Nutrition - feeling hungry between meals

[alphacat]

Hey,​

I'm eating about every 2 hours, but still feeling hungry between the meals.
Despite that, I am energetic during my workouts, but it still bothers me during the day when I'm at work.​

I'm working out 2 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I know that I'm missing a day of rest, but two days are dedicated to technique practice (no power) and light jogging, so I'm not feeling worn out by this workout plan.
Moreover, half an hour of each workout is dedicated to stretches, so that’s another reason why I'm confident in not getting myself into overtraining.​

My nutrition during the days i'm at office (5 days a week) is:
8:00 – 3 slices of brown bread + cheese + veggies.
11:00 – 2 slices of brown bread + meat.
13:00 – 2 slices of brown bread + meat.
15:00 – 2 slices of brown bread + meat.
17:00 – 2 slices of brown bread + cheese + veggies.
18:30 – oats + milk.
19:00 – 21:00 – workout
21:00 – 3 slices of brown bread + cheese + veggies.
23:00 – Tuna + olives.​

I'm eating lots of bread since I'm a lazy person when it comes to the kitchen.
I'm weighting 66kg (145 pounds) and 1.76 meters (5'9.3) tall.
I'm pretty muscular and have low body fat percentage.​

Perhaps you could help me out spot the problem that makes me less energetic when i'm at work.
Thanks.​

 

[shihansmurf]

Try adding a glass of milk to a few of those sandwiches. Failing that, drink extra water. It should help you feel full and it always helps to be hydrated.

Mark.

 

[ATC]

where's the fruits? I would have some fruits as my inbetween meals. Your plan (to me or for me) does not seem vary balanced. I see bread and meat mostly. Some veggies but what you do not say, and no fruits are all.

 

[alphacat]

@Smurf:
I did notice that water makes you fill more full, so I drink about a glass of water (200ml) every hour.

@ATC:
You're right that I should add fruits to benefit from their ingredients.
The thing with fruits is that they contain sugars so I intentionally avoid them during the day.
Perhaps I should take off one slice of bread in the morning and have a fruit instead.

 

[Jenny_in_Chico]

You don't list amounts, so it is difficult to tell, but what I see is a diet full of carbs and little protein or fats. Or you may simply need more calories. I reccommend that you go to NutritionData.com and track your diet for a week. Use the site resources to figure out what your basal metabolic needs are, based on your height, weight and activity level. That way, you can pinpoint where a nutritional deficiency may lie, be it a macronutrient such as protein, or a vitamin such as B12 or iron.

Good luck!

 

[alphacat]

Thanks Jenny.

About the daily protein amount, I consume 20-30gr of protein in each meal on average.
In the last meal, I consume about 10 olives.

About vitamins, since I barely eat fruits, should I start taking multivitamin pills on a daily basis?

Thanks for the site.
Personally, I don't trust those sites.
For example, it's said there that I need minimum of 53gr protein a day, and I need much more than that, so it doesn't help that much.

 

[shihansmurf]

A good multivitamin won't hurt you but the best bet is to get your nutrient intake the way your body was built to, by eating food. Not all sugars are inherently bad, your body needs them in fact. Grab some fruit.

All the carbs that you are eating throughout the day are being converted into sugar, which if you have a high metabolism is being burned through pretty quickly. Trade those for the sugars in the fruit and you will be fine.

Proteins take longer for your body to break down, leave you feeling full longer, and sateed for greater periods. Try doubling or tripling the meat portions in your sanwiches and eating that portion on only one slice of bread. Better yet, skip the bread and eat it on some leaf lettuce with tomato, sprouts, spinache leaves, and purple onion. Throw on a bit of feta cheese, or the like, if ya want. I'd bet that you'll feel a lot less hungry from ingesting the protein than the carbs.

Now I'm hungry.



Best of luck.
Mark

 

[ChingChuan]

Alright. Please believe me when I say that it is wrong to think that fruit is bad because of its sugar content. I mean -what does bread consist of? Carbohydrates. What will they eventually be degraded to? 'Sugars'! Sugars aren't 'wrong' - your body needs them to function - provided that you are not 300 kgs. Of course, it's not healthy to eat only apples - but it's not healthy to eat only 'anything'. Your diet needs to be balanced.

Also, fruit contains a lot more than just 'vitamins' - also electrolytes and additional anti oxidants and more stuff that is probably not even discovered yet.
And doesn't an apple taste a lot better than multivitamin pills?

Most people don't even need those pills when they are eating a healthy and varied diet. If you are missing specific elements from your diet (for instance, if you were a vegetarian) then it'd be necessary to supplement missing vitamins (vit B12 for instance) but 'just taking a multivitamin pill' to account for a diet lacking in fruit doesn't seem the correct solution to me.

So if you're worried about your eating habits, go and consult a dietician. They can help you with creating a healthy and balanced diet that won't let you go hungry after two hours.

