Pasta makes me very HUNGRY

katie_moreau
katie_moreau Posts: 12 Member
edited November 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I have found whenever I have some kind of pasta during my day my body makes me think I am starving. Is this all in my head or is it something to do with the way it's absorbed into the body? Does this happen to anyone else? I love pasta, but since I've been on MFP (since August), I measure how much I eat and I only eat it about once a month because I don't like feeling so hungry.
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Replies

  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    I'm usually left feeling full after pasta.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    It sounds like eating it less often, if at all, is the way to go for you.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    I feel full immediately after eating pasta but it never keeps me full for long. Half an hour later I could eat again.
  • SooozieA
    SooozieA Posts: 2 Member
    No it's not in your head, pasta gives you a quick increase in blood sugar levels which results in more insulin production and then your blood sugar drops, making you hungry again.

    White refined grains are also lacking in the fibre you would get in wholegrain pasta, which makes it less filling.
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  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    Regular pasta isn't worth the calories for me, especially when I am a volume eater and would not be satisfied eating 1 cup (3 cups, maybe). For the same calories of one cup of pasta, I can have about 3oz of chicken, two cups of broccoli, and about 1.5 cups of tofu shirataki noodles.

    The only way I eat regular pasta now is by only having 0.25-0.5 cups and bulking out the rest of my meal with nonstarchy veggies. My local grocery store carries tofu shirataki noodles which has been a good alternate for me. I get 1.5 cups of "pasta" for 20 calories and then can use the rest of my planned calories for meat/veggies/sauce.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    Yes, pasta for me needs to be enjoyed in small quantities with a good amount of protein. I get the Barilla protein plus pasta because I personally think 100% whole wheat pasta tastes like bad 1970's health food restaurant fare; I find the legume flour in the Barilla pairs better with traditional Italian sauces. I make a good homemade Bolognese, lots of protein there. Or I make my MIL's piedmontese meatballs. Again, protein! If I've made a sauce like puttanesca which is all veg I usually offer grilled sausage on the side. The other night I made a quick creamy tomato sauce with flaked poached salmon. Pasta is only worth it if I've got a terrific homemade sauce. Otherwise I skip it entirely!
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  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Yup. refined carbs in general leave me feeling hungry, and make it harder for me to meet my nutritional goals.
    I tend to not eat them much. Not worth it.

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I love pasta, but I don't have it everyday, maybe once or twice a week at most. I eat my pasta with meat, veggies, cheese, salad so it definitely fills me up.
    To me whole wheat pasta tastes like cardboard so it is not even worth wasting good sugo on.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Have you tried adding lots of meat and veggies to it?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I use whole wheat pasta (Ronzoni brand). I actually like it better now... and it actually keeps me full for a while, I just make sure to have protein and fat with it.
  • DKLI
    DKLI Posts: 63 Member
    My husband and I have been eating the bean pastas made by Explore Asian. Black bean is my favorite! It keeps you full, has no sodium and full of protein. Less calories than regular pasta. It looks like straw so when it's cooked it plumps up.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
    DKLI wrote: »
    My husband and I have been eating the bean pastas made by Explore Asian. Black bean is my favorite! It keeps you full, has no sodium and full of protein. Less calories than regular pasta. It looks like straw so when it's cooked it plumps up.

    This sounds interesting. I live in the Northeast, where would I find this?
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,213 Member
    Yep. One of the many reasons it's gone from my diet.
  • big_striker
    big_striker Posts: 15 Member
    Same with Oatmeal for me. Don't understand it all, especially as it's a recommended breakfast pretty much everywhere you read! I get way hungrier an hour or 2 later. It also makes me feel bloated if I increase the serving size.

    That's why when people ask me for advice I tell them to try many things as everyone is different.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited November 2015
    katie_moreau wrote: »
    I have found whenever I have some kind of pasta during my day my body makes me think I am starving. Is this all in my head or is it something to do with the way it's absorbed into the body? Does this happen to anyone else? I love pasta, but since I've been on MFP (since August), I measure how much I eat and I only eat it about once a month because I don't like feeling so hungry.

    Food is food, and pasta is just a food.

    It's probably because you are eating less pasta than you used to. Just give yourself time to get used to eating less overall food and I'll bet your hunger signals will even out.

