Hungry all the time
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sb4480
Posts: 199 Member
I'm slowly trying to ease into lc paleo and have been doing so so for the past month or so. I've had a few slip ups here and there but have been able to get back on track relatively easily. Something that's making it really hard to stay consistent is my hunger. I'm hungry all the time and I swear my appetite is growing. My goal us to lose 10lbs and if anything I'm gaining.
I'm 33, 5'6" 145-150 (depending on when I weigh) and I have celiac with a dairy sensitivity. I'm trying to stick to 1400 calories and under 50g net carbs. I admittedly am only minimally active and work a desk job.
I'm 33, 5'6" 145-150 (depending on when I weigh) and I have celiac with a dairy sensitivity. I'm trying to stick to 1400 calories and under 50g net carbs. I admittedly am only minimally active and work a desk job.
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Replies
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you're still undereating. You should still be at a deficit if you eat even 1800 per day. Up your calories, you'll feel better, and your body will be a lot happier and then you will be able to drop the weight. You don't have tons to lose, so that big a deficit will just piss your body off and make you hold onto that last bit of fat.0
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Should I be concerned about too much protein? I'm having trouble staying within my macro.0
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I LOVE your macro settings and I don't know why you would still be hungry except that you may need to eat more or you have metabolic issues that may need to be addressed with a very low carb eating plan. The cool thing about a high fat, very low carb eating plan is that you can eat what you need and you will not store fat.
I had to reduce my carbs to under 20 grams recently and I aim for only around 10 grams. I have metabolic issues and I was still having some minor hunger struggles if my carbs got up to 30-40 grams. Another good indicator that my metabolism has not improved yet and that my carbs were too high is that even though I have 30+ pounds to lose, I only lost 1.2 pounds in the last month.
But don't totally trust that scale; it's tricky and isn't the best indicator of real progress.
You've got your protein setting fairly low, which is fine, so going over it will not be a problem.
You are actually below my final goal weight (same height). It's possible that your body might like to stay where you are at which will make losing difficult. IMO all the weight charts, BMI, etc recommend weights that can be a little too low for some people. Regardless, with so little to lose it will take a long time to lose that last few pounds.0 -
If you don't mind me asking, what do you eat to keep your carbs so low?0
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Your logging is pretty inconsistent (400 calories one day (did you skip dinner or not log because you didn't want to admit what you ate?), no logging on the weekend). For me, I find that if I "cheat" by having higher carb items, I'm FAMISHED the next day.
I would advise you to log consistently - even if you're eating things you "shouldn't." Only then can you really go back and pinpoint where the issues may lie. Feel free to add me and browse my diary. I have my carbs set at 56 and my sugar at 25g. I tend to always be slightly over on both (mostly because I refuse to give up my sweetened creamer in the morning) - but the rest of my day I try to "be good."0 -
Your logging is pretty inconsistent (400 calories one day (did you skip dinner or not log because you didn't want to admit what you ate?), no logging on the weekend). For me, I find that if I "cheat" by having higher carb items, I'm FAMISHED the next day.
I would advise you to log consistently - even if you're eating things you "shouldn't." Only then can you really go back and pinpoint where the issues may lie. Feel free to add me and browse my diary. I have my carbs set at 56 and my sugar at 25g. I tend to always be slightly over on both (mostly because I refuse to give up my sweetened creamer in the morning) - but the rest of my day I try to "be good."
Yep, this. You haven't logged consistently, and I can't tell if there are days when you're under eating by a GREAT deal of calories or if you're just not logging them. Either way, it's not good or helpful to you to do those things. It looks like you may have also cut calories somewhat recently? Either that or you were overeating (according to your goal of 1400) by a few hundred a day a few weeks back.
I also question your goal of 1400 calories/day. You're at a healthy weight for your height, so losing fat is going to be a bit more difficult than it is for someone with significantly more fat to lose. Are you hoping to lose muscle too? Eating low protein, not doing any sort of resistance training, and restricting calories severely will cause that to happen.0 -
It's very true that my logging is inconsistent. I tend to not log on the weekends because I just don't think to do it when I'm running around. The days that look lower than others are because I've neglected to log a meal. This past Monday, where it only shows 400ish for the day was an instance like that. I definitely ate more than 400 , but my BF and I went to a chef's tasting event with a James Beard Award winner. While I know the ingredients were all of the highest quality and likely most of them fall under the "clean eating" umbrella (vs paleo), not knowing the exact ingredient and quantities make it impossible to log. But OMG, if you're going to stray from the plan, a meal like that is the one to indulge in! I'm always able to get on track when Monday rolls around and I'm able to escape the house and my family.