You also might consider consulting your GP or primary care physician because there might be other causes of you feeling hungry - for instance, a thryoid gland that works too fast or something else that causes your metabolism to go faster. You'd want to rule such things out... (which can often be done with a very simple blood test - TSH and T4 levels in the blood, if I recall correctly).

 

[bluekey88]

You might want to shift to a "zone" style diet. Less carbs, more protein and more fruits/veggies. It seems to work well with athletes who are training hard. I'm doing a variant on it (not quite as stricty) and it's working well for me. At the very least, base your meals around protein (get enough to meet your workout requirements), eat vegetation with every meal. The fiber will help keep you full and keep the pipes cleaned. round out with healthy fats and complex low glycemic carbs.

what are your caloric requirements for how hard you work out? Are you taking in enough food?

Peace,
Erik

 

[Xinglu]

Alright. Please believe me when I say that it is wrong to think that fruit is bad because of its sugar content. I mean -what does bread consist of? Carbohydrates. What will they eventually be degraded to? 'Sugars'! Sugars aren't 'wrong' - your body needs them to function - provided that you are not 300 kgs. Of course, it's not healthy to eat only apples - but it's not healthy to eat only 'anything'. Your diet needs to be balanced.

Also, fruit contains a lot more than just 'vitamins' - also electrolytes and additional anti oxidants and more stuff that is probably not even discovered yet.
And doesn't an apple taste a lot better than multivitamin pills?

Most people don't even need those pills when they are eating a healthy and varied diet. If you are missing specific elements from your diet (for instance, if you were a vegetarian) then it'd be necessary to supplement missing vitamins (vit B12 for instance) but 'just taking a multivitamin pill' to account for a diet lacking in fruit doesn't seem the correct solution to me.

So if you're worried about your eating habits, go and consult a dietician. They can help you with creating a healthy and balanced diet that won't let you go hungry after two hours.

You also might consider consulting your GP or primary care physician because there might be other causes of you feeling hungry - for instance, a thryoid gland that works too fast or something else that causes your metabolism to go faster. You'd want to rule such things out... (which can often be done with a very simple blood test - TSH and T4 levels in the blood, if I recall correctly).

+1
This is great advice.

I tend to :tantrum: when I hear people tell others to stay away from fruits because of sugars. It is dumbfounding. Fruits are the nearest thing to a perfect food as you can get.

By all means, refined and processed sugars stay away from. But fruit?! For example, where are you going to find a better source of potassium, folate, and B6 than a banana? Furthermore, there are carbohydrates in fruits (especially strong in bananas) that are necessary for the probiotics in your body to multiply and maintain a healthy colony, they are called fructooligosaccharides (FOS). Not to mention enzymes that the body needs to have a healthy digestive system.

Take a look at apples: High in C, K, Riboflavin, Choline, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper, and Manganese.

Peaches: High in A, C, E, K, Niacin, Zinc, Copper, Potassium, and Phosphorus.

Oranges: High in C, Thiamine, Folate, Calcium, Bioflavonoids (quercetin, rutin, etc.) , and has mild anti-inflamitory properties.

Fruit is also an excellent source of fiber, something you need 35g-50g/day minimum!

My point: don't let any one tell you that fruit is bad or should be avoided, anyone that propagates that deserves :whip:

What veggies do you eat? Are the steamed, boiled, raw? The method of cooking can degrade nutrients. Also, I would cut out one of your meat and bread meals and replace it with nuts and fruit. Maybe a salad (stay away from ice-burg lettuce) like a spring mix salad with Apple cider vinegar, almonds, dried cranberries, sliced oranges, sliced onions, and some peppers or herbs to taste.

You could replace your morning meal with a vanilla protien mix in orange juice with strawberries and a banana blended in. If you wanted to add plain yogurt that would be good too. Furthermore, adding cod liver oil in there would benefit you in a lot of ways.

Also, at your weight, not exercising you should be getting 2.5L of water a day. Add a workout and you could easily double that.

 

[xJOHNx]

Add fruits, legumes, veggies (not in combination with bread) and nuts/seeds.

The sugars in fruits (like banana's) are complex (unlike bread that has simple carbs) and breakdown alot slower. Especially in banana's which are rich in starch! Another question, why do you avoid sugars?

Is it white sugars that you want to avoid? Because natural sugars (like fructose) are actually not that harmfull or as addictive.

Add more proteins! They break down very slowly and give very much energy when broken down!

More raw food, it digests slower in my experience.

Being lazy in the kitchen is a lousy excuse, if you have such a strict training schedule, the least you can do is to make sure the motor gets the adequate fuel. You don't want to pump LPG into a diesel, now would you?


oh yeah, I've been vegan for the last 5 years. So the importance of diet is an everyday quest.

 

[alphacat]

Lots of thanks mates.
I'll take your advices into my diet and I hope I'll be feeling less hungry at work.
:asian:

 

[girlbug2]

Sheesh. Asking for diet advice on a forum as diversified as this, you are going to get a lot of conflicting theories and answers. Who do you believe, the low fat folk, the low carb folk, the south beach folk, the zone folk, etc?

