Can't control my ravenous hunger
OK, I could really use some help here. Last year, I raced at a tri-career low of 155 pounds, about 10 pounds heavier than I used to row at in college. After IMLP, I really let go of any sense of urgency around body comp, ate like a trash compactor, and gained 10-12 pounds from July - December.
Around mid December, my attention turned back towards body comp, and with the start of the January OS, plus some renewed focus, I figured that I'd take care of things pretty efficiently (having gained and lost ~30 pounds a few times in my life, I wasn't too worried about it).
I started using LoseIt again to track calories in vs. calories out, tried to cut down on chocolatey desserts (my big weakness) and beer, and generally eat a more balanced diet of stuff, though a little light on veggies right now. But I'm running into a huge problem.
I'm friggin' hungry. I mean really hungry. All day long. So much so, that by the time I get home for dinner, I'm ready to plow through anything and everything. Last night, though I had the best of intentions, I got home, had 2-3 servings of baked ziti, ate 5 cookies, 2 pieces of chocolate, and then tore into some ice cream. All the while, watching myself, saying "please don't do this, I really don't want to do this, this isn't consistent with my goals", and feeling like an observer in my own life.
Most days, I get up and work out first thing on some water. Typical burn is between 300 (on a core day) to 600 (on a bike day) to as high as 900 (on a longer run day). Then, I shower, eat some breakfast, and go to work.
Breakfast is often either a protein shake (such as myoplex, or a homemade smoothie with frozen fruit, juice, and a scoop of protein powder), a ham/egg/cheese sandwich, or some cereal (though I haven't done much of that recently).
Mid-morning, I often eat a yogurt or a cereal bar of some sort (ie. Nature Valley
Lunch is often a sandwhich or sub, sometimes a naked burrito, or occasionally a big salad with some protein (I'm often scared of that, because I know how hungry I'll be in an hour or two)
Afternoon, I'm usually jonesing for something by about 2:30 or 3, and sometimes can hold it off until 4, before eating a Clif Builders Bar (high protein).
Dinner, I try to eat a reasonable portion of whatever my wife has decided on. Goal is to eat a reasonable portion, have one small piece of dark chocolate, and be done with it. The goal is seldom achieved.
When I was using LoseIt, I was able to hit my goal of a 500 calorie deficit many days, but other days it seemed impossible. Right now, I feel like I'm hungry pretty much around the clock.
I'm open to any and all suggestions, no matter how crazy they sound. Thanks in advance for your help!
Mike
Comments
Mike, I have this new chocolate cake reciepe I wanna try out so you up for it?
On a serious note you should get your metabolism checked to see how many calories your are actually burning. I know Penny had suggested something last year. Also are you taking in enough protein and fat to sustain you?
Good luck
Mike,
I'm right there with you, man. Nothing was safe in the kitchen last night. What works for me is to get the hell out of the kitchen. Recently, I've been brushing my teeth after dinner and going upstairs to read. All my damage is done after dinner. For me, it's in the head, not the stomach. IOW, it's a mental hunger, not physical.
Other tricks I've tried is drinking lots of water to give me that full feeling. Waiting 20' after eating to see if I'm still hungry.
If I'm on a good roll, I can stop after dinner and sit next to my wife as she snacks away (doesn't exercise and doesn't gain weight
) after we put the kids to bed.
It becomes a habit and once you see results in lost weight, it's an easier habit to keep. This is a tough time of year. No races in the near future, no need to be wearing your speedo, so less motivation to stick to your goals.
I have a goal weight and watts I want to be at by the end of March. Sometimes it motivates me, sometimes it just doesn't matter and I eat. And so what. We don't get paid to do this, we pay to do it. It's fun and sometimes it's ok to eat lots of food. Sometimes.
Dave
1. I really try to limit liquid calories. Liquids empty from the stomach so much faster than solids---there's sometime no time for the stomach to distend and give your that sensation of satiety. I basically don't drink any calories because I'm "saving" those precious limited calories for solids.
2. 90 minutes before a workout I try to eat about 400-500 Cal that is mostly starches and a small amount of low fat protein. Even if it's something white and processed like regular pasta or white bread, it's better than going into a workout empty. As you workout first thing in the morning, I would really recommend fuelling well immediately after the workout but with more complex carbohydrates and some lean protein---so like have your yogurt AND that cereal bar. Fiber One makes a pretty decent "Pop Tart" and cereal bars. There is literally a butt-load of fiber in them---hehe, pun intended. In our house, we refer to them as "Poop Tarts".
