Hungry after every meal...

sarhrgn
sarhrgn Posts: 11 Member
edited November 19 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
A couple years ago I started dieting and lost 25lbs within about 7 months of a low calorie diet. I had a target weight of 105lbs which I became obsessed with, but I plateaued at 112.

I've given up on the obsession, it was controlling all my thoughts and destroying the joy of life to be hungry all the time. I decided to just start eating intuitively and I gained 10lbs in just over a months time, which of course is very scary to see the scale just tipping upwards.

So now I am just trying to monitor my intake in order to maintain my weight, but I am still cursed with feeling hunger pangs all the time, particularly after I eat.

I eat a very healthy diet because I love sprouted grain tortillas, ginger veggie stir frys, and lentil soup more than you like a german chocolate cake. I rarely to never eat any processed carbohydrates or added sugars. I also work out everyday: rock climbing 2 days on, one day off, 3x/week HIIT, and 2x a week each of the following: core strength training, surfing, hiking, yoga. I usually choose two of these activities to do everyday. I do this because I am passionate about fitness, not to work off the calories I have eaten.

But I am never satiated. And by never satiated, I mean that the gnawing pang from your stomach saying FEED ME usually gets worse AFTER I eat than it does before. It actually discourages me from eating even though I know I need to. Right now I am eating a 400cal breakfast, 2-300 cal snack, 400cal lunch, another 200cal snack, another 5-600 for dinner and maybe another snack... shooting for 1900-2100cals a day. On that I feel like I'm starving the whole time.

What can I do to have some peace!?




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Replies

  • bethany_rose8
    bethany_rose8 Posts: 102 Member
    What they both said. I start my day off with a high fat breakfast of bulletproof coffee flavoured with caramel macchiato BCAAS and some fresh fruit. You could alternatively have bacon and eggs with veggies, this suppresses my appetite most of the day and I don't usually end up eating lunch (just a Soy coffee) until about 2-3pm. Then it's easy to eat whatever dinner and dessert I please and I usually feel satiated. Also ensure you're eating your exercise calories back. I also give myself leeway to be under 100 calories over. But if I'm honest sometimes I'm over more then that. I've had multiple eating disorders so I aim to be realistic, some weeks and days we burn more calories than others. Lowering stress also ensures my appetite is stable. Having a lay down may help if you feel this way.
  • cosmonew
    cosmonew Posts: 513 Member
    High volume foods like veggies will help you feel like you are eating more. Drink water before your meal and with your meal. Do you think it is really your stomach or your mind that is unsatisfied?
  • melaniedscott
    melaniedscott Posts: 1,459 Member
    Are you sure it is hungry? I get like that sometimes...my stomach hurts and eating doesn't help. I feel hungry all the time and eating actually makes it worse, it sucks. I went to the doctor. Turns out high stress (which I have at work frequently...there is one of me and five thousand of them...) and the combination of asthma and the medications I take for it are big contributors to acid reflux. I take prilosec, reduce caffeine/coffee/spicy food/fried food/alcohol/anything tasty for a couple weeks or six and it gets better. You might talk to your doctor.
  • aeshippers
    aeshippers Posts: 416 Member
    I also used to get the hunger all the time, turned out that I'm dairy intolerant and it was actually my stomach complaining even though it felt like hunger. Giving up dairy has solved that problem for me.
  • sak20011
    sak20011 Posts: 94 Member
    First, are you getting enough fat/protein? These are important for feeling satiated as is making sure that you have enough water with meals (dehydration can mimic hunger). Esp if you are on a higher carb diet without enough fat or protein to slow down digestion this can spike your blood sugar after meals.

    Secondly how is your digestion? Do you take a probiotic? Could be rough digesting all those complex carbs at every meal--the fact that you feel "hungry" after you eat suggests there's a digestive issue at work. Experiment: what happens if you have a meal of a cheese omelet with avocado toast (or similar). do you feel more satisfied? see if its particular foods or high volume raw foods that are causing the feeling.

    Last, I moved away from constant small meals throughout the day to 2 meals, with one snack. I feel far more satisfied (otoh, I eat 12-1400 calories and am nowhere near as active as you so I need to make it count and I'd prefer 'real' meals). Still, there's some suggestion that constantly eating may keep you hungry--that longer stretches w/o food and then more calories in a smaller window can help with insulin and feeling full.

    also I read somewhere that drinking a cup of black tea after meals lowers blood sugar.
    bunch of other reasons here, including ulcer, diabetes, tapeworm (!!!), etc.

    http://www.newhealthadvisor.com/Feeling-Hungry-After-Eating.html

  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Maybe allow yourself to get really hungry (like fast for a day) to see if that's really what you're feeling. Perhaps you've developed an intolerance to gluten, or dairy -- or whatever and what you're feeling is something completely different. Gas, bloating, inflammation, etc. might be a good time to visit your doctor.
  • Cantave
    Cantave Posts: 1 Member
    Luna3386 and Sak20011 bring up a good point about the macro breakdown of your meals.

