Nothing To Loose - That is the goal

Allright, I'm not doing very well with my diet here. My attempt at Paula's diet was a complete disaster. After eating dinner last night, I was still hungry, so had cottage cheese as snack (still good, almost no carbs), but a few hours later, cravings for carbs and hunger was amazing, and I ended up binging on ice-cream, of all things, leading to almost 1400 total for the day. I was still hungry even after eating ice cream, but made my self go to bed instead of eating.

This morning I wake up hungrier then ever, eat 2 eggs and a toasted mini-bagel, and am still hungry! I don't understand what's wrong with me! My usual breakfast would have been just a mini-bagel with butter and coffee, and I would feel satisfied. Is my body just going through a "hungry" period, or is it reacting to not having carbs/starches at night? Or could it be that my body is having trouble processing protein, so its demanding more food? I have to say, I was not that hungry/binging ever since I started dieting in December, so it is not usual for me.

Could my body be reacting to a consistant calorie deficit for the last 2 month, and therefore sending stronger hunger signals, sort of "survival" mode kicking in? Should I go on "maintenance" mode for a coulple of weeks, and up my calorie intake to 1400, so that my body will realize that it is not about to starve?

Its also weired that I had more higher calorie days in the last 3 weeks, and I've been hungrier too, its like having more food triggers more hunger. How can that be?

If anyone has any input/suggestions on this, please share them with me! I cannot maintain a diet that keeps me hungry all the time. I cannot fight it, I will give in or binge or quit dieting alltogether, which I don't want to do. I've worked hard to get those 7 lbs off me, and I'd like them to stay off!
 
hey NTL,
first of all, i've found that if i eat too much the day/night before, i am ALWAYS hungrier the next day and especially in the morning, so I dont know the medical metabolism stuff around it, but I know that is common.

Nothing is wrong with you!!! Not all diets work for all people. We all have to remember that. What were you eating when you were losing weight?? Example diet?? we can possibly give more input from there...

the consistent calorie deficit that you are referring to - how low are you going? i thought you were doing a 1200 calorie diet? How much were you eating (calorie wise) before you started doing the 1200 bit??

It doesn't hurt to change it up and yes, possibly the solution is to eat at about 1400 for a couple weeks and focus on staying the SAME weight and get your body to realize that you are adjusting to your new slimmer self? that seems like it would make sense..

lemme know and i'll see if i can help.

dont beat yourself up. you are doing great. this is not EASY at all so that is whywe are all here to help eachother. hang tight, you'll be fine and you'll get support /advice and get to your goal with some patience and determination ;).

S
 
Hi NTL!

Heres the two biggest tricks up my sleeve for staving off late night hunger....I eat a fairly decent breakfast and lunch/snack and wait until I CANT wait anymore to do dinner..I start getting really hungry somewhere around 330 or 4 but make myself wait till later, even if its just till 5pm. also..I chug a big glass of water before each meal, during the meal and after the meal. Finally, I read that eating a pickle or something vinegary before a meal really helps too, tho I cant remember why!:p I think its something about the carbs in your meal and the pickle making you feel fuller longer.

And one last thing is..when you are laying in the bed, and feel that twinge of hunger, tell yourself that this is your body eating the fat...read that somewhere too. Makes sense, because oftentimes Ill go to bed feeling that twinge, ignore it and go to sleep, and sure enough the scale is good to me the next morning!

Hope this helps a bit!
 
Skyler,
Thanks!

What I'm thinking is that it takes much longer for the protein to get absorbed into my body, it just kind of sits in the stomach, so my brain is still thinking that I'm hungry(despite the full stomach, I know). I think I need to get carbs in first, so that they can get absorbed fast into my bloodstream, and then follow up with protein. I ate a snack like 2 hrs after breakfast, and only then it registered that its been fed, and then all of the sudden I felt really full, like I just ate a huge meal, not a 100 calorie snack. It was really weird.

I am doing 1200 cal diet, kind of. I'm more concerned with calorie deficit, which is how much I burn vs. how much I eat, but make sure that I don't go too low. What I meant before is that since December I only had 2 days when I ate more calories then I burned that day, so maybe my body is puttin on the breaks.

This past week my average calories were 1238, not that great, but not awful either. I'd rather have the average cals eaten around 1100, because that seems to make me loose faster. Average cals burned were 1600, so got a daily deficit of about 350. Not enough to loose a lb, but maybe a half?

