Going against the grain. Carbs v protein/UPF.

[DietHelp]

So, I try and eat healthily. This lunchtime I ate a piece of crustless quiche (basically eggs, onion, milk, bit of cheese) and salad. The salad was leaves, beetroot, toms, cucumber, pepper and celery. The quiche was half of a 6” round one about an inch or so deep. Then I had a medium banana. This was at about 13:15. By 15:30 I was physically hungry again. I had fruit n fibre for breakfast which keeps me going until lunch (yet when I have greek yogurt and fruit I’m also hungry earlier).

Yesterday I had a sandwich which was a medium seeded bun with some thin ham and a bit of cheese with a scraping of block butter. I wasn’t peckish again until about 18:00.

This is just a snapshot, of course, but it’s a similar theme regardless. Protein and veg just doesn’t fill me up. Is anyone else the same and if so, how do you ensure you’re getting everything you need nutrition wise?

Anyone?

What’s UPF got to do with it?

I eat carbs and lose weight on Slimming World. Potato, pasta rice and a limited portion of wholemeal bread or cereal. I find I need the carbs to feel full, just protein on it's own won't fill me up for long.

Well, just that I had bread from the supermarket. And I often do in sandwiches. I think the ham may be too. I thought these made you hungrier or left wanting more so thought it would be relevant to put it.

I don't get full unless I have a balanced meal. And that includes carbs.

I've lost 30kg in a year eating carbs unrestricted (within my calorie allowance).

Maybe hunger varies day by day depending on activity levels, hormones, sleep. You needed less than today. Or because you are less yesterday you want to eat more today. Who knows.

I think it's individual. I would always need carbs as well, so I might have a bit of potato salad with my quiche and leaves.
Others can talk about how filling they find scrambled eggs as much as they like, I'm chewing my arm off by 10am. A nice bowl of porridge and I'm good until 1pm.
One slice of wholemeal toast and peanut butter is fine, but I could get through lots of white toast and jam.

Carbs in and of themselves aren't unhealthy. It's the quantity and type of carbs that can cause a problem. There's a difference between porridge and Danish pastries.

I'll only eat one apple but will scoff a whole packet of jaffa cakes on a bad day 😆.
All carbs though.

Today's lunch was carrot and lentil soup and a ham salad sandwich. I was happy and it had plenty of nutrition.

We're all different. Calories from protein aren't necessarily harder to digest than calories from complex carbs like those in wholegrain bread. A brown roll with some protein and salad in it is a perfectly sensible lunch and if it fills you up great.

Diets make people money. But if there was one way of eating that suited everyone we would already know what it is and all be doing it. What you are doing when you decide your brown roll lunch suits you better than the crust less quiche is good intuitive eating - listen to what your tummy decides not what a website tells you.

My DH seems perfectly healthy on a v high carb veggie diet. I eat a little meat and fish and about half his carb portions. We're both a healthy weight and physically active. But if I ate like him I would not feel great and if he ate like me he would be tired from not getting enough carbs.

How do the calories in each lunch compare? When I have omelette and salad it’s under 200 kcal which sounds similar to your quiche. A seeded roll can be more than that even before filling

I find carbs fill me up more too.

Salmon and veg? I’m still hungry after.

Some people feel not-full but call it hungry. Protein and veg doesn't fill me up, but I'm not hungry.

Thanks everyone.

@Kalevala I know the difference, it was definitely hunger. Though I do understand sometimes it’s hard to tell. It was like proper rumblings - like my body was shouting to be fed again. The ham sandwich didn’t have that effect. Maybe it’s the veg as I have IBS but I definitely felt hunger.

I don’t normally vary much activity wise due to being disabled but I suppose maybe these things fluctuate regardless.

@OwwOwwLowFat I think the calories were probably similar but not the same but I’ll check them out as that might be a consideration.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow I’ve just had salmon and more salad but added some Jersey Royals. I suspect that will keep me going than if I hadn’t had the potatoes.

Stomach rumbling happens all the time, it's just that you can hear it when the stomach is empty. An empty stomach isn't true hunger though, it's normal for it to be empty some of the time.

How much protein was in your quiche though? The ingredients sound more protein heavy than a sandwich but I need to eat 20g of protein in a meal to not feel hunger to the next meal a bit of quiche I assume would be far less than 20g

If I don't eat carbs and only have protein and veg etc my stomach grumbles.

Toast for breakfast would see me till 2pm.
Anything else Hungry by 10am

If I had a salad chicken egg etc for dinner I'm hungry an hour later.
Pizza and chips for example I wouldn't be hungry till morning

Yes, as others have said, it's not as simple as "protein fills you up alone".

For me, it's more that if I eat a generous portion of protein and veg, I don't need as many carbs. And that has a positive impact on my overall calorie intake. And if I want to feel full while eating protein, I need a LOT of it. A bit of quiche is not going to do it.

I reckon about 16g. I don’t actually know whether that’s ‘enough’.

Not all carbs are upf and carbs aren't evil - I find I need to eat plenty of carbs to keep me going (training for a triathlon!) but opt for slow release carbs that aren't highly processed and make sure I get my protein and fruit/veg ad well.

What would you say hunger feels like then? I couldn’t hear the stomach, just feel it. As I say, maybe it was the salad bubbling around 😂. That said, I definitely didn’t get it after my sandwich, which is why it feels different. I often get a headache if I go too long without food. That would be around 6/7 hours though from lunch until dinner time.

Me too.

Eggs at breakfast make me feel ill, but I’m hungry within 2 hours. Same with Greek yoghurt.

Toast/oats keep me full much longer.

I follow a few people on tiktok who talk about this kind of stuff and it's one of the reasons a lot of them are very dismissive of eggs - it's not nearly enough protein if you're trying to eat high protein.

So if you want to eat high protein and limit carbs, you need a LOT more protein.

Or you need to add carbs, but do so carefully.

Also depends on types of carbs. Porridge has me starving by about 10am. Sourdough toast, on the other hand, can keep me comfortable until lunch quite easily. But other people find a different combo

I think it's individual.

I skip breakfast, but have a large cup of milky coffee... this lasts until around 10:30- 11:00. When I have some plain oats, berries (defrosted by the time I eat them) and yoghurt. I then just have a small chees/ salad sandwich (rye or rye mix) between 1-2 ... this usually lasts until dinner at around 6.

I could eat breakfast, but I am still hungry at 11ish... and sill need a sandwich at around 2pm ... tried it in all kinds of combinations. But I need the bread & oats to keep me going throughout the day.

100% agree. Protein definitely doesn’t fill me up and if I just have salad and protein for lunch im starving again straight away. I think everyone’s body is different though.

I’m not necessarily wanting high protein but maybe it’s because I’m having eggs then. That said, even when I have something like sardines on toast it’s the same. I’ve just checked a tin of sardines and they have 19.2g per tin.

"I reckon about 16g. I don’t actually know whether that’s ‘enough’."

If you're hungry after 2 hours I would say it's not enough. Depending on your weight you should eat upwards of 125g of protein a day and 180+g of carbs