3. What Dave said about drinking alot of water before you eat and waiting 20 minutes. That gastric>>brain loop of your stomach sensing food in it then your brain acknowledging fullness takes a while and is hardly instantaneous.
Remember that weight loss is not consistently linear and that there will be plateaus. I use the Nutrients function on LoseIt to also track how many gms of protein I take in a day. I shoot for 1gm/kg/day. The hard intervals in OS is like weight lifting so I don't want to lose muscle mass with the caloric reduction.
Hope that helps!
Baked ziti? I could fill a bathtub with it and eat my way out. Yum.
What Kit said re OS/trainer work and your body craving nutrients? My only connection to that is weightlifting and when I used to do that my appetite would go berzerk.
Experience tells me warmer weather and extended wkos will help shed the pounds. And then I can fit in my leather David Lee Roth pants.
I have a few suggestions from my own experience.
Focus on protein and fiber
Think about volume. High volume, low calorie foods are going to help (think green veggies)
Eat often enough that you are never super hungry. If you get really really hungry...it's too late. The potential for damage is pretty high.
Don't under eat. You workouts will tank, you'll be hungry, and you won't lose weight.
Eat some carbs immediately after your workouts, especially the AM workouts. Even if it's just 100 calories or so, even if it's unnecessary for recovery. If I don't do this one, I"m hungry all day long!
Hope some of that helps?
Step 1: Make a BAS (Big Ass Salad) that you put in your Big Ass container and it stays in the fridge. Keep it full, always.
Step 2: Buy a roasted chicken. Strip off all the meat, put it in another container and toss the skin (fatty part)
Step 3: Eat your BAS + chicken for dinner. Get the biggest bowl in the house you can find and fill it. Drink 32oz water with this dinner. Have some fruit for desert if you like.
Sounds like dinner is the danger for you, as it is for me, so the above is my solution. That and getting Joanne on board to either keep stuff out the house, hide it, or lock it up.
Will you be sporting this look at ToC? I think it would look fabulous with the new EN jersey.
I am not an expert, but I know from personal experience that when I am starving at dinner time, its because I have not eaten enough throughout the day. I have switched up my eating plan to consume the majority of my calories before dinner.
I mentally trick myself into thinking I'm eating a big dinner by eating (as Rich says) a BAS, or a 3/4 of a plate full of veggies and 1/4 of lean protein.
If I feel like I NEED a treat later on, 1/2 a scoop of choc protein powder whipped in the blender with ice and voila....its a chocolate milkshake!!!
Good luck!!
I feel your pain - the guilt and frustration that comes from overeating are just terrible. What I find helps the most is to focus
on my health rather than on losing weight. If it's healthy (ie fresh, full of fibre, etc) then eat LOTS of it to stay full.
From what you've described your diet has its share of processed, calorie dense and high cholesterol foods. If your choices are healthy ones, I find that you can eat loads of volume and still get away with it...thereby satisfying the insatiable hunger
I dont' know if it's acceptable to "plug" anyone or anything here, but I have also found that reading about the physiology of appetite and the
biological processes involved in digesting the rubbish that I eat has also helped me understand that no amount of willpower will get
me through my day if my body is craving the bad stuff. To that end, I suggest (the somewhat assininely written but nevertheless helpful "YOU
ON A DIET" by the ubiquitous Roizen and Oz, and the less known but outstanding book on preventing and reversing heart disease by
Dr. Esselstyn. I'm sure there are many other books out there that are also instructive.
It's a huge mental burden what you've described. Best of luck to you .
Jane
Eat a lot more veggies and fruit. It really helps.
Sauteed, steamed, roasted, chopped, blended or just eat them raw. Try to have 2-3 meals a week consiting of large amounts of vegetables and some beans, nuts, small amounts of cheese for protein.
I am 195 lbs with a big appetite. I can easily take down a pint each of cremini mushrooms & brussel sprouts, with a green pepper and two pieces of zucchini added as well. Chop it all up and sautee it with olive oil and a few garlic cloves. Delicious.
If I have a big workout the next day, I'll add some beans and some whole wheat pasta. I've dropped 15 pounds in the past year focusing more of my meals like that.
1) Have a recovery shake as soon as you finish your workout. 200-400 calories.
2) Protein and fat can help keep you full. See if you are less hungry when your breakfast is primarily protein-based.
3) Don't backload your calories - don't put them at the end of the day. Rather than restricting in the morning and mid-day, try putting most of your calories there and see if that helps.
