Cannot Feel Full

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Exegi_Corpus
Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
edited April 2015 in Getting Started
Hi Everyone,

I have increased my daily calories like 500. But, I still feel the need of eating something. My trainer suggested me to eat at least 3500 calories. I even exceeded that by 500 for the last 2 days.

I only eat "real" and "healthy" food. No deserts, junk food et cetera. I prepare my food or get easy prepare ingredients with me everyday (huge bag).

I train 6 days per week including daily biking and even if I can't do my daily biking, I do low intensity steady state cardio for 20 minutes after my main training.

I am really open for suggestions since this gives me the feeling that I am not improving.

Cheers,
EC
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Replies

  • envy09
    envy09 Posts: 353 Member
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    I would try eating slowly and evaluating how you feel. With the terrible amount of portion distortion present in the American (and other developed nations) diet, your "full" feeling might actually be an "over-stuffed" feeling.
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    envy09 wrote: »
    I would try eating slowly and evaluating how you feel. With the terrible amount of portion distortion present in the American (and other developed nations) diet, your "full" feeling might actually be an "over-stuffed" feeling.

    Hi,

    The problem is that I do not feel full. I feel like I should keep eating even though I know I reached to the calorie limit.

    Also, I mostly prepare my own food, even if I cannot I take my bread and ingredients that are natural.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Opening your diary might help.

    How much protein and fat do you eat?
  • envy09
    envy09 Posts: 353 Member
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    It's not about what you're eating, it's about how you feel about how much you are eating. Even if you eat enough to be physically full, you have grown up in an environment that encourages over eating and thus you may not mentally recognize it. If you consistently over ate before counting calories, your "full" might actually be an "over-full" feeling. Thus, when you do not feel this over full feeling, you misinterpret it as being hungry. It's a psychological problem, not a physiological one.
  • drivenbonkers
    drivenbonkers Posts: 33 Member
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    why do you think you need to feel full before you stop eating the meal?

  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    Opening your diary might help.

    How much protein and fat do you eat?

    My goal is %40 percent protein %35 percent carb and %25 percent fat. Classical cut percentiles did not work well with me.

    Opened my diary.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    I think you explained your problem clearly. I also think envy09's response is on point. Your perception of feeling full or satisfied is likely off. Your "feelings" are not necessarily automatically right for what your body needs. Satiety cues are "broken" for a lot of people.

    Are you losing weight eating in excess of 3500 calories per day? Assuming the answer to that is "no" then you are eating enough. (If the answer is "yes" and you are not obese, then talk to a medical professional about ruling out a medical issue, and probably cut back on any cardio you are doing). You may just need to train your body and mind to accept how you feel at that calorie level given the foods that you are eating.

    You may also find you are happier and more satisfied if you adjust your diet to include more fats and fiber at each meal. Eggs, oils, avocados, nuts and nut butter (the natural kind since that seems to matter to you) are good for the former. Avocado (again!), beans, fruit for the latter. Some people also respond well to adjustments to meal timing, because everyone is different. Some people feel more satisfied eating several small meals throughout the day, while others can go all day hardly eating at all and then eating the vast majority of daily calories at one big meal.
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    envy09 wrote: »
    It's not about what you're eating, it's about how you feel about how much you are eating. Even if you eat enough to be physically full, you have grown up in an environment that encourages over eating and thus you may not mentally recognize it. If you consistently over ate before counting calories, your "full" might actually be an "over-full" feeling. Thus, when you do not feel this over full feeling, you misinterpret it as being hungry. It's a psychological problem, not a physiological one.

    Might be, this is a nice point of view thanks!
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    why do you think you need to feel full before you stop eating the meal?

    I dont, I just don't want to crave food when I had 4000 calories.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    You have only logged today in the last week, so how do you know how much you're eating?
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    sympha01 wrote: »
    I think you explained your problem clearly. I also think envy09's response is on point. Your perception of feeling full or satisfied is likely off. Your "feelings" are not necessarily automatically right for what your body needs. Satiety cues are "broken" for a lot of people.

    Are you losing weight eating in excess of 3500 calories per day? Assuming the answer to that is "no" then you are eating enough. (If the answer is "yes" and you are not obese, then talk to a medical professional about ruling out a medical issue, and probably cut back on any cardio you are doing). You may just need to train your body and mind to accept how you feel at that calorie level given the foods that you are eating.

