feeling hungry

[monica]

maybe i'm not eating enough, but it's barely lunchtime here, and i have eaten all the food i brought to work. today i've had:

cream of brown rice with honey, banana and raisins
pretzels/rice crackers
brown rice with kidney beans and salsa

i've just finished the rice and feel hungry still. should i be eating more starches? i was never a big eater to begin with, and i have maybe 20 lbs to lose. but i'm just feeling a little unsatisfied.....maybe it's just the first few days of adjusting? i see some people's food journals in Roberta's Corner and it doesn't look like they eat much of anything! is it just the quantities of whole grains and complex carbs is larger than usual?

thanks for the help.

[VeganMan]

Monica -

Are you eating breakfast? If you aren't you should and if you are, are you eating enough.

What quantities did you eat on your list of food you brought to work.

I used to get hungry all the time when I was a omni and when I first started McD'ing. But now I don't eat nearly as much. I'm 6' 180lbs and do some moderate excerise.

If you are more active, you may very well need to eat more and if you are feeling hungry, bring some cut up veggies and some fruit tomorrow.

So far today I've had 1cup grape juice, 2 blueberry muffins (small), 1 english muffin, handful of dried apricots, and 2cups of fried rice. I'll be eating about 2cups potato casserole and a banana before dinner tonite. I kind of like to eat all day in small amounts, helps fight the hunger for me.

Hope this helps.

[Faith in DC]

Where's fruits and veggies? You are allowed to eat them too. It is hard to tell since portion size isn't written down. My typical work day

1 cup of prepared oatmeal and 1/4 cup of blueberries
2 fruits
sandwich with Lettuce, tomato, one cup of tomato or vegetable soup, 1/4 cup of kale/collards/spinach, 1 1/2 cup of another veggie
then carrot sticks and hummus or pretzels or 1/2 a winter squash (like 1/2 cup).

I pretty much eat the whole time I'm at work LOL.

[monica]

sorry, let's try it with my portions here:

B: 1 cup cream of brown rice w/half banana, 1/2 cup raisins and squirt honey
snack: pretzels and crackers
L: 1 cup brown rice w/ 3/4 cup kidney beans and 1/2 cup salsa, bag of baby carrots
snack: tangerine

i also eat all day at my desk. i like to eat every few hours, but i feel like i'm not filling up. yesterday i had tomatoes, cukes, onion salad and kale at dinner with baked potato and beans. so generally i get lots of veggies, maybe i needed more today.

[monica]

sorry, let's try it with my portions here:

B: 1 cup cream of brown rice w/half banana, 1/2 cup raisins and squirt honey
snack: pretzels and crackers
L: 1 cup brown rice w/ 3/4 cup kidney beans and 1/2 cup salsa, bag of baby carrots
snack: tangerine

i also eat all day at my desk. i like to eat every few hours, but i feel like i'm not filling up. yesterday i had tomatoes, cukes, onion salad and kale at dinner with baked potato and beans. so generally i get lots of veggies, maybe i needed more today.

[VeganMan]

There is plenty of discussion on how much you should eat and it's usually "as much as you want to be satisfied." It does not say FULL. I used to eat until I was full because when I was omni, that's how I ate. I think "successful" vegans learn that satisfied and full are two different feelings. My short definition would be satisfied is when you are no longer hungry (and probably won't be for a couple of hours). Full is the feeling you get when you can't, at this point for you, eat anymore. I'm only a couple months into being vegan and now full to me has taken on a new meaning....a point when I DON'T want to eat any more because I'm not hungry. I eat my two cups of rice or whatever (like I said I eat many small meals) and then I'm satisfied and "full", not stuffed.

What kind of crackers? Are they McDougall approved? I think you might want replace with veggies, fruit or WW toast or something.

Keep it going

[monica]

that is a great distinction, between "satisfied" and "full". i do not like that full (a.k.a. stuffed) feeling. i am really trying to gauge my hunger and make sure i'm drinking enough water, herbal tea, etc. to keep hydrated also.

the crackers are legal, they're the baked brown rice crisps i saw on his list. (i forget the brand). but you are right, whole grain toast would probably fill me up more. i should bring a pot of no-sugar jam to keep in my work fridge and have on toast if i feel like i need a "treat". i do tend to think that baked crunchies (crackers, pretzels) are more empty calories than anything so i will try to not eat so much.

[hope101]

I agree about feeling full being different on this diet than being an omni. The Okinawans, known for having the largest percentage of people in the world who live to 80, believe in eating to 80% of full. As an omni I was never satisfied until it was 100%. Now I aim for 80%, but give myself permission to eat again if I need to. You might give some thought to making the banana a whole one instead of using raisins (just lower density and more volume). I agree about watching the pretzels and crackers. If you haven't found a salad yet you like, how about a nice thermos of soup at lunch. I find something warm, and again the volume, help me feel full.

Also, because you are changing your eating habits, I suspect food is on your mind a lot. I find that itself makes me hyperaware of my hunger. With time the anxiety about what to eat will go away.

[DianeR]

The quantities seem on the smallish size to me. I know I would get ravenous if I only had what you had for breakfast. I would up the quantities until you aren't getting hungry.

Try cutting back on the raisins, though. Dried fruit is far more calorie dense and, I believe, is more likely to cause your blood sugar to spike and then fall.

[monica]

Also, because you are changing your eating habits, I suspect food is on your mind a lot. I find that itself makes me hyperaware of my hunger. With time the anxiety about what to eat will go away.

well, this sure hits the nail on the head. i can't stop thinking about what i'm going to eat next, what i'm going to pack tomorrow and it's stressing me out. i am sure my "routine" foods will come with time and it won't be such a big deal. one interesting thing i've noticed today (Day 3) is that i am feeling slight heartburn in the morning after my oatmeal. i wonder if this is related to eliminating coffee cold turkey on monday (after 2-3 cups daily). i have no caffeine withdrawal symptoms otherwise, which is great.

this morning, i had 2 packets of oatmeal instead of one, and i think that was a good change.

[VeganMan]

Are you having sweetend oatmeal? You mentioned your oatmeal came in a package, that usually means something has been added, such as Apple Cinnamon or Maple Brown Sugar. You might check the package for "bad stuff". If this is the case, look for plain rolled oats and add "good stuff" to them yourself.

[monica]

it is the plain packaged oatmeal from arrowhead mills. so no "bad stuff". i do almost 100% of my shopping at whole foods, so i can stay away from a lot of "bad" additives, etc.

[slugmom]

Another thing - I've just 'restarted' McDougalling after a long lapse, and I WAS hungry the first couple days (actually, I'm really hungry today, too, but i think that's because I forgot to eat breakfast and then my children distracted me halfway through lunch. I'll go eat some fruit, LOL)

I would wake UP hungry ... which was unusual. I think it was because my metabolism was working harder. At least, I like to think so. That burning up all those healthy carbs was keeping it busy and it was ready for more!

I do think the the difference between "satisfied" and "full" is key ~ and you could be not hungry (satisfied) but dissatisfied in the tastes, still wanting something else, it might take awhile to learn what really satisfies your cravings, not just your hunger ... for me, I can never eat enough crunchy snacky food, even when I'm *full* (stomach stuffed) and not hungry anymore, I can still crave more. I think I just need to unlearn that.

ANYway, my point is ... think of being hungry as a good thing, as sign that your body is burning burning burning those good foods.