Am I eating enough?

[ficbot]

I have been reading some nutrition books lately and some of them say that if you are starving at night it may be because you are not eating enough during the day. I generally feel satisfied during the day (e.g. I don't feel like I am hungry but not eating) yet by dinnertime, I am ravenous. Am I doing something wrong? Here was my day today:

Breakfast: I wait until I get to work to eat this and I have the same thing every day---a serving of oatmeal mixed with a different flavour of applesauce. Usually this holds me until lunchtime. Sometimes, I may have a piece of fruit or some grapes mid-morning.

Lunch: I alternate between a thermos soup with a side fruit, and between some sort of entree item and a side fruit. Today was a tupperware (1 1/2 cups, or most of a can) of Lentil Soup and some canned pineapple. I may have had a cookie. There were some in the staff room.

Afternoon: Didn't have anything before I left for home. Usually I have some trail mix made with low-fat dry cereal (usually Quaker Oatmeal Squares) mixed with some raisins and soy nuts. I did have something when I came home though, a cut-up carrot and some undressed salad (aka cut up lettuce) while I prepped dinner.

Dinner: Varies widely. Today was a bowl of rice noodles mixed with baked tofu and frozen squash. I was still hungry after and had a few animal crackers and some raisins.

Evening: I am terrible with the snacking. Last night I had a bow of cereal at 9ish figuring it was the lesser of a number of possible evils. Right now, I am eating what was supposed to be a smoothie but is more like a sorbet in thickness, made with soy milk, half a banana and frozen raspberries. I am not ravenous right now but can definitely go for a bowl of cereal or something after my workout...

It's weird but I am fine all day. As soon as the sun goes down though, I become a food monster, and it is affecting my weight loss plans.

Before you make your suggestions, I will add the following caveats:

1) I have a tree nut allergy. I am fine with peanuts but I work in a nut-free workplace so can't have them during the day. I also have a corn allergy, which eliminates a lot of prepared foods for me as many contain corn starch and corn flour.

2) I have oral allergy syndrome, which is common in people with tree nut allergies. It means I cannot have many tree fruits in raw form, although I can have them cooked. I had an anaphylactic reaction to raw apples and lesser reactions to other fruits with pits. The only raw fruits I can eat are grapes, melons, berries and banana. I can eat any other fruits cooked or processed.

So...what's going on? Am I not eating enough during the day (even though I do not feel hungry) hence the super-snacky evenings? Or do I just have a bog appetite or something? Or...?

[*AHIMSA*]

Are you male or female? How tall are you? How much do you weigh? How athletic/sedentary are you? What is your body type? How active are you? What kinds of activity do you engage in regularly?

Have you tracked your calories? Have you taken a detailed account of your eating over a 2 week period? Are you vegan or vegetarian? How long have you been veg*n? Do you take any supplements?

[ficbot]

Female, 5'2, 150 pounds (trying to lose 20). I am not terribly athletic but I try to get in half an hour of activity per day, usually through exercise videos. I am a teacher, so there is some moving around during the day from class to class, but it is not terribly physical job. I used TheDailyPlate.com for two weeks and averaged 1400-1700 cals a day but did not lose any weight. I am vegetarian (I eat eggs and do not read labels for dairy, but I don't eat cheese or drink milk). The only supplement I take right now is iron pills which my doctor told me I had to take.

[gillibean]

I'm the exact same size ( how freaky is that?) and tend to lose weight only when i'm exercising a lot and eating better. Calorie calculators usueally say I need around 1400 calories so its possible that you are eating too many calories with too few nutricious foods. ( I'm not a dietician so i could be totally wrong about this)

[CptVegetable!]

I'm 5'1" and was 155 not so long ago (130 now, yay!) When I was 155, I had a personal trainer and she recommended 1800 calories a day while I was going to the gym every day for about 1.5-2hrs a day (phew!) I lost weight slowly, but I was gaining muscle...

ANYWAY! I tend to add on an extra 100-200 cals to those calculators for things we forget, dressings, larger portions, etc. That being said, a soup and some fruit at lunch wouldn't get me past 2pm! Have you tried eating small meals 5 times a day? During my "personal trainer days" I forced myself to do this, even if I wasn't hungry, and I rarely ate in the evenings. Just as long as those little meals are healthy! (ie. vegetables, fruit, whole grains). It kinda seems like you may eat a lot of carbs and sugar, and not enough vegetables.

[caveat] I am not a nutritionist!

[gillibean]

The calculators i was using were those that say how many calories I'm supposed to be consuming. Even overestimating everything I eat, i'm still short most days. Its usually between 900-1200.

Cptvegetable its nice to see that it is possible to get back to 130. I've been trying and trying and my weight is always the same.

[Animosity]

I don't trust those calculators, They aren't 100% accurete, They can be 200 or 300 or more calories off easily. Your best bet is to read the lables, Weigh your produce and chart it, Then add all of it up yourself too see how many calories your geting, Then go from there.

I'm the same way as you, Though. I'm 5'6 138, (maybe a little more sense I can't allow myself to weigh and i've been trying to eat healthier.) If I eat a soy yogert and some fruit for breakfast a fruit smoothie for lunch i'll be full, Dinner if I eat a soy protein product and veggies and i'm sick. By the time it gets 9:00 i'm snackish again and by 11:00 or midnight i'm starving. I just figure it's the way my body works. I'm meant to eat several small meals instead of a couple big meals.

Maybe you should eat 5 smaller meals, And healthy snacks, Like veggies, Whenever you feel snackish. I think as long as you're still being active at night a few carrot sticks in the late evening won't effect your diet. Eating like that speeds up your metabolisim so you'll lose weight easier that way. Plus, It gives you a lot more energy than weighing yourself down with "heavy" meals.

[Shamandura]

Maybe you should eat 5 smaller meals, And healthy snacks, Like veggies, Whenever you feel snackish. I think as long as you're still being active at night a few carrot sticks in the late evening won't effect your diet. Eating like that speeds up your metabolisim so you'll lose weight easier that way. Plus, It gives you a lot more energy than weighing yourself down with "heavy" meals.

:yes: Agreed. I would definately snack more often, so your not so famished when you get home. I wouldnt say your not eating enough, just needs to be stretched out more by adding some healthfull snacks like nut, carrots,etc.

[LucidAnne]

iwould also suggest adding some more protein and fat towards the end of your day.

rice noodles have alot of carb, and turn to sugar ASAP in your body, so you would be hungry soon after. try using whole wheat thin spaghetti, or brown rice, quinoa, etc.

smoothies are also sugar laden. fruit is quickly turned into sugar. it does help to eat the skins of it, b/c it adds fiber....but it is likely that these foods that you are eating later in the day are causing your blood sugar to rise/fall very quickly, making you more hungry.
and fill out your meals w/ more veggies as they will also keep you satisfied longer.
try some beans in your dinner.yogurt, hummus, baked seasoned chickpeas, popcorn, as a late snack.

[veg_blondie]

There is this thing I am trying out at the moment, called "cyclic calories" I'll make a seperate post and include the link!

[veg_blondie]

Link
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?p=1873605#post1873605