1780 calories by noon and still hungry

[blessed]

Since I just found out my DH is diabetic, I learned that sunflower seeds control blood sugar. If your hunger is low blood sugar maybe a jar of sunflower seeds at you desk would help.

 

[hova22]

I like the switch to natural peanut butter suggestion.

Also, a cheese omelete with 2 slices of whole grain toast is mighty filling in the morning. I like to use egg beaters. It's a nice change of pace from oatmeal.

Are you trying to gain / maintain / lose? You seem active with the martial arts, so I'm sure you burn a lot of calories. If you are happy as is, keep eating and exercising how you currently do. Just like financial planning, you need a destination to set your goals toward.

If you haven't already been, an excellent place to start is the Mens Health Message board. (Can't post the link because my work blocks it.) However, there is a lot to learn over there. It has an interesting dynamic (like here) and is focused around fitness goals (routines, eating, motivation, etc.) If you observe a little then ask there, I think you'll be better served by some of their responses as well.

 

[ERD50]

Question: 1780 calories now, but what were you normally consuming?

I think it is a mistake to try to make a big jump down (if that is what you are doing) - of course you will feel hungry.

Analogy: A couch potato tells you his near-term goal is to get in shape and run a half- marathon (13.1 miles) and place in the top half. You wouldn't instruct him to go out the first day and run 26.2 miles. You work up to it.

I suggest the same with changing a diet. Identify maybe 500 calories of calorie dense food that you eat throughout the day. Replace it with 300 calories of bulky food. It's only 200 calories less, and the bulk should help keep you from feeling hungry. Do it for a week or two to let your body adjust. Then find another 400 dense calories to replace with 200 bulky calories. Repeat at a slow pace until you are at a level that seems good for you.

I think you still have a lot of calorie dense foods in there. I agree with others that you need some protein and some fat throughout the day to help from feeling hungry. But give your body time to adjust. I've read that when people increase the fiber in their diet, they should add the equivalent of one serving of fruit/vegetable and maintain it for three weeks before adding any more. It takes that long for the flora/fauna in your intestinal tract to adjust to the changing environment. Go slow.

Follow RIT's advice - maybe you need to see your doctor?

I like the switch to natural peanut butter suggestion.

Pretty minor difference. I eat TJ's PB 'cause I like it (ingred: peanuts,salt). Kid's eat the big-name Skippy (ingred: too lazy to type it, includes sugars, oils).

TJ - Sugars 2g; cal 150
Skippy - Sugars 3g; cal 190

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

maybe a jar of sunflower seeds at you desk would help.

I like sunflower seeds, but maybe some air-popped popcorn might help more....

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dry roasted, without salt

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Snacks, popcorn, air-popped

31 Cal/CUP versus 745 (!) Cal/CUP.


Sure, you would probably eat more cups of popcorn than cups of SS seeds (a cup is a lot of ss seed). But, if I had a jar in front of me all day, I would - easy. One-third of your allotment right there.

-ERD50

 

[dumpster56]

1780 after lunch? Then dinner and snacks you might be near 3000 a day. Big calories.

 

[haha]

So, here's what I've eaten so far today:

1 cup oatmeal with a dollop of peanut butter: 400 calories
Half a peanut butter sandwich: 250 calories
1 Nature Valley peanut butter granola bar: 180 calories
1 apple: 80 calories
3 pretzel rods: 120 calories
2 ham/swiss/lettuce/mustard sandwiches: 750 calories (5 oz ham, 2 oz cheese)

So I'm up to 1780 calories for the day, just after lunch. And I am hungry enough to be distracted (not that I need help in being distracted). Today is not unusual; this is pretty consistent. Though my hunger level definitely seems to be rising in recent weeks.

I've fairly discontinued a work lunch program (it was no longer practical) that I had been on for the last nine years. I've been trying to figure out what to bring in for lunch that is filling, decently healthy, easily portable, decently priced, and (very importantly) doesn't take very long to cook/assemble -- I'm lazy. This week I'm trying ham sandwiches, though those are pushing $5 per day since I need so much food.

I've tried Lean Pockets and Chicken Helper, but geez the sodium is through the roof. Big salads weren't working out for me, either. I'm not big into soups nor seafood.

