheese, and 1/4 cup egg beaters. I nuke the egg beaters in the microwave and toast the cheese meat and muffin in the toaster oven. This could fuel me all day!

    I also make huge batches of whole wheat pumpkin waffles once a month and freeze them. They are then ready to toast like a ego when ever I am on the run. And because of the pumpkin in them they are yummy enough to need no syrup
  • Lsteedly85
    Lsteedly85 Posts: 76 Member
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    It is all about finding the perfect balance... MFP is usually off on the calorie setting for me so I use this calculator...

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Try eating clean, whole foods and increase the timeframe you eat to 6 - 7 small meals a day and drink a ton of water!! :) Usually when I am hungry it means I am dehydrated, if after drinking some water and the feeling still exists, eat. :)
  • fungirl1234
    fungirl1234 Posts: 13
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    try the flat belly diet use the book and log on here
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
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    One, it's awfully hard to diagnose what's up if you don't log your whole day. Maybe your dinners are actually less calories than you think, so you're not hitting your calorie goal? Of course then you'd be hungry the next day

    Two, it's protein and fat that keep me full, but you barely get any fat in your diet. Fat is not what makes you fat, you know :) I'd consider readjusting your percentages to 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. You'll see people with different opinions, but that is what's worked best for me

    And three, maybe you're hungry because you're simply not eating enough. I don't see you mention your height, but at 5'6" I'm eating around 1700 calories when I don't exercise (and more when I do). Perhaps the larger deficit you had earlier in your journey is simply too large, now that there's significantly less fat on your body. Maybe readjust MFP to only be losing .5 lbs/week? That would most likely automatically give you more calories. Now that you're in better shape, you need to rely more on food and less on your remaining fat stores to fuel your body. Good luck :)
  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
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    Instead of the box cereal, maybe try oatmeal or hot cereal. I find most box cereals suspicious cause they add things to those that have nothing to do with food's natural state. I do love me some frosted mini wheats, but I'm not going to make them my diet staple.

    If you're having trouble with the box cereal giving you a good start and you don't have time to cook/microwave hot cereal, then rethink breakfast altogether. Have some beans/legumes and some cheese. Maybe hardboiled egg and tomatoes or a salad. Think outside the cereal box (literally :laugh: ) since it seems to be doing nothing for you.

    I'm not seeing raw nuts/seeds anywhere either.

    Beans/barley is an excellent choice. Legumes ought to be a staple of your diet, period.
  • Onaughmae
    Onaughmae Posts: 873 Member
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    drink lots of water...protein, protein protein.. If I dont get enough protein I am starving too.
  • rae_rae330
    rae_rae330 Posts: 39 Member
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    Well, having read and skimmed a lot of the replies (I will read more later when I get out of work. wow...didn't expect my post to get so many replies!) I notice a trend of people telling me to eat more protein and fiber as well as more healthy fats. While I totally get the fats based on how low in fat i have been eating, I am curious about those who say more protein and fiber. I'm currently set for 55% carb, 20% protein, 25% fat with 25g of fiber (which i always go over). Can someone recommend a better setting for my macros?
  • Kristen81
    Kristen81 Posts: 342 Member
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    Some of you have very VERY poor reading comprehension. She said she eats 800 calories WHILE AT WORK, then goes home to eat dinner and altogether eats about 1450 calories a day. OMG.

    I had to stop reading the thread because people were pissing me off with that!! Sheesh people, READ!

    Anyway, sorry! I have no advice. It seems that you eat plenty and and drink plenty of water. Hopefully someone was able to give you some helpful advice.
  • yummymummy65
    yummymummy65 Posts: 86 Member
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    Hey Rae, Rae (love that name, btw). I'm no expert but I'll gladly share my personal experiences with you. But before I do that, let me speak to your Food Diary for a moment. I took a quick look at your Diary and see that of the 800 calories logged (yes, I know that you eat more than 800 calories a day - and that the ones that you logged are the ones that you eat at work. I get that.), your carb intake is very high at 135 grams and that your Fat intake is very very low at only 8 grams. I also noticed that your protein intake is low compared to your carb intake. By increasing your Protein and your intake of good Fats, you will find great satiety while at work.

    I was eating a very low fat diet and found that like yourself, I was constantly hungry. To combat that, I started adding a half Avocado to my Dry Cottage Cheese in the morning in addition to my Apple and found that this was keeping me full for 3+ hours. (BTW, I have a huge appetite). Similarly, whenever I add good Fats into my lunch (ie. Salmon) I was satisfied for a much longer period.

    With respect to your carb intake, you might want to keep those carbs to complex ones only - ie, green leafy vegetables, brocolli, beans, Yams, Sweet Potato. Try to stay away from simple carbs like Breads and Pasta because those will spike your blood sugar and make you hungry shortly after you consume them.

    In short, increase your consumption of Good Fats, Increase your Protein, Eat Complex Carbs, minimize your intake of Simple Carbs and you'll find that you'll be more satisfied. Hope this helps.

    Good Luck sister!
  • cld111
    cld111 Posts: 300 Member
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    Based on personal experience, fat always helps me feel more satiated. I know others have said it too, but I agree, add more fat, and protein and reduce the carbs a bit.
  • tankerville
    tankerville Posts: 2
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    One possibility is the timing of exertion and intake. Look at the following web page:

    http://www.benardotnutrition.com/index.html

    Their studies show a need to maintain a relatively stable overall caloric balance. The recommendation is to stay within ±400 calories. Interesting part of their studies on elite athletes is that even some apparently fit and skinny athletes still end up with over 30% fat because of their eating habits. You can stay within the same caloric limits but a rearrangement of when you eat makes all the difference.
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
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    Well, having read and skimmed a lot of the replies (I will read more later when I get out of work. wow...didn't expect my post to get so many replies!) I notice a trend of people telling me to eat more protein and fiber as well as more healthy fats. While I totally get the fats based on how low in fat i have been eating, I am curious about those who say more protein and fiber. I'm currently set for 55% carb, 20% protein, 25% fat with 25g of fiber (which i always go over). Can someone recommend a better setting for my macros?

    No more than 40% carbs, and either split the the rest equally between fat/protien, or skewed to favor fat. I find that I tend to not eat much for grains, but large amounts of veggies instead (plus at least 1 serving of full fat cheese per day, popcorn butter sub'd for coconut oil, ect). Hunger is not an issue of mine at all.
    Right now I've dropped my carbs to try to focus more on getting protien... cottage cheese has been great for that.
  • boobee32
    boobee32 Posts: 450 Member
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    Extremely low fat and very low net calories. I'm not surprised you're always hungry.
    Wondering if THAT is my problem. I am always hungry lately too...and generally eat less than 40 gr of fat a day.

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