Question about hunger and appetite

[Anonymous]

I am having similar issues. I have been an athlete all my life and therefore my body got used to large portions -- and it never mattered weightwise, until now. I am over 40 and just cannot seem to shed those 10-15 lbs. I eat well 80% of the time, exercise a lot, and just stay at this same damn weight. I *feel* great. I *love* exercising. But, I do not look as good as I do 10 lbs less. I fear it's the exercise that leads to eating too much (even if it is healthy food, it's still too much!). I do not believe in cleanses or other unsustainable methods. They tend to lead to binging and the weight generally comes back once you return to past habits. Anyone have any advice -- or do I just need to accept that 'This is 40.' ? Should I exercise less so that I eat less? What's the right amount of exercise at this age?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm with you...have always had a huge appetite and need to eats lots of good or I feel hungry...and sometimes get hangry.

I don't have any advice. I'm 5'8", exercise regularly and look great at 145. Right now I'm 155 and look fine, but not great. I'm 43 and I'm just not sure I want to be hungry all the time to lose 5-10 pounds.

Do you have muscle?

Yes. I play a sport regularly and work out with a trainer 2x a week.

I asked because I find that the only time my appetite diminishes is when I don't exercise a lot. But, exercise is my stress relief and. I look much better at 155 *with* muscle than 145 *without* muscle.

I could never do the three days of juice cleanse. My blood sugar is too wonky...I would either pass out or be unable to sleep. I do like the idea of cutting my portions back a little bit. Maybe start there, OP, and see how you do. I would also recommend adding some savory stuff to your menu. I tend to overeat at a certain point if I've only been eating clean and I think it's because my clean recipes are so bland. Even just adding herbs and spices seems to help.

The cleanse I do is actually very balanced. It is 1400 calories consumed fairly evenly every 2-3 hours with a heavier, nut based juice at the end of the day that makes me fall asleep almost instantly. I never feel or sleep better than when I am on it. I also never binge after. It has been over a month since my last one, and I am still lying weight by eating smaller portions of clean food.

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I looked at the juices you mentioned in an earlier post and the vast majority have no protein. That would not work for me at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm someone who naturally has a big appetite. If I were to eat pizza I could absolutely eat 4 slices and not feel stuffed. I could have 2 eggs and 2 pancakes and bacon and hash browns and feel just fine.
I am 5'6 and weigh 147 right now. I was at a high of 158 a few years ago, got down to 136-138 but got sloppy on my eating and here I am.

This week I decided to try to dramatically reset my appetite and food intake. I have been skipping breakfast and eating very clean and light. For example I had about a half cup of chicken breast and raw vegetables for lunch and about 8 boiled shrimp, half a cup of black beans and broccoli (cooked in a bit of olive oil) for dinner.

Surprisingly though I am eating probably 1/3 of the calories I normally eat, I am only slightly hungrier than I was before. (I wasn't eating the huge meals I referenced before. I did try to stay away from simple carbs and sugar). I was often hungry before, and I was eating healthy fats and lots of protein. I think I am just a hungry person!

I know what I am doing now is not sustainable. It isn't enough fuel. But how do I transition into eating a more normal amount? I am actually finding that skipping breakfast is good for me because I eat less through the rest of the day. Even when I eat a high protein breakfast I am hungry again by 10:30 am and am not satisfied with a normal sized lunch.

Any advice on what to do next? Can I keep eating like this? Should I slowly transition to eating more? Skip breakfast?

You're likely hungry because your body is lacking nutrients. Also carbs aren't as satisfying as fat.

Do you normally order pizza? If so, it's all processed and is usually made up of fake shit and has few nutrients. At the very least, if you are having a pizza hankering, make it instead. You can buy pizza dough for $1 from Trader Joe's. Put in your own ingredients, and try to get some veges in there like zucchini or eggplant. Use real cheese. Pay attention to the labels. Some cheeses aren't even made from cheese nowadays - like the stuff that says sandwich slice.

No, I don't normally eat pizza. I think I have pizza once a year. I was just using it as an easy to understand example of how much I can eat. I eat a very nutrient rich diet, actually. Typically eggs with vegetables in them in the morning. Lunch is usually meat and vegetables (like from whole foods bar) or a salad with some kind of protein and low-fat dressing. Dinner would be something like salmon and black beans and broccoli or other vegetable. I eat fruit pretty regularly too. I could just eat a lot of everything -- like a big steak with a big serving of brussels sprouts and strawberries. And then could still eat dessert, which for me would be sugar-free ice cream or very dark chocolate.

So how much do you drink per day? Do you begin your day with 1-2 glasses of water? Do you drink water prior to every meal?

[Anonymous]

I drink a lot of water and am working to drink even more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5:03 - a lot of canned soups are high in sodium because it's a preservative, plus it adds flavor, especially to soups that are lower in calories.

A salad won't have sodium unless you salt it or add a salty dressing or croutons. A sandwich might not have much sodium, depending on the bread and fillings. An omelette will have as much salt as you put in.

How old are you? I haven't are canned soup since college. Eating lentil soup tonight, I made it, even the broth. We are on the exercise and fitness forums, so I would assume that people are health concise and don't consider canned soup part of a balanced diet.

Do you still eat steak ums?

[Anonymous]

Read recently where juicing is not healthy due to the amount of sugar - albeit natural - in juices. Also, juices have little fiber. It might be okay for 1-2 days, but definitely not recommended to do often.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you be thirsty instead? Try Having soup (not cream based) but brothy at the beginning of every meal, filling.

OMG, that would be so much sodium.

Only if you are still eating soup from a can. Really? Soup is just about the easiest thing to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read recently where juicing is not healthy due to the amount of sugar - albeit natural - in juices. Also, juices have little fiber. It might be okay for 1-2 days, but definitely not recommended to do often.

+1 additionally, juicing does not require that you chew, and chewing is the mechanism that sends the message to your brain and body "I am receiving nourishment." Many other healthier things you can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I drink a lot of water and am working to drink even more.

Don't waste your energy. If you're thirsty, sure, have water. Don't eat or drink when you're thirsty, because then it's hard to gauge when you're full. But if you're "working to drink even more" just because you think you need to drink beyond thirst, you're wrong.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html?_r=0