What are these hunger pains ... Ignore Them?

[Sh8kin]

I've changed my diet around now for over a month, six balanced meals a day, every 3 hours, and I've been experiencing something wierd and wondered if any of you have as well. At first I thought my body was just adjusting to my new eating habits. I started to get hungry around every three hours. But now, when I eat I'll begin to get hungry again in around an hour and a half and sometimes I get hunger pains.

Is my body metabolism just getting better and the food is through my stomach faster? Do I ignore these sensations? This is a sign my body is telling me something right? Should I listen to it or ignore it. I mean, if I just ate an hour ago then I know I should be alright, right? What do I do?

 

[T-Man]

It could be numerous things, but in order for us to help you, you need to post your diet.

 

[musclepump]

Yeah, a little more detail, por favor.

 

[Sh8kin]

Here's what I had today

PWO
----
2 Scoops Whey + half Banana

Meal 1
---------
3 egg whites & 1 whole egg
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 piece WW toast

Meal 2
------
2 Scoops Whey


Meal 3
-------
1/2 Cup dry Oatmeal
1 cup FF skim milk


Meal 4
------
Albacore Tuna Steak
Mixed Veggies

Meal 5
------
5oz chicken breask
2 cups veggies


Meal 6
------
1 scoops whey
1/2 cup cottage cheese


Totals: 2056cal 312.75Prot 147Carb 27Fat


I also take a multi and try to get in 4 - 6 fish capsules a day.

My stats are 177lbs, 5'10". 25yrs.

 

[bulletproof1]

drink more water

 

[Sh8kin]

Oh yeah, I drink about 5 - 6 liters of H2O a day.

 

[ReelBigFish]

more fiber, less whey. A peice of meat would be more filling than whey and oats would be more filling than toast. Get some more fats. 27 doesnt seem like a whole lot. Maybe you need more calories. It could be a few things. At 177 , 2000-2100 isn't a lot, depending on BF and whethere you're cutting or what not.

 

[Sh8kin]

Well, I'm at 21% BF and trying to cut for the most part. I would like to be at about 15% by August if possible...

Perhaps these pains are my body trying to tell me it needs more to grow, trying to bulk ya know?

 

[Emma-Leigh]

At 21% you don't need to 'bulk'. If you are concerned you are too small I would sit at maintainence and recompose. But if you start jacking up the calories you will just get fat.

Sometimes, if you are dieting, you just have to suck it up and deal with hunger... Sucks, but it is the truth.

But.... Your diet is also a major problem!

177 pounds, 21% BF = 140 pounds lean mass.

So -

PWO
----
2 Scoops Whey + half Banana

What do you have pre-workouts?
This is also not a lot for PWO. If you want more calories ANYWHERE in your day - it is PRE and PWO when you want them.

I would take the milk you have later in the day and have it here.

Meal 1
---------
3 egg whites & 1 whole egg
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 piece WW toast

Dump the toast and have oats instead.
Add vegetables to your eggs to increase volume too (spinach, broccoli etc).

Meal 2
------
2 Scoops Whey

This is not a meal. Add vegetables and something else.
There is also no reason to have whey here - real food will 'stick to your ribs' a lot more than whey. So go for 4-5 oz of lean meat (eg: chicken, tuna/fish, turkey, game meats etc).

Vegetables will also keep you full.

I'd also throw in some fish oil caps (2) and some low GI carbs (eg: legumes, fruit).

Meal 3
-------
1/2 Cup dry Oatmeal
1 cup FF skim milk

Drop the milk (add it PWO).
Add a complete protein here.
Add vegetables.
Add fish oils too.

Meal 4
------
Albacore Tuna Steak
Mixed Veggies

Good.

Meal 5
------
5oz chicken breask
2 cups veggies

Good.
I would add some fats (eg: olive oil)

Meal 6
------
1 scoops whey
1/2 cup cottage cheese

dump the whey
Add more cottage cheese
Add some healthy fats (eg: walnuts)

Totals: 2056cal 312.75Prot 147Carb 27Fat

At your weight/BF% that calorie intake is ok, a little higher (eg: 2200) may be a bit better.

I also have no idea how you get that intake of carbs??!!

Anyway - I would also aim for different macro's - something closer to:
200-250g protein
200g total carbs (including ~30-40g fibre)
45g fats
TOTALS = ~2000-2100 cals.

