Staying Full?
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Jeyradan
Posts: 164 Member
Not a question on my own behalf, but on my partner's (as I do all the cooking in our household). He's currently on 1500 calories a day (and is temporarily banned from exercise, meaning that he can't increase that number). It's easy to get adequate nutrition in under those limits, and even include small treats - his diary isn't public, but we do things like:
Breakfast - cold cereal and milk/porridge/eggs, with fresh fruit or a fruit smoothie
Lunch - macaroni and cheese, sausage sandwiches, lasagne portion*
Snacks - apples, celery (with or without peanut butter), oven bottom muffins, scones, cereal bars
Dinner - turkey aubergine casserole, butternut squash bean bake, sausages with potatoes and vegetables
Drinks and treats - light hot chocolate, soda water with fruit squash, musk sticks
* Normally, we'd have a bit more variety, and more emphasis on vegetables**, but we're using up the last of previous batch-cooking sessions.
** He also doesn't want to eat large amounts of cooked vegetables, especially at lunch, although he'll happily snack on fresh raw vegetables.
The problem is, he's feeling hungry in the mornings between breakfast and lunch, and in the afternoons between lunch and dinner. He seems to fill up better with proteins and fats (like eggs and meat) than with carbohydrates and sugars (including things like fresh fruit), but he prefers baked goods and things that taste sweet - so it's almost like it's a choice between food he enjoys eating and food that satisfies him. He also says he doesn't stay full with "liquid" foods like soups and smoothies.
Any suggestions for how to prepare filling foods given his preferences and limits? It sucks for him to feel hungry and unhappy while dieting (because that's not sustainable), but he can't earn any extra calories through exercise (which he also doesn't love) the way he normally would.
Breakfast - cold cereal and milk/porridge/eggs, with fresh fruit or a fruit smoothie
Lunch - macaroni and cheese, sausage sandwiches, lasagne portion*
Snacks - apples, celery (with or without peanut butter), oven bottom muffins, scones, cereal bars
Dinner - turkey aubergine casserole, butternut squash bean bake, sausages with potatoes and vegetables
Drinks and treats - light hot chocolate, soda water with fruit squash, musk sticks
* Normally, we'd have a bit more variety, and more emphasis on vegetables**, but we're using up the last of previous batch-cooking sessions.
** He also doesn't want to eat large amounts of cooked vegetables, especially at lunch, although he'll happily snack on fresh raw vegetables.
The problem is, he's feeling hungry in the mornings between breakfast and lunch, and in the afternoons between lunch and dinner. He seems to fill up better with proteins and fats (like eggs and meat) than with carbohydrates and sugars (including things like fresh fruit), but he prefers baked goods and things that taste sweet - so it's almost like it's a choice between food he enjoys eating and food that satisfies him. He also says he doesn't stay full with "liquid" foods like soups and smoothies.
Any suggestions for how to prepare filling foods given his preferences and limits? It sucks for him to feel hungry and unhappy while dieting (because that's not sustainable), but he can't earn any extra calories through exercise (which he also doesn't love) the way he normally would.
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Replies
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I find a large salad does it for me - organic spring mix, red onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, craisins, trail mix, cashews, olive oil and fresh lemon.
I eat this at anytime between 3 and 6 p.m. and I am still full the next morning. Sometimes I may add a tin of sardines in olive oil.
Breakfast may be pancakes made with chickpea flour with a banana, or some cereal depending on how I feel. I am trying to limit my cereal intake to once a week.1 -
Swap some carbs for lean protein.
Foods that make me hungrier or don't fill me up: Cereal, fruit smoothies, most sandwiches, apples, cereal bars.
Foods that fill me up: peanut butter, eggs, chicken thighs, steak, chicken breasts, almonds.2 -
What are his height and weight and how many pounds per week did he enter that he wanted to lose? Right now his calorie goal is the lowest possible for a man who is using the MFP generated goal. It is possible that he could raise his calorie goal, which would give him more calories to use. An extra 250 calories per day could help a lot with hunger.1
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Is he me? Lol. We all like sweets and cakes. But we can't eat that in unlimited amounts. We have to find new favorites that make it possible to stay on budget. Try to increase the amount of fat and raw vegetables, and give him a wide variety of raw vegetables combined with a wide variety of fatty and protein foods - while sticking to appropriate calories, of course. Don't forget to add sufficient salt and spices. Also see if eating larger meals and cutting out snacks can help.1
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I find a large salad does it for me - organic spring mix, red onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, craisins, trail mix, cashews, olive oil and fresh lemon.
I eat this at anytime between 3 and 6 p.m. and I am still full the next morning. Sometimes I may add a tin of sardines in olive oil.
