Absutely starving all the time, where am I going wrong??

[WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo]

So I've finally decided to do something about my weight, it's spiralled out of control. I've done this before through SW but put it all back on.

I'm following basic, healthy eating and I am ravenous.

Here's what I've had over the last couple of days.

Friday

Large fruit salad (( melon, strawberry, banana, apple)) couple of spoons of full fat Greek yogurt. Flax seed and a drizzle of honey.

Lunch was home made carrot, and lentil soup. With 4 nairns oat cakes.

Dinner

Lentil mousakka (( I make the topping using a tub of philedelphia, splash of milk and handful of chedder)) with a large, green salad, olives etc and cherry tomatoes

Saturday

Two scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast

Lunch

Huge Greek salad with chicken breast

Dinner

Homemade beef and chorizo burgers topped with cheese. Potato wedges and salad

Today I've had

Breakfast

2 egg mushroom and spinach omelet with a sprinkle of cheese. Handful of spinach and cherry tomatoes on the side.

Lunch was homemade leek and potato soup with around a 1/4 bag of kale shoved in for good measure (( 1 large leek, 2 medium potatoes and an onion between me and my partner)) Around 4 oat cakes.

Snacks I'm just having fruit, I darent buy nuts as I end up necking the whole bag. I have around 4 cups of tea a day and plenty of water. (( at least 4 pints a day as I make a point of having one with each meal))

What the hell am I doing wrong? Portions are good, I'm not one for going hungry is it my body rebelling at not getting a packet of yum yum a few times a week as a scooby snack?

Ditch the carbs. A banana is very sugary and will spike your insulin which, in turn, increases hunger.

Look at low carb regimes and try that. I lost two stone last year by low carbing. The hunger goes away after about two days. You might feel weak and hungry at first though. Get some fat into you as that curbs appetite and you won't store it as fat as long as you keep the carbs low.

Just a thought and caveat we are all different - I have never really been a breakfast eater. A lot of advice generally and Re diets is that breakfast is important and I’m not gainsaying that.
However for me a natural lifelong 16:8 eater without even realising, when I do have breakfast (most of lockdown) I become really hungry all day long. Just recently reverted to no breakfast, an earlyish lunch and earlyish dinner (easier with no eating out). Have lost weight without effort and not unfruitful all day at all.
Just a thought - not right for all - many do need breakfast depending on metabolism etc.

‘Not hungry all day’ not ‘not unfruitful’!

I reckon it's too much sugar. fruit is very high in sugar and will give you a spike and dip in energy levels. I think I am eating less than you but I am not really hungry very often. I am not eating much sugar and when I do I combine it with something high in protein (eg an apple with slices of stilton cheese which is lush). so up your veg and reduce your fruit.

I've been really struggling to lose weight too and found that my portion control is way off. I've started using these www.amazon.co.uk/Rosemary-Conley-Portion-Pots%C2%AE/dp/B07CN36SL5/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=portion+control+cups&qid=1597592040&sprefix=portion+control+c&sr=8-3 portion control cups which has really helped and I've managed 6 lbs in 2 weeks without feeling starving.

If you are decreasing food and increasing exercise then you probably aren't getting enough.

Agree with more protein. Especially if you are walking 10 miles!

For those telling me to eat a baby bell or something I've just had a small cube of cheese and feel loads better.

I'm going to switching things up tomorrow I think, have porridge for breakfast (( I do weigh porridge, 40 grams)) topped with berries, coconut and flaxseed.

Mackerel salad with feta cheese for lunch.

Chicken and chorizo stew for dinner (( chicken thighs, 1/4 chorizo, peppers, red onions, butter beans, tinned tomatoes)) with broccoli and sweet potato wedges.

Firstly you are not starving... People in the Yemen are starving..
You are feeling possibly hungry or you are bored, lonely, happy, sad, it is habit to eat too much.

Are you actually losing weight?
Your description of what you ate seemed huge amounts to me and a lot of calories but if you are starting from 20 St plus, you will have a fairly large calorie allowance.

