Anyone find eating healthier increases appetite?

[TheBatPig]

Or is just me?

Last week or so I have made a conscious decision to eat better, less processed food etc for health reasons. I'm finding that I am always hungry or thinking about food.

Has anyone else experienced this or is it just me? I'm not doing low carb or cutting calories or anything like that. Just trying to eat more veg and cooked from scratch meals, but I think I have ended up eating more crap than usual!

eating healthier for me has meant high fat / low carb which has had a huge effect on suppressing my appetite. Fat makes you feel sated. I've kept this way of eating up for 9 months and there is No Way I would have tolerated hunger for that long!

I no longer do that standing pondering in front of an open fridge thing where you desperately wonder what you can possibly eat.

What would you typically eat for lunch or dinner if you don't mind me asking? People tell me fruit/veg fill you up but it doesn't seem to for me. I've eaten more chocolate/crisps in a week than I usually do in a month as I cant stop thinking I'm hungry!

Make sure you are getting enough protein and also that you are having some healthy fats as PP mentioned
Can you give us an example of what you've been having in a day?

Protein is important. I'm not talking about to the extent of low-carbing but I do make sure every meal has protein in it.

If I eat a meal without protein I'll feel unsatisfied and will want to eat before my next meal.

I eat only full fat dairy now, so even if I have cereal for breakfast I'm having some fat with it, or if I'm having porridge I add a dollop of yoghurt for protein.

If my lunch wouldn't naturally have protein in it I add some (for example by grating cheese onto tomato soup).

I think I should be getting enough protein. Typically in a day I have been eating
Porridge and coffee with semi skim milk
Fruit or veg sticks as a morning snack
Lunch noodle soup with mushrooms and tofu quite a large bowl
A snack in afternoon like rice crackers
Then say sheperds pie with veg for dinner or chicken fajitas or meatballs with pasta.

So definitely eat protein at two meals of the day

If you are hungry then maybe have peanut butter on oatcakes which will fill you up more than rice cakes will. I also really like corn thins and find these more filling than rice cakes. Or have some nuts which are really filling and I am sure I have read that if you eat wholenuts then yoor body doesn't absorb/use all of the fat in them. Much more satisfying in the long term than crisps too.

Nuts could be a good idea for snacks, don't usually eat them. Thanks

I am still breastfeeding my 14mo and that with the sleep deprivation is giving me a raging appetite especially when I'm at work. I find if I eat my sandwiches early (say 11/11.30) and then have some fruit, at 2ish I'll have a pot I've made up of full fat Greek yogurt, oats and fruit like blueberries or mango and maybe a dash of maple syrup. Keeps the hunger monster at bay most of the afternoon. I'll have a bit of dark chocolate (Aldi's moser Roth stuff is really good and comes in handy portion sizes bars) if I need a sweet boost late afternoon. Sarnies are usually peanut butter and spinach as it's filling, easy to make at 7am and I just love pb. Often chop up some pepper/carrot to eat with it.

So not exactly a low fat diet or low carb but I feel that after a year of sleep deprivation following a crap pregnancy and traumatic birth, I want to go easy on myself. Fruit and veg never fills me up on its own and neither does high protein low carb, for me it's a combo of good carbs and protein eg scrambled egg on seeded whole meal toast which is probably why I am not particularly slim right now!

Actually ignore me I have an appalling grasp over my appetite at the moment, what I describe is a reasonably good day, on a non work day it's open season in the kitchen!

The first thing I would do is axe the rice cakes - they release their sugar quite quickly meaning you eat them and then will be hungry again pretty quickly - instead, when it comes to snacks think produce (e.g. Fruit and veg) and protein - so hummus and veg sticks, apple and peanut butter, berries and Greek yoghurt etc.

For your lunch, could you switch the noodles for either whole meal pasta or buckwheat noodles? And pack more veg in there if you can

And make sure you are drinking plenty too