I also take a multi and try to get in 4 - 6 fish capsules a day.

Get 6g fish oils as a minimum.

 

[Sh8kin]

Thanks Emma! I didn't know that my diet was a MAJOR problem!! Thank you for all the tips and answers. I will suck it up! I travel out of town a lot which is why sometimes I don't have access to the foods I would like to have, ie fresh meats and veggies. But I do carry around whey and a shaker and sometimes dry oats. I figure it is better than nothing!

I workout in the mornings and take NO-Xplode at the moment (soon to be CEX) which states to take on an empty stomach. So I wake up at around 5 take no-xplode, wait an hour and then WO. I hear from some that it is actually beneficial to workout on an empty stomach so that your body can us more energy and bloodflow for your workout than digesting food? What do you think?

Thanks so much for the tips! I will try and implement what I can. I'll add the cup of milk PWO. I came up with the macros looking up the info on online websites and on the back of the products, so I dunno why the carbs look a little off? Here, I will attach the spreadsheet I made to track my intake.

Hehe, think I can get down to 15% by August?

 

[BulkMeUp]

it is actually beneficial to workout on an empty stomach

I'm sure Emma wil disagree with that! You MUST eat before your wo.

 

[Skib]

I'm sure Emma wil disagree with that! You MUST eat before your wo.

no kidding... i would DIE if i ever attempted to train on an empty stomach... it would be the weakest, most sluggish work out ever... don't be afraid to get some food in ya before you train... if you're trying to lose body fat then just try doing 20-30 minutes of cardio after you hit the weights to burn up some extra calories...

 

[Todd_]

2000cals?

you need 3000 and youll still get shredded at 25yrs

shoot for 500cal meals

 

[WATTS]

deffinetly get something in you pre workout

 

[Sh8kin]

Well, I was taking No-Xplode and it's directions indicated to take on an empty stomach 1 hour before workout. Which wasn't so bad since I typically workout in the mornings. I'd just get up and take it. Wait about an hour and get to it.

I'm off the NO-Xplode now and have switched to something else (CEX) which doesn't require an empty stomach I believe. So I may start taking that with a shake or something 30-45 minutes before WO.


Interestingly, I just found an article about working out on an empty stomach as it relates to early mornings and cardio:

The advantage of working out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is that you have just enough energy stored from the night before to fuel your workout, and you also have a greater chance of burning stored fat, which will cause you to lose weight. This is due to the fact that, because your stomach is empty, you are more likely to burn calories already stored as fat, as opposed to using calories from recently digested food in your system.

Based on this it is OK to work out if first thing in the morning. I have seen this type of article and discussions before also with both weight training and cardio. But I believe it is a ongoing debate whether it is or isn't benificial.

 

[Emma-Leigh]

I'm off the NO-Xplode now and have switched to something else (CEX) which doesn't require an empty stomach I believe. So I may start taking that with a shake or something 30-45 minutes before WO.

If you are doing weights - you want CARBS and PROTEIN before working out.

Interestingly, I just found an article about working out on an empty stomach as it relates to early mornings and cardio.... Based on this it is OK to work out if first thing in the morning. I have seen this type of article and discussions before also with both weight training and cardio. But I believe it is a ongoing debate whether it is or isn't benificial.

At the end of the day it is calories that count.

Fasted cardio (lower intensity) MAY benefits those hugely obese individuals who have very LARGE fat stores and who are somewhat insulin resistant - meaning that they are slightly hyperglycaemic during most of the day.... So if they do fasted am cardio it actually gives their bodies a chance to burn some of their fat.

For everyone else it offers no real advantages, and can be detrimental for those who are lean/who have low BF% as it means they will lose more lean mass.

In terms of WEIGHTS on an empty stomach - the risk is even greater as the intensity of the exercise is such that you will burn GLUCOSE and, in it's absense (ie: fasted) AMINO ACIDS (aka muscle)....

Also - if you think about it rationally - the LAST place you want to remove calories is from around your workouts...!!! Why would you want to compromise the one thing that is going to build/maintain your lean mass and help you to BURN more calories in the long term??

Keep your food around your workouts. Instead, just eat less OVERALL (that is, reduce your intake at other times).