My dinners are not filling! - JP Fitness Forums

TrainingGirl · 02-07-2006, 05:23 PM

What is it about my dinners that when I eat about 6oz. baked chicken, about a cup and a half of veggies, and 1 cup of potato, pasta, etc, I am STARVING within an hour? Am I not eating enough? Or is it what I'm eating? Whenever I have this for dinner, I could eat another meal an hour later. And I eat constantly throughout the day..biggest meal being my first I would say. Anyone else feel this way or am I doing something wrong?

RLP71586 · 02-07-2006, 05:57 PM

It may be the lack of fat. I don't have any hard evidence to back that up or anything, I've just noticed that when I eat a meal that is low in fat I have a similar feeling (particularly when it comes to pasta)even if it is pretty huge. It could also be just a lack of calories too, particularly when you eat the potato. Chicken and potatoes aren't exactly calorie dense foods.

smoddelm · 02-07-2006, 05:57 PM

Where is the fat in your meal?

oxymoron · 02-07-2006, 07:37 PM

Have to agree with you on this one - my wife and I have been following '10 Habits' since mid Jan and we are always starving for our evening snack...

Lost Dog · 02-07-2006, 08:41 PM

I'm often hungry at night. I think it's psychological for me. I'm not really doing anything, so I feel like snacking. Also, when I know I can't eat another meal, I get hungry to spite myself.

Also, having avoided things like potatos, rice, bread, etc. for such a long time, when I do eat them, I get starving in an hour or so. When I eat these things, I try to do it earlier in the day, making my last few meals/snacks nothing but protein, fat, and veggies. Not even fruit during my last two feeding opportunities.

I. Kay · 02-07-2006, 09:25 PM

Like the others said: FAT. I bet if you remove the potato/pasta and replace it with a tablespoon of olive oil, 2 fish oil caps and 1/4 cup of mixed nuts, you won't be starving an hour later.

ZachL · 02-07-2006, 11:10 PM

potato's are high in starch and rather high in GI, as are most pastas. Eating such a carb heavy meal is just begging for hunger pangs! I would make potatoes a very small and very intermittent part of your diet.

BFG · 02-08-2006, 05:24 AM

yeh fat helps, protein triggers the brain into thinkings its fuller but the biggest deceptor of hunger is thirst

TrainingGirl · 02-08-2006, 05:39 AM

Good ideas guys. Can't believe I've omitted fats. I'll add them in and see how it goes. Thanks [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Lost Dog · 02-08-2006, 11:59 AM

No matter how much I drink, I'm still hungry...

oxymoron · 02-08-2006, 09:21 PM

Adding the fats should help - but I agree with Lost Dog that there is a psychological factor about eating and the evening.... For years our supper meal was our biggest meal & now it's actually one of our smaller meals - takes some getting used to!

ichbinba · 02-09-2006, 06:39 AM

[ QUOTE ]
but the biggest deceptor of hunger is thirst

[/ QUOTE ]

you know, magazines say that, but I've just never bought into that... one thing I know from school is that your thirst mechanism and hunger work on two entirely different pathways.. nothing to do with each other. I just see no way you could be thirsty when you think hungry... just my opinion

BFG · 02-09-2006, 06:58 AM

think of the amount of fluid you extract from eating foods.

OK next time you feel dead hungry an hour after eating try it, it does work especialy as 60% of people are dehydrated the majority of the time

ichbinba · 02-09-2006, 07:15 AM

I could see it helping maybe because of pure volume taken up in the stomach, but all I'm saying is that drinking water won't have a direct effect on the biological pathways that trigger hunger. the water extracted from food doesn't have much to do with it, that's mostly done in the small intestine

Lost Dog · 02-09-2006, 08:20 AM

That dehydration thing is a myth. http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

I won't argue that drinking cold water can help with fat loss or temporarily "trick" some people into not being hungry. But, it's only some people that this trick works with. I'd say they weren't really hungry, just bored and looking for something to put in their mouths.

RacerBill · 02-09-2006, 11:25 AM

Lou has something in New Rules about that thirst/hunger thing, and his take makes a lot of sense to me. A creature that cannot distinguish hunger and thirst will be at a severe disadvantage in evolutionary selection. So it's unlikely humans could end up at the top of the food chain if thirst and hunger were indistinguishable.

I admit, though, that I tend to get hungry very quickly, usually only an hour or so after eating a healthy meal (something like 1 cup spinach, 1 cup carrots, walnuts, vinaigrette, 8 oz lean beef patty, and an apple). The only time I'm not hungry soon is if it's a very large, starchy and fatty meal (like a traditional Thanksgiving feast). I suspect all those years of potatoes and pasta screwed up my body's sense of satiation.

It's tough to not snack when bored or idly watching TV (or sitting home recuperating and not working!). The kitchen is only a few steps away. I've been trying to train myself to not keep eating, even if it's carrots or such.

Brian A. · 02-09-2006, 02:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
potato's are high in starch and rather high in GI, as are most pastas. Eating such a carb heavy meal is just begging for hunger pangs! I would make potatoes a very small and very intermittent part of your diet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Glycemic index doesn't apply as much if you are taking in the carbs as part of a meal with the proper amout of PTN and fat. The fat especialy will slow the digestion of even a realtivly high GI carb. Fat digestion requries the added step of pancratic enzymes to emulsify it to be absorbed. This slows gastric emptying which slows down absorption of all of the macro nutrients. This is why adding fat to your meals makes you feel satisfied longer. This is also the main reason you don't want any fat in your post workout meal if your goal is quick replenishment of muscle glycogen and amino acids.