Anyhow, does anyone have ideas on things to bring into work (lunch and/or snacks) that might help me out here.

Suggest a pound of deep-fried fatback with some buttered pork rinds.

Ha

 

[REWahoo]

After 31 posts I'm amazed no one has given you the definitive solution: bacon.

 

[simple girl]

I used to pack a hard boiled egg . It was just the right amount of protein for a quick pick me up .

This is one of my favorite hunger pang killer tricks, too. I know it's bad for cholesterol, but I try not to overdo it. Usually when I am really hungry, protein is the only thing that helps.

 

[simple girl]

I also find a small protein bar (snack size - 100 calories) helps me. I like the zone snack bars.

 

[Purron]

After 31 posts I'm amazed no one has given you the definitive solution: bacon.

Yea, where's CFB when you need him?

 

[Alan]

Boy, does no one work at lunchtimes or during the afternoon? May be you should go walking at lunch time

How much are you drinking? Often hunger is mistaken for thirst. I'm 6'1", 175lbs and don't eat anyway close to the calories you listed. For breakfast I had a cup of oatmeal and for lunch I had a tossed salad from the cafeteria and added a small snack-can of salmon. I drink constantly during the day (coffee, diet soda and water) and go for a brisk 15 minute walk after lunch.

 

[Dawg52]

After 31 posts I'm amazed no one has given you the definitive solution: bacon.

Yup, about 4 slices with 3-4 scrambled eggs with cheese, hash browns, and a couple of slices of buttered whole wheat toast chased down with a big glass of orange juice. Should get you to lunch without starving to death.

A typical day for me starts with a bowl of Fiber One with blueberries and a couple of cups of coffee. Then go play golf drinking plenty of water and having a granola bar about half way through the round. Get home around 2:00pm and have a turkey sandwich with cheese, grapes, chips, and a glass of ice tea. So I can usually make it through the first half of the day without a ton of calories. It's the rest of the day that can give me problems.

 

[Rambler]

Its been said before, but I say it again: add more protein....then try cutting back a bit on the carbs. Seems to help me.

R

 

[RonBoyd]

After 31 posts I'm amazed no one has given you the definitive solution: bacon.

There may be some truth in this. I "suffer" the same affliction. I have bouts of 'hunger pangs" quite often also. I don't, however, consume 1,800 calories before noon but nevertheless... My weight has been constant for perhaps 25 years -- a little on the heavy side (but not by much).

Anyway, I have been searching for an answer to this for some time now -- with nothing positive to report. There are two really interesting books that I have come across that probably provide the answer (although I have, so far, been unable to dig it out).

Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease

The Shangri-la Diet: The No Hunger Eat Anything Weight-loss Plan

In any event, neither book is what I would lump in with the "fad" diet books.

 

[RDamien]

So, here's what I've eaten so far today:

1 cup oatmeal with a dollop of peanut butter: 400 calories
Half a peanut butter sandwich: 250 calories
1 Nature Valley peanut butter granola bar: 180 calories
1 apple: 80 calories
3 pretzel rods: 120 calories
2 ham/swiss/lettuce/mustard sandwiches: 750 calories (5 oz ham, 2 oz cheese)

So I'm up to 1780 calories for the day, just after lunch. And I am hungry enough to be distracted (not that I need help in being distracted). Today is not unusual; this is pretty consistent. Though my hunger level definitely seems to be rising in recent weeks.

Height/weight?

Calculate your BMR here: BMR Calculator

That's what you need (roughly) to simply exist. Added to that is any activity. From walking to your car to a hard gym workout so it's a big variable. 1780 by mid day might be under-eating, depending on your situation.

The granola bar is glorified candy. It is what it is though, I eat em from time to time myself. Ham and cheese sandwiches I'd replace with grilled chicken wraps maybe? Or tuna with a bit of cheese in a wrap or whole wheat bread. Something along those lines.

You also need good carbs. Do you like veggies? Baby carrots, broccoli, a nice spinach salad with some beans and a bit of dressing. Those choices will keep you fuller longer. Dont go nuts on the salad, keep the dressing light and have it consist mostly of veggies like baby spinach and broccoli florets, shredded carrots etc.