    Asking yourself, "Am I getting enough Carb, Protein, and Fat everytime I eat?", may help you in ruling out the source of this hunger and weight instability.

    If available to you, consider consulting a Sports Dietitian or reading Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook (available on Amazon for less than $20 USD).

    Best of luck with your journey! Your willingness to ask questions will work in your favor.
  • sarhrgn
    sarhrgn Posts: 11 Member
    Luna3386 wrote: »
    Are you getting enough protein and fat in your meals? The fat gets you full, the protein keeps you full. If I just eat mostly carbs I would be starving. Are you vegetarian?

    I eat seafood and eggs, but no meat or dairy. I aim to get 20g of protein per meal.
  • sarhrgn
    sarhrgn Posts: 11 Member
    aeshippers wrote: »
    I also used to get the hunger all the time, turned out that I'm dairy intolerant and it was actually my stomach complaining even though it felt like hunger. Giving up dairy has solved that problem for me.

    I dont eat dairy or meat anyway, so it can't be that. I tried GF for 4 months with no luck.
  • sarhrgn
    sarhrgn Posts: 11 Member
    I think you may be onto something with all the raw foods causing indigestion.... but what should I eat then that will be healthy, fulling, but not processed and refined?
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    sarhrgn wrote: »
    I think you may be onto something with all the raw foods causing indigestion.... but what should I eat then that will be healthy, fulling, but not processed and refined?

    Cooked food? I used to have issues with digestion eating too many raw vegetables. (it had nothing to do with the feeling of hunger though).... Now I make sure to properly cook broccoli, Cauliflower, cabbage before I eat them and limit them somewhat in favour of other things that don't cause digestion problems
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I really like @RAD_Fitness idea. I think the rumblings you are experiencing is not hunger but something else. Try reintroducing a few refined carbs to see if it helps with satiety.

    Like how about a whole wheat wrap, mashed potatoes with butter, or an energy bar?

    I think you will have to break out and try a bunch of things to figure this out.
  • Niki_Fitz
    Niki_Fitz Posts: 951 Member
    @sarhrgn - Thanks for asking this question.

    I sometimes have this feeling as well and thinking it through, it may correlate with my eating a lot of bulky raw foods too. Which I love and consider healthy... I just didn't realize that indigestion could cause a hungry feeling.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    edited June 2017
    Lots of nonstarchy cooked veggies and clear broth to fill the hole.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
    Stomach pain after you've eaten could indicate gastritis, ulcer, things of that nature. If you eat a lot of raw veggies it could cause irritation to lining , especially if there is some damage. I would suggest to get it checked out with gastroenterologist. I myself eat lots of raw veggies, but it doesn't cause any pain. On the other hand, with ulcer that what you would experience. See the doctor to make sure you don't have a medical reasons for your pain.
  • Zinka61
    Zinka61 Posts: 563 Member
    I second seeing a doctor. I had an ulcer as a teenager and felt like i needed to keep eating and eating, gained a lot of weight before it was diagnosed.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Eating carbs - even healthy ones - makes me hungry. Always see a doctor if you are doing the right things and getting unexpected results.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited June 2017
    I could have written this post myself. I've had unrelenting hunger for the last couple weeks, like I'm hungry immediately after meals... and I'm not very low calorie at all.

    Today is my first day experimenting with lower carbs and fats up around 100g. I figure it's one of three things
    low leptin
    leptin resistance
    low serotonin

    Each of those scenarios has a different fix so I'm experimenting with high carb refeeds, low carb high fat, and partitioning meals so I eat my carbs and protein seperate from each other for optimal tryptophan uptake... or I'm just a hungry pig and I dont' know what's up lol
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    sarhrgn wrote: »
    I think you may be onto something with all the raw foods causing indigestion.... but what should I eat then that will be healthy, fulling, but not processed and refined?

    IDK...cook the food?
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    RAD_Fitness wrote: »
    It's sounds like your hormones could be altered due to being in a deficit for too long and aggressively losing below where your body is comfortable. I have clients that come to me with the same type of thing that after their competition prep and it's after the show and their bodies are wayyy out of wack for being in such an aggressive deficit at a low bf %.

