Eating Enough?

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Grrowler
Grrowler Posts: 29
in Food and Nutrition
Hey, is Anyone else having a problem eating enough? I cleared out all the junk food from my house and stocked up on a much healthier pantry. However I find myself from time to time struggling to eat enough since a lot of the food I have is very good at making me feel full :):(

Grrowler

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  • Grrowler
    Grrowler Posts: 29
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    Hey, is Anyone else having a problem eating enough? I cleared out all the junk food from my house and stocked up on a much healthier pantry. However I find myself from time to time struggling to eat enough since a lot of the food I have is very good at making me feel full :):(

    Grrowler
  • ksamsel
    ksamsel Posts: 1
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    I find that I tend to swing back and forth - even when the food I eat is healthy. I go for days not feeling like I want to eat, and consuming less than the recommended calories. Then for a couple days I get hungry. I don't eat much junk, but I will eat a reasoonable lunch, then come home and eat three servings of protien! I seem to loose during the days I don't eat enough, then plateau when I get hungry. Honestly, the food I eat doesn't seem to matter as much as if I am drinking 90+ ounces of water in the course of the day. And I mean ALL day - not just drinking a lot 3 or 4 times during the day. I mean I seem to be drinking sips all through the day and sometimes even during the night. Can anyone explain this??:drinker: :huh:
  • Anna_Banana
    Anna_Banana Posts: 2,939 Member
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    Maybe you need to try adding some higher calorie healthy snacks, like cheese and nuts.

    Lets say you eat yogurt for a snack for around 90 calories. You can easily add some slivered almonds and berries and double the calories, plus it makes it a more satisfying snack. Or put some cheese or PB on your toast. I add flaxseed to my soups and smoothies to add a little calories and nutrition, you can't really taste it and it is good for your heart.
  • fjtcjt
    fjtcjt Posts: 199
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    I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you are way under on your calories. As long as you still have plenty of energy to complete your workouts you should be fine. Your body will let you know when it is time to eat more. Take advantage of it and drop some weight faster than normal. Your metabolism should kick in and you will soon be having trouble staying at or below your calories.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you are way under on your calories. As long as you still have plenty of energy to complete your workouts you should be fine. Your body will let you know when it is time to eat more. Take advantage of it and drop some weight faster than normal. Your metabolism should kick in and you will soon be having trouble staying at or below your calories.

    I would respectfully disagree with part of this post. Specifically the following
    "Your body will let you know when it is time to eat more."

    With many people who are overweight, the glands are functioning incorrectly. Telling us we are hungry when we have already consumed enough for the day. Also when we eat a caloric deficit, after a while the body will increase leptin production (leptin is the chemical produced to stimulate the feeling of being full). People who are obese often have leptin resistance (similar to diabetes insulin resistance)
    which means they may feel hungry but in fact shouldn't need to eat. In most cases as we move towards a healthy body, our chemical processes will "shape up"

    here is a study of serum leptin levels and hunger published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition circa 1999

    http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/3/305

    Best Regards
    -Banks
  • Grrowler
    Grrowler Posts: 29
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    I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you are way under on your calories. As long as you still have plenty of energy to complete your workouts you should be fine. Your body will let you know when it is time to eat more. Take advantage of it and drop some weight faster than normal. Your metabolism should kick in and you will soon be having trouble staying at or below your calories.

    Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

    -Grrowler
  • mutkin
    mutkin Posts: 109
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    You might find it helpful to add some "good fat" to your diet to up your calorie intake. Use real olive oil in your salad or on your fresh veggies instead of some other low-cal or low-fat alternative.
  • Grrowler
    Grrowler Posts: 29
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    WoW last night I finally got up to 1150 cals for the day, just 50 cals under and than guess what? My hunger kicked it. I was like no tummy we have to go to bed in 3hrs lol. so under 1000 and I'm not hungry hit close to my target and I get hungry

    -Grrowler
  • TudorRose
    TudorRose Posts: 238 Member
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    heh, I get like that. and if I've eaten breakfast, I get hungry a few hours later. If I don't, I can go through til the evening and don't even notice until I start getting dizzy (not the best idea). Something to do with your body going into starvation mode? Kickstarting the metabolism?
  • fjtcjt
    fjtcjt Posts: 199
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    I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you are way under on your calories. As long as you still have plenty of energy to complete your workouts you should be fine. Your body will let you know when it is time to eat more. Take advantage of it and drop some weight faster than normal. Your metabolism should kick in and you will soon be having trouble staying at or below your calories.

