Trying low carb - hungry!

I am new to low carb. Instead of my usual cheese roll, crisps and some choccy for lunch, i had 4 ryvita crackerbreads with cheddar cheese on. I had a slice of cheese on the side and a slice of ham. 2 hours later, i am reaching for the biscuits! I am really hungry. I thought i'd made a good choice for lunch, and i thought that 4 crackerbreads was too much! I have insulin resistance, so i really need to be on low carb. Do you think my lunch was not filling enough? I though cheese would be the fat which would fill me up, but obvs not!

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    Fat or not, that doesn't sound like much food. How many calories was it? How many calories are you still under goal for the day? If you are set up to lose 2 lbs per week, that might be too aggressive if you don't have a lot to lose. It can also take some time for your body to get used to a new way of eating, and for you to figure out what fills you up.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    B17Fan1 wrote: »
    I am new to low carb. Instead of my usual cheese roll, crisps and some choccy for lunch, i had 4 ryvita crackerbreads with cheddar cheese on. I had a slice of cheese on the side and a slice of ham. 2 hours later, i am reaching for the biscuits! I am really hungry. I thought i'd made a good choice for lunch, and i thought that 4 crackerbreads was too much! I have insulin resistance, so i really need to be on low carb. Do you think my lunch was not filling enough? I though cheese would be the fat which would fill me up, but obvs not!

    i agree that it sounds a lot less calories than your old lunch, which is probably why you're really hungry now?
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    How much cheese and ham? A slice can very greatly between brands and kinds. We can't know if your meal was small or large without knowing how much, but what you describe sounds more like a snack than a meal. As such, it makes sense that you were hungry about two hours later!

    If low carb is important for your health, why not have more cheese and/or ham, rather than more crackers? Reaching for the crackers suggests you have new habits to work on. Try veggies with cheese or maybe some carefully portioned nuts.

    You can check out the South Beach diet or the Mediterranean diet for some more precise guidelines and meal ideas.

  • B17Fan1
    B17Fan1 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for your replies. The crackerbreads are 20 kcals each and i think the carb intake of the meal was about 18g.
    I haven't got a set number of calories for the day, i'm just looking at carbs.
    I've been advised by the nurse i saw ( and who does low carb herself) to try reducing my carb intake to about 150g a day. At the moment i'm easily eating 250g a day.
    I am finding it hard to think what to have instead of bread. As that is so carb heavy. I read you can put the sandwich filling between lettuce leaves, but surely that's not very filling?
    I guess any diet you should expect to feel a bit hungry, but maybe as u say, i should've had more cheese today. With my insulin resistance (and pcos) I am always hungry about 2 hours after meals. so that's something i want to improve. Is the Low GI a better option that low carb for my condition?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    B17Fan1 wrote: »
    Thanks for your replies. The crackerbreads are 20 kcals each and i think the carb intake of the meal was about 18g.
    I haven't got a set number of calories for the day, i'm just looking at carbs.
    I've been advised by the nurse i saw ( and who does low carb herself) to try reducing my carb intake to about 150g a day. At the moment i'm easily eating 250g a day.
    I am finding it hard to think what to have instead of bread. As that is so carb heavy. I read you can put the sandwich filling between lettuce leaves, but surely that's not very filling?
    I guess any diet you should expect to feel a bit hungry, but maybe as u say, i should've had more cheese today. With my insulin resistance (and pcos) I am always hungry about 2 hours after meals. so that's something i want to improve. Is the Low GI a better option that low carb for my condition?

    You need to make sure you're eating enough calories in addition to your carbohydrate goal. Maybe counting calories for a bit to make sure you're meeting your goal would be a good idea.

    When people use lettuce instead of bread for a sandwich, they're often making up the calories elsewhere (by using more sandwich filling, perhaps). You don't have to count on the lettuce alone to fill you, you'll be using the rest of your meal to do that.

    This. If you are used to eating high carb, you can't just reduce the carbs and eat the same size servings of everything else. You need to increase your portions of fat and protein, and tracking your calories for awhile will help you make sure you aren't undereating or that you don't end up overcompensating and eating too much while you are getting used to the diet change.
  • cat_lady77
    cat_lady77 Posts: 203 Member
    Eat more protein! Cheese & crackers is not going to keep you full for long. Maybe along with that, have more ham or other meat, tuna salad, chicken salad, etc. Make protein the focus of your lunch & keep the carbs lower.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    You're going to be hungry if you're not eating enough...
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    B17Fan1 wrote: »
    Thanks for your replies. The crackerbreads are 20 kcals each and i think the carb intake of the meal was about 18g.
    I haven't got a set number of calories for the day, i'm just looking at carbs.
    I've been advised by the nurse i saw ( and who does low carb herself) to try reducing my carb intake to about 150g a day. At the moment i'm easily eating 250g a day.
    I am finding it hard to think what to have instead of bread. As that is so carb heavy. I read you can put the sandwich filling between lettuce leaves, but surely that's not very filling?
    I guess any diet you should expect to feel a bit hungry, but maybe as u say, i should've had more cheese today. With my insulin resistance (and pcos) I am always hungry about 2 hours after meals. so that's something i want to improve. Is the Low GI a better option that low carb for my condition?

    While you are not trying keto and I am not suggesting you do, maybe look at some keto recipes, as they tend have plenty of proteins and fats to fill you up as you reduce the carbs.

    If you eat the same as always, but reduce carbs by 100g a day, you will be reducing your calories by ~400 a day. That will leave you hungry, for sure! In your case, your cheese roll, crisps and chocolate all had lots of fat that your ryvita, cheese and ham weren't making up for, as well.

    The other thing I mentioned is replacing the habits with new habits. At 150g, you don't have to give up chocolate, just be strategic about it. Decide ahead of time when you can have chocolate and what size serving will fit your goals. I even fit crisps in on lower than 150g a day, just not often and the rest of the day has to be carefully planned.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    RAFLowCarb wrote: »
    I’m not sure you can consider 150g as that low carb... but I suppose it means you can’t eat a load of pasta and bread. If I weee you and have been told you’re insulin resistant I would want to get below 100g to start but eventually aim for 20-30net

    Why? What are you basing that on?
  • StaceyRigs
    StaceyRigs Posts: 9 Member
    Maybe try a protein shake added to your meal? They help to fill me up when I've had a lighter lunch.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    RAFLowCarb wrote: »
    I’m not sure you can consider 150g as that low carb... but I suppose it means you can’t eat a load of pasta and bread. If I weee you and have been told you’re insulin resistant I would want to get below 100g to start but eventually aim for 20-30net

    Why? Keto is not the best diet for everyone, not even for diabetics.