Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

[ssgswife]

Hello all...
I've just restarted Atkins after a six month "feeling sorry for myself" food binge. My hubby and I did Atkins for about 4 months prior to his current Iraq deployment and were both doing really good. I'd lost about 31 pounds. Then my husband deployed and I just ate and ate and ATE. Well..needless to say, I gained. Luckily, I didn't gain it ALL back on (SW: 150) SO, I figured that it was time to get back on the wagon. I'm on day 6 and have lost 8 pounds. I barely got induction flu this time (thank goodness) but I am currently having a problem that I didn't experience before. By day 4 the last time, I stopped being hungry. I didn't have any major cravings and felt pretty good.
This time tho, I seem to be hungry quite a bit of the time. I'm hungry immediately following meals, and usually about 1-2 hours after a meal. I have huge cravings for anything sweet (i.e. candy, chocolate, dessert food) and it's driving me crazy. I don't drink anything with caffeine and am doing a completely clean induction.... so what the heck is going on? I got the ketostix and am getting dark maroon reading so I am in ketosis but why am I still so hungry? I'm getting enough cals and my pro/fat/carb ratio is good. If anyone else has had or is having the same problem, please let me know what I could do to curb my voracious appitite. It would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks,
ssgswife

[Terry]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

Hi ssgswife!

First of all............ 8# in 6 days is awesome!!! Congratulations!!!

Why dont you post a sample of what you eat during the day. Maybe you are not eating enough? Are there any condiments with hidden sugars in them? Are you drinking enough water? If I use a stick it wont show any color because of all the water I drink.

If you are hungry, eat something high fat and see if that takes away your craving.

Im sure the emotional part is coming into play here with hubby's deployment. "Food equals comfort" is a hard one to over come but can be done.

Let us see your menu and go from there. There may be something someone else can pick up on that you are not seeing.

Thats what we are here for.

Terry

[californiacasey]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

Hi ssgswife!

If you are hungry, eat something high fat and see if that takes away your craving.

Also, make sure you are drinking eight-8 oz glasses of water a day and another 8 oz for every 25 lbs you want to lose.

If you're hungry, EAT! Just make sure it is protein/fat. Make sure you are eating enough calories.

You might also be looking for comfort foods b/c your hubby isn't here right now.
Try some hot green tea, or cool whipped cream, or some cheese, Try tastes of different things until you find what you're looking for (as long as it is legal for you).

[Desertthorn]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

I was in Iraq a year ago and I understand your stress. Your hubby is in our thoughts as are all the men and women who are there. All I can remember is the HEAT. Its like being in a blast furnace. LOL
You know, Terry has some great advise. Also, I would keep a food journal to see if maybe something your eating might be causing these cravings. Dill pickles helped me with the sweet cravings. You might want to try that.
Keep coming, keep posting and soon you'll be down to goal.

[ssgswife]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I drink 96 oz of water everyday (as much as I hate doing it..LOL) and I use the Ketostix first things in the morning (had to use them during pregnancies...dr said most concentrated urine first thing in the morning) I keep my food journal at Fitday and measure everything so that I don't get incorrect counts... So, here's today's menu.

Breakfast:
2 egg white omlet with 1 oz cheese
4 oz lean top round steak

Snack:
1/4 cup tuna
2 tsp mayo

Lunch:
2 cups salad greens
1 oz cheddar cheese
1 TBL ranch dressing
1 hard boiled egg
1 tsp mayo

Snack:
2 oz cheese
1 hard boiled egg

Dinner:
4 oz lean top round steak
1 cup bean sprouts
1 TBL butter

Nutritional Count:
Calories - 1420
Fat - 86
Carbs - 9
Fiber - 2
Protein - 146


Thanks again for the replies.... let me know what you think about the meun.

ssgswife

[knicknack]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

not enough fat (or maybe even calories), I'd think. (how do you get 1400 calories out of that? Seems like a lot for lean food).

Seems like I have to eat a tub of mayonaise if I have tuna at all. Tuna slaps my fat percentage down to 50% like I've never seen. try eating some fattier meats?

I have to eat way more fattier meats and lots more cheese and dips in order to even make 1200 calories and 65% fat, myself.

For example:

bacon quiche for breakfast
ground lamb mixed with green beans for lunch
hamburger for dinner, with cheese and maybe blue cheese dressing if my fat percentage isn't up enough. With a salad or spinach, cookied in butter.
snacks are always cheese and pickles.

If i eat tuna or chicken my fat percentage goes down the tubes, it is INSANE. No idea why, I cook with butter. I bought cream the other day and I'm just going to stick it in everything i guess. ;-P I stuffed my chicken breast with prosciutto and cheese yesterday, cooked it in olive oil and put a butter reduction sacue on it. STILL not enough fat. Ridiculous. The quiche does make up for it though, quite often.

Also, yesterday I was STARVING, so i just ate things that were legal. Lost a pound! just eat if you're hungry. Today I'm not hungry at all.

[knicknack]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

one more thing: try putting the food into fitday to see what your percentage of fat is. It's not percentage of grams of fat compared to grams of protein that matters, it's the caloric intake percentage that you wnat to look at. You have a lot more protein than fat there, and eyeballing it makes me doubt that it's right.

Should be: 65% fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs

usually if fat and protein grams are about equal it seems to come out right.