 

[DLS1]

Your stomach will get used to a plan if you stick with it... well, at least the pangs will be less intense. I strongly recommend popping about 5 raw almonds if you get the pangs really bad. It helps for me!

 

[tuixiu]

I'm in "yellow alert" status due to a very slow upward creep in weight over the last few years.

I was 5'8 135 lbs from 20 years old until about 36 years old. Now I'm 40 and about 145 lbs and although I still look pretty lean I can definitely tell the difference with a slight spare tire beginning to form. I also no longer have the boxers build of roped on muscle it looks more like dead weight now. Ugh.

It's a big deal for me because my entire life I've been the guy who could eat whatever he wants but stay the same weight and run 5 miles on a whim. I'm definitely going to have to take corrective action on this trend since if it's a linear increase I project 5/lbs per two years = 195 lbs at age 60. I'm not sure if that's how it works or not.

Ok now that I'm done hijacking off topic (I was really just explaining my new found interest in calories and stuff) I'd also go with the boiled egg suggestions. Under 100 calories and that's a lot of bang for the buck, I've found if I throw down a couple of those with some fruit in the morning I'm good to go.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

fiber not only cuts bathroom time but it also cuts cravings by slowing digestion. try psyllium whole husks blended into a protein shake.

fiber: the leading cause of illiteracy in america.

 

[Kronk]

Here are some of the changes I plan to make as a result of this thread:

Gosh darn Arnold breads. You think you're getting reasonably good bread... Top 3 ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, High Fructose Corn Syrup. I'll try to find some sprouted breads.

I'm thinking about trying a number of brown rice and chicken meals, probably things that I can just throw in a slow cooker.

I'll give almonds a try as a snack. I'll probably bring in some baby carrots to work as well.

Grilled chicken breast sandwiches sound good.

May or may not give natural peanut butter a try -- it is more the partially hydrogenated oils in the processed peanut butter that is bad for health.
--------------------------------

Regarding my personal health/weight situation: I'm 34, 6'0" and was 193 this morning. In the Weds weigh-in threads I've got my weekly weight listed, which is normally 190-194 with a couple outlyers on either side. I wear 33" khakis and jeans and I'll get around to measuring my waist/hips ratio one of these days. I maxxed out at 260 in 2001, lost the weight after my father died while riding his bicycle the day before his 59th b-day. So I've been very aware of weight and calories over the last seven years.

I exercise daily (or nearly so) doing three martial arts and tennis thrown in the mix, normally over 10 hours of working out per week. Pretty aerobically fit. The rest of my lifestyle is pretty sedentary -- when I'm not working out, I'm not doing much.

According to that BMR calculator (which is kind of cheesy, had to enter 5' 12" since 6'0" wasn't allowed), I'm around 1950 there. For my level of activity, 3000 calories is actually on the lower side of normal (MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture - Home gives me 3200 calories to maintain the weight). I've got lots of diabetes in my family (uncle & 2 cousins with Type 1, mom with Type 2), but I've had blood work done fairly recently and changes to diet/activity have been pretty minimal.

Anyhow, if I had this thread to do over again, I'd probably emphasize that my weight is at an equilibrium point. 1800 calories by the time I finish lunch isn't necessarily the problem. The problem is that I'm still hungry all day long, some of which is, admittedly, boredom hunger. Still feels like hunger. The point of mentioning the magnitude of calories that I eat is more to emphasize that I need filling things that are fairly cheap in the quantities I am eating, otherwise my food costs will go through the roof. And did I emphasize enough how lazy I am? ;-)

Can never have too many ideas...

 

[RDamien]

Anyhow, if I had this thread to do over again, I'd probably emphasize that my weight is at an equilibrium point. 1800 calories by the time I finish lunch isn't necessarily the problem. The problem is that I'm still hungry all day long, some of which is, admittedly, boredom hunger.

Ah I see. I misunderstood. Ok so it sounds to me like you're in good shape and expending a lot of energy with martial arts and tennis. As a result you're hungry.

Any idea what your bodyfat is? Anyway.. if it's a matter of getting in a good amount of calories to feel satiated, give smoothies a try. 1% milk, whey protein, a banana, some oatmeal for consistency, natural peanut butter, berries, plain non-fat yogurt ... whatever you like. Endless combinations, easy, quick and you'll feel full. In my experience anyway.

