Hunger w/high protein?

I'm a pre-op on a low-carb/low-calorie diet, and I've been doing okay for the past week.  Today, though, I find myself to be ravenous and I just can't seem to eat enough to not be physically hungry.  Should I just accept that I'm hungry and drink more water, or am I doing something wrong? 

Here's my food intake today:

B-Protein shake

L-Chicken bowl from Chipotle (chicken, black beans, tomato salsa,  sour cream)
    *ate half*

S-100 calorie almond package

D-small spinach salad w/hard boiled egg and 1 slice bacon, crumbled
5 mini quiche (crustless, made from eggs, ground beef, cheese, and flax)
4 cheese "crackers" (shredded cheese melted)

96 oz water, Beneful fiber mix-n, Special K protein water mix in

35 minutes jogging on treadmill


I know to those of you that are post-op that seems like A LOT of food, and I guess it is.  I think my carb count was pretty low (although I did eat a lot of cheese it looks like), but any ideas as to why I'm still feeling hungry and what I can do about it?

TIA

It sounds to me like you are doing great with what you are eating. I assume that you're checking all labels to make sure that there are no hidden carbs/sugars? If you are super carb sensitive like me then you may want to consider leaving out beans. They could trigger hunger and cravings.

In my opinion, if you are hungry - then eat! According to Gary Taubes - author of "Why We Get Fat" we should eat at least 1500 cals per day - mostly protein and fat - very few carbs. Eating fat helps a great deal with hunger and satiety.

 My laptop is about to run out of juice, but before it does ....

First of all, you are not doing badly AT ALL.  What aI might suggest is that you increase the protein, and then when you get that ravenous feeling (because we all have days that are MORE hungry or LEss hungry ...) feed yourself more protein until you are satiated.

You won't want to hear this, but there's a lot of carbohydrate in restaurant food, even where you don't expect to find it.  The Chipotle chicken bowl is loaded, and in the end not as satisfying for you as you might imagine.

Also, watch out for the flavored waters .... they often have sneaky carbs and additives.

Overall -- you're doing great, just need to tweak it all to reduce the cravings.  It's great to have you here, too!



Lisa

HI Tia, you've gotten some great advice, so I'll just say WELCOME!  :)

Lee, I love that you called me "Tia"--I was thinking to myself, "oh how sweet, she called me auntie"     TIA means "thanks in advance", but I certainly don't mind being called tia, either :)

I have gotten good advice, and I appreciate it all!  Last night I drank more water and went back on the treadmill just to tire myself out and to stop THINKING ABOUT FOOD.  The head hunger is such a nasty little thing and I'm sure you all know what it's like to be in a battle with it.

Sue, I do think that I'm carb sensitive; I talked to my mom about it last night and she pointed out that any carb, whether good or bad, might be enough to "reset the switch" so to speak.  She and I have *always* struggled with our love of carbs, and it takes a good week for our bodies to detox after eating just a little bit.

Lisa, the Chipotle meal was one of those "fail to plan" incidents :(  I go to school M/W/F and have a long enough break in between classes to sit down and eat, but not long enough to go home to do so.  I'd planned on buying a protein shake at the campus store, but saw the Chipotle...yep.  I do think the beans were a big part of the issue yesterday, but I never thought about the water mixes. 

LOL, that's so funny about TIA. 

Yes, we all know about that head hunger.  I can tell you that surgery worked on my stomach and definitely not on my head.  It's the same struggle except that it's much easier as a post-op because our Sleeve/Pouch can't hold as much.  That said, I can pack away a ton of slider food if I wanted to.  It's good that you're recognizing and dealing with your head hunger now.

And that's what, whenever someone asks me why I'm pursuing an RNY, I tell them--the size of my stomach will be the main weapon in my battle against disordered eating.  How many times have we eaten past the point of satiety because the food is there, or it looks good, or if I don't eat it then it will be thrown away, etc. etc.?    I know the surgery isn't a cure-all, but I'm hoping it will be enough to help me get into a healthier weight zone.

IMO you did not have enough food. Specially in the first  half of the day. And:
Chicken bowl from Chipotle (chicken, black beans, tomato salsa,  sour cream)
    *ate half

That is a bit too carby for me. If I would eat that - even post op RNY - I would be hungry for the rest of the day. 
I  try to stay high protein, moderate fat during the day and if i want carbs - I have them at evening.

BTW: how was your protein shake? was it RTD? or did you make it? how?
I noticed that If I add some cream (1 tbs) to my shake, It keep s me full much longer.  The fat will do that to me.  I will have a shake (water + protein powder - low carb+ 1 Tbs cream) then 3 hrs later some low carb snack, then lunch - usually proteins + some low carb veggies, then another snack, then dinner.  As a late night snack I may choose to have some more carbs, i.e piece of fruit+ whip cream, or fruits + cheese.  I always try to have LNS.  - usually some nuts or cheese... (fat + proteins+ little carb) That keeps my blood sugar stable through the night and I do not wake up starving. 

Hala,

thanks for your feedback!  I've definitely learned my lesson with Chipotle :)

My protein shake is:
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
1/2 c skim milk
ice
sf chocolate syrup
dash of vanilla

Sometimes I might throw some greek yogurt in there to boost it up or even some coffee, but that is the basic one I make.

I like the way you have scheduled your food and maybe that's something I should try.  I'm trying to stay low calorie in addition to low carb, but I may just need to worry about protein and not so much about staying under 1200 calories at this time.

Well... you cna do both... 1/2 cup of skim milk has 6 grams of sugar, and 40 or 60 calories. based on Atkins - low carb diet - you may be better off with 2 tbs of cream - 40 calories, 1 gram sugar. The calories will be the same but you will eliminate some of the sugars - a trigger for me - they cause hunger.
But - Greek yogurt is great. As long as it is plain.  And for the low carb diet - 2% of full fat is best.