    I would recommend eating until you feel satisfied. Track your calories but do not set a limit to how much you can eat, and just track it. If you're working out that much, you need to be eating more than 1800-2000 calories, ESPECIALLY if you're always hungry!

    I'd say, track your calories, and get an idea of how many calories makes you satisfied. If you eat, and in the middle of an 800 calorie meal, you feel content and like you don't need to eat more, then stop, and just relax. If in 30 minutes you get hungry again, finish the meal or make something else, just don't force yourself to eat, or deprive yourself when you feel that real hunger feeling.

    I think this comment is very insightful. OP, out of curiosity, how tall are you? If you are shorter, this burn may be on track; if you are taller, then this will help provide some other clues.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I agree... How tall are you and how much are you eating and how active are you?
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
    10 lbs in just over a months time is a bulk. My bet is that when you got down to 112 you were dehydrated and had low glycogen and we never REALLY 112 lbs. You started to maintain, gained water and glycogen and poof, you gained 5 lbs, now you're measuring high. and you're actual weight is closer to 117 lbs.

    I don't think you're doing anything wrong except all that exercise needs plenty of carbs. I'd stay the course, maybe slack off on some cardio and drop your calories 100 at a time if you really want to get down a few lbs.

    More protein will definitely help. I'm not a fan of lots of fat, but some people say that helps too. Plant protein is more satiating than animal protein anyway so you're in luck. Edamame is my go to superfood for high protein/fibre fill-me-upness. Find it in the frozen isle.

    Counter intuitive, but try intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast, many people (including me) have found that it enables you to feel less hungry, believe it or not and it also allows you to eat bigger meals when you do eat.

    I don't think you have cause to worry you're gaining weight.
  • LVNF04
    LVNF04 Posts: 2,607 Member
    112? Hungry after every meal? Then eat!
    Just pay attention to what you're eating. I'm not a dietitian, I have a physical job, lifting various weights randomly all day, I eat breakfast and dinner, take in a protein shake as soon as I wake up and before I go to bed, I'm getting leaner, and lost weight. It doesn't matter to me if I eat a entire bag of cookies or 6 pieces of chicken I'm still getting lean and muscular than I've ever been in my life because I repeatedly lift 60-80lbs sometimes more all day.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    I have much the same problem. I working with 1600 calories a day but trying to lose. You could just be one of those people that needs large meals. The *only* meal that I don't feel obsessively hungry after is breakfast. I don't think I eat anything special but it's just a time of day that I'm not overly hungry. After 11AM all bets are off. I am fairly hungry after lunch but I find some popcorn at the end of the meal helps. As I get closer to dinner a cup of hot tea with milk takes the edge off. After dinner I am ravenous. So much so I can't concentrate.

    One thing that has helped is to do away with some of the between meal snacks so I can have a larger lunch and dinner. Your snacks, IMO, are pretty hefty. I would scale them down and have a bigger dinner. You just may be one of those people that works better with volume and your stomach needs to feel full to quell the hunger cues in the brain.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    @sarhrgn you are asking good questions and getting good replies. It may take a while and a lot of reading to understand the cause(s) of your cravings but in time you will figure that out I am sure. It was not until I was 63 that I knew to look for a new way to eat that stopped me from being hungry when trying to lose weight and reverse major health problems that came from eating wrong for my body for 40 years.

    Best of continued success.
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    Could be 'what' you eat and not 'how much' ... as in my own experience, some foods bring on a surge of hunger very soon after a meal and others do not. Also, as some others have stressed, you might need to see your physician about it to rule out any physical reason for the hunger pains you experience as they may not be hunger pains at all.
  • amandaanneryan
    amandaanneryan Posts: 8 Member
    I believe I experienced something similar! I have been maintaining my weight for 1 year now after losing 48 pounds. I tracked macros and it basically became my life. A few months ago, I was ALWAYS hungry no matter what I ate (my diet remained the same). I would have this deep emptiness in my stomach that would travel up to my throat. It seemed the only way to stop the sensation was to eat but it would return soon after (a viscous cycle). I thought it was my body's reaction to stress and telling me to take a break. I stopped tracking macros and just ate. I gained around 5 pounds. It did subside but the feeling would happen time to time. I never went to the doctor but I believe it was acid reflux. I cut out Frank's hot sauce, spicy foods, and seltzer. I no longer have the gnawing feeling in my stomach. I went back to my usual workout routine and tracking macros. I am not sure if it was a combo of stress and reflux but mentally I am at peace now. Good luck!
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