Hungry days?

Hi all,

Firstly I'd like to say hi because I'm new here!

I'm in the UK and I'm 22, and female.

I've not got that much to lose - I'm 5ft3ins and I'm 127 lbs, down from 132 lbs. I'd like to be 120 lbs.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has days when they are just mega hungry? Yesterday I was mega hungry - although I didn't go over 1500 calories.

I was just wondering what was normal to be honest.

Thanks

Jo

Unfortunately, that's the nature of the beast.

There are certain foods you can eat to help you stay full longer (I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites), but for some people the reality is that you might have days when you are hungry. :( That tends to happen when your metabolism is more active than normal, so it's kind of a good sign.

Since you're so little already, you're probably okay to eat at your maintenance level each week on the days you feel you need it. Keep your metabolism up where you want it, you know?

Thanks.

I'm quite good at resisting, but yeah I'm not one to deprive myself! I want the last few pounds I have to come off gradually and not put them back on again....i.e make a lifestyle change rather than just going on a diet!

So...what makes you feel fuller for longer?

Typically at the moment I'm having snacks like celery, bananas, low-fat crisps, alpen light bars, and last night I had a slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter (which was nice, but at over 200 calories I'm not sure if it'll become a regular!). The thing is that I've always been a grazer as well so that probably doesn't help!

Air-popped popcorn, shelled sunflower/pumpkin seeds and frozen fruit (berries or bigger fruit cut into small pieces) make great, nourishing snacks, that take forever to eat. They`re great for a grazer. :]

But if you truly are hungry, why not whip yourself a big salad based on leafy greens? A handful of beans in there goes a long way. And it can be even lower cal than your PB on toast snack - but it is way larger in bulk so it`ll fill you up quickly.

 

Original Post by ily51:

Air-popped popcorn, shelled sunflower/pumpkin seeds and frozen fruit (berries or bigger fruit cut into small pieces) make great, nourishing snacks, that take forever to eat. They`re great for a grazer. :]

But if you truly are hungry, why not whip yourself a big salad based on leafy greens? A handful of beans in there goes a long way. And it can be even lower cal than your PB on toast snack - but it is way larger in bulk so it`ll fill you up quickly.

 That all makes sense; thanks. When I have lunch I always have a huge salad which is cut up into small pieces so that I can eat it slowly and therefore guage when I'm full easier!

Hi Jo,

Every now and then, I also get really hungry... though to be really honest, it's hard to say if it's hunger or just cravings. Both maybe? Yeah...

Let me tell you shortly how it this whole new page in my life started and how I made it stick...even through those mega hungry days.

After an all-you-can-eat night out, I felt so bad (physically) that I nearly couldn't sleep that night. I suddenly had that awakening moment when I realized that I wasn't getting any younger (32) and that perhaps that was the first sign that my body wasn't happy with what was being put into it. It's not that I didn't eat healthy... I just ate too much. I'm very small, and I'm also a foodie. Bad bad combination!

I started logging in what I ate and it didn't take long to see that I was eating a "Healthy" 2500 to 3000 calories a day. Hence why I was gaining weight, slowly but surely.

I logged every single thing I ate for 1 months or so, this time being cautious and sticking to a 1200 calorie intake. Now, I'm a lot like you, I like food and I definitely can't consider dieting for long if I'm feeling hungry and miserable because I'm eating like a bird. It might work for a couple of weeks, but in the long run... I will rebel. So you're right,  the "life style" change always works better.

Here are some things that might help you:

1. Snacking  usually means I didn't eat enough at the main meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner). I really try making the best out of these 3, tank up on veggies, fish, pasta (I love japanese soba and rice noodles, they usually have lower calories, cook super fast and taste great!). I try to make it a 350 calories meal and it's really filling.

2. Stay physically busy, as much as you can. It both helps to burn calories and to keep your mind away from food. :-)

3. Start cooking! :-) Buy a really small non-stick pan, make it YOUR pan, do everything in it... this pan can only hold as much as you are allowed to eat. It's a 1 portion pan, so make it a good one! :D

4. Think of getting an electronic scale, keep it at hand.

Hope this helped!

Good luck!!!

So I started thinking about the foods I

Original Post by alexzeevy:

Hi Jo,

Every now and then, I also get really hungry... though to be really honest, it's hard to say if it's hunger or just cravings. Both maybe? Yeah...

Let me tell you shortly how it this whole new page in my life started and how I made it stick...even through those mega hungry days.

After an all-you-can-eat night out, I felt so bad (physically) that I nearly couldn't sleep that night. I suddenly had that awakening moment when I realized that I wasn't getting any younger (32) and that perhaps that was the first sign that my body wasn't happy with what was being put into it. It's not that I didn't eat healthy... I just ate too much. I'm very small, and I'm also a foodie. Bad bad combination!

I started logging in what I ate and it didn't take long to see that I was eating a "Healthy" 2500 to 3000 calories a day. Hence why I was gaining weight, slowly but surely.

I logged every single thing I ate for 1 months or so, this time being cautious and sticking to a 1200 calorie intake. Now, I'm a lot like you, I like food and I definitely can't consider dieting for long if I'm feeling hungry and miserable because I'm eating like a bird. It might work for a couple of weeks, but in the long run... I will rebel. So you're right,  the "life style" change always works better.

Here are some things that might help you:

1. Snacking  usually means I didn't eat enough at the main meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner). I really try making the best out of these 3, tank up on veggies, fish, pasta (I love japanese soba and rice noodles, they usually have lower calories, cook super fast and taste great!). I try to make it a 350 calories meal and it's really filling.

