Hunger - how do you cope?

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5oz of protein per day is still too low for you. It's too low for anyone. 5oz of protein (assuming you're eating a completely lean protein like chicken breast or fish or something like that and not red meat) does't even meet the US RDA for protein needs for a sedentary adult male of average weight - which is still low to begin with.

As far as the hunger, again, there's a difference between true hunger and an emotional/mental need to eat. A lot of people confuse emotional eating with hunger and find that when they eat healthy amounts of HEALTHY food, they aren't really "hungry" all the time. They're more eating out of habit or to fill an emotional need.
 
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When hungry I drink green tea. It usually does the trick. But if I'm still hungry 20 mins later than I'll get something to eat, pretty simple!
 
I really can't say enough for filling foods. Things like oatmeal, vegetables, etc.

Eating a bagel by itself or any bread and calling it a meal I find gives unsatisfactory results, example.

I could eat 4 slices of whole wheat toast for a total of roughly 440 calories for breakfast. I guarantee I would be starving an hour later. Instead I have oatmeal with fruit sliced in for about 450 calories for breakfast, 2/3 of a cup of dry oatmeal cooked with 2 to 1 volume of water, (two servings) and usually a banana sliced then a little bit of skim milk. Very filling, usually keeps me going without a snack from the time I eat (6 am) till lunch at noon. If it doesn't I have a snack around 10. Fruit makes a great snack. For example an apple is roughly 50 calories, but it's bulky and has fibre, great snack to tide you over till lunch. Or even say a 100 calorie portion of cheese and whole wheat crackers for a snack.

Something I've discovered recently for lunches I love is whole wheat wraps. they are big enough to get lots of veggies and good stuff in without the bulk carbs and calories of having two slices of bread. So instead of the carbs of that extra slice of bread you load up more veggies and protein. Example, most days I will take a wrap, (about 120 calories) a few slices of fat free turkey usually whatever amount works out to about 100 calories. A little low fat miracle whip (only 30 calories a tablespoon), some skim milk cheese slices (60 calories) and usually an assortment of lettuce, chopped peppers and mushrooms probably in the 50 calorie range if that. Then add a banana for about 100 calories and there's a healthy lunch in the 450 calorie range.

Remember that things like tv dinners are processed crap and that they are less filling for the calories you get. Bulky vegetables, fruits, complex carbs like oatmeal, protein, things like this make you feel full longer for the calories you get, stick with these.

One last thing, whole wheat everything. Seriously take enriched flour out of your life, you will be glad you did. People ask me constantly oh my god aren't you hungry, you must be just starved, etc. Not at all, I am always satisfied, eating the right foods goes so much farther than processed calorie bomb food.
 
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Well my doctor is the one who said I could get by on 5 oz of protein and 500 calories per day and he has all my stats and medical history. And I have tried the whole "get rid of processed this and that" diet before. It did cut my calorie needs slightly, like I said before, eating healthier foods will fill me up after about 4000 cal instead of 5000 but that's still too much. If I force myself to eat uber healthy foods too much I will throw up and I'm not sure why that happens, I just start to gag and then I vomit. I think it's from too much roughage filling up the stomach. One time I ate a whole bag of carrots over a few hours and I puked a while later.

I do tend to crave the more processed unhealthy foods but it's not too hard to avoid that and have healthy stuff instead.

I appreciate the advice but I've already tried most of it. Not really seeing anything new that I've not tried before. This is my 4th attempt to lose weight and the first time was my health food attempt. The 2nd time was my high impact exercise attempt. The 3rd time was the Atkins diet attempt. And now I'm just eating very low calories and just accepting that I'll be hungry all the time. I lost alot of weight on every attempt but always gain it back because I never stopped feeling hungry. It's just the way I am. I wish I could stop feeling hungry all the time.
 
I'm sorry .. but it doesn't sound like you've actually tried healthy eating. Forcing down a whole bag of carrots until you puke isn't healthy.

I've asked you three times now to list what you eat on a daily basis and offered to help pick out better options, and you haven't responded to that.