Mike,
I have similar tendencies. I always have a recovery drink immediately following workouts shortly followed by a meal. What I find that really helps though is what I eat in between meals. I used to eat bars but have gotten away from that. I found that they didn't satisfy my hunger. I eat fruit and nuts in between meals. I find that the combination of fiber and fat helps my constant feeling of hunger. Can't really eat too much fruit.
I'm also a big fan of the Big Ass Salad. I always include a protein and some good fat either from avocado or nuts. A little bit of cheese is great in salad too.
Another regular goal I have is to eat between 5-10 (1/2 cup) servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
My biggest weakness is that my ravenous hunger catches up with me on my off days. Very strange, but reproducible phenomenon. I've also worked hard at having plenty of fruit around, but I totally understand your fear of the salad thing (where you get hungry a couple hours later). I sometimes get cravings that are VERY carb specific when I try to go that way. Perhaps that can be trained away. Rich, any thoughts on that?
I use the BAS as my staple lunch.
WJ: no kids here so I wouldn't know
. Yesterday I didn't get my ride done until about 5pm (off the bike at 5p) so I rolled from the bike right into my BAS and a little bread. Some fruit around 8:30p before bed at 9a. Joanne had to wake up very early to go to work so we hit the rack very early.
I currently have LoseIt config'd to help me lose 2lb/wk, with a goal of weighing 155lb by early April, in time for 2 x climbing races I'm doing in April. That's a very aggressive goal for me, especially for April. I've found that the sweet spot for me is to burn 1k cals per day. 1k lets me eat enough that I don't have any problems making my budget goals. Today, a run day only, will be about 750cals. I know I'm going to be starving tonight. I may jump on the bike for an easy 600-700cal spin later in the day, to enjoy the weather and buy myself some room for dinner.
@Jane, I'm accustomed to thinking of other people's diets as being heavy in processed food and saturated fat, but (other than the cookies and ice cream) I wouldn't have said that so much about what I'd put up there. Would you mind expanding a bit on your analysis?
@Rich, Matt, I've tried the BAS, I know the BAS, and until I get hunger under control, it seems to be a non-starter. If I eat one in the state I've been in recently, I'm ready to chew my arm off again in a hour. Chipotle burrito bowl with lots of veggies, OTOH...
@William, I hear you on the BAS incompatibility with families for a dinner solution. When it has worked for me in the past, it had to be a lunch solution.
@Penny, I tried this morning going for a glass of chocolate milk as soon as I was finished with my workout, followed by breakfast after showering and getting dressed. It's a bit tough psychologically to eat so much in the morning when I'm thinking about losing weight...
Thanks again!
Not a huge fan of the clif bars or any protein/meal bar. 270 calories is a lot of real food.
Good luck let us know how it goes
I also find that when I start swimming again (which I have...eeek...I love the social time in the winter since I spin and run alone) it tends to make me hungrier. Like a previous poster said though I try to stack the majority of my calories in the early part of the day and have nothing after 7pm...unless I had to workout - and then I just try to supplement with a glass of soy milk or something to get me through to the morning. I also find that peppermint tea really helps if you are craving sweets post dinner....and so does going to bed early...lol. The later I stay up the more likely I am to snack.....
My personal strategies:
* 5:00 am = 30g of protein first thing in the AM. I do this with 4 brazil nuts and some Almond Butter. The off to workout after some water.
* 7:30 am = Good breakfast with lots of protein (eggs, spinach, beans, salsa).
* 10:30am = Apple.
* 12:30 = Lunch (naked burrito is fine, I usually do a BAS).
* 3:00 = Handful of macadamia nuts or pecans or almonds, plus water.
* 6:00 = Dinner (lean meat + two veggies OR BAS with lots o' lean meat).
* 8:00 = Forced Dessert (mini fruit salad or shake, etc)
Notes:
* The early AM food / protein is key...if only to make me not eat at night time when I wake up.
* If I schedule dessert, I can hold off that long and then will eat bigger.
* After dinner, I need to get out and stay out of the kitchen. Reading with a book elsewhere helps.
Something to remember, is that if you have figured your basic calorie needs at 3000 per day, and then set loseit to keep you at say 2000 to lose your weight...and then do an OS run that yields 750 cals burned...you CAN EAT up to 2750 for the day. Some people mess that up and just stay at 2000.
Great recovery drink from Max Muscle...check out all the ingredients...Have a friend who works for Max Muscle so if anyone interested let me know....meaning don't apy full price for anything......I have been using for a month now and I am sold!!!!!
Check the above link out.
K, I am not in for this year's extravaganza.