Constantly Hungry

Christie,

Having a quick look at your diary (only looked at wednesday) You are eating a lot of pre-packaged foods and diet versions of "bad" foods. One thing I have learnt is that if you continue eating the diet versions your brain expects the calories and energy of the "real thing" and you are hungry.

The best way to keep from getting hungry and to keep cravings in check is to maintain your blood sugar levels. This is most easily achieved by eating lean protein often and eating low GI foods. Most of your foods are very high GI and thus they cause an instant blood sugar spike, give you a "high" then drop off leaving you hungry and ceraving more sugary foods.

Try and keep ALL of your food below a GI of 65 and MOST of that below a GI of 40.
Low GI foods and lean proteins take a lot longer to digest, leave you fuller for longer and don't create blood sugar spikes.

My first thought when looking at your diary is that you are mostly eating high glycemic and processed foods, which increase hunger. Your problem is one I've struggled with and (mostly) solved by:
1) Not drinking pop, diet or otherwise
2) Eating LOTS of vegetables
3) Eating an apple BEFORE meals
4) Increasing amounts of lean proteins
5) You are doing the right thing by eating every couple of hours. Try snacking on dry roasted unsalted almonds, or unsalted rice cakes w/ peanut butter, or cottage cheese and fruit.

Do not snack on baby carrots: this is a high glycemic food.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/glycemic-index

Plug in the food you wish to learn about.

Edit: the bonus with this site is you can see where the calories are coming from, fullness factor, nutrient balance, protein makeup, etc.

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

This has a database you can search to see what foods have a low GI.

I would suggest a more solid breakfast, it sets the pace for your whole day, try some oatmeal with a piece of toast or something. And up the protein also the water intake

More fiber by the way of green leafy vegetables and if that means salad to you then go with out cheese, croutons and nearly no dressing. Fresh fruit with raw almonds is a great snack that fills you more than the pumpkin seeds. I'd cut some of the pasta and replace it with vegis and more protein like grilled chicken breasts or fish. I love snacking on snap peas. They are full of fiber and very low in calories.

We all have our weak moments and our cravings. Don't beat yourself up over the occasional sweet or for going over calories now and then. Slow and steady wins the race. It's the best way to lose and be able to maintain. I've cut out all HFCS's (High Fructose Corn Syrup) from my diet and it made a huge difference. Also, I stick to the rule of everything within moderation. Making healthy choices and sticking to a healthy way of life is hard work. Good luck!

Writing back to a friend of mine has made me realize what was really wrong with my food intake: not enough vegetables! I'm going to do my all to get 3-5 servings of veggies and 2-4 servings of fruit EVERY day. Thanks for all the great info, tho, I will definitely keep it all in mind!

You pegged it right there. If you are carefull to eat your fruit and vegetables everyday there is very little room left for hunger. Some times I don't have the time to prepare vegetables and when I'm hungry I want something quick, so I've gotten in the habit of preparing my veggies as soon as I get home. I wash an cut up carrots in to carot sticks, red pepper, radishes, zuchinni cucumber. Lettuce gets washed dried broken up into salad sizes. Fruit is washed and ready to eat. Then when I go to work I can make a bag of snacks to take with me.