Gnawing, shakey, empty feeling
claritea1
Posts: 23 Member
I have started and stopped this journey so many times. I have 50 lbs to lose and it’s more important than ever that I succeed.
Every time I start out I remember why I fail. When I eat healthier, move more, and restrict calories (not by too much, my TDEE-20% is 1700 cal) I invariably get a queasy, shakey, empty feeling in my gut after three or four days. My body BEGS for unlimited carbs, sugar, fried comfort foods. Even if I allow myself a moderate amount of “treats”, I get this horrible starving feeling. I feel like I have low blood sugar, hangry. Even though I am eating lots of food, including lots of protein, full fats, some carbs and lots of fruit and vegetables. My meals are huge, taking up an entire dinner-sized plate (foods are meticulously weighed and logged, included photographed for my IG food diary). I feel good and satisfied, for like an hour, then I feel ravenous again. I feel like eating a whole pizza, or an extra-large fast food meal.
It stinks! It always makes me give up. I just want to feel better and not be so obsessed with the next meal time.
Anyone know what I’m talking about? If I “push through” will my body ever feel back to normal?
Every time I start out I remember why I fail. When I eat healthier, move more, and restrict calories (not by too much, my TDEE-20% is 1700 cal) I invariably get a queasy, shakey, empty feeling in my gut after three or four days. My body BEGS for unlimited carbs, sugar, fried comfort foods. Even if I allow myself a moderate amount of “treats”, I get this horrible starving feeling. I feel like I have low blood sugar, hangry. Even though I am eating lots of food, including lots of protein, full fats, some carbs and lots of fruit and vegetables. My meals are huge, taking up an entire dinner-sized plate (foods are meticulously weighed and logged, included photographed for my IG food diary). I feel good and satisfied, for like an hour, then I feel ravenous again. I feel like eating a whole pizza, or an extra-large fast food meal.
It stinks! It always makes me give up. I just want to feel better and not be so obsessed with the next meal time.
Anyone know what I’m talking about? If I “push through” will my body ever feel back to normal?
5
Replies
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Start with a 10% calorie reduction7
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Yes I have the same exact feeling and I always give up after a few days. This time I can’t because I’m getting older and my cholesterol and blood pressure is high, I have no choice but to stick with it even though it sucks2
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TavistockToad wrote: »Start with a 10% calorie reduction
That’s about what I’m doing only because I keep adding food in the attempt to get the feeling to go away. The past couple days I have been 100+ cal over goal.
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How long have you stuck it out before giving up? For me, I noticed that after several weeks (4?), my body adjusted to both the calorie reduction and absence of sweets, but those first couple of weeks were tough!
I also noticed you are eating "lots of fruits and vegetables". Everyone is different, but for me personally, I can eat a salad or bowl of fruit and feel like I am starving 30 minutes later. I find that things like chicken breasts, extra lean beef, and yes, carbs, will make me feel "full" longer than fruits and vegetables. I still try to mix in a little fruit and vegetables so as to have a balanced diet, but I have since learned that the salad and fruit diet just doesn't work for me. YMMV.7 -
maria00200 wrote: »Yes I have the same exact feeling and I always give up after a few days. This time I can’t because I’m getting older and my cholesterol and blood pressure is high, I have no choice but to stick with it even though it sucks
I commiserate! How long have you been back on it this time? Does it seem to abate over time?
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Also, you're more than welcome to peek at my diary if you're looking for suggestions. In the end, it's about finding which foods make you feel full, given the limited calories you are allotting yourself each day.1
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TavistockToad wrote: »Start with a 10% calorie reduction
That’s about what I’m doing only because I keep adding food in the attempt to get the feeling to go away. The past couple days I have been 100+ cal over goal.
Have you looked at your macros?0 -
It doesn't sound right. Your body should easily manage a relatively small deficit like that. Do you have a diagnosed blood sugar issue - prediabetes or similar? If you've excluded any medical reasons, it could be useful to check out the hunger scale - google it. It helped me with calibrating hunger and satiety signals, figure out what's hunger and what's cravings, get an understanding of what's normal for me, and knowing about it and realizing it's normal, made the feedback from my body less scary.7
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Also, the hunger pangs do tend to subside a little if you ride it out. Next time you feel like cheating, maybe ride it out an hour and see if you still feel the need to eat.0
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TavistockToad wrote: »Start with a 10% calorie reduction
That’s about what I’m doing only because I keep adding food in the attempt to get the feeling to go away. The past couple days I have been 100+ cal over goal.