4000 cal of healthy foods is a ton of food and I have a hard time believing that you've actually eaten 4000 calories of healthy foods at one time.

I can only assume that you don't really WANT to learn healthy eating habits and are just looking for sympathy or something.
 
I've actually listed what I eat twice now, here's #3:

In the morning I have some coffee and something like a bagel.
For lunch I have a sandwich, usually Turkey on whole wheat.
For dinner I have a TV dinner that's about 450 to 500 calories.

I also drink coffee and diet soda during the day to try to help with hunger in between meals.

And Kara, unfortunately I get a lot of comments like yours when people aren't able to suggest something to me that I've not tried before. I tell you that healthy foods don't stop my hunger and you simply refuse to believe me. Well how do you want me to prove it exactly? Shall I mail my stomach to you and hook it up to your brain so you can see that it remains hungry after you've had some tofu soup? If you don't believe me, then might I suggest your time be better invested helping someone else? Honestly, I don't know what else to do. Why would I just want sympathy? That's not going to make my hunger stop. I was just curious to see if other people had my same problem and ask how they cope with it.
 
You're right - you did list that. I apologize for not taking it into consideration.

However, with regard to eating healthy, we've tried to make suggestions and you reject them all with extreme examples - like eating a bag of carrots until you puke and or referencing something like "tofu soup" then you say that eating "healthy" food doesn't work for you.

I'm sorry - I don't believe that you eat 4000 calories of healthy food and are still hungry. I just don't believe it. 4000 calories of healthy balanced food is a TON of food. And I'm not talking about 6 bags of carrots until you throw up or "tofu soup". I'm talking about eggs, chicken, mixed veggies, whole grains, lean beef, healthy fats like olive oil, seeds and nuts, fruits, low-fat dairy ... etc. etc. etc.

I can come up with a plan where you would be eating filling foods every 2 hours and still not exceed 2500 calories. So, really... I'm sorry if I'm appearing unsympathetic, but I just don't believe that you really HAVE eaten healthy planned meals. I don't think you're lying - I just don't think you really know what a healthy and balanced plan really looks like. You've mentioned all these fad diets and things that you've done that haven't worked, carrots, fruit and tofu, vinegar, etc. ... it seems pretty obvious to me.
 
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I'm not sure what to say. 4000 calories is one hell of a lot of carrots.

Other than the notion that perhaps you are grossly misinterpreting calorie counts I really do not know what to say. I also have a hard time believing someone could eat 4000 calories in healthy filling foods and be hungry barring some underlying medical issue.

All I can say is my advice is eat healthy, be double certain you are counting calories correctly. Don't do extreme things like eat a whole bag of carrots. Perhaps seek out the opinion of another medical professional, since it does not sound like your doctor is an entirely sound source of advice if he is telling you to try and survive on 400 calories a day. Perhaps he is missing something else as well like some kind of medical condition leading to what you are experiencing.
 
I ate this one day before I started this diet:

5 cups of oatmeal with lowfat milk, blueberries, strawberries, and bananas: 900 calories
2 eggs scrambled in olive oil: 400 calories
coffee with low fat cream: 20 calories

Power bar: ~200 cal

2 Turkey sandwiches on whole wheat with tomatoes lettuce mustard, light mayo, pickle relish, onions, black olives, and provolone cheese: 1000 calories
Bowl of brown/white rice blend: 500 calories

4 ground turkey chopped steaks: 700 calories
1/4 cup of low fat gravy: 50 calories
sauteed mushrooms: 75 calories
baked potato: 300 calories
pat of heart-smart butter substitute: ~20 cal?

bowl of frosted mini wheats with low fat milk: ~400 cal (I use big bowls)

That comes to about 4500 calories for one day. If I let myself have fast foods it would usually come in around 5000 calories, so the healthier items did help me feel a bit less hungry I suppose, but not enough for me to lose weight.

So now I just eat very little and accept that I have to feel hungry all the time.

Today I had this....

Bagel: 240 cal
Piece of cheese: 160 cal
Fish sandwich: 500 cal

And that's all I'm going to eat today.
 