Kate, unfortunately when I get home from work I am so hungry I cannot wait to eat. I usually eat something small to keep the hungry wolves at bay and cook dinner. If I don't snack on smth, it becomes a reall danger that I overeat during dinner. I also tend to have low blood sugar if I wait too long, so I start feeling shaky and almost light headed(not really, but almost like a high), at which point I become a raging munching monster. I try not to let that happen, because once I do get that feeling, it does not go away immediately after I eat - takes about half an hour or so, and its hard to keep myself from eating during that period, so I tend to overeat. Don't know if this makes any sence.

Good advice on eating in bed though! Again, I usually don't do it (surprisingly I'm usually not hungry after dinner). Yestereday was such a weired thing.

Skyler, I'll post later my typical daily diet that I've been doing Jan-Feb with some success. I'll ask Paula about the reaction to the diet, and seek her advice too.
 
Hey Girl Hope Your Doing Good Sorry I Been Mia But I Am Back So Lets Jump On The Wagon And Rock Them Scales!
 
Well, my hopes of loosing half a pound paid off - I did loose it this morning! 137, Whoo-hoo! Getting closer to my goal!

I'm doing pretty good so far:
Instand oatmeal for breakfast (no protein powder yet, so not following Paula's diet) plus coffee - 250
fish and veggies from Saturday leftovers - 200 I think
cottage cheese with 1tsp of sugar. -100
at night will have chicken fajita wrap, 350 cals.
Will probably have another snack either at home or work, whenever I get hungry.

Ok, I was monitoring how I was "feeling" and here it is:
After breakfast - feel really full and satisfied for 2 hrs. Get hungry and eat lunch after 3 hrs, everything normal so far.
After lunch(no starches, only veggies for carbs) - feel full, but not satisfied at all, kind of empty, like I did not eat. Felt full for about 2 hrs, then I got hungry, and ate cottage cheese. As soon as I had that - poof - I feel normal again. My theory is that I don't get this "satisfied" feeling unless I eat carbs/starches, and even 1 tsp of sugar in the cottage cheese is enough to trigger "satisfied" feeling.

Very weird. Anyone else experience something similar?
 
this is great. never mind you losing the 1/2 lb. i think that your success here (on top of the loss, yeah!!!!) is that you are realizing how your body feels and reacts to certain foods and habits. if it takes a spoonful of cottage cheese to get you need you need to be so you dont feel hungry and binge..so be it. it is low in carbs and healthy for you,so consider yourself lucky there. you are doing great. keep it up!
 
Congrats on your loss!!! I agree. What ever makes your tummy content then eat it. It does prevent over eating. That is something I need to work on. It's working for you so far. So keep it up.
 
Thank you, Skyler and JB for support!

We were out of fajita bread, so i had fajita "salad" without the bread. It was really yummy, and I don't feel any cravings afterwards. It had chicken, 1 tsp guacamole, 1tsp sour cream, tomato, salsa and shredded cheese. Really good!
 
Well done on your loss, looks like your off to a great start this week. Also congrats on working your diet out so your not geting hungry afterwards.
 
Zoila, Thanks for support. Unfortunately, I'm still quite ways away from working my diet out. but I'm trying. For the time being, as my body seems unable to function well without refined sugars and starches, I am going back to what I've always been doing, however, I would like to find a way to add more protein to my diet. I really enjoy cottage cheese snacks. I'll see if I can add some more protein and reduce carbs without shifting the balance too much. This requires some creativity, and I just have not gotten the inpiration yet. :) Plus, I'm having a headache today, so no hard thinking!

My diet will be pretty normal today: oatmeal/coffee for breakfast (250), Healthy Choice frozen dinner for lunch(350), fajita for dinner (350), and probably a few snacks in between. I'm out of cottage cheese, and the only eatable things in the machine is chips, which I hate doing, but its better then having low blood sugar, so should be around 1150/1200 today.
 
I Think Your Doing A Great Job Working On Your Diet And What Works For You! All Of Our Bodies Are Different! Congrads On Getting Closer To Your Goal!
 
sounds like you have the day planned out well. low blood sugar is no good, so do the best you can. have a great one. we're all rooting for you!

by the way- i see the 10 lb club ticker...what is your overall goal? how far have you come? if you dont mind sharing!
 
Thanks, Skyler!

