I've been progressing through OWL, raising my carbs and adding more food. Currently I am up to 30 grams net. Recently I've noticed my hunger has been out of control... my body now craves about 1400 calories daily (up from the 1100-1200 it used to). I think 1400 calories is too high to create a meaningful caloric gap (I am only 154 and live a sedentary lifestyle).

Do you think this new found hunger is because of the increase in carbs, and if so, will it ever go away? I don't think raising my carbs has affected my loss yet (I was down half a pound this morning), but I'm telling you it is very uncomfortable to feel like I am on a "diet" and I need to watch my food intake. It has actually made me quite depressed, as it brought back familiar feelings of being out of control with food. I'm just afraid. Afraid if I eat that many calories frequently, loss will stop. Afraid that if I keep feeling like this I won't succeed.

Another reason I think I might be more hungry isn't the carbs but because I had been losing nicely for awhile... my body might be rebelling against the loss (leptin and all that).

For example, my food portions now look so small to me. I will eat a 300 calorie breakfast (or more!) and 2 hours later I'll start to get that old feeling like a need a boost. 3 hours later and I am hungry again. This hasn't happened to me since starting atkins. Before, a 300 calorie breakfast was like a huge amount of food and I would usually stop eating before I finished it all.

This hunger doesnt feel like normal hunger, either. When I do eat it is very hard for me to stop, whereas before it was easier. It's almost as if my body is dying for food, so once I start to feed it it just "sets me off" and I feel like consuming a lot.
Another very, very disturbing thing is that even when I am full after eating, I am thinking about my next meal. I've started eating till discomfort sometimes, because I just have the overwhelming desire to again. I feel so out of control with food right now. I feel like I have been starving for a long time, and I think I feel this way because that's exactly what my body thinks was happening, actually.

What do you recommend I do? Should I just give in to my body and eat till satisfied for awhile (do maintenence) until my body stops freaking out, or should I try lowering the carbs first before I try that? I'll try anything because I don't like feeling like I'm dieting and I don't like feeling out of control.

I really think I am starting to run into issues of Leptin depletion here, so I am leaning towards trying maintenence for 2 weeks (or however long it takes) until I can get a handle on things again. But, if anyone else felt similarly when they raised the net carb limit to what I describe, I will try to cut back on carbs first. I just don't think raising carbs that slightly (5 grams to 30) can produce this kind of food obsession...

the foods your eating? Sweetners, fruits? Packaged meats? Caffine? Are you letting sugar in the foods you eat?
When you eat to much at one time you may produce to much insulin which will cause your energy level to plumit and "you think your hungry".

Look, I went off Atkins and started eating all different kinds of bad things, I ended up in real trouble. You may need to cut back on your carbs...

Try also keeping really busy and preoccupied in between your meals...drink LOTS of water...

And start exersizing...it will make it better! And you will lose quicker...give me an example of your diet...including the smallest things...lets see if we can figure this out...

Couple thoughts:

Perhaps your pancreas is freaking out? I'm going to be inheriting my grandmother's old glucose monitor soon to watch for reactions with foods.

Maybe you should try a strict induction to get rid of the cravings? Atkins speaks of doing this when you feel out of control. I had that kind of feeling Saturday at my in-laws house - the smell of ham does that to me and I didn't want to stop eating. After awhile, I just ate ham fat to help quell the monster inside.

Food allergies? An allergy to a food you may be repetitively eating could be doing this to you.

Are you taking any medications? Some meds could be making your pancreas react or if an antibiotic or birth control pill (or other hormone pill) could set off a yeast infection in your gut and make you hungry all the time (welcome to my hell

HTH
Jeannie

Good advice given above already,

But, maybe you feel like you're starving becuase you are? Let me explain: 1400 calories is easily enough to create a 'signifigant calorie gap' and lose weight. Everybody is different, but the amount generally reccomended is 10-12 your current body weight as ideal, and to never go less then 10 times your goal weight. 10-12 times 154 pounds would allow you 1500-1600s calorie range. 1100 would be possible during induction, but now it is below the 'danger range' of 1350 calories for your goal weight, and would run the risk of putting your body into 'starvation mode' - slowing down your metabolism.