You say your goal, 1700, is your TDEE - 20%, hence your TDEE is 2125. If you're eating 100 cal over goal, that's 1800, so you're still at a 325 cal deficit (more than half a pound a week. Maybe you just need to settle for a slower weight loss.
Also, don't get hung up on eating "healthy" foods. Can you do one or two slices of pizza plus a big pile of veggies? Or, if the bulk of the veggies doesn't help you at all with satiety, just have the two slices of pizza.8 -
Protein and Fiber are your best friends for weight loss IMHO. I am not going to say my weight loss was healthy at all. For a guy like me that works in medicine, I knew nothing about nutrition!4
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I have started and stopped this journey so many times. I have 50 lbs to lose and it’s more important than ever that I succeed.
Every time I start out I remember why I fail. When I eat healthier, move more, and restrict calories (not by too much, my TDEE-20% is 1700 cal) I invariably get a queasy, shakey, empty feeling in my gut after three or four days. My body BEGS for unlimited carbs, sugar, fried comfort foods. Even if I allow myself a moderate amount of “treats”, I get this horrible starving feeling. I feel like I have low blood sugar, hangry. Even though I am eating lots of food, including lots of protein, full fats, some carbs and lots of fruit and vegetables. My meals are huge, taking up an entire dinner-sized plate (foods are meticulously weighed and logged, included photographed for my IG food diary). I feel good and satisfied, for like an hour, then I feel ravenous again. I feel like eating a whole pizza, or an extra-large fast food meal.
It stinks! It always makes me give up. I just want to feel better and not be so obsessed with the next meal time.
Anyone know what I’m talking about? If I “push through” will my body ever feel back to normal?
Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. My advice to try first: Stop eating refined carbohydrates, don't allow yourself to be sedentary, and stop snacking and/or eating all of the time. Your body has two states: fed and fasted and the fasted is especially important for you - aim for 12 hours.
I know it feels absolutely awful at first but the sooner you push through the panicky/hungry feelings the sooner you'll feel better. Best wishes.
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »I have started and stopped this journey so many times. I have 50 lbs to lose and it’s more important than ever that I succeed.
Every time I start out I remember why I fail. When I eat healthier, move more, and restrict calories (not by too much, my TDEE-20% is 1700 cal) I invariably get a queasy, shakey, empty feeling in my gut after three or four days. My body BEGS for unlimited carbs, sugar, fried comfort foods. Even if I allow myself a moderate amount of “treats”, I get this horrible starving feeling. I feel like I have low blood sugar, hangry. Even though I am eating lots of food, including lots of protein, full fats, some carbs and lots of fruit and vegetables. My meals are huge, taking up an entire dinner-sized plate (foods are meticulously weighed and logged, included photographed for my IG food diary). I feel good and satisfied, for like an hour, then I feel ravenous again. I feel like eating a whole pizza, or an extra-large fast food meal.
It stinks! It always makes me give up. I just want to feel better and not be so obsessed with the next meal time.
Anyone know what I’m talking about? If I “push through” will my body ever feel back to normal?
Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. My advice to try first: Stop eating refined carbohydrates, don't allow yourself to be sedentary, and stop snacking and/or eating all of the time. Your body has two states: fed and fasted and the fasted is especially important for you - aim for 12 hours.
I know it feels absolutely awful at first but the sooner you push through the panicky/hungry feelings the sooner you'll feel better. Best wishes.
Fasting is not necessary to lose weight. I have lost 40 lbs just working the CICO formula, along with strength training and cardio.6 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »I have started and stopped this journey so many times. I have 50 lbs to lose and it’s more important than ever that I succeed.
Every time I start out I remember why I fail. When I eat healthier, move more, and restrict calories (not by too much, my TDEE-20% is 1700 cal) I invariably get a queasy, shakey, empty feeling in my gut after three or four days. My body BEGS for unlimited carbs, sugar, fried comfort foods. Even if I allow myself a moderate amount of “treats”, I get this horrible starving feeling. I feel like I have low blood sugar, hangry. Even though I am eating lots of food, including lots of protein, full fats, some carbs and lots of fruit and vegetables. My meals are huge, taking up an entire dinner-sized plate (foods are meticulously weighed and logged, included photographed for my IG food diary). I feel good and satisfied, for like an hour, then I feel ravenous again. I feel like eating a whole pizza, or an extra-large fast food meal.
It stinks! It always makes me give up. I just want to feel better and not be so obsessed with the next meal time.
Anyone know what I’m talking about? If I “push through” will my body ever feel back to normal?
Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. My advice to try first: Stop eating refined carbohydrates, don't allow yourself to be sedentary, and stop snacking and/or eating all of the time. Your body has two states: fed and fasted and the fasted is especially important for you - aim for 12 hours.
I know it feels absolutely awful at first but the sooner you push through the panicky/hungry feelings the sooner you'll feel better. Best wishes.
Fasting is not necessary to lose weight. I have lost 40 lbs just working the CICO formula, along with strength training and cardio.
My post had absolutely nothing to do with losing weight.5 -
Instead of trying to cut everything out at once, it is much easier and more sustainable to create snall changes, a little at a time. This helps you drop bad habits, and gain good ones that will stick better, because they are not making you feel like hell. Breaking it into small increments also means that if something isn't working for you, it's easier to figure out why and tweak it. And if you end up backsliding, you don't lose all your progeess, just a single habit or two, which is much easier to fix.
I suggest logging for a while, even before making any serious changes to your diet.
Weigh (with a scale is best) everything you eat, and write why you are eating it (i.e, lunchtime, hungry, kind of bored, out with friends, watching tv) and how you are feeling right before, right after and an hour after (hungry, comfortable, normal, full, very full bloated, drowsy).
This gives you a baseline pattern for your normal habits and routine. From there, it's just a matter of experimenting. Are you very full after dinner? Cut back on a few things. Does lunch leave you bloated and gassy after an hour, try less or no mayo, and see if there's something you don't mind dropping each meal (fries, or cheese, or maybe only 2 tacos instead of 3).It's amazing how quickly these small and easily sustainable changes will add up to big calorie cuts. Only cut one or two things at a time, until they become habit instead if trying to do everything at once. That way they become individual habits instead of one big "diet". So when you backslide you won't drop everything at once, just one or two habits, that you can fix again more easily.
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That's how I feel the week before my period... exactly. It doesn't last though. Just a week or so...
You might consider upping your carbs a bit (fruit, veggies, whole grains), it's what helps me getting rid of that feeling. And don't give up, even if you have a bad day, it might not happen again for a while.6 -
Thanks very much for everyone’s times and responses!
A lot of to digest (buh dum tss).
I have wondered about it being a blood sugar issue. I am one of those people who’s blood sugar tends to plummet (at least by the feels of things) if I don’t keep something in my stomach at all times. I will need to bring it up to my doctor.
Today I had Raisin Bran and hot tea for breakfast. A couple hours later I had lunch consisting of a 6 oz steak, corn-on-the-cob, a medium salad with sweet tea (700 cal). About an hour later I felt FAMISHED and thus I posted this topic. I haven’t eaten since, instead just riding the feeling. It’s still there but not as severe. Dinner tonight will consist of some serious carbs. I have to.
One thing different this time around is that I am not willing to give up. I agree that I might not be able to handle a typical 20% calorie deficit just yet. I want to get there eventually though, so hopefully my body will quit its temper tantrum and adjust.0 -
Keep trying different foods and eating schemes, eventually you’ll land on something that works.
I’ve been at this for over 2 years and have tried lots and lots of combos to optimize satiety.
Best for me is skipping breakfast and eating at 12, 3 & 7. I eat about 70% carbs and entirely plant based with LARGE volume meals.
It takes time, you’ll get there.3 -
Thanks very much for everyone’s times and responses!
A lot of to digest (buh dum tss).
I have wondered about it being a blood sugar issue. I am one of those people who’s blood sugar tends to plummet (at least by the feels of things) if I don’t keep something in my stomach at all times. I will need to bring it up to my doctor.
Today I had Raisin Bran and hot tea for breakfast. A couple hours later I had lunch consisting of a 6 oz steak, corn-on-the-cob, a medium salad with sweet tea (700 cal). About an hour later I felt FAMISHED and thus I posted this topic. I haven’t eaten since, instead just riding the feeling. It’s still there but not as severe. Dinner tonight will consist of some serious carbs. I have to.
One thing different this time around is that I am not willing to give up. I agree that I might not be able to handle a typical 20% calorie deficit just yet. I want to get there eventually though, so hopefully my body will quit its temper tantrum and adjust.
Seriously, is your period due? That could explain most of it.
But yeah, if you have blood sugar issues, forget cereal for breakfast. Have eggs, sausage, last night's leftover, whatever, but eating pure carbs (even with milk) will leave you starving all day.3 -
You've already gotten great advice here. I just want to emphasize the importance of continuing to experiment with different food/macro combinations to figure out what works for you personally. It's different for everyone, but once you get decent handle on it, I think you'll find the information incredibly liberating. By that I mean you'll understand better than no particular food or food type is good or bad. What's key is the right BALANCE for your body.4
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Thanks very much for everyone’s times and responses!
