To be still hungry

[Evelight]

It is 9:35. I am planning to work until 11 and not be on internet, and then go to bed.

I had supper around 6:30ish. Noodles, a soft boiled egg, and a kale/cabbage based "superfood" packaged salad with "roast yams and pumpkin seeds" in the dressing.

About 7:30ish I had a cup of tea and two chocolate-caramel thins.

I have had a really hearty lunch (two Swedish meatballs with rice and gravy).

I also rode my stationary bike around 5 for 30 min.

Now I'm really hungry but I don't want to eat anymore!! I don't really have any healthy snacks anyway. A couple of digestive biscuits? Some stale pistachios? More chocolate thins?

You haven't eaten any actual food.

Something with protein? Cheese pancake kind of comes to mind.

(Pauses to finish last mouthful)

include more protein and fat. combine with low gi carbs for maximum lasting fullness.. also eat really slowly, try and take about 20 mins minimum over it

Huh. I am realising I really have no idea how much protein etc I should be eating. Isn't one egg for a light supper enough protein? Aren't you supposed to have a light supper and not a big meal at night? the whole "eat breakfast with your friends bla bla bla supper with your enemy" thing.

Just googled "low gi carbs". Pistachios it is.

Go to your GP and ask to speak to a dietician.

Calorie count for a while if you want to know how much you should be eating. My Fitness Pal is great.

I've been losing weight since July mostly without exercising and am only truly ravenous on days that I've been running.

*I should point out - by ravenous I mean 'tending to feel the need to cram far more food down my neck than actually makes sense in terms of calories burned during the exercise'.

Two meatballs isn't exactly a "really hearty lunch" maybe 6 meatballs is...

Depends entirely on the size of the meatballs. Swedish or Italian? Yes, insubstantial. Danish or German frikadeller? Not so much.

There is no point having a 'light supper' of one egg and a few bits of it leads to you snacking on biscuits and chocolate.

The science behind not eating late is quite shaky. It sounds like calorie wise you hardly ate anything really.

2 Swedish meatballs is not a hearty lunch. How much rice did you have with it?

Why are you eating so little?

I know there is advice out there to eat a big breakfast, medium lunch and light early dinner but I can't do that. I have never been a breakfast person so it is a waste eating a lot in the morning when I am not even hungry. And psychologically, I like being able to look forward to a nice dinner, it helps me resist office biscuits and cake during the day.

I would still be hungry eating to your schedule. Could you try having a late afternoon snack around 5/6 ( this is what I do, eg veg crudites and hummus, couple of rice cakes with cream cheese or peanut butter, some marinated anchovies (current fave of mine)) and then eat your main meal later, like around 8/8.30?

If I eat much earlier than that I end up hungry later in the evening and find it hard to resist the call of chocolate...

You've barely eaten anything, no wonder you're starving!

I have to say I chuckled at two Swedish meatballs being described as a really hearty lunch.

hi folks,

To clarify, the meatballs, were large- much larger than regular Swedish meatballs. They were homemade, and I don't have the patience to do these tiny perfect balls, so mine are larger- I would say slightly smaller than a tennis ball (and they kinda collapse in a pyramid shape as they cook, bc they are too large), rather than golf balls, which is what I understand the regular size is. And there was plenty of rice, swimming in gravy (that's the way I like the starchy component, really soaking in gravy/syrup/kebab juices). the point being I left the table really full.

As for why little food- I am a petite woman, just shy of 5'1, and I am still nostalgic for my pre- second pregnancy figure. So I guess I am trying to control my intake, though clearly without knowing much about it.

I like the idea of switching up the main meal and snack. the thing is, we usually have the main evening meal as soon as the kids get home (around 4ish) since they get home ravenous. yesterday 6:30 was a late supper, since it was a snow day. Between that time and bedtime stretches an arid space of foodlessness, and I guess I am having difficulty filling it up....

You have to find what works for you but still eat enough.

I don't eat breakfast. My first meal is lunch. Usually around 11.30-12. Something decent sized. Snack on fruit when hungry.

Have a fairly big dinner around 5pm and some supper. Which could be yoghurt or some wholemeal toast or some cheese on cream crackers.

I like having supper. I have lost almost 6 stone ignoring the 'you must have breakfast' and 'don't eat on an evening' rules. It works for me. But I make sure I eat plenty as well. Eating small amounts (especially in the evenings) ends up with me demolishing biscuits or chocolate at night.

Did you eat more veg than you listed? It doesn't look like a lot of veg to me.