 

[SecondCor521]

Kronk,

A couple of ideas I didn't see in the thread yet:

Try to figure out why you're eating and if it is anything other than true hunger, try to retrain yourself to do something else instead -- drink a glass of water, read a book, take a walk, call a friend, post here, whatever. Hopefully eventually you will establish new thought patterns and habits. Note that another bad reason for eating is stress.

Weight lifting. If you can increase your muscle mass, you'll burn more calories and be able to eat more. About two years ago I got into the groove of going to the gym and was able to eat what I wanted within reason and not get hungry because the extra muscle mass was always burning calories. I think I remember sleeping better and clothes fitting better as well. Note that you'll obviously develop some muscle mass from the martial arts and tennis, but not as much as you would with some weight lifting.

2Cor521

 

[Marquette]

Kronk, I thought about something... I know you work out a lot and I know you watch your weight. Have you spent some money to get an aerobic profile? It's cheap to do yourself but more accurate if you get hooked up to a machine where they measure your oxygen expenditure. I think you could use that and your resting metabolic rate to get a rather precise sense of how many calories you're burning a day. It could very well be that you just need to modify the calorie source but not the amount (might even need to up the amount).

I think everyone deals with metabolizing stuff differently, but I know high fructose corn syrup is a huge problem for me. I feel hungry, weak, and shaky after having too much of it. So, when I'm not lazy, I police the labels. For sandwiches, I like sprouted grain wraps the best... and I use natural PB because, even though it's only saving a bit in calories, I do better with avoiding any processed sugar. A food journal is a cheap investment that'll only take a bit of time. Even with healthy foods like fruit, you might find that you process sugar from, say, pink lady apples faster than a granny smith apple or even a banana.

Personally, I feel best when I favor protein in the morning over carbs. When I do eat carbs, I feel better if I stick with whole grains and weightier stuff. I'm not great about sticking to it, but I know what works for me.

 

[bright eyed]

on the natural peanut butter, try lots of different brands, they vary quite a bit on the taste meter - so don't give up if you don't like the first one. we use the trader joe's organic valencia nut (creamy) one and my daughters love it...

good luck to you! and sounds like you are doing well with the weight maintenence area...congrats! not sure if this thread is helping you not think about hunger though..hehe

 

[ERD50]

May or may not give natural peanut butter a try -- it is more the partially hydrogenated oils in the processed peanut butter that is bad for health.
--------------------------------

I do eat a 'natural' PB, because I happen to like the taste (TraderJoe's brand). But the trans fat thing is blown way out of proportion.

This was a ref from wiki on Peanut Butter:

Peanut butter is trans fat free

Recurring rumours that commercial peanut butters contain trans fats are not founded.

The rumours first started because small amounts (1-2 per cent of total weight) of hydrogenated vegetable oils are added to commercial peanut butters to prevent the peanut oil from separating out. According to M. Sanders, lead researcher at the ARS's Market Quality and Handling Research Unit, the hydrogenation process can generate the formation of trans fatty acids in oils.

For the study, Sanders prepared 11 brands of peanut butter, including major store brands and "natural" brands, for analysis by a commercial laboratory. He also sent paste freshly prepared from roasted peanuts for comparison. The laboratory found no detectable trans fats in any of the samples, with a detection limit of 0.01 per cent of the sample weight.

IOW, there are more important things to worry about. But I would really limit the PB - that is pretty calorie dense. Do you actually measure it? A 'serving size' is pretty small. Better to have stuff with more bulk in it than that.


-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Next PB link was interesting too.

THE PEANUT FILES - "THE PEANUT BUTTER DIET"

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In fact, research conducted over the past few years suggests that going back to peanut butter may actually take off unwanted pounds more easily than following a standard low-fat eating plan. In one revealing experiment, almost three times as many peanut butter dieters as low-fat dieters managed to maintain their weight loss over an 18-month period.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]But here's the hitch: Unless you're experienced in nutrition, designing an eating plan that packs in peanut butter plus all the nutrients you need without going overboard on calories can be extremely tricky. If you don't watch your calories, you will gain weight. A calorie is still a calorie. Eat more than you burn up, and watch that scale climb--fast.[/FONT]

-ERD50