Always hungry?

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Always hungry?

Postby Bronwen » Tue Nov 28, 2017 4:46 am

I'm new to the board and also new (well 3 months) to this way of eating and just wanted to say HI :)

A friend introduced The Starch Solution to me and I am now following this way of eating since 2 months.
I feel and see a great improvement in general, but there is one thing that somehow seems not normal to me and so I thought I could ask for some help here.

It seems I never feel sated for a long time and actually I don't know why. :-(
For example, this morning I had 1,5 cup of overnight oats with 1 cups fresh blueberries. Just 1 hour later, I already was hungry again. 2 more hours later I was boiling 5 medium potatoes and 3 big carrots to create some mashed potatoes. Just two hours later I had 2 cups of earlier prepared vegan chili, made of red lentils, kidney beans, peppers and tomatoes. This serving was just 40 mins ago and to be honest, I could eat again. :-( Doesn't seem normal, does it?

What can I do about it?
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby PJK » Tue Nov 28, 2017 10:24 am

What's happened with your weight over these 3 months? At what weight did you start, and where are you now? That might offer some clues.

Short answer, of course, is to just eat more. Monitor your weight, and see what happens.
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Bronwen » Tue Nov 28, 2017 11:11 pm

Actually I started with 216 lbs and went down to 202 lbs the first month. Haven't lost any weight since then but also didn't gain it back although I'm currently eating so much. I have to confess I did a lot of diets in the past. Right before starting The Starch Solution I was somehow starving myself with just 900cals a day - could this be a reason?
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby PJK » Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:32 pm

Wow, you lost 14 pounds in one month. Congrats! I would keep going, and see what happens.

If you're worried about gaining weight, try including some foods with lower calorie density, preferably before the main course. For ex., salad or no-fat soup. Fresh fruit at the end of a meal may also help. Good luck!
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby PJK » Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:50 pm

Bronwen - The concept of caloric density is so important, I want to add this link...it goes to another McDougall forum discussion, this one moderated by Jeff Novick. Understand this page, and you should have smooth sailing:

Food Really Unlimited?
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6032
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Bronwen » Sat Dec 02, 2017 3:09 am

Thank you. I will read myself in.
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Werner1950 » Sat Dec 02, 2017 7:55 am

Something I have learned.. I do not have to eat every time I feel a hunger pain. If I ignore it, it goes away. the hunger pain does us no harm. Also, the above stated advice - learn which foods are nutrient dense and which ones are not. I often keep baked potatoes on hand, and will just munch on a 1/2 of one for a snack in between meals. I cannot get fat on potatoes.
"An ounce of evidence is worth a pound of presumption"
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Bronwen » Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:47 pm

Hi Werner,

thanks for your advice as well.
I wish I could be that calm when I get hungry. My husband uses to say I get HANGRY. I'm really getting somehow edgy when I don't get food within the next 20-30 mins then. For me it's somehow funny, because like written above, I did a lot of diets in the past and this retrospectively included a lot of starving. This has never been a problem until now. I was able to get along with so less food and now that I can eat more it never seems enough. Or not enough to be able to wait until the next meal.

Edit: It doesn't seem normal to me either.
So I just got my blood levels checked on Friday and will have my results tomorrow. Maybe it's a physical problem.
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Willijan » Sun Dec 03, 2017 5:58 pm

I don't disagree with Werner, but what he is saying doesn't work for me. People vary a lot on this. My husband can easily go all day on nothing if he has to. He very rarely feels real hunger. I get hungry every few hours. This has been true for my whole life, to varying degrees, since I was a little kid. I get low blood sugar and can even black out. At the least, I get so hungry I have to eat a lot more to feel normal again if I don't pay attention to real hunger. I do wait and make sure, but I don't ignore it once I'm sure.

For most of my meals, I include both some starches and some low-calorie density food.

Eating whenever I am genuinely hungry has not interfered with keeping my weight low, once I went on this diet. My weight went from around 130 to 110 or 111 lbs., and I eat every few hours, or less often when not hungry. I rarely leave home without food, because I don't want to be forced to suffer severe hunger or break my diet.
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby ljs » Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:14 pm

I understand the always hungry thing but I have also had days where I am not even hungry at all and don't eat enough. However, 16 pounds later I am okay with this pattern Not stressing over whether or not I can eat something is solved with this way of life of what's allowed and what is not - no calorie counting necessary! Keep with it and after years of dieting and eating poorly will eventually even itself out. I find myself just shrugging if there's a slip and getting back to the plan. Take care of you!
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Bronwen » Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:29 pm

Thank you for your additional replies.

@SonjaK With always hungry I mean hungry and not only being in the mood for some food. My stomach is growling and I really feel like I need to eat something.

