I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

[tara5578]

I am hungry all the time and I don't understand why. I am the type of person that will get full very quickly but then get hungry all of a sudden not to long after. I have sugar problems and I thought atkins could help with that due to all the protien. I eat so much protien. My husband and I are on a budget and chicken is the best bang for the buck so I pretty much only eat chicken. I feel that even when I eat almost 2 breasts of chicken I get hungry not to long after. Especially at breafast(listed below) I only last a few hours. Is this normal? I am worried about going over my fat intake. I have added on more veggies instead of just salads(jicama, broccili, avocades) but it just isn't filling enough for me.

It seems when I read other posts people are eating alot less meat than I am and they get full. Will this end?

I am on my 12th day of induction and have not lost any weight either. I am worried I am eating to much but then I don't want to sabatoge the diet by eating less (plus I need food)!!

Thanks!!

[Georgiana]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

Although I'm sure this is not why you didn't lose anything, did you check your salad dressing for sugars? Even if it has 0 carbs, it might still have sugar in it.

Now 4 chicken breast seem a lot for me, and though you think this will fill you up, so much protein will just make you hungry. Too much protein will transform into sugars, which is not something you want.

Instead of eating so much meat, add more fat to your diet. I don't know what your fat/carbs/protein ratios are in general, but 4 chicken breast will definitely raise your protein percentages enormously. You should have something like 65% fat, 5% carbs, 30% protein. You get this percentages in Fitday: www.fitday.com

I don't see how you can reach 65/5/30 by eating 4 chicken breasts, so you'll have to cut down on meat. Add some olive oil to your salads, include butter in your menu, eat more mayo. Anything that has more fat should do the trick.

Remember that Atkins means high fat, not high protein. Eating so much protein as you eat now will just mess up your weight loss. I was also scared of eating too much fat when I started, but I've noticed that increasing your fat intake accelerates the weight loss. In terms of health, more people on the board said that their cholesterol levels improved since they started Atkins, but if you want to be sure you can talk with your doctor and have a medical exam now and one after you stay on Atkins (i.e. eat high fat) for a while.

Good luck!

[sallyseachange]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

Welcome Tara!
Georgiana gave you great advice. I'd only add that you need to read the book. Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution (2002 edition) is the one you want; DANDR for short. The 2002 edition is the one this board goes by as it was the last one Dr A wrote entirely before his death, so it hasn't been messed around with by others.

Lower your protein, up your fats, eat to satisfy your hunger (no more, no less) and have your three cups of veggies per day (either 3 of salad, or 2 salad and one "other" veggies).
It goes without saying that in induction you need to keep within 20 g carbs per day and most of those should be from veggies.
Two other important factors in weight loss: exercise and water (masses of water, preferably cold).

Have you read the stickies in the induction forum? Also, the FAQs (on the bar at the top of the page) are full of information.

Hang in there!

Edited to add: You need to try to spread your veggies throughout the day more, so as to avoid blood sugar surges.

[SwissMiss]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

Hi Tara, I was pretty hungry as well during the first 2 weeks (and pretty frustrated by that fact). I use fitday.com to monitor exactly what I eat and to figure out which food has what effect on me. I agree with the above posts as well - veggies are very important - good for your sugar levels and because they are rich in fiber, they will keep you saturated longer. But the first thing you should do when you get hungry is drink, because the signs of thurst and hunger are almost the same. So try to drink even more water.

Also you have to keep in mind that it takes your body a couple of weeks (2-3) to adjust to the new way of eating and lifestyle. In addition you should not only monitor the fat/protein/carbs percentage, but also the calory intake. Fitday. com helps with that. Also read some posts here about BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).

[MaggieBE]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

Do your chicken breasts have skin on them? You might want to look into preasure cooking a whole chicken, cutting it into pieces and frying it in a pan. The fat in the skin plus butter cooking might make you feel full faster. Also when I am on a tight budget(ok when am I not on a tight budget?) I tend to go for the dark meat types of chicken parts. Chicken breasts are CRAZY expensive here!

Do you like cheese? That always helps me feel full because of the increase in fat. Here you can buy the "ends" of cheese for a very cheap price. These are perfect for cutting up into small blocks and dipping in some yummy mustard. Mummm!

Maybe you should just try having mini-meals. I am not sure how well that would work with your working situation/if you have kids/your lifestyle. However it might help with your blood sugar issues.

Oh and here ground beef is also very cheap and bacon isn't so much either. I think a bacon cheese burger(can shape your own patties) would be much more filling then a chicken breast.

Not sure if any of my ideas will help but I hope that you feel better soon. Feeling hungry when you are trying to do everything correct just sucks.

[joee5]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

I think possibly you aren't eating enough fat. This diet needs fat to fuel itself. Good luck. God Bless, Joe

[Georgiana]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

I was just inputing my foods on a website and I remembered something that might help you.

There is this website, where you can find the fullness factor of different foods. You can also create your recipes and find their nutrition values. Aim for foods with a high fullness factor and see if that works.