So would you advise logging and sticking to a set caloric goal in general? Or aim for satiety and sticking to what's allowed during this "induction" phase? The 1400 calories came from MFP, I don't know how to calculate my needs otherwise. I'd say I'm probably 20-30% BF, but I don't know for sure.
And I do understand the role of exercise in all of this. I'm active, I just haven't been going to the gym and actually WORKING OUT regularly. That's changing starting today. My goal isn't to lose muscle, it's to lose the skinny fat and rebuild the muscle I've lost. A little background, I went through a horrible divorce last year and got down to about 125. I was WAY too skinny and I wasn't taking care of myself (not following my GF diet, etc). After 4 months of iron infusions and focusing on just eating and getting enough calories every day I'm packing it on. Something needs to change. I'd love to be a fit 135-140, but I'll settle for just maintaining.0 -
To be honest, the best way to transition to paleo is to not bother to count ANYTHING, just learn how to feed yourself properly and not worry about anything else. You need to learn to listen to the signals your body gives you regarding hunger and satiety. It's very difficult to do that when you are paranoid about macros and calorie totals. After a few months, when you are good at eating and understanding what your body is telling you it needs, then, IF you need to start dialing it in, you can start paying attention to the small details, but I would imagine that given where you are at, you will see the progress you want without counting anything.
When you add exercise to the above, it just makes everything click. Especially if it's lifting weights a couple times a week and maybe a good walk or run once or twice a week. Even the stalwarts don't recommend exercising yourself to death. 3-4 days, an hour a shot should be enough to tighten you up in not long at all.0 -
So would you advise logging and sticking to a set caloric goal in general? Or aim for satiety and sticking to what's allowed during this "induction" phase? The 1400 calories came from MFP, I don't know how to calculate my needs otherwise. I'd say I'm probably 20-30% BF, but I don't know for sure.
In general, I don't pay attention to calories. Eat enough good, healthy food to keep you from getting hungry. I often eat 500 calories over what MFP has me set at and I still lose. The only macro I pay attention to is carbs. I keep them low (under 90) and I don't pay attention to protein or fat. After I get better at the whole paleo/primal thing, I will start trying to pay attention to those, but for now I have to focud on one thing at a time. Listen to your body.... If you're hungry, simply eat more, as long as they are healthy foods. Try eating lots of good fats to keep you satiated. I find that I am seldom hungry now and sometimes have to remind myself to eat lunch.0 -
If you don't mind me asking, what do you eat to keep your carbs so low?
My carb sources are pretty much veggies, so even if I feel like I had too many carbs, I don't sweat it because it doesn't come from bread or sugar. I do still eat rice, so then I have to pay more attention on those days because the carbs are WAY high then.
I eat tons of meat and veggies. I normally have two meats at dinner (one is usually eggs because it's easy to make) and a mix of different veggies. That will keep the carbs at a nice level. I eat fruit sometimes, but that will add a lot to the carbs.0 -
Easing into a low carb lifestyle doesn't really work. You just have to go for broke. Easing into it just prolongs the hunger and cravings. Off plan days will result in hunger and cravings the next day or two. Keep those to a minimum.
You need to be very strict the first 2 weeks of going low carb. No fruit. No cheating. The cravings will last for 3-4 days and then disappear. For those first 2 weeks do not count calories. Eat as much fat and protein as you want and need to satiate hunger. Don't let yourself get too hungry. After the first 2 weeks you can start monitoring your calorie intake and add back limited amounts of fruit as long as the fruit doesn't put you over your carb target.0 -
I agree with previous posters - focus on healthy foods and how your body feels, rather than calories/carbs, and jump right in instead of easing in.
For me, I've always had a "less calories = better" mindset. Since starting Whole 30 on March 17, my whole perspective on food has changed. I used to be hungry all the time and wouldn't stop eating until I was waaaay overfull. I thought meals needed filling foods, like bread and rice, to keep me full until the next meal. The first few days of W30, I was hungry. But then it got better and better, and now I almost never feel hungry. I even forget to eat sometimes! Those filler foods I used to eat would make me full immediately, but as soon as they passed through my stomach, I would be RAVENOUS again, and craving all that non-nutritive junk. In fact, on day 15, I had a small piece of gluten free cake for my birthday - I barely even touched the frosting, but it made me soooo tired and I felt almost hungover the next day! (I restarted W30 that next day, lol)
I have logged my food a few times, mostly out of curiosity to see how many calories I was eating, but I find I'm much more satisfied and happy when I just let my body tell me what it needs. With all those simple carbs out of my system, it's much easier to recognize my body's signals. In fact, I think I need the avocado in my fridge right now!
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