Jack...just wanted to say you've lost a lot of weight so congrats! People will make suggestions but obviously whatever you're doing is already working. Just keep doing what you're doing!!! :)
 
5 cups of oatmeal
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Why? Again, here you are eating stupid amounts of food and then insisting that this is healthy. Why on earth would you eat FIVE CUPS of oatmeal and claim it's healthy??????

2 eggs scrambled in olive oil: 400 calories
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FOUR HUNDRED CALORIES????? How much olive oil did you use? 2 eggs is 140 cals. Olive oil is 120 cals per tablespoon. So if this came to 400 calories, then you're scrambling 2 eggs in 2.5 tbsp of olive oil .. they must be swimming. You might as well poach them in oil and let them slide down your throat w/out chewing. God. I'm shuddering at the thought of that much oil for 2 eggs.

2 Turkey sandwiches on whole wheat with tomatoes lettuce mustard, light mayo, pickle relish, onions, black olives, and provolone cheese: 1000 calories
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A thousand calories? That must have been all bread and very little turkey .. because if you ate enough turkey to be satiated, you'd come in at significantly less than 1000 calories per sandwich.

Bowl of brown/white rice blend: 500 calories
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Nothing but carbs which will burn off quickly and leave you hungry and in the middle of an insulin crash - totally leads to insatiable hunger.

4 ground turkey chopped steaks: 700 calories
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There is no way that a turkey chopped steak should come to 700 calories unless it's chock full of fillers and crap.

baked potato: 300 calories
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A single medium potato is about 180 cals - w/out any toppings. What size potato are you eating that it's 300 cals? And agian, this is totally white starchy carbs that will lead to an insulin crash and yes, hunger.

bowl of frosted mini wheats with low fat milk: ~400 cal (I use big bowls)
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Sugar and simple carbs. Another insulin crash.

That comes to about 4500 calories for one day.
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It sure does. And it's in no way a healthy plan -loaded with simple carbs, sugars, white starches, and oils and very little protein, fiberous veggies, or healthy fats (other than the revolting amount of olive oil the eggs were swimming in).

Again, you seem to have no idea what a HEALTHY eating plan is .. no wonder you're hungry all the time. You're eating all these starchy, sugary carbs that burn off quickly and lead to total carb crashes and crazy hunger. If I ate like you do, I'd be starving all the time, too.

Where are the veggies? Where are the proteins? Where are the complex grains? Where are the things that will help you feel satiated and full and not cause your insulin to spike and crash over and over and over again?

Bagel: 240 cal
Piece of cheese: 160 cal
Fish sandwich: 500 cal
And that's all I'm going to eat today.
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Honestly I on't even know what to say anymore. Do you really really really think this is healthy? Do you really think that this is good for you? Do you really think that this is providing you with the nutrition you need? There's no one single vegetable here. Not one bit of healthy fats. And you wonder why you're hungry all the time? Do you REALLY think this is reasonable and healthy?????? Do you really not get why you're starving all the time on this? Do you not see that there's a middle ground between stupid starving yourself and eating ridiculous amounts of starchy, unhealthy, crazy food?
 
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obviously whatever you're doing is already working
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Working and healthy are not the same thing.

And obviously there's a problem because:

a - he's eating all his calories by 3 p.m. and starving the rest of the day
b - he's always hungry

So it's obviously NOT working ... except in the sense that he's losing weight. And I guess if that's all that's important to you, then yeah, it's working.
 
Look, here's an example of what I would eat if I were in your place:

Breakfast: 3 boiled eggs, sliced on whole grain bread (or 3 scrambled eggs, or 3 fried eggs .. in about 1/2 tbsp of olive oil) and a slice of whole grain bread) (320-450 cals)
Morning snack: apple and low-fat string cheese or low-fat cheddar cheese (250 cals)
Lunch: 4 oz of sliced turkey on whole grain, lettuce, tomato, pickles, peppers, mustard, light mayo. Veggies and yogurt dip (550 cals)
Snack: beef jerky, vegetable juice of some kind, maybe another piece of fruit (250 cals)
Snack: greek yogurt, frozen fruit, bit of honey or sweetner - either just stirred together or blended as a smoothie (320 cals)
Dinner: 6 oz grilled chicken breast, baked sweet potato with butter (yes, real butter) and either salt and pepper or a little sugar and cinnamon, some kind of green veggie (steamed broccoli, a spinach salad, something like that) (650 cals)
Dessert: low fat yogurt with fresh fruit, or a smoothie made of low fat yogurt and additonal frozen fruit and maybe a scoop of protein powder (250-350 cals).