    Pasta always fills me up, but I'm not a big eater of it either.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited November 2015
    Double post.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    I don't. What kind of pasta dishes are you eating? I add a ton of vegetables to mine. I don't have any issues with hunger afterwards any more than a regular food.
  • pegastarlight
    pegastarlight Posts: 26 Member
    Nah, I get the same way with pasta as well. I use zucchini for the noodles now. I'm never as hungry hours later after cutting regular noodles out. Even if I am hungry, I saved quite a bit on calories as well and can afford a snack, like handful of almonds, in my daily needs.
    big_striker wrote: »
    Same with Oatmeal for me. Don't understand it all, especially as it's a recommended breakfast pretty much everywhere you read! I get way hungrier an hour or 2 later. It also makes me feel bloated if I increase the serving size.

    That's why when people ask me for advice I tell them to try many things as everyone is different.

    I'll usually have a hard boiled egg (78 calories) with my oatmeal. The fats and protein content of it can help a lot with making you feel more satiated.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    krithsai wrote: »
    DKLI wrote: »
    My husband and I have been eating the bean pastas made by Explore Asian. Black bean is my favorite! It keeps you full, has no sodium and full of protein. Less calories than regular pasta. It looks like straw so when it's cooked it plumps up.

    This sounds interesting. I live in the Northeast, where would I find this?

    Bean noodles can usually be found in any Asian grocery. You can also buy them online.

    I also like rice noodles, such as what is used in Pho, and Pad Thai.
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
    I ate pasta the last couple nights. I ate 4 oz (dry), which is double what a "serving" is, but I also ate it with a 1/2 pound of shrimp (it was an Asian dish that uses fettuccini noodles). Kept me full, and the meal was 588 cals. The pasta I used was of the white refined flour variety.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    If I were to eat just plain pasta with sauce, I'd be starving afterwards too. Add some cheese or chicken or shrimp or something to eat to get some fat and protein in there and it should make you feel fuller.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    How are you eating the pasta? I usually add lots of protein and vegetables to mine and it keeps me full. If I ate just pasta and sauce . . . yeah, I would probably be hungry.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I cannot stand the cravings after I have white bread or pasta. And they'll go on all day, whether I eat more of it or not! Doesn't matter. Until I sleep, I'll be craving more.

    I just replaced them with whole wheat options. That did the trick for me.

    Sometimes I make my own pasta and that is VERY good (unless it's new and not good, lol) and sometimes I eat the Mueller's whole wheat pasta. The Mueller's is the only store-bought one I could stand.

    Breads, I make myself. The only store-bought whole wheat ones I could stand were the Arnold sandwich circle deals and the home-made is much better there, too.

    White pasta just had to go. The cravings were too distracting and annoying.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I used to be that way if my sauce didn't have much protein in it. But now I eat high fiber pasta which is very satiating even if the sauce is low protein.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    big_striker wrote: »
    Same with Oatmeal for me. Don't understand it all, especially as it's a recommended breakfast pretty much everywhere you read! I get way hungrier an hour or 2 later. It also makes me feel bloated if I increase the serving size.

    That's why when people ask me for advice I tell them to try many things as everyone is different.

    Oatmeal makes me sick now. Bloated and like I have a weight in my stomach, will get nauseous if I exercise afterwards... I'm going to have to try a smaller serving from now on, but it doesn't really fill me up either. It's weird.

    I've tried bean noodles and they ended up in the trash, lol.
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
    edited November 2015
    sunparakeet wrote: »
    DisneyDude85 wrote: »
    I ate pasta the last couple nights. I ate 4 oz (dry), which is double what a "serving" is, but I also ate it with a 1/2 pound of shrimp (it was an Asian dish that uses fettuccini noodles). Kept me full, and the meal was 588 cals. The pasta I used was of the white refined flour variety.

    Huh? 4 oz of regular pasta is ~400 calories and 8 oz of shrimp is ~ 225 calories. That's 625 calories with absolutely no sauce or butter or anything, just boiled shrimp with plain boiled noodles.

    400 cals for pasta, 160 cals for shrimp ("shrimp, raw" verified food with 7 confirmations, after researching same info online), sauce is 1 tbsp soy sauce, .5 tbsp chili garlic sauce, squeeze of lime juice, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, 4 g brown sugar (I measured a large pinch haha). Shrimp was cooked in an OrGreenic pan that requires no oil/butter. :)

    ETA: just double checked my recipe in the recipe builder, and it had the wrong weight of shrimp (6.8, weird) Even updating it to 8 oz, I was still at 617 cals for the dish. Not bad in my book :)
  • BingerNoMore
    BingerNoMore Posts: 68 Member
    Being half Italian I know this all too well! I recommend wholewheat pasta :smile:
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    I don't have that issue with pasta *shrug*

    Then again, I use pasta as a side and not as my main. I always serve is with some sort of protein and a lot of vegetables.
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