I am so HUNGRY!!

[karategirl]

Hey, everyone, I am on a weight loss mission and I'm hoping you might be able to help! Last summer, I lost 25 pounds using the following meal plan:
Breakfast: Protein shake
Lunch: Salad with tuna, shrimp, or chicken
Dinner: Fish, chicken, or beef with one or two servings of veggies
Snack: Peanuts, cashews, or walnuts

I always felt full and was so happy with my weight loss. After losing the 25 pounds, I hit a plateau which I was okay with until this past summer. I wanted to lose more weight, but I've been unable to stick to the same meal plan. I am always so hungry! The good news is, I haven't gained any of the weight back, but I've been unable to lose more. In the past year, I've completed a STS pyramid and I'm now working on a Ripped With Hiit rotation. I know I've gained some muscle, and that muscle needs to be fed, but how can I maintain a calorie deficit when I am so hungry?

Any suggestions on how to make my meals more filling? Or maybe I should eat a heavy carb meal earlier in the day? Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[rhbrand]

If you have built muscle, you may need 100-200 more calories a day. Your body might be trying to tell you that you need a little more to keep going.

 

[Katerchen]

Add some good carbs such as a piece of fruit, whole grain English muffin, etc. Carbs are not the enemy. The processed stuff we call food is what messes our bodies up.

 

[workout]

Add some good carbs such as a piece of fruit, whole grain English muffin, etc. Carbs are not the enemy. The processed stuff we call food is what messes our bodies up.

I love how you stated that Carbs are not the enemy; I see so many diets telling to eliminate or drastically reduced carbs - I love them and will never give up my bread, pasta, fruit, etc. - life is too short.

 

[Repo]

Great!! Now you've made me hungry. Katerchen is right you need to add some complex carbs to your diet.

 

[firemedic]

I use to do only protein thing but it seemed the more I worked out with Cathe, the more that didn't work. I found that once I started eating the better whole grains for carbs, that really helped and kept me feeling more satisfied longer.

 

[snowlover]

I maintain my weight eating carbs as well. Big difference to the meal plan above is that the biggest meal of my day is breakfast. Yes, I had zucchini and fennel with pasta sauce and pesto on top of spaghetti for breakfast this morning and even dessert (homemade biscuit cinnamon rolls). I'll have chicken and fish with veggies for breakfast. This may sound weird to people but because I eat a very light dinner, I wake up with plenty of hunger and wanting a full meal. A smoothie would be sooo disappointing and unsatisfying and leave me ravenous for the rest of the day!

 

[firemedic]

I love having chicken for breakfast. I do it a lot. My husband use to think I was crazy until he tried it and now he likes it too. I don't think I could get through a Cathe workout on just a smoothie.

 

[karategirl]

If you have built muscle, you may need 100-200 more calories a day. Your body might be trying to tell you that you need a little more to keep going.

Yes, I agree that I probably need a little more calories. I think I'm having a problem drawing the line between a little more and TOO much more!

 

[karategirl]

Add some good carbs such as a piece of fruit, whole grain English muffin, etc. Carbs are not the enemy. The processed stuff we call food is what messes our bodies up.

I agree that carbs are not the enemy. I used to have a carb heavy diet in the past, so my diet plan last summer was meant to change things up to see how it affected my metabolism. Guess it's time to change things up again!

 

[karategirl]

I maintain my weight eating carbs as well. Big difference to the meal plan above is that the biggest meal of my day is breakfast. Yes, I had zucchini and fennel with pasta sauce and pesto on top of spaghetti for breakfast this morning and even dessert (homemade biscuit cinnamon rolls). I'll have chicken and fish with veggies for breakfast. This may sound weird to people but because I eat a very light dinner, I wake up with plenty of hunger and wanting a full meal. A smoothie would be sooo disappointing and unsatisfying and leave me ravenous for the rest of the day!

I hope no one has gotten the impression that I was trying to starve myself last summer. Honestly, my appetite back then increased later in the day. I had no appetite at all for breakfast, and even the smoothie felt like a lot on my stomach. I think things have changed now because of my heavier weight training in the morning, so now my appetite is greater in the morning than it is in the evening. I like your idea, snowlover, of having dinner for breakfast. That would definitely change things up and leave me feeling satisfied.

 

[karategirl]

I love having chicken for breakfast. I do it a lot. My husband use to think I was crazy until he tried it and now he likes it too. I don't think I could get through a Cathe workout on just a smoothie.

This made me laugh, but chicken for breakfast is probably exactly what I need! I know a smoothie doesn't sound like a lot, but my training with heavier weights had just begun last year, so a smoothie was satisfying at the time. Now, not so much. Time to thaw out some chicken!