Hungry all the time

[JanetM]

Hi, Everybody.

For the past two months or so I've been lurking on this forum and following PP. The health problems I'm addressing are being somewhat overweight and "hypoglycemia." I'm ecstatic because I have actually been losing weight for these last two months -- about a pound a week -- which has been impossible for me in the past, even when exercising two hours a day.

I'm having a problem, however, in that, about 2 hours after I eat, I get hungry again and my mental focus drops. Eating a snack at that time only holds me for an hour, so I have an hour of unproductivity until it's time to eat again -- unless I eat another snack.

I have been eating what feels like an incredible amount of protein each day to try to stave off the hunger. I end up eating four meals of 27g protein and three snacks of half that. And I'm still hungry.

Here are more details:
Height: 5', weight (now): 133. Goal: 120.

A typical day's menu:
--Breakfast (8:30am): 4 oz pork chop, 1/2 cup tomato, dollop of olive oil.
--Snack (10am): 2 oz pork chop.
--Lunch (noon): 4 oz pork chop, 1 cup homemade tomato sauce (1/2 tomato, 1/2 other L/C veggies, mostly bell pepper), dollop of olive oil.
--Snack (2pm): 2 oz pork chop.
--Tea(4pm): same as lunch.
--Snack(6pm) 2 oz pork chop.
--Dinner: 4 oz pork chop, 3/4 cup cooked chard, with oil.

Exercise:
I prefer to incorporate exercise into my daily life (hate "workouts"). Work is sendentary (mostly programming all day). I ride my bicycle to work and back (4 miles each way) three days a week, and take the bus in the morning and walk home (4 miles) two days a week. On the weekends I run errands on my bike and do yard work (using a push mower and a scythe).

I confess that I feel like a freak, because what I hear other people saying is that what they like about this WOE is that they don't feel hungry . . . but not me.

I would greaty appreciate any insights!

Janet

[cmcole]

First glance, I'd say it was the tomatoes and bell peppers. It is possible the sugar content of them is triggering something. Additionally, are you adding anything like BBQ sauce or something to the pork chop?

However, others are considerably more experienced and educated than I am in this WOL, so they may have more insight than I can provide.

You might want to boil a few eggs and have as snacks, to mix things up a bit. Some people choose to add nuts or cheese for snacks, as well. Obviously, I don't know your metabolism, so it is perhaps a choice you need to make.

Mainly, I would say, if you're hungry, eat something, full-fat and satisfying.

I guess you're tracking things in a notebook or a program such as www.fitday.com (http://www.fitday.com) just to ascertain what, indeed, you are consuming. I don't know, but it might give you something to ponder.

[JanetM]

Ahhh. The tomatoes. That could be it. I do eat rather a lot of them, especiallly since right now I have a veritable flood of them coming from my garden. And they are botanically a fruit. I will try NOT eating them for a while and see what happens.

No sauce or anything on the pork chops.

So far, I have not had much luck with using either cheese or nuts for snacks. I feel good for about 15-20 minutes after eating them, and then it feels like the bottom drops out . . . my concentration/blood sugar drops. It feels like my body treats them as a carb. But maybe in combination with a hard-boiled egg?

Yes, I have been using FitDay. Really handy site.

Thanks for the ideas!

[Belfrybat]

Great going on the weight loss! Isn't this WOE fabulous? Perhaps you might consider adding more vegetables to your diet? I find I am satisfied longer after a meal that consists of a salad, protein and a cup to 1-1/2 of low carb veggies than I am when it's just protein. A typical full meal for me is 4 oz of a low to medium fat meat, 2 - 3 cups salad with full fat dressing, and 1 cup of a green veggie (broccoli, green beans, zucchini, etc) with butter. Also eggs fill me up and keep me full longer than meat. I've read of others who say this same thing, so I agree with cmcole about eating a HB egg or two for a snack.

[gitfiddle]

Janet, a little more input: Eggs have a rather cathartic effect on me, so I don't eat them often. I like almonds for a snack, but any more than a half-cup gives me a wierd feeling and I think cashews do the same thing, besides being carby. Cheese is very easy for me to overuse. I've cut back considerably since I stopped losing weight.

I'm wondering if you might want to try mixing in other meats during the day? I don't have a problem with pork myself, but I have read that chicken doesn't last as long as pork or beef. My regular routine is to have a large salad for lunch as often as I can, which would contain an assortment of typical salad ingredients. I'd be interested in hearing whether cutting back on tomatoes has any effect on your munchies. One thing I've noticed on this board is that certain food selections work for some people better than others.

[Reverie]

I guess being hungry is a symptom of low blood sugar. Hopefully, cutting out tomatoes will help. I've been enjoying an heirloom tomato about once a week.

You are eating a lot more protein than I do and I'm 5'7". I eat 6-8 oz for lunch and dinner plus 3 eggs for breakfast. Dr. Atkins always says to bump up the fat and cut carbs if you are hungry and avoid coffee.

Have you ever tried virgin coconut oil? You can stir some in your tea. There might be some fudge recipes with flax seeds and cocoa and coconut oil. I make a small whey protein shake with 1/4 cup coconut milk. Coconut milk is about 70% fat. Another time I froze coconut milk after adding some liquid splenda. Was pretty good actually, but I had to defrost in the microwave before eating. Then, there is always cheese and eggs. You can put a little butter on vegetables.

[cmcole]

If you freeze coconut milk in ice cube trays, you can add a block or two to your shakes. I don't sweeten it, but that's personal - I don't care for anything too sweet.

Avocados - full of good fat and filling, too. Added to your salad or on the side of your plate may help give you the "full" feeling you need.

As the previous poster stressed, each person responds differently to menu selections (which is a good thing that this is not a "one size fits all" type of plan). You have to experiment, sometimes, to find what fits your body type and metabolism best.

[JanetM]

Wow. Thanks for all the feedback and ideas! :nod:

The more I think about it, the more it seems possible that tomatoes are an insulin trigger for me. I've been eating low-carb for several years now (i.e., no grains and starches) to try to control my low blood sugar and hopefully be able to lose weight, but I have been using tomatoes as my mainstay. It's really easy to make a meal with cut up meat and half a can of (sugar-free) tomatoes, especially with all the flavored ones available these days. And I would eat that twice a day, almost every day of the week.:eek:

I'd gathered from reading this site that being hungry all the time is a symptom of high insulin but I couldn't figure out WHAT was elevating my insulin. And cmcole picked up on it right away. :)

So, starting today, no tomatoes for a while to see what happens. Today, I made myself some "salads" to take to work, with meat, zucchini, and oil and lemon juice dressing. Not very exciting, but it's what I had on hand. I also brought some hard-boiled eggs in case I still need a snack. If I had had more time, I could have made deviled-eggs for a snack. Yum. Next I'll work on getting the ingredients for the salads and non-carby vegetables a lot of you suggested. Also noted are avocados and coconut oil/milk as a way to add more fat.

I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks again!

Janet