One thing I observe is, you do seem to eat a lot of bread. Although I personally do not like high carb food because it makes me feel hungry throughout the day--that being said, your system is better served if you replaced the calories from bread with fruits and veggies. The USDA food pyramid guidelines are FOS; you do NOT need 6 to 11 servings of grains a day! The less grains, the better.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health...mericans_to_boycott_usdas_food_guide_pyramid/

http://www.dhslides.org/mgr/mgr060509f/f.htm

 

[Ken Morgan]

You can’t use bread as you primary source for carbs. They have little energy and in fact will make you feel more tired. Bread messes up your insulin levels and will tire you out.

I agree with everyone else, more fruits and veggies. (Don’t even count the calories in them.)

But the main thing is you have no complex carbs. No pasta, no potatoes and no rice!! These are all high energy foods. Lazy? Cut up a potato and nuke it for a couple of minutes. You need complex carbs with you protein sources, then throw in the fruits and veggies as you will.

 

[Jenny_in_Chico]

Thanks for the site.
Personally, I don't trust those sites.
For example, it's said there that I need minimum of 53gr protein a day, and I need much more than that, so it doesn't help that much.

That is a recommended *minimum*. I also need more than that, because I have more muscle mass than other women my height to support, and also to control hunger. Those values are based on recommendations set by the Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine. Their recommended values are:

Carbohydrate: 45 to 65% of total Calories Fat: 20 to 35% of total CaloriesProtein: 10 to 35% of total Calories

But in my own diet, my targets are different:

Carbohydrate (complex!!!): 30-35%
Fat: 25%
Protein: 40-45%

I agree with most of the posts in this thread. Increasing bulky vegetables, and adding in a modest amount of good fats (avocados, nuts) will go farther in controlling your hunger and improving your health than increasing your bread intake. Fruit won't go as far in controlling your hunger (they sate for 20-30 minutes) but they are a nice source of vitamins and phytochemicals and can satisfy a sweet tooth. If you were trying to *lose* weight it would be a different story, but it sounds like you are at a good weight and want to maintain lean muscle mass.

Since you don't like to cook, you need to make it easy to get those macronutrients. Meat or nuts are easy to grab and go, but for some reason people don't grab a head of broccoli and run out the door. So I suggest you create grab and go "mini-meals", just plastic baggies filled with a combo of protein, veggie-based carb, good fat, and a little whole grain-based carb.

Also, look at the nutritional info on the packet of bread you buy..."brown" bread can still be stripped of fiber (which keeps you full). Look at all the available brands and choose the brand that has the highest ratio of fiber/sugars.

You're consuming protein after your workouts, which is great. But it should be lean protein, rather than cheese...you may want to switch the times you eat the tuna and cheese. This will help build lean muscle mass. But remember, there is a limit to the amount of protein your small intestine can process and use at once (~10 g). Anything more is just wasted, because the body does not store amino acids like it does sugars. Try to couple your veggie intake with a little good fat...some vitamins are fat soluble and this will help you absorb them.

Oh...also keep in mind that it is not safe to eat more than 3-4 cans of tuna a week, because of mercury levels.

If you follow these guidelines for a week, and your hunger continues but you are not losing weight (which would indicate a calorie deficit) then getting your thyroid checked as ChingChuan suggested is a good idea. Also get your blood sugar level and your insulin level checked, because if you have a problem there (insulin resistance, or even adult onset diabets) it could contribute to *insatiable* hunger.

Good luck! )

 

[Flea]

You'll find some good info on this thread too, especially about the carbs.

 

[jeorf]

Are you maintaining your weight?
How's your fluid intake?

 

[Phoenix44]

I tend to agree with xJOHNx. Overall, you're getting carbs, proteins, and fat, which is good, but the carbs you're getting are mainly from bread--highly refined, quickly digested and don't foster a real sense of satisfaction.

Legumes have a lot of fiber and are much more filling. If you use fresh legumes, they're a little bit of a pain to prepare, but you can buy them canned, and you can be fairly creative with them. And of course peanut butter is easy. Oatmeal is also a very filling carb with a decent amount of fiber.

Of course, I'm assuming you're healthy, no thyroid problem, and not diabetic, which would cause hunger, thirst, frequent urination and weight loss.

 

[Jenny_in_Chico]

But remember, there is a limit to the amount of protein your small intestine can process and use at once (~10 g). Anything more is just wasted, because the body does not store amino acids like it does sugars.

Alpha,

I'm so sorry, I dropped the ball on this one. I intended to say that your body can't process much more than 10 *ounces* of a lean protein, which would be about 40 grams of dietary protein. About 3 chicken thighs, no skin.

Sorry sorry sorry.

Jen

 

[Ken Morgan]

Alpha,

I'm so sorry, I dropped the ball on this one. I intended to say that your body can't process much more than 10 *ounces* of a lean protein, which would be about 40 grams of dietary protein. About 3 chicken thighs, no skin.

Sorry sorry sorry.

Jen

...at one time, hence why you need five small meals a day...