The trick is to retrain yourself to stop self soothing with food, learn a new habit, so if you are always apparently "starving" at 11 am, instead of thinking you must need a snack go for a walk, do 20 mins of yoga, do an exercise class online, walk the dog,.... My downfall was crisps at 6pm so I used to go and have a bath, light candles, and rwad my book.

Dairy is your friend
eggs
cheese
butter

and the absolute hidden star - full fat milk

a whole pint of 4% milk staves off hunger for ages
its full of calcium and micronutrients

@Oopsadaisydoddle

Just a thought. If your body is telling you you're hungry it's because it needs food.

Absolutely not true.

It's about a hormonal imbalance. Too much sugar/too many carbs, and the key hormones insulin, grehlin and leptin get out of whack. This is what makes you feel hungry. In the Western world, we are rarely hungry between meals because we're starving!

@WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo

You'd be far better off cutting down your carb intake and upping your fat and protein.

I'm going to switching things up tomorrow I think, have porridge for breakfast (( I do weigh porridge, 40 grams)) topped with berries, coconut and flaxseed.

You'd be far better off having something with eggs - boiled or poached, or a cheese omelette, or fried with mushrooms and bacon.

Mackerel salad with feta cheese for lunch perfect - just avoid balsamic vinegar in any kind of dressing as it's too sugary.

Chicken and chorizo stew for dinner (( chicken thighs, 1/4 chorizo, peppers, red onions, butter beans, tinned tomatoes)) with broccoli and sweet potato wedges cut out the beans and sweet potato wedges and this would be great. Replace them with more green veg and/or salad.

You are not starving. Not even close. I think you may think you're hungry because you're so used to feeling full due to massive overeating. You need to allow your body and mind to adjust to your new way of eating.

Are you getting enough sleep? Tiredness can trigger insatiable hunger.

BIWI is bang on about the food tweaks ... listen to her

Nah, the OP doesn’t sound like she is eating enough or the right foods to be satisfied. She’s not starving to death by any means but that doesn’t make a difference when you’re experiencing hunger pangs.

OP, your BMR is 2029 calories a day. You shouldn’t eat below that. I suggest you eat around 2,200 a day until you have lost weight and then recalculate the BMR and make sure to stay a little above it. If you eat very low calories you have a very very high chance of quitting due to the hunger pangs. Eat plenty of protein, enough fats and some complex carbs (although by all means go lower carb if you think you can sustain it- you can lose weight without going low carb though). There is precisely zero point in drastically restricting your food intake and it’s the quickest way to regaining anything you lose.

Sorry but that really isn't the case.

If we honour our body's hunger and fullness signals and listen to what it needs, it generally knows what to do.
You need to read more biology
that is the absolute opposite of what animals are programmed to do
like the eagle that ate so much it could not take off
or the lions so full of giraffe they can barely stand

Right so you think it’s a good idea to eat way below basic metabolic rate? Why when she can lose weight steadily eating quite a bit more? You do realise that low carb doesn’t have higher success stats than other diets and that the only thing that will lead to long term weight reduction is a permanent and sustainable change in lifestyle that can be kept up for life? As I said, she can do lower carb if she wants to (she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t like eating that way) but at the moment she is eating four oatcakes and a bowl of soup for one of her meals. Of course she’s hungry.

Not enough protein/veg, too much fruit.
Are you drinking enough water?

Op have you tried doing intermittent fasting before?

As I said above I now follow 16:8 for five days a week, because these are work days I'm busy and never miss breakfast anymore. I'm ready for my lunch midday and actually appreciate eating it.

If I have breakfast now on days off then yes, my brain tries to tell me it's starving by11am after having toast at 8am. It's not starving though, it's being less busy due to not being at work and carbs for me just don't satiate me.

I've lost all the fat I gained over lockdown, so a stone in a couple of months. I e still got a long way to go but intermittent fasting does work once you get past the first few days of feeling like you're starving to death.

Maybe give it a go but make sure you reduce the carbs and up the protein. Eggs are now my best friend

If you nourish your body with a good range of foods, not less than you need because of wanted weight loss, cravings will disappear
Snigger
you REALLY need to read up a bit more about biology and history

please explain the obesity epidemic in Pacific islanders under your theory