Not at all! I should change my ticker. :)
Ok, I was heaviest this summer at 152, then I started doing oatmeal for breakfast (instead of starbucks or bunch of sweet cookies or other yummy stuff), and I got to 145 by mid-december. Then I really decided to do the "dieting" thing and get to my earlier weight of 2 yrs ago - 135. So, 135 is my first mini-goal. Then seeing how this whole weight loss thing is going so well for me, I think of long-term goal of 125 lbs. I've never been that low my adult life, so not sure how I will feel, but we'll see. If I will feel great at 125, and will still have extra fat, and will be able to maintain it without problem, then I may go to 120-115 range, but that will depend on a lot of factors, and I'm not even thinking down that far yet. So, for now, my goal would be 125 I guess.
 
i hear ya. i ve had those discussions with NL with as to where the "appropriate " number really is..i think setting mini goals is smart and then figuring otu how your body is reacting and go from there if it is to lose a little more or to maintain.

doing great!!
 
Hi NTL! I was just flicking through your journal and reading through your experiences and can totally relate to you sugar/carb situation.
I was exactly the same as you, I always thought that unless I had something "bready" nothing seemed to function the way that it should and you're right, you do feel more full after eating bread. I had tried and failed giving it up so many times, it wasn't even funny, 'cause let's face it, anyone who says they can get by without a great big bowl of spaghetti every now and then is weird! :D
So this time around, I decided to switch from the refined white types of starches to the wholemeal varieties and I have completely stopped having carbs for dinner. It's working a treat! I'll have toast or cereal in the morning and make sure I have a brown bread roll with lunch and then I'll have my protiens for dinner. Have you maybe tried doing something like that? Tailored to your lifestyle of course! Whatever is more convenient. I know you prefer something starchy at night.
Also, i noticed on your first page your avergae daily resting metabolism. How do you determine what your resting metabolism is? 'cause i think might help me??
 
Hi, Bedsy!
Thank you very much for your input. Yes, I can substitute refined carbs with whole grain ones. I do try to get a whole grain whenever I can, like getting whole grain bagels and bread, and eating brown rice instead of white. I tried eating whole grain pasta, but it just did not taste right, and it took so long to cook, that it was not practical. I don't feel like I need a whole lot of starches with a meal, but I do need at least some, whether its a soft wrap or some mashed potatos or a bit of noodles.
I will think on what I can substitute in my diet to eat more whole grains, hopefully that will help to transition me off carbs and into more protein!

As for resting metabolic rate, I found out mine from fitday program I'm using (fitday.com). There are many online calculators that will help. Just type into a search engine "metabolic rate calculator" and you'll get many results. Discovery Channel website has one too, but i don't remember who else. I would advise to calculate your "basal metabolic rate" first - that's the amount of calories your body burns by just breathing and converting food to energy, and then use "activity" calculator to add up all the activities that you do throughout the day. Some metabolic rate calculators will calculate this for you if you select an "average" level of activity, but I found that they overestimate things for me a bit, so you have to be really honest with yourself and think how much you're really just sitting down, and how much time you spend doing things standing up. Also these things are not completely accurate, and they use "averages". From what I've read any actual number they give you may be off by about 200 calories either way.

Hope this helps!
 
Ok, update from yesterday. My evil husband baught a fresh loaf of italian bread in the bakery and I absolutely could not resist it! So, I came at about 1400 cals yesterday, not good at all. You see, even the best plans can shutter so quickly! I could not resist it this morning either. In addition, I gained back the 1/2 lb that I lost, so I'm back to 137.5, where I had been from 2/19. Funny thing, I do feel fatter around my stomach. I really need to start exercising, but I have not been able to do so because after work I'm too hungry and too tired, and have not been able to go to bed on time so I can get enough sleep and rest, so I cannot wake up any earlier then I have. At it is I keep hitting snooze button too many times.

Alright, I have to stop complaining. :)
 
Stop Them Excuses GirLfriend You Excercise After Work Tired Or Not I Bet You Will Feel Better And Sleep Better And 20 Minutes Will Not Kill Ya There Are Even 10 Minute Target Pilate Dvds Out There So Stop Them Excuses Lol!!!! OH YES AS NEWBRIDE WOULD SAY I AM A SLAVE DRIVER LMAO BUT NO ITS TRUE NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!!
 
you are allowed to complain, BUT, remember that exercise is the hardest during the first 10 minutes so just get on that bike and try - you'll feel better (as long as your illness is better) and you will get a surge of energy as well. It is hard to motivate but a necessary component of loss (which you already know!)
 
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