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January 14, 2007
Hunger and Cravings Throughout the Day
Cait asks what to do about cravings during the day and hunger. She's eating a lot of healthy foods: yogurt, veggies, flax oil, cottage cheese. But she's having trouble sticking with healthy eating when she gets too hungry.
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Eat more of your Calories early in the day. I usually eat a pretty big lunch, around 400 or more calories. Most work days I eat a big salad of 100 g romaine, 35 g kale, 50 g napa cabbage, 18 g green pepper, 45 g grape tomatoes (they have higher calories than regular tomatoes), 1 cup of nonfat plain yogurt, 2 - 4 tablespoons of salsa, 11 - 19 grams of almonds, and a 209 calorie April-sized megamuffin. I also eat a fairly big breakfast of 1 cup scrambled eggwhites plus 40 g shiitake mushrooms plus 1 fat free cheddar single + 1 teaspoon flax oil + 1 tbsp brewers yeast. So by the time I get to dinner, I've already eaten 700 or more calories. If you're just working on losing weight and eating healthy, I'd say try eating 1000 calories between breakfast and lunch and see how you feel. I enjoy having a lighter dinner (I have a glass of wine with dinner so it's actually more calories but it's food-light) cause I don't like to be stuffed at night.
2. Replace some carbs with more fat and protein. Especially protein-loading in the am. That's why I eat a cup of eggwhites scrambled for breakfast every day. A no-carb breakfast seems to surpress hunger all day.
3. Eat fat with every meal (unsaturated) and eat it first. For example, I eat my almonds before starting my salad. It lowers the blood sugar to avoid that freaky blood sugar spike with a meal.
4. Don't try to push your calories too low. It's just plain counterproductive because you set yourself up for a binge. If you're cutting out empty calories like sugar and bread, increasing your nutrient density, and going for those RDAs, you're going to lose weight.
5. RDA magic really works. Nutritional software is easier to use than most might think, and getting those RDAs really makes hunger cravings go away.
Hope that helps!
Posted by april at January 14, 2007 2:43 PM
Comments
One additional suggestion, though it's really a part of not cutting calories too low - when you want to snack, sit down and decide if you're hungry, or if you just feel like snacking.
If you're genuinely hungry, EAT. It sounds so simple, but so many times I have tried to not snack or eat when I'm hungry, especially after dinner, and I end up nibbling on a little this, then a little that, on and on, until I take in a couple hundred calories.
Instead, if I make myself a really nice small meal, with protein and fat - perhaps an eggwhite omlette and some almonds, I can eat about 150 calories, enjoy the food, and satisfy my hunger. Additionally, this helps psychologically; if I know I'll always let myself eat real food when hungry I find it easier to resist the temptation to snack when not hungry.
Posted by: emily at January 15, 2007 8:43 AM
Such a timely post..I was just thinking about this. I'm in total agreement, by 4pm when I get home and enter all my foods I'm right about 700-750 cals for the day. Not too hungry for a big meal, just something small. I find I have to munch on something or I wont make it. I also find that if I have too much salt (say I've put too much on my lunch salad) it triggers a sweet craving. There might even be science behind this..but I can't find it at the moment. Tea, lots of water...even a bit (and I mean small) bit of dried fruit. Gogi berries are great for just this kind of thing. Very powerful stuff (expensive too...but well worth it). I also take a 500mg calcium supplement (with Vitamins D and K) called Adora, that is nicely disguised as a wonderful piece of dark chocolate. mmm I love these things.
Posted by: Deborah at January 15, 2007 9:40 AM
April, thanks for the information. I'm sure you have answered this previously, but I'm not having any luck in your archives. I'd like to know where/how to calculate my minimum calories and my RDA targets for my height/weight/age/sex. I've looked at the free Cron-o-meter, and I don't where I can personalize it to that level. Granted, I've only just downloaded and started fooling with it. I know FitDay offers RDA/nutrient info, but I'm not sure if it's suitable should I decided to pursue CRON. Feel free to email me (at your leisure) at my gmail account: lumay1966 Thanks.
Posted by: Gina at January 15, 2007 10:53 AM
Speaking of "RDA magic," I'm not sure I understand the need for nutritional software to track RDAs. Why isn't a daily multivitamin sufficient?
That probably sounds retarded, but I realized that I don't actually understand the reason for the close nutritional tracking and the use of software and the breakdowns and so on. I have the vague idea that that's how a person compensates for the relative lack of calories, but--again--can't a multivitamin do that?
Posted by: Yvonne at January 15, 2007 5:46 PM
Thanks April! I really appreciate all the time you put into this blog and the access to a health-conscious community it provides. Thanks also to everyone who threw thier opinions into the mix. I'll certainly try the tips!
Posted by: Cait at January 15, 2007 6:17 PM