I need some help

I am almost 6 months out now and I have been having a couple of days where all I want to do is eat. What can I do?

I went through the same thing. I reached out to the vets and learned that what they have been saying really is true. If you keep your carbs under 40, then those hunger cravings go away. Even if my cal are 600-800 and my protein is up, my hunger was up if the carbs are over 40. Make sure that you are really tracking EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. Even gum, I just realized has 2 carbs a piece :( and I was chewing about a half a pack a day to keep me from eating. Well, I was sabotaging myself because all those extra carbs, about 15 were causing more hunger. 

In the afternoon if I find myself getting hungry, I like to have a cup of coffee or some tea. 

Good luck! You can do it! 

Maybe that's my problem. I chew so much gum during the day so I won't eat but don't log it. I never thought about the carbs in it and how they might be contributing to my eating later at night. Thanks, Amber!

I have been chewing a lot of gum lately too. This could be the problem. What will I do with my oral fixation?

I am going through the same thing right now. Like overnight all the old urges came rushing back. I am fasting today to see if I can get a handle on it.

I see that you have already gotten some fantastic suggestions.  Here are my strategies to deal with this issue.

1) Whenever I would tell my doctor that my hunger had increased, he invariably pointed me to my carb intake.  I found that every time I went over 40 grams of carbs in a day, my hunger and cravings increased dramatically.

2) Increase drinking.  We often mistake thirst for hunger.  Knowing this, I would always drink a tall glass of water or tea to see if the hunger would disappear, about 80% of the time, it worked.

3) Distraction.  Often we are not really hungry for food, we just want to deal with our stress, anger, boredom, frustration or some other feeling.  Getting up and doing something else would always help me forget about the "hunger".

4) If non of these things worked, I always have a very low calorie filling food available to snack on.  My soups have saved me countless times.  They are all under 100 calories a cup, some are closer to 60 calories, full of protein and very filling.

5) In the end, it was always helpful to remember that hunger is not an emergency and I can wait another hour to have my regularly planned meal.  Most people through out the world experience hunger daily, and I am not only talking about developing countries, but other western countries as well.  In France, for example, even kids are not permitted to snack, it is just not done.  If you have some hunger, it just means you will enjoy your upcoming meal that much more.

I hope you can find a way to work around this issue and that there is something of value in my post to you.  Take care.

Thanks, Elina, for this post -- I especially appreciate the advice you share in #5, "hunger is not an emergency."  I am just now learning that important lesson and it has been a challenge to wrap my head around that statement.  We live in such an 'instant gratification' culture, many of us have not yet developed the skill involved in "waiting."  That is a skill that I hope I can perfect, as it relates to food, to weight loss, and to many other aspects of my life!

Sorry to burst the France bubble, but the France I live in has children snacking twice a day, at 10:30 a.m. And at 4 p.m. These are sacred just like croissant and Bordeaux. They are called "gouter" which literally means "taste" or "snack". Its most definitely part of the established eating culture here.

This having been said, dinner can be a salad...or an apple and some cheese. It is not a big heavy meal usually unless there is a special occasion.

I would defer to you, since my information is second hand from friends that recently immigrated to California from Paris.  They own their own restaurant and this was what they explained to me.  They have three children and this is what they practice and explained to me that this was part of the culture.  We had this conversation about six months ego and they told me that they were shocked at the amount of snacking that goes on in our culture and especially the amount of snacking our children do on a daily basis. They told me that this was part of why they felt obesity was such a huge issue here.  However, you would know better since you live there.

Julia, since you do have more experience with the French culture, would you mind telling me more about their eating styles and habits that are based on more than just the few people I know from that area?  I would love to pick your brain about what the differences are that you see.

Sure, anytime. Maybe in a PM or another thread? Or I will email you. It is totally possible to get fat here too! I am living proof! I have lived here on and off for over 30 years and the last 10 non stop...and managed to get to an all time high of over 200 lbs. The French can eat very well in terms of quality and quantity.