My Dieting Intake

[Calkid]

I find that when I eat until I'm full, I end up eating just about as much as I would when I'm officially dieting. I'm not joking. The past four days I've been eating whatever I want, whenever I'm hungry, and my calories have normalized at around 2100 kcal/day. That's about what I was shooting for and having trouble with dieting.

It's so weird. I would go to meals and not eat all that much. Just one serving protein, one carb, one veggie, with lots of 2% milk. And I was hungry all the time.

Now I'm basically just letting my stomach dictate the food intake, and I end up eating the same amount. I find that I tend to eat 2-3 enormous meals a day, and as a result I'm not hungry for a while. When I'm dieting, by contrast, I eat frequently because I'm always hungry.

It seems to me that the eating-til-full method is a more satisfying way of reaching the same calorie goal. So, my question is, how could I possibly be satisfied by a mere 2100 kcal/day? Is this unheard of? It seems like my body wants to eat an amount that's LESS than maintenance.

-Calkid

 

[Aaron_F]

Just think yourself lucky for dieting.
If I gave my body what it could comforatably eat, it would easily make it over 6000kcals a day.

 

[Mindwraith]

If I ate what I wanted I'd definately hit a good 4000 easily. I'd still get 200g protein but 200g or more of fat and 300g carbs too. Dieting is not fun for me, I wish I could hit 2100 w/o thinking. Are you sure you're at 2100? It doesn't take much "healthy" food to get past that.

 

[stevie]

Quote[/b] ]So, my question is, how could I possibly be satisfied by a mere 2100 kcal/day?

actually 2100 kcals worth of lean meat and veg is not 'easy' to get through.
If you add pasta, rice and bread to your diet you will get through 2100 kcal far more easily with far less volume.
If you eat loads of 'junk' food, then 2100kcals can be consumed in just a couple of meals.

 

[Ryan]

Totally agree with Stevie, take a closer look at carbohydrate choices.

How many times do you eat a day? Could you add a meal or two a day and drop the intake a bit per meal for a net increase in cals?

 

[Calkid]

The thing is, I was kinda performing an experiment to see how many calories my body would want if I decided on "no holds barred" eating. I miss breakfast a lot because of class and sleeping late, so that means I have a big lunch, a big dinner, and another big meal at around midnight. Each of these totals roughly 600-700 kcal, plus a minor snack at some point, you can see where that only adds to 2100.

Maybe my body is just programmed to only eat tiny amounts...after all, my starting stats were 5'11", 147 lbs, 6% bodyfat w/ a 29-inch waist. I looked like I was anorexic.

-Calkid

 

[tai4ji2x]

man, calkid, you're a freak! how i wish i had your metabolism! i started "dieting" about 7 weeks ago at 180 lbs and nearly 19% BF, and found that my maintenance is apparently the same as you (around 2200kcal). i've had to cut down as far as 1500 on non-WO days (around 1900 on WO days) and be a bit more careful with my refeeds, just to start seeing some results. luckily i'm doing keto, which staves off my hunger a bit. i couldn't imagine getting my daily 150g protein with only lean meats and keeping my fat intake lower than 35% of my calories.

btw, have you tried actually weighing the food you get at your cafeteria? luckily i don't live in a dorm, but even so, the amount of food you eat could be deceptive. once i started measuring my food on a scale, i realized i was originally eating at or above maintenance. back when i wasn't dieting, i think i was easily taking 4000 kcals a day, which definitely helps explains my fat gain.

 

[sean]

Being only 16, I think I have an even faster metabolism than Calkid! I eat 7 meals a day, and for 4 or 5 of them I actually have to eat past being full to lose weight. It's weird, when I started dieting, I got full faster. I guess another explanation could be that, since I haven't really eaten A LOT in a while, maybe I just don't know what being full is anymore. I don't think I'm eating much more than ya'll though. Maybe 2500 cals. And I've actually lost 15 lbs in one cycle on that. Anyway, dieting's easier than I anticipated.

Sean

 

[Aaron_F]

Quote[/b] (stevie @ Mar. 15 2003,3:15)]actually 2100 kcals worth of lean meat and veg is not 'easy' to get through.
If you add pasta, rice and bread to your diet you will get through 2100 kcal far more easily with far less volume.
If you eat loads of 'junk' food, then 2100kcals can be consumed in just a couple of meals.

You really want to bet. I can eat 500g steak and 1kg of brocolli and still be hungry.
I can eat nothing but lean meats and veges all day and get 3000kcals comfortably. If I start adding in more energy dense foods it really starts adding up.