Breakfast may be pancakes made with chickpea flour with a banana, or some cereal depending on how I feel. I am trying to limit my cereal intake to once a week.
We usually fit half a banana into breakfast one way or another (into a smoothie, mashed into porridge, sliced on cereal), but we could definitely get more protein into the non-savoury ones by adding things like chickpea flour! I tend to forget that there are protein supplementing options other than the hideously expensive specialty powders...
I think I'll try packing him a "snack salad" to eat in the afternoons along with his lunch, since he eats all of his included snacks in the morning because he's hungry. Thank you!0 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Swap some carbs for lean protein.
Foods that make me hungrier or don't fill me up: Cereal, fruit smoothies, most sandwiches, apples, cereal bars.
Foods that fill me up: peanut butter, eggs, chicken thighs, steak, chicken breasts, almonds.
Agreed! He's the same way, but unfortunately his "foods that I like" list overlaps perfectly with the "foods that don't fill me up" list. We've got to find some way of balancing them out - because enjoying what he eats and feeling constantly hungry is unsustainable as a lifestyle, but so is feeling full and hating everything he eats.
I'll try to find ways of working in more lean proteins - because although I'd love to add stuff like peanut butter and almonds, it's hard to stretch calorie limits when he can't do any exercise.0 -
Where is the protein?? I see a lot of carbs, which don't ever keep me full...and cereal is just not worth the calories...
breakfast - eggs, with some sort of leftover meat or a protein shake
Lunch - Chicken, more chicken and lots of veggies
Snacks - beef jerky, boiled eggs, nuts
Dinner - meat and vegetables, add a potato or half a cup of rice...1 -
What are his height and weight and how many pounds per week did he enter that he wanted to lose? Right now his calorie goal is the lowest possible for a man who is using the MFP generated goal. It is possible that he could raise his calorie goal, which would give him more calories to use. An extra 250 calories per day could help a lot with hunger.
He's about 5'7", 165 lbs. I think he selected "1 lb/week" in the setup wizard, but I'm not sure. Weirdly, back when he had a lot more to lose, he selected "2 lb/week" and it suggested a 1200-calorie limit for him. He tried that, found it totally unsustainable because he couldn't get full, and we bumped it higher ourselves.
We've spoken to a doctor about this (albeit briefly, and a GP rather than a specialist) who approved the 1500 limit as safe and sustainable, given that he still has some weight to lose. They also suggested the possibility of eating more and exercising more to compensate - but it'll be a few weeks before he can do that, due to a mild injury, so we're trying to find solutions in the meantime!0 -
I eat eggs for breakfast with fruit and Greek yogurt. It keeps me full and satisfies my sweet tooth. I don't need a snack in the morning. I would try to make sure he has plenty of protein and fats to keep him full plus something sweet or carby to make him feel satisfied. I like cereal, but I have to have eggs with it for breakfast or I will be hungry before lunch.1
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StealthHealth wrote: »Swap some carbs for lean protein.
Foods that make me hungrier or don't fill me up: Cereal, fruit smoothies, most sandwiches, apples, cereal bars.
Foods that fill me up: peanut butter, eggs, chicken thighs, steak, chicken breasts, almonds.
Agreed! He's the same way, but unfortunately his "foods that I like" list overlaps perfectly with the "foods that don't fill me up" list. We've got to find some way of balancing them out - because enjoying what he eats and feeling constantly hungry is unsustainable as a lifestyle, but so is feeling full and hating everything he eats.
I'll try to find ways of working in more lean proteins - because although I'd love to add stuff like peanut butter and almonds, it's hard to stretch calorie limits when he can't do any exercise.
He needs to decide whether the misery of feeling hungry for a lot of time is worth the joy of eating a pastry or some other such "treat" or whether he would rather feel fuller for most of the time but forgo those types of foods (except as an occasional indulgence).1 -
I take this drink called plexus slim, before I eat. It's not a supplement, just a drink to help you feel full. It helps balance your sugar levels if you're diabetic and makes you crave less food. very powerful stuff. If not that then I also agree with one of the people who posted earlier about salads. Although if you load them up with too much stuff they can be worse than eating a burger. If he's tired of lettuce, maybe try kale or spinach salads. Kale is the best, I'm tellin ya already .1
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Protein and Fat. He'll need to reduce his carbs if he wants to stay full.
I don't me go low carb, but maybe swap out the mac & cheese with almonds or Greek Yogurt?
