Still Hungry

OK...need a lil help from the group.

I am just completing week 5 on CC and damn I am still hungry....almost all day.  I go to bed hungry and I wake up hungry.  I ate breakfast today (bowl of oatmeal-low sugar at 7:15am), decaf coffee with a lil half and half and nope, wasn't cutting it.  Then came to work and about 9am had a small banana and nope, tummy is still growling....

The other day I had what I thought was a great lunch, grilled salmon, steamed veggies and a side salad with balsamic dressing...within an hour or so, I was hungry.

My calorie intake is 2200, I generally average about 2000.  I do some form of exercise every day to the tune of about 500 calories (avg), my burn meter tells me to just function I burn about 2500 calories.  I am currently at 308 (till I weigh in tomorrow).

I am really trying to be good but I am not sure I can deal with being hungry all the time.  Not to mention, the last time I seriously lost weight doing WW, the hunger only lasted about 2 weeks....then things evened out.

HELP!!!

I agree with all of your ideas. What works the best for me is tuna. Albacore tuna in water is only about 160 cals for the whole can (4oz.) The studies I've read say protein will make you feel satiated longer than carbs. Fat will do that also but why add more fat to your diet at 9cal p/g. So I usually mix in some chopped onion and tomato and I add fat free red wine vinaigrette. It's delicious!

Stops the hunger right away and lasts me for hours. Just a suggestion that works for me.

I haven't read all the posts, so I am sorry if this is a repeat.  But have you tried eating protein for breakfast?  If I don't eat a little protein at EVERY meal I feel hungry within an hour of eating.  My breakfast are regular plain instant oats (the big tub ones no sugar no flavor so I customize it every time and nukes in the same time as a more expensive packet) and egg whites sauteed with scallions.  Or my personal favorite 2 slices of whole grain bread with 2 oz turkey (yes a sandwich).  Its easy because I can make it the night before, sometimes I'm make 3 or 4 at a time wrap them and tossing the fridge.  I only put lettuce on it so the bread doesn't get soggy.

I never vary my lunch because this works for me and I am not about to mess with it.  I have a salad with 113 grams of tabouli, 50 grams of feta cheese and some red or black beans and spinach.  Low cal filling and it lasts me to dinner.

Dinner is always different.  I like lean cuisine and kashi tv dinner and I pour the whole meal over an entire bag of frozen veggies of my choice that way the flavor spreads around.  I also always have veggie burgers on hand, pasta, soups, 100 cal pack of popcorn, yogurt, balance bars (210 cal or less) and apples.  I also eat hot or cold cereal a lot for dinner. 

Hope we helped.

Hi Sammarieob

 I have had success dealing with hunger by always having a good supply of the nofat no added sugar yogurts (I prefer Silhouette, but there are other brands).  It has some protein, calcium and fruit, and I find it tastes much better than the old Aspartame sweetened yogurts.  It has the advantage of portion control (one tub is 35 calories) and no preparation required.  If I am careful to make sure that I get some protein every 4 hours or so, it helps me alot to prevent getting too hungry.

Hope you find a solution soon!

hello rowanquincy,

How nice to meet you.   That reminds me.  For my nightime snack last night I had 6 ritz crackers and 3 laughing cow low fat garlic flavored cheese spread.

Ritz crackers 94 calories, cheese 105 calories.   So really yummy satisfying, part protein snack for 200 calories. Mmmm.  I haven't learned to appreciate yogurt.

I dont know if this will help you but, I am really picky about my food... I HATE oatmeal but, I make things with the oatmeal, like pumpkin muffins or fruit cookie muffins,  they are more satisifying than just plain oatmeal...

Another really big thing for me is I drink A LOT of water...  I drink a bottle or two with breakfast, atleast 1 between then and lunch and then a bottle with lunch and another between and one during dinner.. Then if I go walking once home I usually drink 2 more bottles....  So all in all I think i drink 8 or 9 bottles of water a day.... spread out..  Maybe this will help..?

Sorry if my comments are repeats... Just thought it might help....