[ssgswife]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

how do you get 1400 calories out of that? Seems like a lot for lean food

Calorie/Fat breakdown
Breakfast:
2 egg white omlet with 1 oz cheese 55/0
4 oz lean top round steak 226/5.5

Snack:
1/4 cup tuna 40/0
2 tsp mayo 74/8

Lunch:
2 cups salad greens 13/0
1 oz cheddar cheese 114/9.5
1 TBL ranch dressing 70/7
1 hard boiled egg 75/5
1 tsp mayo 74/8

Snack:
2 oz cheese 229/19
1 hard boiled egg 75/5

Dinner:
4 oz lean top round steak 226/5.5
1 cup bean sprouts 9/0
1 TBL butter 102/12

Too much fat makes me feel pretty gross... as it is, 89 g fat and I feel pukey...LOL
My ratio is:
fat/carb/protein
56/2/42 (yes, it's a little higher on protein than fat, but I've checked my Fitday menus for the past 5 days and my average is 62/2/36)

[Terry]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

I have to agree with Knicknack. That doesnt seem like a lot of food.

Atkins is high fat, and that doesnt look like a high percentage of it.

Why just the egg white for breakfast? You are allowed the whole egg. I know that before discovering low carb it was drilled into my head to have egg whites for a healthier meal but on Atkins, the higher fat is better.

For lunch you didnt give yourself much protein with only one egg.

I also realize that someone at 130# needs less food than someone weighing 230# and I am closer to the second so I dont want to say that you HAVE to eat more food. But if you are having plenty of exercise there seems to be plenty of room in your menu to add some more protein and fat and if you are hungry then the program directs you to eat. Just be sure it is a fat/protein.

HTH

[knicknack]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

are you sure you're measuring your mayo and condiments right? Seems unlikely that you'd use a tablespoon of butter for bean sprouts, for example. That's almost an inch off a stick of butter. Condiments seem to be where most of your fat is coming from.

I'd probably try getting your fat from sources other than condiments for a while to make sure you're actually getting it. Maybe that would help?

(oh, and i know how you feel about the fat. that's why I try to get my fat from the meat and cheese that I eat. I pretty much hate mayo, i can't cook eggs in butter or they get revolting if i eat them too often, etc...). I do like blue cheese dressing though!

Edit: getting your fat from condiments may also mean that you're not eating enough *food* to actually fill you up. I find that if I don't eat enough (talking physical size here) I get massively hungry. This is why quiche is hard - not quite enough food for me, but technically enough *calories* for me.

[Iapetus999]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

You need more food and less eggs.
More fat like nuts and olive oil (yeah nuts aren't strictly legal but they really help...just a few (6) macadamias or something)

You could also try hi-fat fish like salmon and halibut.
I don't think the bean sprouts do anything for you...stick to green leafy veggies.
I think your calories are too low so up your portions.

And don't forget to drink lots of water it can help make you feel fuller.

[Finelly]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

Ditto, ditto, ditto.

Whole egg omelet, not egg white.
No lean meat

You aren't eating enough carbs. Try to get to about 15. That will help with cravings.

Eat more fat.

Ok, now here's my two cents about the sweet cravings. Some people say to go cold turkey and not eat anything sweet. I'm just not willing to do that. I have one sweet treat per day, made with splenda. I save it until the evening, because that's when I like to indulge. It never makes me crave more, because whatever I make is high in fat. It doesn't stall me, so I'm ok there.

You could try it. For me, it works!

And welcome aboard!!!!!!!!

[ShannonK]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

HI ssgswife! I had the same problem with hunger that it sounds like you are having. The way I get through it is to eat and eat. I don't have any real advice for you about the percentages and all. I just eat acceptable foods when I am hungry. But, I did want to mention to you that I am also a military wife. My husband has not deployed yet, but it is in the horizon in the next year. I wanted to say that I think of women like you every day and I hope that I can be as strong as you when the time comes. By being strong, I mean taking care of yourself. I think it is awesome that you have this goal of losing weight while he is away. Imagine his surprise when he see's you at 115!!
shannon

[ssgswife]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

Hey all... thanks for the advice.....but.... I did atkins last time pretty much the same way and lost 31 pounds in 4 months. My body cannot tolerate fatty meats and I'm allergic to fresh fish. I am addicted to cheese and eat 4 oz every day. The egg white omlette is more of a preference thing but if you noticed, I did eat two whole hard boiled eggs the same day. As I said in an earlier post, I measure everything. And, I do drink plenty of water. I am happy to report though, that this morning, following breakfast, I didn't immediately feel hungry...WOOHOO. Hopefully it will continue throughout the day. SHANNONK... thank you so much for your sweet words. This is the third 'year-long' deployment my husband has done (Korea, OIF I, OIF III) This one is actually a lot less stressful than when they invaded... I get to talk to him almost everyday on yahoo messenger and he's doing pretty good. You'll be fine when your husband deploys... because you're a military wife... that's our JOB. It's hard at first, but then you find out how strong and independent you really are... and it's a great feeling.


ssgswife

[Finelly]

Re: Hi again..and...A question about hunger.

Please don't eat nuts on induction, though!!!!

If you like eggs, eat more of them. I will consume up to 8 or 10 a day on a day when I'm not eating much meat.