    You may also find you are happier and more satisfied if you adjust your diet to include more fats and fiber at each meal. Eggs, oils, avocados, nuts and nut butter (the natural kind since that seems to matter to you) are good for the former. Avocado (again!), beans, fruit for the latter. Some people also respond well to adjustments to meal timing, because everyone is different. Some people feel more satisfied eating several small meals throughout the day, while others can go all day hardly eating at all and then eating the vast majority of daily calories at one big meal.

    I am 77 kg. 1.72m with visceral rating 2 and %13 body fat. I was a student athlete had some problems last year and gained a lot of fat. As of today I lost 20 kg. I almost back to my old self. My goal is to maintain my weight while losing a bit more fat then bring it to 82 kg. with %9-10 percent body fat and visceral rating 1.

    Thank you for the suggestions btw.
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    You have only logged today in the last week, so how do you know how much you're eating?

    I started to use this program for my trainer to track it not myself. I have a meal plan and a huge bag to carry all my stuff everyday :)
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    edited April 2015
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    You don't necessarily have to be/feel full, as long as you know that you are eating enough calories to sustain yourself and your goals. It could very well be habitual/psychological. My hunger signals are influenced by several decades of bad habits, so I don't give them much credence. Many say that protein and fiber are good foods to eat to keep you satisfied for longer periods. It works for them. I personally don't concern myself with that. If I'm "hungry" and I don't have calories to spare on snacks, I just tell my stomach "Too bad, so sad. Deal with it."

    Edit: Also, black coffee.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
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    You should never eat to feeling full. You should stop when you are satisfied. Hunger is not always a need for food, but a mental response to what we ate. More fat and less carbs keeps you satisfied much longer.
  • Andreaviolet89
    Andreaviolet89 Posts: 290 Member
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    Personally keeping a log of what I eat and how I feel has helped. I have come to realize that certain foods just don't do it for me, even though they work for other people. For example, oatmeal for breakfast will not keep me as full as eggs or some other protein. As a snack, citrus fruits are good but they don't make me feel as satisfied as a banana or baby carrots might. Its different for everyone. I also agree with an above posted that you might be confusing feelings of being full with feelings of being stuffed. If you are taking in 3500 calories a day you should be satisfied, so evaluate what youre eating and you may want to check with your doctor that there isnt something else going on such as a thyroid condition or so on. Good luck :)
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,660 Member
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    There was a BBC documentary a while back about different types of over eaters. One type was called "Feasters" who struggled to stop eating once they start. These people produce too little of the gut hormones that signal fullness. Their recommendation for these people was a diet high in protein and with a low glycemic index. Their recommendation here:

    http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/rightdiet/feasters.pdf
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    You should never eat to feeling full. You should stop when you are satisfied. Hunger is not always a need for food, but a mental response to what we ate. More fat and less carbs keeps you satisfied much longer.

    By full I meant satisfaction, I guess I mislead everyone by my word of choice. I haven't eating to my full extent for years now.

    My mistake...
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    acpgee wrote: »
    There was a BBC documentary a while back about different types of over eaters. One type was called "Feasters" who struggled to stop eating once they start. These people produce too little of the gut hormones that signal fullness. Their recommendation for these people was a diet high in protein and with a low glycemic index. Their recommendation here:

    http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/rightdiet/feasters.pdf

    Thanks, I will check.
  • Exegi_Corpus
    Exegi_Corpus Posts: 84 Member
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    Personally keeping a log of what I eat and how I feel has helped. I have come to realize that certain foods just don't do it for me, even though they work for other people. For example, oatmeal for breakfast will not keep me as full as eggs or some other protein. As a snack, citrus fruits are good but they don't make me feel as satisfied as a banana or baby carrots might. Its different for everyone. I also agree with an above posted that you might be confusing feelings of being full with feelings of being stuffed. If you are taking in 3500 calories a day you should be satisfied, so evaluate what youre eating and you may want to check with your doctor that there isnt something else going on such as a thyroid condition or so on. Good luck :)

    I agree with the food decisions. I mostly try things out to see how my body responds to what...

    Thank you for your suggestions. I will definitely elaborate on them.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Maybe you need to plan some "junk food" into your plan. Possibly you just mentally need to enjoy something you are currently denying yourself. Often that desire to eat everything until you get that satisfaction feeling is as simple as needing a little chocolate in your life. It's not about your body needing more food, it is about your mind needing to feel good. Food issues see to be largely psychological.

    Personally I never really feel full since I have been eating less. But planing that piece of chocolate into the end of a meal does seem to give my brain that, "okay now my meal is complete" feeling.


    *I use chocolate only because that is the food that gives me personally that reward. It could really be anything that you get that sort of emotional food release from.