I am Hungry. VERY VERY HUNGRY! No Matter how much I eat... Im still hungry! Ive never felt this unsatisfied with food before. I KNOW Im getting all my protein, and I know Im getting enough fat (if not a tad too much) and I KNOW Im drinking enough water, and I KNOW Im not getting to many carbs... but im still hungry. This is only my 2nd day, and Im thinking that maybe It's just my carb withdrawl! I hope so!
Anyone have this problem the 1st few days? Anything I could eat that would make me hungry like this besides carbs??!
Thanks a bunch!!
-Whit

Whit,

I can only speak from my experience, which as you can see from my start date is rather limited. However, my first week on Atkins I was miserable! I wanted sugary and starchy stuff that I'd NEVER craved before and I was hungry constantly! Then I got crabby and carbed out for a couple of days before picking up the Protein Power book, which made SO much more sense for me. The first day on it I was ravenous..to the point of eating 6 hamburgers between lunch and dinner (yes, I said SIX). One of the gals at work still teases me about it, but three weeks into this WOE and I'm SO VERY HAPPY I choose PP!

I"ll be thinking good thoughts for you...just remember, it'll ALL get easier from here on out.

Spikester

Whit - I was absolutely ravenous when I began this WOE. It's ok! Eat what you need to be satisfied - not full. The hunger will dissipate. I thought when I first started that I'd never get the hunger under control, but with time it went away. Just watch your carbs, picking the ones high in fiber, keep getting in that protein and water, and the hunger will go away. I still periodically have bouts where I'm extremely hungry - I just eat more for a day or two and then the hunger settles down again. Hang in there - the plan works .

Edited to add: BTW, I am one of the few people that has a problem with Splenda. It gives me cravings, makes me unbelievably hungry and makes me tired. Don't know if you're using any AS but it *might* be a culprit. HTH!

Yes, hunger cravings can be a sign of carb withdrawal. I had it, and I gorged myself on protein for the first few weeks to cope (I also discovered what a protein hangover is like). Later, I boosted my fat intake (tough psychological barrier), particularly my intake of monosaturated and saturated fat. That helped a lot.

Wowee.. thanks. Im glad Im allowed to be hungry! I thought i was doing something wrong. Im glad Im not. I'm tryin hard. thanks again!!
-Whit

Hang in there!!! Don't give up!!! I was the same way....very very hungry... Thankfully, I snacked on my leftovers...whatever I cooked... Something that really helped are Protein Shakes....find a protein power with 2 or less carbs a serving.... If you need a suggestion you can email me. But I simply mixed one scoop of powder with 1/2 cup of water, 3 cubes of ice, vanilla, and 1 pack of sweetner... and that helped with my hunger pains... Once I was out of induction or Atkins....I added a serving of fruit to my shake.... It helps when I get hungry around 9:00 in the evening... Tea also helps to fill me up...

TJ

NovaGirl,

I just wanted to say the same thing as some of the others. I was also starving the first week. I also had terrible headaches, felt shaky and tired, and was very cranky. 90% of this went away after about 3 days, and the rest of it went away after about two weeks. CW takes your body some time to get used to- it's a huge change. It sounds like you're right on track- hang in there. I promise it will get easier!!

YAY! It has gotten easier! Im sooo excited! I dont really even crave carbs anymore! woohoo!

I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. I had forgotten how hungry I felt for the first couple of days until I read your post. A week or two later I added up my food totals for the day and found I was only eating 1000 calories. (I wasn't particularly trying to check calories, just using some software that told me calories as well as carbs.) So within about a week I went from wanting to eat everything I could get my hands on to having to make a deliberate effort to make sure I was eating enough!

Novagirl: So glad things are looking up for you ! It's going to keep getting even better from here on out !

Thanks guys! Ya'll keep on rockin'!
woohoo! things are back to normal now. Not hungry!! I am getting very very used to this WOE! woohoo!

Kathie: You are probably not losing weight because you have put your body into starvation mode. 800 - 900 kcals are not enough! You should never go below the amount of calories needed to sustain your basal metabolic rate (BMR). There is a BMR calculator here: http://www.room42.com/nutrition/basal.shtml.

As to breakfast, my summer mainstay is cottage cheese w/ raspberries, flax meal and some almonds or sunflower seeds. I do add protein powder (unflavored) to get in my minimum protein. A lot of people like ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese. Occasionally I will make a "pancake" out of protein powder, flax meal, egg, etc.

There are a lot of recipes in the Breakfast forum. I don't do pork rinds but I know there is a recipe people rave about using them to make french toast. I'm sure if you search around, there will be something to appeal to you.

HTH and good luck finding something else to eat that you will enjoy for breakfast !

have you tried Atkins lc pancake mixes and muffins. There's so many s/f syrups, too.

Bring your calorie consumption up to 1600. The will help you lose. Drink, drink, and drink your water. That flushes the fat out, but you must increase your calories and fat.

What a concept. I also have some software I use in my pocket computer and noticed I only take in about 900-1200 calories a day (lots of sodium though). And my weight loss has been slow. I'll try to kick it up a little. Difficult concept though, I'm not near as hungry as I used to be so I don't think about it. I still have that tired legs feeling alot. Muscles have a tough time with any stamina type exercise. I'll check out the Metabolism Calculator. Thanks for that tip.
Bob
p.s. Anybody find a good tasting low carb protein drink? I tried Gensoy......yuk