Maybe your so hungry becuase you are simply not eating enough? I would certainly not be worried about excessive calories!! For exapmple, I watch my calories and aim for 12/300's but I don't get worried until I pass 1500 - and I weigh 125 pounds and am losing.

Eating until satisfied isn't 'doing maintence'. Its doing Atkins, all stages.

Hi,

what do you mean by 'recently'? I still have hunger periods like that, usually before I lose weight. Hope this is it.....
BTW I think those calories are a bit low for you........

I always eat protein and fat until the hunger stops.

Alina

I think the extra carbs are the culprits. The hunger could be caused by an insulin flow from these. Try lowering the carbs again and up the meat and fats - a lot. You are not eating enough.

Woo i have been feeling the same way the last few days.I was thinking that maybe i was not eating enough also.I am craving chocolate and i am hun gry after a couple hours of eating .
Yesterday I ate maybe 1200 calories and i weight 181.

What you're describing is carb addiction rearing its head when carbs are raised over a certain level, albeit lc carbs.

It can simply be due to this. In which case the symptoms will alleviate with spring.

If it is due to non-seasonal carb addiction raising its head again, this will explain what you're going through.

Some would argue that you need more cals and I wouldn't necessarily disagree with them but the food obsession, increased hunger, hungriness after just eating, non saity...that's classic carb addiction. Hard to control now, isn't it!! After all, "it's just a matter of choice". Sorry, I just couldn't resist!! If it is carb addiction, CAD might be a better maintenance plan for you. You can do a lc CAD, it's the timing of the carbs that's important. The trap with upping carbs for a carb addict is that even an Atkins "safe" OWL level of carbs and veggies can trigger it.

Thanks for the responses everyone, seems I have a lot of options to consider.

If it is carb addiction rearing its ugly head, like Zuleikaa thinks it is, I will try going back down to 25... after all this didn't start until I reached 25.

However, I think Trinity and Alina are more on target though, I think this is low leptin / weight loss induced hunger. For the past few months every time I had a nice period of fat loss I would go through a spout of hunger, each one more intense than the last. But this is the most intense of all. I definitely think I am either approaching set point already or my body thinks I've lost fat too fast or something :/.

I think I am gonna do maintenence level calories at 25 carbs for two weeks and see what happens.

Don't forget that it could be TOM cravings...

It could be, although weird I didn't get it this month. That is the first time since atkins it happened.

Hmmm you know it might be elevated insulin due to SAD; I do have PCOS so elevated insulin levels would mess up TOM right?

I don't think I am a carbohydrate addict though, because I never really fancied carb foods. I mean I did become physically addicted to them, but I never really emotionally addicted. I never craved and liked them. I did go through long withdrawls, dreaming of a nice bowl of white rice as long as 3 months into Atkins (white rice was the only carb I really craved), but today I don't crave those carbs at all. My hunger isn't a hunger for carbs, it's just a hunger for more food. More nut butter, more meat, more low carb veggies, more cheese, etc.

That's interesting. I wonder if that is the similar (well exactly opposite actually) to children and their huge appetite increase before a big growth spurt. Skinny kids begin to look a little softer and more rounded, eat like little horses for a few weeks then, Bam! Up they sprout before your eyes. Then they slim out again dramatically and the hunger disappears...

Many people do find they get hungrier right before a whoosh. But still, this doesn't sound like regular hunger.

Give it a try and see if you stabilize.

I am going thru teh same thing. I cannot seem to stop
eating every few hours. I usd to be able to eat breakfast and have no problems waiting for lunch
and one afternoon snack. now I am munching all day
and night it seems. last weekend I had a small woosh,
tom is not until next monday, so I am not sure what
this this. I am so afraid of gaining back.

I also think my case I eat too much LC "junk" I need
to eat a real lunch, and not a bar, lc oatmeal, etc.

the other thing may be stress. I am under a whole lot
of extra stress right now (dh ready to have open heart
surgery).

I hope it passes and the woosh fairy visits! only 2 more
lbs to go!