When will my appetite shift? page

[erin19]

Hi guys,


I'm new to the site. I've been wanting to make the shift to low-carb/high protein and fat for awhile but have been unsuccessful.


Here's some background on me: Lost 40 lbs. 3 years ago after adopting a mainly natural/organic diet. Have kept most of it off for the past three years, but weight has fluctuated due to birth control and knee injury that prevented me from working out for 9 months. I am 5'7", 135 lbs, and while I look thin and have a lot of muscle tone, I have some trouble areas I really want to work on (all my weight goes to my stomach, upper arms, love handles..)


I am guilty of chronic cardio and eating too many carbs (although mostly whole grain) and sugar, which I have SO much trouble resisting. My main reason for wanting to change my diet and workout habits is that I am constantly ravenous - nothing seems to satisfy my appetite. Even after a meal of protein and fats I am really hungry an hour or two later. I get so hungry that I feel like I'm going to faint, get a headache, feel shaky, etc. I've been checked for diabetes but endocrinologist says I don't have it.


Do you think all the cardio I've been doing (usually one hour or more 4-6 times a week) is contributing to my appetite? If I start the PB lifestyle, when will I start to see my appetite calm down? I need some encouragement, and knowing how long it will take before I see a change would help... I can't take the hunger anymore!


Thanks! (Sorry for such a long post)

[SassaFrass88]

Oh yeah. Yes to all of your questions.


Your cardio is making your body scream out for more instant fuel (aka 'carbs&#39.


I too was addicted to cardio. I did HIIT, but still, I would 'pride' myself on going harder, faster, etc, but in the long run, I really wasn't burning many more calories than if I had walked briskly the entire time and then, like you, my body was craving carb-type foods ALL the time.


Just give it a go. Be strict in your Primal eating and you will see it happen, maybe in a few days (maybe more).


I thought I would always be addicted to sugar, but after nearly 30 days primal, I was face-to-face with a mint Oreo cookie and I allowed myself to have one as a treat this last weekend (before, I would probably have eaten the entire bag, had the entire church body not been there watching me!).


What did it for me, to start, was leaving the house with a couple of small dark chocolate squares for those times when I thought I NEEDED a sweet. Even a few cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans or pistachio nuts in a baggie helped with any 'snacking' tendencies, even if I was only craving sweets.


30 days later, today, and I looked at the bag of dark chocolates and didn't think twice about grabbing a few for an 'emergency' stash in my purse like I did several weeks ago. I know now that I just don't 'crave' them anymore! (YAY! - I thought I was doomed!)


Keep at it!

[SerialSinner]

Erin I experienced carb withdrawal as well, but apparently way milder compared to yours.


This is what worked for me:

- When sugar cravings were to high, I used artificial sweeteners

- I made sure most of my calories where coming from good fat (60-70%). Fats are very satiating

- If feeling too hungry due to carb cravings, I'd snack on nuts or just make some quick scrambled eggs.


I found out that, at first, my carb intake was between 100g and 150g a day (I was snacking on tons of nuts to fight anxiety). This is not ideal for weight loss, but kept me away from sugar and starch until I stopped craving them.


After that is when the beauty began for me. I stopped feeling hungry, needing the snacks, and craving starchy things. My appetite stabilized and I started to naturally gravitate towards more fats and meat and less carbs.


Soon, I found myself reducing carbs down the 50's with no effort whatsoever (except during weekends, when the power of booze still compels me).


During my transition, splenda helped a lot. I hardly ever take it now, as I don't crave anything sweet anymore, but I doubt I would have been able to get here without it.


Hope this helps.

[eyeshield9]

Are you taking dairy? That was my weak point. My personal two cents.


1. 15 organic fried eggs cooked in 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil

2. If you really have to get carbs, 1/2kg of black/raspberries should do the trick.

[erin19]

Thanks for your responses.


I think I have to conquer my bad hypoglycemia in order to truly reach my fitness goals. Even on days when I eat mainly protein and healthy fats, I still get the hypoglycemia. I'm miserable being so hungry and shaky all the time!


On a side note, I'm amazed by how people can go all day without food. In fact, it seems like most people can do this. It makes me so frustrated because I feel like my day is dictated by my hunger.


Any other tips? Any foods, supplements, etc. that you think will ease my hunger? I'm already taking chromium and cinnamon supplements. FYI - due to bad stomach problems and food sensitivities, I am not eating eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, peanuts, and almonds right now. I can eat most meats, veggies, fruits, walnuts, pecans, seeds...

[hannahc]

I was basically addicted to cardio as well, pretty much the same schedule you had. Plus weight lifting and yoga or pilates. WAY too much. I was feeling controlled by my hunger too, which is what drove me to find a new way of eating in the first place! I've been Primal for over 5 weeks now, and I can truly say that I don't have screaming/shaking/get out of my way hunger anymore, and haven't since about the 3rd or 4th day in! I went cold turkey on the grains, still haven't had any at all, and only had ice cream once and dark chocolate 3 or 4 times in the last 5 weeks. So very little added sugar and no bread/pasta/rice/corn/etc. It definitely works, and while I haven't dropped much weight (only have about 5ish vanity pounds to lose anyway), I am less bloated, my clothes fit better every day, and I don't go through the cycle of feeling like I need tons of cardio then eating a ton because I'm literally starving. Your allergies don't even look that bad, since you shouldn't eat dairy (for some), wheat, soy, or peanuts anyway! Good luck, I hope this works as well for you as it does for me!

[C2H5OH]

I wonder if it's not emotional eating. I eat whenever I feel sad, so I eat a lot that way. Maybe you too

[erin19]

I don't think it's emotional. I mean, I've definitely been susceptible to eating when I'm bored or sad at times, but it's not an every day thing. The hypoglycemia, however, happens almost every day. And I can tell the difference between when I'm just plain hungry and when I'm going to go into ravenous/shaky/headache mode. I rarely feel just hungry. I feel like I could deal with that!


Sometimes I do feel like I eat out of fear of the hypoglycemia. Like I know what will happen if I don't eat, so I constantly eat to prevent it from happening. It doesn't always work.


Hannahc - I'm going to try my hardest to cut out all grains this week and really focus on protein, fat, veggies, and fruit... and cut out those extra little servings of carbs that I like to have throughout the day. I think I trick myself into thinking that the grains are ok for me, like if I mix a bowl of oatmeal with protein powder and nut butter (telling myself that the protein and fat will offset the effects of the carbs)... but maybe my body just can't handle the oatmeal!

[C2H5OH]

man your story is quite similiar to mine, when I'm working at home, I stop every half an hour because I'm tired and go eat something

[hannahc]

Ya cut the oatmeal. I was having a good portion of steel cut oats with berries and nuts every single morning for a long time, and sometimes would actually be falling asleep on my drive to work...it took cutting out the oats to realize it was the insulin spike then crash that was putting me to sleep literally 1 hour after I'd gotten up. Try going absolutely cold turkey on the grains for even just 1 week, and I think you'll notice a marked improvement in your hypoglycemia.


Like I said, I had the same hunger issues that you're having now. What I notice now is that I do get hungry, but it's a "gentle" hunger as I like to call it. It doesn't hurt, and doesn't make me shakey, my body is just gently saying "I'd like to eat sometime soon if you get the chance"...it's much nicer