I know if I have any carbs early in the day I'm hungry all day...1 -
Where is the protein?? I see a lot of carbs, which don't ever keep me full...and cereal is just not worth the calories...
breakfast - eggs, with some sort of leftover meat or a protein shake
Lunch - Chicken, more chicken and lots of veggies
Snacks - beef jerky, boiled eggs, nuts
Dinner - meat and vegetables, add a potato or half a cup of rice...
You're right that he could certainly be eating more protein. He gets most of his from eggs and Greek yoghurt at breakfast (although we sometimes have breakfasts that include meat, like lean chicken sausage or turkey bacon or sliced ham) and meat or fish at dinner (usually lean chicken or turkey breasts, this week a lot of lean chicken and pork sausages, but sometimes other things). His breakfast cereals usually have some form of nut or protein in them, and he sometimes has peanut butter or cheese as part of lunch or snack, but those don't add much. He has at least a quarter-litre of milk a day, which should add something, and we use a special high-protein cheese.
When he is able to exercise, we also make sure to have some protein after exercise (Greek yoghurt pots, protein gel shots, protein milks, boiled eggs...) - but he isn't doing that at the moment, of course.
I'll try to emphasize more protein in the mornings; he prefers sweet breakfasts to savoury, but may have to make that change in order to stay full. He won't eat beef jerky, but I can certainly give him hardboiled eggs as snacks and maybe some lean chicken "nuggets." Thanks for the ideas!0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Is he me? Lol. We all like sweets and cakes. But we can't eat that in unlimited amounts. We have to find new favorites that make it possible to stay on budget. Try to increase the amount of fat and raw vegetables, and give him a wide variety of raw vegetables combined with a wide variety of fatty and protein foods - while sticking to appropriate calories, of course. Don't forget to add sufficient salt and spices. Also see if eating larger meals and cutting out snacks can help.
Thanks! I'm going to try to do that - several people in this thread have suggested ways of increasing protein, and some of them (like more eggs) will add fat as well. I could also try adding avocado for more healthy fat, as I know he likes that. Hopefully, those things combined with added fibre and volume from raw vegetables will help!0 -
kristen6350 wrote: »Protein and Fat. He'll need to reduce his carbs if he wants to stay full.
I don't me go low carb, but maybe swap out the mac & cheese with almonds or Greek Yogurt?
I know if I have any carbs early in the day I'm hungry all day...
Agreed - he definitely seems to stay fuller when he has eggs or lean meat for breakfast; it's just a matter of not liking them as much as he likes sweeter breakfasts. I think I'll see if he's interested in doing a trial week of savoury breakfasts, more raw vegetables for volume and fibre, and higher-protein snacks (without completely giving up on the sweet things he enjoys) and seeing if he feels better that way.
I should add that he isn't eating "junk" sweets like candy; it's things like fresh fruit, dried fruit, wholemeal baking with raisins or cinnamon, and so on. He just really seems to gravitate toward carbs and sweet flavours!0 -
I eat eggs for breakfast with fruit and Greek yogurt. It keeps me full and satisfies my sweet tooth. I don't need a snack in the morning. I would try to make sure he has plenty of protein and fats to keep him full plus something sweet or carby to make him feel satisfied. I like cereal, but I have to have eggs with it for breakfast or I will be hungry before lunch.
Thanks! We used to make overnight oats with Greek yoghurt, but haven't done that lately. Something like that, or even just a fruit and yoghurt parfait minus oats, would probably provide sweetness without sacrificing goodness, and we could add eggs for protein, fat and fullness without blowing his calorie limits. Great suggestion - I'll try that next week!0 -
StealthHealth wrote: »He needs to decide whether the misery of feeling hungry for a lot of time is worth the joy of eating a pastry or some other such "treat" or whether he would rather feel fuller for most of the time but forgo those types of foods (except as an occasional indulgence).
True! I think I'll ask if he'll "trial" fewer of the bread-type items and fruits, along with more of the proteins and vegetables, and see how a week of that goes. I want him to enjoy what he's eating so that he can keep doing it indefinitely, but you're absolutely right that there's got to be a balance.0 -
I take this drink called plexus slim, before I eat. It's not a supplement, just a drink to help you feel full. It helps balance your sugar levels if you're diabetic and makes you crave less food. very powerful stuff. If not that then I also agree with one of the people who posted earlier about salads. Although if you load them up with too much stuff they can be worse than eating a burger. If he's tired of lettuce, maybe try kale or spinach salads. Kale is the best, I'm tellin ya already .
I've never heard of Plexus Slim, but I'll look into it! And we'll definitely give salads a go. We actually eat them fairly regularly (usually with sliced ham or chicken, tinned tuna, or boiled eggs for protein) for lunch or dinner - but an afternoon snack salad might do the trick.0
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