food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

I'm about 20-25 lbs overweight. I'm 5'9", 185. I look/feel my best somehwere in the 160-165 range. Over the past year and a half or so I've fluctuated between 175 and my current weight. Basically, when I'm eating well and when I'm not. I'll get in these real bad habits of in n out burger, breakfast burritos, beer and snacks, etc.

When I'm eating well, a typical day goes like this:

breakfast: either oatmeal w/raisins and a srpinkle of brown sugar or a couple of scrambled eggs (sometimes with chopped onion and pepper, maybe a little cheese) and fruit. 4-6oz of OJ.

morning snack: usually yogurt. Sometimes fruit.

lunch: salad and some deli meats (either turkey or chicken)

afternoon snacks: usually a clif bar and a piece of fruit or two.

dinner: grilled chicken breast or fish off the foreman grill (usually the frozen kind from TJs) and 2-3 veggie dishes. Generally cycles between some combination of fresh bell pepper, onion (either fresh or grilled), fresh carrots, steamed asparagus, steamed broccoli, and braised brussel sprouts (personal favorite). If I'm in a real time pinch I'll just have some trader joe's soup.

Throughout the day I'll also have a cup of coffee or two with sugar and half & half (though I keep my coffee pretty dark).

If I do have a "cheat" day, instead of getting fast food or a big massive burrito, I'll just get a couple tacos at the mexican place down the road (traditional mexican tacos: just meat, onions, cilantro, corn tortillas. No cheese sour cream etc).

Now, I notice when I do eat like this, I'll start getting a hungry feeling pretty often. It's not like an "omg I need to eat" hunger, just sort of this pit in your stomach. I think in terms of amount of food, I'm not starving myself or anything.

Is it common? Is it just a "withdrawal" from foods packed with sugar and carbs? Maybe I'm not eating enough carbs (like, sub in some rice a couple times a week). Or maybe it's just some mental thing.

I've been at my current weight now for a couple months and I've found it difficult to keep up eating well for more than a couple weeks. I just want to know if this is typical and I'm just being a giant vag, or if my diet is sorely lacking something. It looks generally solid to me.

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

kid,

I think for most people who go through this it's more psychological than anything. If you are eating very healthy and not cheating at all, you eventually fall off the horse in one giant binge and then go back to your old eating habits for a while. The trick is learning to have a snack or cheat meal every once in a while (every 3-4 days is a good goal I think) but then get right back on the diet.

As far as feeling hungry, go to fitday.com or some other calorie counting site and make sure you are consuming enough calories. If you are, then you just have to man up.

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

hey kid,

it could be that you are not drinking enough? do you get a good amount of water during the day?

its also possible that eating carb type foods increases your hunger since they dno't really keep you satiated very long...perhaps increase your protein/fat intake to increase satiety? i def don't think you should increase stachy carb intake since that will likely make you more hungry, but everyone is different...

do you get enough fiber? fiber will keep you full...maybe pack a bag full of mixed nuts and green fibrous veggies to munch on when this happens?

i get this feeling also, and im eating over maintenance...this is especially pronounced on days that i lift, i lift in the morning so im pretty much hungry all day no matter what i eat...

ive heard that pyslium (sp?) husk is very good for helping with satiety...but i don't know much about it...

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

Water definitely isn't the issue. I drink lots and lots of it.

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

BPS,

Agreed. Like I said, I'll have my tacos cheat once a week or two, and I usually will have a bigger lunch than normal on saturdays. i.e., instead of salad + deli meats, I'll make myself a nice turkey sandwich with tomato, onions, mustard and mayo on sourdough or something.

Thirddan,

re: Fiber. I should mention my salad leaf of choice is spinach and I load it up broccoli usually. So between that, my dinner time veggies, and my oatmeal, I'm a loose stool master.

Some nuts is probably a good idea, though. I could keep a can at my desk. I don't love nuts, so I wouldn't be that inclined to go overboard with them, which I know is easy.

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

colin, be careful when eating the nuts cuz they have a ton of cals, so make sure to separate a portion that is within your cal limits so that you don't go overboard and consume like 800 cals which is def possible when mindlessly snacking...

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

That's my I'm saying. I know they're heavy in calories, but they're not my snack food of choice. I can easily eat handful of nuts and not desire any more.

Unlike, say, if I'm snacking on kettle chips. Then I'm f'ed. That whole bag is going down.

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

Are you doing cardio? i feel that when I do cardio, I'm less hungry..

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

nicotine gum

anything with fiber

meat

Re: food/diet question - getting really hungry
 

You are eating a lot fo sugar and carbs. Your breakfast (unless it is eggs) your morning snack, and your cliff bar and cofee all have a lot of sugar in them, or at least more than Id eat. Its nto that big of a deal, and shouldnt hinder yourfat loss but the spikes in your system will gie you taht pit in the stomach feeling until you get sugar in you. Thats why I like foods low on teh glycemic index throughout the day, because I dotn feel as hungry.