 

[tai4ji2x]

Quote[/b] (Aaron_F @ Mar. 14 2003,11:08)]You really want to bet. I can eat 500g steak and 1kg of brocolli and still be hungry.
I can eat nothing but lean meats and veges all day and get 3000kcals comfortably. If I start adding in more energy dense foods it really starts adding up.

yup, that's how my brother and i are. when we tried to "bulk" a few months ago, we thought that the advice people often give of "stuff yourself silly to gain weight" was to be taken very literally. little did we know this usually only applies to skinny and lean ectomorph "hardgainers" - while the two of us are ravenous, voracious eaters with mediocre physiques to start with. looking back, i'm sure there were days we were taking in 4500+ kcals.

 

[stevie]

Quote[/b] ]You really want to bet. I can eat 500g steak and 1kg of brocolli and still be hungry.
I can eat nothing but lean meats and veges all day and get 3000kcals comfortably.

500g steak and 1kg of broccoli would fill me perfectly adequately. If i was trying to stuff myself then i might agree with you.

if you take into account that, as a general guidline, 100g of most meats has 20g protein, that 500g steak is only 100g protein.

100 x 4 = 400kcals

you would have broccoli also, 100g of broccoli is generally 10g carbs/100g. so 1kg broccoli would give 100g ish carbs.

100 x 4 = 400kcals

How much fat in a steak? maybe 6g per 100g steak. The 500g steak would have 30g fat (my steaks do not normally have that much, but we'll use this figure for argument sake).

30 x 9 = 270kcals

so a meal of 500g steak and 1kg broccoli would total approximately 1100kcals

you would have to eat this three times per day to meet your 3000kcals.

Im not saying its impossible, BUT you cannot seriously tell me that eating 1.5kgs of beef and 3kgs of broccoli every day is 'easy'!!!

but anyway, my original point was that the calories you get from eating till youre full completly depends on what you eat. If you eat meat and veg only, eating till your full will give you fewer calories than eating 'junk' until your full. I dont see how you can argue with this!

 

[imported_edziu]

Calkid -- part of the reason you don't feel like more food is because you just came off a diet of eating that amount, and your body and metabolism had adjusted.

If you just came off a diet of bulking, your "natural" baseline would probably be significantly higher.

When I came off my PSMF (modified fast of about 1000 Kcal/day), I felt stuffed when I ate 1800 calories (I was 212 pounds at the time&#33 When I came off my bulking phase at 3300 calories, I felt hungry despite eating 2600 calories.

 

[Aaron_F]

Quote[/b] (stevie @ Mar. 16 2003,11:41)]if you take into account that, as a general guidline, 100g of most meats has 20g protein, that 500g steak is only 100g protein.
100 x 4 = 400kcals
you would have broccoli also, 100g of broccoli is generally 10g carbs/100g. so 1kg broccoli would give 100g ish carbs.
100 x 4 = 400kcals
How much fat in a steak? maybe 6g per 100g steak. The 500g steak would have 30g fat (my steaks do not normally have that much, but we'll use this figure for argument sake).
30 x 9 = 270kcals
so a meal of 500g steak and 1kg broccoli would total approximately 1100kcals
you would have to eat this three times per day to meet your 3000kcals.

6g of fat in 100g steak is a rather lean piece of steak.

depending on the cut of steak it can vary from around 4 to up to 20. I dont bother with expensive cuts.

Quote[/b] ]Im not saying its impossible, BUT you cannot seriously tell me that eating 1.5kgs of beef and 3kgs of broccoli every day is 'easy'!!!

no cos eating brocolli every meal would make sick. But I eat high volume foods all day, and I still would beable to eat more and more. I eat 2.5kg odd worth of food daily (i have done the food records) and have no real problem with that, and am dieting. When adding another third to the intake I have no real problem either.

Quote[/b] ]but anyway, my original point was that the calories you get from eating till youre full completly depends on what you eat. If you eat meat and veg only, eating till your full will give you fewer calories than eating 'junk' until your full. I dont see how you can argue with this!

Yes, but put it a different way.
there is no junk
just energy dense foods
What Calkid (I think) needs to eat are energy dense, nutrient dense foods.
(most so called junk foods are energy dense and not nutrient dense)
and he needs beer, cos everyone needs beer

 

[micmic]

I don't get it... how can some people be so lucky...