A lot of to digest (buh dum tss).
I have wondered about it being a blood sugar issue. I am one of those people who’s blood sugar tends to plummet (at least by the feels of things) if I don’t keep something in my stomach at all times. I will need to bring it up to my doctor.
Today I had Raisin Bran and hot tea for breakfast. A couple hours later I had lunch consisting of a 6 oz steak, corn-on-the-cob, a medium salad with sweet tea (700 cal). About an hour later I felt FAMISHED and thus I posted this topic. I haven’t eaten since, instead just riding the feeling. It’s still there but not as severe. Dinner tonight will consist of some serious carbs. I have to.
One thing different this time around is that I am not willing to give up. I agree that I might not be able to handle a typical 20% calorie deficit just yet. I want to get there eventually though, so hopefully my body will quit its temper tantrum and adjust.
the 'serious carbs' might be part of the problem though...3 -
Seriously, is your period due? That could explain most of it.
Hmm. Might be, haven’t kept track but it is nearing. Will definitely pay attention to that. Thanks
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For what it's worth, I had a similar feeling, though not as severe, for the first 3 weeks or so of my weight loss. It got a lot better after that. Interestingly, 3 weeks or so is about how long it takes to adapt to a low carbohydrate, high fat diet (LCHF), which makes me wonder whether the feeling is related to the fact that your body is in the process of adapting to getting more of its energy from stored body fat.
I did find that if I tried to ride out the intense feeling of hunger, it often passed in 15-20 minutes. If not, a glass of water sometimes helped. If that didn't work, a dill pickle usually did the job. Dr. Yoni Freedhoff (author of The Diet Fix, one of the few dieting books I've read that's actually worthwhile) recommends allocating a couple hundred calories each day to small, protein-rich snacks to eat between meals; he finds that helps many of his patients avoid the intense cravings that lead them to eat beyond their calorie goals. You might consider giving that a try.0 -
I am bumping up my thread to give you all an update. :-) I did as a few of you suggested and temporarily lowered my deficit from TDEE-20% to TDEE-10%. I immediately felt better, and have honestly not had that gnawing, empty feeling again. I am coming up on 2 weeks calorie counting (after falling on and off the wagon several times over several years) and can honestly say that my cravings and binges have been nearly non-existent. I realize this is because my higher calorie allotment allows me to eat pretty much anything I want, just in a little lower amounts. I plan to lower my calories to TDEE-15% in a few days and see how that goes. So thank you to all that commented and helped me figure this out!16
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I just took a peak at your diary and it seems a bit carb heavy. Have you tried reducing your carbs to see if this would help with cravings?0
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I just took a peak at your diary and it seems a bit carb heavy. Have you tried reducing your carbs to see if this would help with cravings?
I’ve always felt better with more carbs. I tried to go low-carb a while back and felt terrible. Definitely not for me.
Not sure if you read my latest reply, but my shaky, sick feeling went away when I upped my calorie goal to a less aggressive deficit. I’m happy to be feeling better and still able to loose (albeit at a slower pace). Eventually, I will make healthier food choices. Right now it’s all about staying on this wagon. ;-)
Also, the past 2-3 days have been heavily influenced by my time of the month. A normal day would be within calorie goal with a little less carbs.
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I just took a peak at your diary and it seems a bit carb heavy. Have you tried reducing your carbs to see if this would help with cravings?
I’ve always felt better with more carbs. I tried to go low-carb a while back and felt terrible. Definitely not for me.
Not sure if you read my latest reply, but my shaky, sick feeling went away when I upped my calorie goal to a less aggressive deficit. I’m happy to be feeling better and still able to loose (albeit at a slower pace). Eventually, I will make healthier food choices. Right now it’s all about staying on this wagon. ;-)
Also, the past 2-3 days have been heavily influenced by my time of the month. A normal day would be within calorie goal with a little less carbs.
Understood. I guess I missed that second page
Best of luck to you! 1 -
Oh my gosh this is me! If I am still hungry after eating a huge amount of food, I just fill up on steamed veggies or airpopped popcorn. Sometimes that works. But yeah...I get that feeling all the time.0
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Tracking my cycle helped me a lot when it comes to this. I know when I can expect a change in appetite, and learned ways for me to combat it - for me and many others, I just eat at maintenance those handful of days (2 for me). Usually accomplished by eating the dang cookie I crave.1
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