@All Nevertheless, there seems to be a reason for this.
I have to take Momegalen because of my Alopecia areata and my doctor told me the feeling of hunger is a side effect. I have to take this untill the end of January. My doctor told me it will affect my adrenal glands for almost a year even after the therapy has finished. So I may won't be able to positive coping with stress afterwards for a long time...I just hope not to become an emotional eater again. :cry:
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Verlaine001 » Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:06 pm

I really don't seem to fit the mould that most of the success stories here do. I was always hungry in spite of eating lots of beans, potatoes, rice and vegetable stir frys. I never added fat, avoided nuts and tofu, but began to gain weight, and also get cravings for fatty and salty foods like chips and chocolate, candy etc. I was doing everything right, and for 2 years, but kept gaining, and began to binge eat because I was hungry or probably had blood sugar imbalance.
I have no health issues, like diabetes etc.
I decided to experiment, to add 4-6 oz of tofu or tempeh to each meal, up the nuts, lower the potatoes and rice to almost none, and eat as much green vegetable as I want with a fruit at the end if still hungry. guess what....I feel sane again. no cravings...I can eat a regular portion of food and not need to eat for another 6 hours. I could not do that before. I don't know why. I believe Dr. McDougal. I just dont know why my body reacted so differently to what other people report.
Maybe more fat and protein are needed for satiety in certain people.
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby Bronwen » Tue Dec 19, 2017 3:42 am

Thanks for posting your experience.

I got my latest blood levels today and I think I should quit this diet for me.
First of all I'd like to say that my doctor told me it's not only because of my diet, but that it is not really good for me at the moment.
My B12 is belowground. :( Normal wold be 211 to 999 and I have 81.

My doctor told me that vegan people tend to have a lower level, but not that low.
She thinks it's the combination of my vegan diet, the fact that I am smoking and that I took the pill. (I discontinued the pill some months ago but she says it still affects my body) In her opinion everyone who is obese, smokes or takes the pill should supplement B12 and not only people who follow a vegan diet.

Since this probably caused my hair loss, I will stop this diet for now. :(
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby frozenveg » Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:45 am

Bronwen wrote:Thanks for posting your experience.

I got my latest blood levels today and I think I should quit this diet for me.
First of all I'd like to say that my doctor told me it's not only because of my diet, but that it is not really good for me at the moment.
My B12 is belowground. :( Normal wold be 211 to 999 and I have 81.

My doctor told me that vegan people tend to have a lower level, but not that low.
She thinks it's the combination of my vegan diet, the fact that I am smoking and that I took the pill. (I discontinued the pill some months ago but she says it still affects my body) In her opinion everyone who is obese, smokes or takes the pill should supplement B12 and not only people who follow a vegan diet.

Since this probably caused my hair loss, I will stop this diet for now. :(

I honor your choice, but I have to wonder why you feel you cannot continue due to the need to supplement with B-12. Dr. McDougall advises everyone who follow this way of eating to supplement with B-12. So there is no conflict with your doctor's advice on B-12 and this way of eating.
5'3", 74 YO. Started Jan. 11, 2010
Starting weight: 222.6
Current weight: 148.2.0


Success Story:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/articles/st ... -rockwell/
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Re: Always hungry?

Postby roundcoconut » Wed Dec 27, 2017 12:04 pm

What an interesting post! I am fascinated by human psychology and how people can freak out and run away from the things that would help them the most.

If I may state the obvious:
Eating a diet of fruits, vegetables, starches and legumes is perfectly compatible with having ample & healthy hair. I swear to god that this is true!

There IS some minor “hair fall” that comes with an extended water-only fast (I did a fairly long water fast about five years ago, and I DO remember that there was more hair on my bathroom floor and in my hair brush than normal). I don’t know of any cases where people experienced more hair fall after improving their diet, but if you find that this IS the case for you, it would still be true that it’s temporary and will not last — and that your overall appearance is definitely on an upward spiral as you improve your diet.

Your overall appearance gets better and better, and any temporary thinning of your hair is more than compensated by how eating better foods makes you happier and more energetic and actually prettier.

On a side note, people’s food impulses are very psychological. When a person gets the urge to eat (and especially when a person gets an impulse to go buy a particular food), that is no indication that there is a real need.

Food and spending are very similar. Someone who walks into TJ Maxx and suddenly thinks that polished silver candle-holders are just what they need for their dining room, are experiencing an opportunity to do some impulse-spending. The sudden urge to buy candle-holders does not mean that their inner self NEEDS candle holders. It is just an impulse, and you don’t need to act on every impulse that your mind presents to you. In fact, people who act on every spending impulse they have, often end up in debt, with way too many unneeded possessions.

Food is similarly psychological — if you find that two hours after your last meal, you are having impulses to go get a cookie, or to run to the fridge for an extra bowl of soup — these are just impulses. People who act on every eating impulse, often end up overfed, with too much stored body fat. There are MANY food-cues in society, like when you see your co-worker eating some pretzels as a snack, and you think, “Maybe I should have a snack too?”

Also, people have food impulses without external food-cues, just because eating is something you like to DO during particular emotions and situations. The idea that you’d be driving down the road and having a food impulse is not an uncommon experience — but it is just an impulse, and people who act on every food impulse do not necessarily experience good health outcomes.

If you are able to see that you have enough intake or enough stored body fat to avoid dying of starvation, then it is probably OK to stick to your planned schedule of meals. No danger will come to you, if you ignore an impulse.

I have no idea whether this will be of use to anyone, but I just want to throw it out there. The idea that people will not get beyond their own panic mode sounds pretty awful actually! It is like someone continuing to smoke cigarettes because they are having cigarette impulses as a non-smoker, and so they run to the 7-11 and get another pack of smokes because they worry that their withdrawal experiences will not fade over time.
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