Always hungry!!

[Mariko]

Haha, not necessarily a bad thing, but gets expensive after awhile!

 

Anyone have any suggestions on what I could maybe add to my diet, or other changes I could make so I'm not hungry all the time? I realize maybe being hungry goes hand in hand with being vegan...but maybe that's just me.

 

Some background: I'm 27, female, about 5 foot 4, around 120-125 lbs, been vegan for 9 years, and train in martial arts (karate and kickboxing) 5-7 times a week.

 

A typical day for me regarding food would be:

 

Breakfast -- a bowl of Nature's Path Organic "Heritage O's" with almond milk, a banana

Lunch -- a bowl of lentil soup, bun; bowl of assorted fruit; side chick pea dish

Dinner -- rice protein/hemp smoothie; peanut butter or almond butter/jam sandwich; salad

 

I have to be honest in that dinner is difficult for me...I help teach at my dojo twice a week from 4 to 7; then have my own kickboxing class until 8:30. And 3 evenings a week I have class starting at 7 to 8:30/9. By the time I get home, I'm not really very hungry but know I need to replenish so will have a vitamin water and protein smoothie at the least.

I find that I don't eat very much before my class because I don't want to get cramps, or be uncomfortable while I train (obviously).

I also don't drink water nearly as much as I should. I've had a couple people tell me that if I drank more water I wouldn't be so hungry all the time.

I know it is obvious I should be eating more given how much I train; I guess I'm just looking for some suggestions -- like what kind of snacks in between? Or light, healthy dinner suggestions I can stomach before an intense class?

And any other thoughts about water intake and its impact on hunger?

 

Thanks!!

[grazer]

Hey M,

once I bumped up my protein intake, my hunger dropped quickly. Rice/hemp protein shakes throughout the day (4 to 5 times per day or more) has really helped my performance, recovery, growth and limited hunger. Also, multi-vitamins can fill any nutritional gaps, giving you a sense of fullness quicker during a meal.

I'm sure others will have some good suggestions as well.

Later.

[Mariko]

Thanks G!

Hmm, I never really thought about taking in more than 1 protein shake a day but I guess it can't hurt...so much soy/almond milk to go through though -- but I guess I can sub with water or half and half.

Planning meals better would probably help too, and timing my meals. I find that working from home everything gets pushed back, ie. sometimes I don't eat breakfast until 11am, even though I've been up working since 7:30-8...

[lobsteriffic]

Personally I rather have whole food than 4-5 shakes a day but whatever works for you I suppose.

 

It doesn't look like you are taking in much food at all considering how active you are. No wonder you are hungry. Nuts pack a lot of calories for a small amount, so maybe you could work those in as a snack?

 

What I do when I get busy is take a few hours one day a week and cook a week's worth of meals and then freeze them in individual serving containers. That way if I'm busy I can just go to my freezer and take out a container of soup or chili or curry or whatever.

[endcruelty]

cashews usually fill me up quickly, but how much water are you drinking? doesn't dehydration make you feel hungry?

[Mariko]

I am not drinking nearly enough water. I have tea in the morning and then maybe a glass of something during the day (water or vitamin water, or juice), then I'll drink some during my workout (1.5 hours of cardio essentially). When I get home I'll drink a couple glasses of water and then have my protein shake.

Even if drinking water doesn't quench my hunger, I know I should be replenishing my body a lot more. I just never really feel overly thirsty unless I'm working out hard.

Haha, I wish I could eat cashews! Unfortunately, I have a deadly allergy to them =(

Thanks for your suggestions too lobsterific!!!

[Rob PMFF]

This is only relevant to a small part of this conversation, but I drink a glass of water after everytime I "pass water". Whether I'm thirsty or not. It works for me.

 

Also, I think being hungry all the time is a common issue. I was hungry all the time, and then I started eating more. But what I noticed was that when I would eat, I would get full quickly. But then a very short time later, I would be hungry again. I attributed this to the high amount of fiber in the food (filling you up quickly) and the low number of calories (making you hungry again quickly).

[Mariko]

Hey Rob!

 

Ya, that's what I find too. I will be really hungry, eat, and fill up quickly. Then about an hour later I'm hungry again =( I don't mind eating, I love food, but it can get expensive and inconvenient at times. You're probably right about the fibre issue. I think I may just need to add more filling, but healthy, snacks in between, and need to time my meals properly.

[BrianC]

Hi Mariko, I have a very high metabolism as well and tend to get hungry very quickly. In my opinion, whole food sources are preferable, but don't completely dismiss the idea of having another smoothie during the day as well if you need to. Cooking meals in advance is a great idea also. I use a crock-pot every couple of days which will cook up around 6-8 solid servings of potatoes, beans, lentils, rice, etc, etc. I keep all the left overs in my fridge and eat off of it for a couple days. It works great and it is fun to create some interesting recipes. Try incorporating more sweet potatoes and yams, also. Those tend to satiate me really well.