[jende]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

My daughter was on Atkins a few years ago. She felt the same thing. I feel full most of the time. I dont know why this would be.

[jsj0305]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

You got some awesome advice....definately up the fats. I too have a very strict budget..and chicken is cheap when you get it on sale!!! I usually chop it in a mini food processor thing (like 10 bucks) and add some mayo and VOILA! Still have chicken, and it has a good amount of fat added to it..and you can wrap it in lettuce if you like..and there you go, veggies, fats and protein all in one meal. I also make tuna salad w/ mayo or egg salad w/ mayo...definately keeps the fats high enough so that I continue to lose, and I stay nice and full =)

I hope this helps!!!

[Sirine]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

i agree, all info is great! i went through the same thing. i did my research, like you, and advice given to me was to up my fat intake, so i did and walllah! i started to notice weight change and i wasn't hungry any more!!! make sure you don't take in too much fat..fitday.com really helps...i know it gets annoying putting everything in all the time, but it becomes a habit and you get results!

[tara5578]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

Thanks guys for all the great advice!! Seeing all of you making your way to your goals is very inspiring!! I love the before and after pics, you all should be so proud of yourselves.


I have been wary of the idea of using Mayo. I was the whole grains girl(no butter, bacon, etc) for a long time so this diet is a big change for me! I cannot work out due to a failed spinal fusion in my lower back so I have gained weight over the past two years and it has been very depressing. I have one of those bodies that if I don't work out I am screwed(getting older doesn't help either!!)

My husband is a body builder so I am always cooking tons of protien for him. I think I felt secure in knowing the protein would fill me up. I felt like I was eating enough butter and oil but reading all you are telling me I need to change my diet. I am now sitting here eating a chicken salad with Mayo on 1 cup of greens. Yay!! It's a start! I am going to reduce my protien and start eating mayo. I like heavy cream and cheese for my fats as well but they are so limited.

As for my salad dressing. I use Ken's 0 Carb Creamy Caesar. Has anyone else used it? I am afraid to use it now(and I just bought a few buy one get one free!!) because it does say sugar in the ingredients. It says there is no sugar in it but why would it be in the ingredients and not under sugar as well? I looked at other dressings and they say sugar too. Even my Mayo says it has sugar so I am confused. Can I eat either of these without messing things up more?? Also is there a limit to how much mayo I can eat? I don't want to eat to many calories. Fitday told me I was eating over 3000 calories which I think is insane!!

Thanks all!!

[Georgiana]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

Hi again!

If the dressing has sugar, you are not allowed to have it. Same with the mayo.

However, in case you don't find sugar-free mayo, you can make your own. It's really easy, all you need for the basic recipe are eggs, oil, vinegar/lemon juice and salt. I usually don't even add the salt and it's still pretty good. Here's the easiest recipe I could find, with pictures: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/r...ade-Mayonnaise

For nice salad dressing recipes, you might want to check Linda's website: http://genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html

[Sirine]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

you can buy hellman's ...sugar is one of the last ingredients, but don't eat too much of it!!! increase your fats with butter, olive oil, cheese, olives. you can add these while cooking your meat or in your salads... olives + salad + chicken = yum (up to 20 pits a day)
heavy cream stalls a lot of ppl, so be careful !!! honestly, just look at the induction list of 2002 and you will have a better idea...if you need awesome recipes, go to linda's website...you will love it!

http://genaw.com/lowcarb/

[ValidRouge]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

Duke's Mayonnaise is sugar free. You can buy it online too. Google Duke's Mayonnaise.

I can't get my percentages right eating ONE boneless, skinless chicken breast. I can't imagine how you could possibly get the percentages right without adding TONS of fat in the form of oil/mayo/butter which then adds a crazy amount of calories eating FOUR chicken breasts.

Try other cuts of meats. Fatty cuts. Chicken thighs/legs WITH THE SKIN. Pork with the fat (roasts are a good choice, but not pork loin) Chuck, ground beef, SALMON etc. Sautee your veggies in olive oil and butter for cooking. Eat olive oil on your salad with herbs and spices if you can't find sugar free dressings.

MEASURE your meats. Weighing will help you get perspective on how much you really are or are not eating. It's too easy to "Play" with fitday and fool yourself that you are eating less or more than you really are.

[Porcelain]

Re: I feel hungry all the time no matter how much I eat!!

As for my salad dressing. I use Ken's 0 Carb Creamy Caesar. Has anyone else used it? I am afraid to use it now(and I just bought a few buy one get one free!!) because it does say sugar in the ingredients. It says there is no sugar in it but why would it be in the ingredients and not under sugar as well?

Because if it is less than a carb PER SERVING they can list it as zero. It can have 0.9 gram of carbs and they get to claim zero. This can even cause manufacturers to mess with their portion size so they can claim zero carbs.

I think upping your fat is going to help you the best though. I know when my protein ratio goes up and my fat goes down, I don't lose weight at all...no matter that my carbs are very controlled.