Still Hungry,

This is just a suggestion.  If you don't want to buy the book go to Borders on your lunch hour and read a little of , "The Complete Beck Diet for Life", by Dr. Judith Beck.  (she is a cognitive psychologists)

She speaks alot to real hunger vs cravings, thirst, emotional triggers, or just plain old wanting to eat.   What she says was eye opening to me.....I hesitate to go into it here, because I don't want to be labeled as that "preachy beck lady" haha.   Part of the hunger thing is isolating what it is,  and then also changing our mindset that hunger  is a bad thing. Thin people and overweight people view hunger in a totally different way. They actually think differently about it. 

  If you read it let me know what you think.   I believe part of the reality of dieting is that to lose the weight,  hunger will sometimes be part of our journey .  Hunger will come and go, and to a certain point we need to learn to tolerate it. 

Also I think it might work for you to comsume more calories in the form of protein and fat for breakfast.  Think outside the box for breakfast and maybe try some leftover protein from dinner the night before.  Tossed in some scrambles eggs or omelet it just might carry you a little better through your day. 

Also one tip to identify true hunger, if I am feeling like I  want to eat, would any food satisfy me?   Would I be just as happy with some celery sticks as I would with, say... a bag of chips?  Would I be as eager to eat the celery?      Good Luck

Just to give an update, I really am not feeling hungry anymore(for the most part).  I think this might have been the increase in physical activity for me, but for now, I am not going to complain.

But I will keep all your suggestions for use later if i need them!

Thank you!

Ibeck,

Something I was doing before I started getting serious about changing my life was "hunger prevention".

I would eat so that I wouldn't get hungry.  Now I wait until I am hungry to eat.  Even then, I assess if I am really hungry, or perhaps I just need water to drink.  I'll often drink a couple of glasses of water when I am hungry wait and see what happens.

I used to get very uncomfortable low blood sugar symptoms when I was hungry, so I would eat to prevent them (shaky, anxious, sweaty, fainty).  Now that I am not eating so much sugary food, I don't get low blood sugar symptoms, so hunger isn't scary.  I don't mind being hungry, especially at bedtime.  I think to myself "hungry means burning off fat".
 

See how much you have improved Sammarieob :D

I have been super hungry all day, and until this evening, my stomach has been emptying extremely fast.

I guess I worked harder at the gym yesterday than I thought and my deficit was greater than I figured.

2050 atm, I hope I stay sated the rest of the night! I wasn't eating from boredom, I wasn't eating until I was stuffed or overly full... just hungry!

Maybe in the beginning sammarieob, your body was so shocked by the calorie deficit it was trying to make up for it ?

Guess I just take longer to do things huh...LOL

Howdy All:

Just to add my two cents worth. My dietitian is always harping one 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch, 2 serving vegetables. So I try to abide. my meals are as follows

Breakfast

1 cup brown rice

3/4 cup black beans

2 plum tomatoes diced

1 tsp garlic

2 tsp flax seed ground

Lunch

1 cup brown rice

3/4 cup black beans

1/2 cup carrots

1/2 cup red peppers

1/2 cup cucumber

1/2 cup kale

1 tbs canola oil

Supper

1 cup brown rice

1/2 cup chicken or salmon

1/2 cup red peppers

1/2 cup cucumbers

1/2 cup broccoli

snack

1 cup soy-milk

total cals 1800

For the most part I am not hungry but do find if I do not leave my last meal till after 7-730 I will be really hungry at 9-11. The other thing I have started to do on a limited basis is to make each meal as normal and then split it in half. Some now and some a couple of hours later it seem to work out the same for me either way.

As always your friend George

Hey George :)

I find when I do eat a meal with a very high amount of fiber and a high amount of protein (chicken chili or lentils are the best examples for me) I can eat an ok size amount, maybe 1-1.5 c worth and I'm full for SO LONG! Speaking of which, I have a new lentil recipe to try today!

But like the other day, idk why, my stomach kept emptying really fast. I ended up eating like 2300 calories when I normally eat 1200 a day. I have only eaten that much 1 other time in 2.5 months :) I just felt famished.

I know the feeling...  I seem to be hungry all the time.  But I have found that fiber even the fiber tabs help with that.  Hope it helps and good luck on your journey!