2. Stay physically busy, as much as you can. It both helps to burn calories and to keep your mind away from food. :-)

3. Start cooking! :-) Buy a really small non-stick pan, make it YOUR pan, do everything in it... this pan can only hold as much as you are allowed to eat. It's a 1 portion pan, so make it a good one! :D

4. Think of getting an electronic scale, keep it at hand.

Hope this helped!

Good luck!!!

 

Thanks. Yeah I think that's helped. I'm not sure what my calorie intake was before, but I certainly had big helpings of everything and just ate what I wanted really. Sometimes that would be healthy, sometimes I would eat a couple of chocolate bars and think nothing of it.

I'm quite proud of myself just this minute turning down some cake in the office, though!

I do have an electronic scale, and I keep busy all the time (I'm a fidgeter - my leg is going now haha) and as for dinner - I just have to have what the rest of the famile is eating as I live at home; although I do eat smaller portions and my step-mum is on Weight Watchers so they are all low calorie and low fat meals etc with lots of salad.

I'm doing between 1300-1500 calories at the moment, initially the CC thing on here told me to do 1800 but I felt that was too much (although at weekends I do probably do that anyway!)...

Now I'm just rambling hahaha.

Anyway thanks :) 

Another thing that I do,which I find works quite well is always eat at the table. Even if I have an apple or a cereal bar, i'll cut it up and put it in a bowl and eat it at the table. I find if i eat on the go, or while i'm at uni, or watching tv, i don't notice what I'm eating, whereas if I know i've eaten at the table i class it as a small meal, I eat it more slowly and then I feel fuller.

I know it sounds a bit daft but it really works, for me anyway.

You're at a really good weight so it's probably okay for you to have more "cheat days", because you can afford to maintain for a few days sometimes.

Also where abouts in the UK are you? I'm in sunny manchester

Good luck! :) xx

I have "craving days".  Some days, I just HAVE to have a couple of Lindt Lindor truffles!  Or I go overboard on pita chips.  Or sometimes (as I did last night), I JUST get finished eating and I think I'm hungry!  But I'm NOT.  I check in with my tummy and it says, "Yep. I'm full." So I'm not sure WHAT that is. I think it's just my mouth wanting something else.

Personally, I don't find salads terribly filling...unless I put some feta cheese on them or something more substantial than greens.  My favorite "new" filler-upper is a combo that I found at Costco: pre-cooked organic brown rice and Tasty Bite Madras Lentils.  I started out with half a package of each (the recommended amount) which totals 297 calories.  But I actually got TOO full! So I've cut it down to 1/4 pkg. per serving.  Also, I eat tiny meals every 3-4 hrs. throughout the day. (One meal will be a marinated and baked piece of chicken; one is a salad; one is 2 T. hummus and 9-10 pita bites, etc.)  It works better for me. It cuts down the craving and keeps my metabolism going.

It's bizarre; I'll do lengthy workouts and eat 1600-2000 calories and be satisfied (and I don't deny myself when hungry), but then I'll have days where I'm essentially doing nothing and I'll be starving all day.  Yesterday was one of those days, in fact, and I felt like I was a bottomless pit - but I was genuinely hungry, barely an hour after eating.  I've discovered that the things that fill me up the most are: muesli cereal, fatty fish (tuna, salmon), and chicken. 

I'd personally rather reach for one of those than any sort of snack, and just treat it as an extra, small meal because on those days, munching on an apple or popcorn just doesn't seem to cut it.  I think of it as prevention; I'll eat a healthy, 200-300 calorie mini meal that prevents me from eating 500 calories of 'snack' food. :)

Original Post by nomnom:

It's bizarre; I'll do lengthy workouts and eat 1600-2000 calories and be satisfied (and I don't deny myself when hungry), but then I'll have days where I'm essentially doing nothing and I'll be starving all day.

Gosh, and here I thought I was the only odd one. I`m not even eating out of boredom, since I can be extremely bored at a class or family gathering and not even think about food, but doodle or text a friend instead. It`s something more like my brain sending out signals that say 'hey, you seem relaxed and comfortable enough in your surroundings, let`s build a layer of fat to protect that little body of yours'.

My problem times are right after meals, when I`ve slipped into eating mode and mindlessly tend to reach for another snack, then another, and another.. So I mostly plan some sort of activity away from home right then to distract me, or find some errands to run or chores that need to be done.

Thank you all for your replises; all making sense!

Odd thing is that I'm not at all hungry today. I've only had 400 calories and it's 4:45pm.

I am going to try and pack a load more in this evening, thhough - don't want the dreaded starvation mode to kick in!

Foods that keep you fuller longer are high fibre foods and high protein foods. Fibre has a bulking affect to food and protein takes longer to digest than carbohydrates and fat so you should stay fuller longer. Try eating protein as a snack and consuming 25grams of fibre a day. A personal trainer that works at the gym I work at told me about the protein idea and I have not been hungry since. I eat 6 meals a day, eating every two to three hours and have a total calorie intake of 1300-1500/day. For example:

1 cup of oatmeal (breakfast)

protein shake with 200mL of milk, banana (snack)

two pieces dry toast, mandarin orange, 1 cup of strawberries (lunch)

protein shake with 200mL of milk, kiwi (snack)

chicken breast, 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of broccoli (supper)

yogurt, 100 calorie granola bar (snack)

I use whey protein as a snack but it's not necessary. You can get protein from many other sources such as eggs, almonds, peanut butter, meat etc. (Im sure you know). I hope this helped. I didn't have time to read all the replies so I hope I haven't been repeating things that were already suggested to you!