That's somewhere between 2300-2550 calories .. and you could still add in a handful of almonds (140 cals) or some sliced avocado on your turkey sandwich (90 cals) or some hummus and cut veggies (210 cals) or any number of other things, to bring you to around 2500-2700 calories ...

You'd be eating about every 2-3 hours, you'd be eating filling foods that would keep you feeling full and not hungry, you wouldn't be eating stupid amounts of food (like 5 cups of oats), and you'd be getting quite a bit of protein, healthy fats, veggies and fruits, and complex carbs (not simple, starchy, sugary carbs that cause insulin spikes and crashes).
 
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I'm not fond of smoothies. Those things just make me hungrier than before for some reason. Plus they don't usually taste very good. The eggs were actually 200 calories not 400. I used to buy the really big eggs and fry them in a bit of olive oil and according to the calorie counter I use it came out to about 200.

I would also eat vegetables but not every day because they seemed to make me feel more hungry than usual also and it was maddening. I could go through several packages of those snacking carrot sticks like they were potato chips. And even when I could feel my stomach filling up, I still didn't feel full. The rest of that food you listed looks pretty good though. Except for the sweet potato - those things make me gag for some reason. I think it's because I was forced to eat them when I was younger and they just tasted awful to me.

but even if I did eat all of that stuff, I doubt it would make me not hungry. There's just some sort of chemical problem going on where I can never feel full unless I eat a ton of food, usually fattier foods. My doctor put me on Metformin which helps some and without that I don't think I could've lost the weight I have so far.

By the way I've lost 3 pounds since the start of this thread. So something's working.
 
'm not fond of smoothies.
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So don't make smoothies. It was a suggestion. Eat yogurt. Eat fresh fruit.

And even when I could feel my stomach filling up, I still didn't feel full.
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That sounds like emotional/mental eating to me, and not true hunger.

but even if I did eat all of that stuff, I doubt it would make me not hungry. There's just some sort of chemical problem going on where I can never feel full unless I eat a ton of food, usually fattier foods.
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Again, I really think this is mental/emotional and not true hunger. If you feel your stomach getting full, then you'renot really "hungry" ... you're wanting to eat, which is a whole different thing. A lot of us have issues with emotional/mental eating. It's not that uncommon.
 
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It doesn't feel emotional. I feel hungry. I can't imagine just wanting to eat just because. That makes no sense to me. There is a burning sensation in my stomach that feels like hunger and it won't go away until I eat a large amount of food. I can't explain it any other way.
 
Humor us for a day and eat your weight in protein (233g of protein, down those chicken breasts sucka!) and see if you still get your hunger pains.
 
I was gonna post and continue to argue a healthy point to you alongside Kara and everyone else, but if your not able to tell the difference between real hunger and and emotional hunger (and you can say you know the difference all day long, but if you really have an emotional problem with food, well, your not gonna know what that feel like anyway) Then you are not going to listen to anyone's advice.

Congrats on the weight loss. I'm sure you will be very "skinny fat" when you get to your goal weight. Which isn't healthy by the way.

The way your going about losing weight, and how you talk about it, (especially the vinegar thing) I am worried you are using pro-ana sites for weight loss tips, I hope I'm wrong, but if this is true, you should discuss it with your doctor, as it is obviously also unhealthy.

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Jacklinger said:
I ate this one day before I started this diet:
(lots of crummy food)
That comes to about 4500 calories for one day. I
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FYI. The food you listed was about 1000 calories short of 4500.
 
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