    I would respectfully disagree with part of this post. Specifically the following
    "Your body will let you know when it is time to eat more."

    With many people who are overweight, the glands are functioning incorrectly. Telling us we are hungry when we have already consumed enough for the day. Also when we eat a caloric deficit, after a while the body will increase leptin production (leptin is the chemical produced to stimulate the feeling of being full). People who are obese often have leptin resistance (similar to diabetes insulin resistance)
    which means they may feel hungry but in fact shouldn't need to eat. In most cases as we move towards a healthy body, our chemical processes will "shape up"

    here is a study of serum leptin levels and hunger published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition circa 1999

    http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/3/305

    Thanks for setting me straight. I agree with your science, and yes I was speaking generally. As with most of the posts, there is not enough information given to determine exactly the cause of the problems that people are having. My attempt is to give an alternative opinion to some of the other posts. Hopefully encouraging someone to do a little more research to find out what will work best for them in their situation. A lot of people immediately suggest eating more calories, without knowing all of the facts. Eating more calories isn't always the solution.

    Seriously, I am glad someone like you is on here to make sure the info that is posted is mostly accurate. Keep up the good work!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Thanks for setting me straight. I agree with your science, and yes I was speaking generally. As with most of the posts, there is not enough information given to determine exactly the cause of the problems that people are having. My attempt is to give an alternative opinion to some of the other posts. Hopefully encouraging someone to do a little more research to find out what will work best for them in their situation. A lot of people immediately suggest eating more calories, without knowing all of the facts. Eating more calories isn't always the solution.

    Seriously, I am glad someone like you is on here to make sure the info that is posted is mostly accurate. Keep up the good work!

    No problem. I actually agree with most of what you said in your original post. I just don't want people to think that "eat when you are hungry" works when our body isn't in the shape it needs to be.

    And I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with you on the last statement about people just suggesting eating their calories without having the facts. I find that almost as frustrating as people saying they don't eat their exercise calories. People need to realize that their bodies are unique, what works for me, PROBABLY won't work the exact same way for 90% of other people, because we are a dynamic machine with weird little chemical reactions happening all the time. So Kudos for you that you realize that my disagreement wasn't a shot, just a correction on one small point.
    :happy:

    -Banks
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Hey, is Anyone else having a problem eating enough? I cleared out all the junk food from my house and stocked up on a much healthier pantry. However I find myself from time to time struggling to eat enough since a lot of the food I have is very good at making me feel full :):(

    Grrowler

    I used to but now I have to think outside of the box when it comes to food and look for different options...raisins,nuts,dried fruit,cheese,legumes...they all help to fill the gap
  • TudorRose
    TudorRose Posts: 238 Member
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    Just had to have some cheese and chicken (gross combo, but I'm a week off payday so have to make do) because my calories are so far under today. I was on about 500, with a dinner of 266 still to go and no other time to eat. So my total for the day will now be just shy of 1000. Hmm. Is that so bad, just for a day? Or should I try to bump it to above 1200?
  • Grrowler
    Grrowler Posts: 29
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    well as boss mentioned our bodies are unigue dynamic machines of delicate chemical balances that all us to function the way we do by either genetics, circumstances, or training over many years.

    The common practice though is that eating less than 1200 cals is often too little. Many members on here that I have seen, have stated that until they bumped upto 1200 they were unable to acheive any weight loss.

    The Best thing I could recommend is doing your homework, reveiwing your own history, and determining what you think will be best. After that I feel that trial and error can help to find the right balance.

    BTW, feeling dizzy, not a good sign.

    -Grrowler
  • TudorRose
    TudorRose Posts: 238 Member
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    Yeah, I just get stuck into my dissertation and forget everything else. It's not good, but I'm being much better nowadays.

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