Sorry for all the postings but I really kinda like posting on this forum.

I am always hungry. Today for lunch I had some ribs at Spring Creek BBQ and some green beans. I ate enough that generally makes me feel full, but today I left feeling hungry. I think that I'm going to eat us out of house and home. Does baby formula have carbs? I think it does so my 3 month old son should be okay for a while. But seriously - should I still be hungry? Does that mean that I am burning fat or does it mean that I need to modify?

Thanks!

You should not let yourself get hungry. If you are it's a sign that you may not be eating enough throughout the day, if not at one specific meal. There really isn't enough information in your post to tell if you're eating enough.

A good rule of thumb is to aim for 10-12x your body weight a day in calories. This number will assure, all things being equal, that your body will have sufficient calories to maintain basal metabolic functioning - i.e., it will not think it is being starved.

You might want to consider keeping track of calories for a few weeks while you get a 'feel' for just how much you are, and aren't eating. www.fitday.com is a free site where you can register and track calories/macronutrients/ and weight. Many of us make use of it to ensure we are eating enough.

Keeping a journal on this site would also be beneficial - it would make it a lot easier for us to offer advice and troubleshoot if we could see just what your daily routine looks like.

HTH
Nat

You just started right? I think you will find you need time for the old gut to shrink. Even though there isn't a limit, I find I don't get so hungry after a few days back on the program (I take regular breaks), but those first couple of days are pure madness

You posted "I am 3 days in and no carbs to speak of. Just a few errant carbs here and there but nothing over 10 to 15 I would say." <---you need to have 20 carbs a day on Atkins, so eat your veggies and salads!! Good luck.

Yeah - I suppose I do need to take in a few more carbs. Especially from salads and the like. But I seem to be losing weight anyway. I'll see if that speeds it up at all.

Thanks!

Did the ribs have BBQ sauce on them? If so, it could have been loaded with sugar, and caused some cravings on your part.

If not, just like Nat said, you should never let yourself get hungry.

Just wanted to echo Darklotus. If you up your carbs by eating more fresh veggies as salad, then you will probably not be as hungry. Raw veggies are loaded with fiber and I bet you will find them very filling!! Ever done low-cal diets? Didn't you munch on carrot and celery sticks to feel full? The celery sticks will still fill you up, but the good news is you can put cream cheese on them now and that's okay!! Yay! And you can finally enjoy the full fat salad dressings! Oh my they are yummy!!!

Livin' it and lovin' it!!

I am going to take the good advice and eat more salads. In fact, I stopped off today and picked up a small side salad from the grocery store to take to work in the morning. That along with some all beef franks and cheese (is that okay? Less than 1 gram of carb per frank) and some chicken. That's all pretty much going to be small snacks for the day. Little mini meals for between lunch and dinner.

Also I like to eat eggs and sausage for breakfast. I guess that it's okay since eggs really don't have carbs. Or do they? Never thought to check the packaging.

I know - I know. I'm rambling. I am VERY tired and I need sleep. I did a 45 minute cardio workout tonight and I'm pooped!

Should I cut off eating by a certain time? ? ? I am going to re-read the Atkins book again tomorrow at work. But help me out until I get to that chapter.

I'l also going to go ahead and start the journal as suggested.

Thanks!

-Rick

Hot dogs and cheese are fine . Don't get so caught up with getting the carb intake so close to 0. For example, I brought a meat loaf frozen dinner for lunch today. The box lists 30 carbs, but I won't eat the gravy, and will scrape off the tomato paste on top so it will really be about 15 carbs. Remember, this is a lifestyle not a contest about who can eat the fewest carbs. Remember, if you are like I was, we were taking in 400-500 carbs a day and nearly all of it was sugar based carbs.

I've been LCing since Jan 2002 and I still get hungry every three hours on most days. I went through a period of time (after the first 2 weeks) when I would have to make myself eat meals because I wasn't hungry. Now, I believe that my metabolism has picked back up and I need to feed my body more often. I stick to 5-6 small meals per day instead of 3 big meals. I'm also in OWL and eat between 25 and 70 final carbs per day. I keep it varied and I occasionally step back and go into ketosis for fun. Berries and melon are now good friends. Thanks OWL.

Listen to your body and give it the fuel it asks for. Just make sure it's a healthy LC form.

Annie G.

I suppose you're right, Shark. I know it's not a contest, but I do have a bit of competition in my blood. I guess that's true about taking in that many carbs in the past. Just for fun, later today I'm going to tally up my normal pre-LC carb intake and find out where I was. Heck, lets just do it right here.

I just went back to the break room and bought a bag of cheetos and a coke (for experimentation purposes only - gave chips and coke away to co-worker)

(per can / bag)
Coke = 39g Carbs
Cheetos = 17g carbs

I would generally come to work and get maybe 5 cokes a day and two bags of cheetos. Then have lunch of something like a Fried Chicken Salad with Honey Dijon dressing from Bennigans and tea with Sweet and Low, then have maybe Long John Silvers for dinner.

carry the 1...

That's about 360 carbs a day that I was having and maintaining my existing weight.

Things that make ya go hmmmmmm.

Only 17g? was that for the bag or for a serving - often there are 3 or 4 servings per bag.

Nat

Believe it or not that's per bag. I was looking for that specifically. I was a little shocked too. But if you think about it there are only like 12 chips in a bag.

-R

Oh, geez! My skeletons are about to come out of the closet! Cheetos, esp the puffy kind, are low enough that you can have a decent handful (or two!) for not very many carbs. I haven't had to deal with cravings for months, but when I was still having the odd craving for salty/crunchy, Cheetos are what I used. I seem to remember something like half a gram per Cheeto, LOL. Sometimes the things we know are so very telling - such as, I know he had the little, snack size bag!

(sweet craving: cream chz, vanilla extract, Splenda, cinnamon or non-sweet choc powder for flavor. Viola!)

Cheers,

Friday

I had that problem too..Id wake up at like 10am and by 2pm I was already up to atleast 1,000 calories and STILL hungry. never figured it out