Always hungry

I've started on my new healthy lifestyle about a week ago now, slowly building into getting stricter.

 

But I find I get hungry...a lot. Now I never ate too badly, but I had a pretty screwed up eating style because I'm recovering from an eating disorder. Still want to lose weight, BMI of 23 so I'm not majorly focused on my weight, rather on getting healthy - also to take my focus off numbers so I'm not counting calories or weighing myself. I'm trying to restrict myself to 3 meals and 3/4 snacks a day, but I'm continiously hungry!

 

I'll tell you my day so you have an idea of what I'm eatin

 

5.30am start - green smoothie (i.e. banana, strawberry, blackberry, blue berry and lots of baby spinach [that makes enough for about 4 days btw])

Go to the stables, muck out my horse, fill her haynet, empty her water and put her in the field.

Get ready for school

8am - Breakfast which is something like oatmeal + wholemeal strawberry yoghurt

School

 

11.15am (first break) - Bunch of veggies (today I have cucumber, carrots, tomatos, sugarsnaps and bits of lettuce) with humus

 

1.40pm (lunch break) - Raison & cinnamin bagel filled with chicken salad

 

4pm - Eat naturally bar which has nuts and fruit in it [its larger than a normal cereal bar and more filling too]

Go ride, either 1 or 2 horses, groom, bed down, ect

7pm - Dinner (for example, broccoli, boiled potatos and breaded chicken breast)

Walk the dog for about half an hour - an hour

Ect

I usually spoil it around 10ish because I just want to eat, but I'm vowing to tackle that today, so just a mug of tea and an apple or something for a snack then.

 

Am I just gonna get used to not eating whenever I get hungry? As I think I have a pretty balanced diet...or does anyone have any idea what I can add in to improve it?

 

Protein. Protein. Protein.

If you have some form of protein with your breakfast, it would help a bunch. I usually have something almost lunch-ish for breakfast because having chicken or turkey (or even eggs) first thing helps curb my appetite for a while. Trying throwing in some almonds (high in protein) for a snack or even protein powder into your smoothies (which sound really good, btw).

I also heard that the process of chewing actually quiets the brain and makes you feel satisfied. So, if you could throw in some celery or baby carrots to your dinner (raw = more chewing) and maybe a raw fruit like an apple/banana at your 4pm snack it might help. I like veggies like that because they are low calorie.

Apples at night always make me hungrier, don't know why.

Oh, and try drinking a lot of water while you are eating/during the day. It will help fill you up.

Hope something I suggested works for you!

Need more protein and some more good fat. Saturated (some) polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Try adding some tuna, salmon, chicken, turkey, fish,  natural peanut butter, olives, cottage cheese, low fat cheese, olive oil, sweet potatoes with salsa or cottage cheese on top. Make sure you are getting enough carbs, complex carbs not just from fruit and veggies but whole grains, buckwheat, whole grain bread, tortillas, pitas, pasta, brown rice, cereal. You need complete balance. Don't fill up on fruits and veggies. They will not keep you full and satisfied. They are very important but balanced/clean/whole/unprocessed food is the key.

i agree with uping the protein.  and it seems like you do wuite a bit of exercise: maybe eat a little more (like a bigger lunch)

Thank you!

 

I will try to add in some more protein for now, and check out that website - it sounds perfect really!

 

I thought I was eating pretty balanced, but I'll follow your suggestions.

 

thanks again

I am going to toss this out there.  Get more sleep.  Instead of the 10 pm snack, go to bed.  I have ton's more willpower and far less cravings when I get 8 hours of sleep.

The philosophy behind Naturally Thin is just common sense. Eat when you are hungry. But you do have to eat balanced and good foods. Not crap or it will not work. Dieting never works, changing your diet, eating when you are hungry and eating clean/balanced does.

I agree with the sleep comment. I am always hungrier if I don't get enough sleep. Studies have been done that show chronic lack of sleep increases your chance for obesity.

I don't want to sound like a broken record but everyone's right! PROTEIN!

You gotta incorporate it into every meal. It keeps you full and burns fat faster. Make sure it's lean. Here's an example of what I eat in a day:

Breakfast: 2 egg whites 1 veggie sausage 1 apple 18g total for Breakfast

Snack: protein bar 17g

Lunch 3oz. tuna or grilled fish 1 c. non-starchy veggies 1 fruit 20g of protein

Snack: carrots, celery with hummus or 1/4c. fat free ricotta cheese with veggies 4g protein

Dinner: 4oz. lean meat or tofu 1 low carb/ high protein tortilla 1/2 c. fat free yogurt with berries ~25g protein

So I've got about 85-95g average a day. You'll be surprised how satisfied you will feel. Go easy on the carbs, everything has carbs in them. Your smoothies probably have a ton of carbs because they are loaded with sugar, and calories, but nothing to keep you full for very long. One last bit, watch out for the yogurt because some of those have a lot of sugr in them. Sugar=carbs.