I've been trying every supplement (and even drug) available and every macronutritient ratio in order to fight my hunger, but nothing... My maintainance is 2300 (including 3 workouts per week), and I can easily consume 6500-7000... and I'm only 165 pounds

After trying ephhedrine, bromocriptine, amphetamines etc with NO results, I've been eating around 2kg of boiled vegetables per day... it's around 500 kcals but at least it makes me (a bit) full

While I'm living a nightmare trying to stay at 9% BF, my own brother is eating crap all day, consumes probably 1.5 -2 times my calories, and yet he can't go over 5%!!!

Life stinks

 

[tai4ji2x]

micmic: have you tried keto or zone? with higher fat ratios, they tend to help with hunger better. don't over-boil your veggies either. also try steaming or stir-frying them. add little bit of olive oil or butter to them as well.

btw, 9% BF ain't too shabby already...

 

[Aaron_F]

Try them raw as well as that helps somewhat. Increase the fat intake and drop back carbs a small bit but if you maintain at 2300 it doesnt give you a lot to play with. But you need fat to help the whole satiety system.
Also try eating something that you are not okay with, and it iwll put you off eating for a while.
Sardines make me want to puke if I eat a whole can, but it stops me eating...combine that with enough raw brocolli and carrot to make me gag and I wont feel hungry for hours.

dont try this at home kids

 

[micmic]

Thanks for the tips guys, but I've REALLY tried everything. I was on a CKD for 2 months, I can't say I was less hungry. Especially during the carb-ups, hunger was a nightmare

As for the veggies, I've tried eating them raw, but the only thing that happens is that my jaw gets a good workout and is tired long before I'm full

I boil them because this is the fastest way to prepare them. I know that steaming is better nutrient-wise, but my only concern is to fill my stomach. Add oil or butter ? That would sky-rocket the calories, I just need to swallow lots of volume with minimum calories.

I haven't limited my fat intake. Those days are over. Now I play from 20-40% fat. My carbs are almost always low glycemic index. And yes, I've tried zone too. In fact, right now I'm close to the 30-40-30 percentages.

If you research hunger a little, you'll see that there are a lot of hormones and peptides involved, you can't try to control everything. Right now I'm inspecting the probability of NES (Night eating syndrome) since my hunger is much greater after 8-9 pm, although I don't have the sleep disorders related to this condition.

Anyway...

 

[Calkid]

Quote[/b] ]Calkid -- part of the reason you don't feel like more food is because you just came off a diet of eating that amount, and your body and metabolism had adjusted.

That's a REALLY good point.

I guess I'm also eating very very clean. A typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup scrambled eggs, 2 pancakes, 1 cup 2% milk
Lunch: Chicken burger, salad, 2 cups 2% milk, 1/2 cup french fries
Dinner: Full chicken breast, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes, salad, 1/2 cup mixed steamed veggies, 2 cups 2% milk
Late evening: cookie + milk, OR banana and breakfast cereal if I skipped breakfast

-Calkid

 

[Aaron_F]

I know there are plenty of hormones involved in the system, and plenty of room to be messed up, from ghrelin, cck, leptin, insulin etc
I have no real loss of appetite, even if I feel like I will throw up I just still want more food.
I can eat 2000kcal a day and be comfortable with low GI, mod protein mod fat.
It takes minimal food choice to do this, because eating the same foods over and over makes you hate them. If they make you feel bad, then you will eat less.
But then again, it can also break the diet if you are not careful...

 

[Reven]

Quote[/b] ]Sardines make me want to puke if I eat a whole can, but it stops me eating...combine that with enough raw brocolli and carrot to make me gag and I wont feel hungry for hours.
dont try this at home kids

This reminds me of a time when I was experimenting with different types of sardines (well flavors). I'm not sure if this is everywhere but here I always see these cans of sardines with different things added to them, hot peppers, mustard, tomatoes etc. Well I used to be able to stomach sardines but after I tried some of those flavors I have never been able to eat them since. Anyhow just thinking about them make me not as hungry, and eating or smelling them can make me last even longer.

As far as not eating, the only time I can go not eating is if I am busy. But once I start eating it's very hard to stop. For instance weekends or days that I'm at home or not very busy I could easily sit there all day and eat. I have found that salads and tea can usually keep me from going over maintenance to some extent on these occasions. By this I mean being hungry but not eating anything harmful towards my dieting goals, well as long as I kept food out of site, and I didn’t run out of hot water or salad.

Calkid, I'm in the same boat you are. Before I started keeping track of cals etc. I went for a week of just counting cals of what I would eat normally. At about 2400 cals is where I would eat daily give or take a few hundred. I normally eat very clean, most days I wont eat any grains but oatmeal in the morning. Although I am a big fan of dairy and I can easily get 50% of cals coming from there.

Steve