Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Low Carb High Protein and Hunger

Hunger is something we as WLS patients think we get rid of and on the chemical and physical level there is a truth to that with hormones, rearrangement of our insides etc, but I'm not going to go into the medical stuff here. There is head hunger and real hunger. Head hunger is when you think you are hungry and I still get this. First we intake liquid because we aren't really hungry we need liquid. If that works great! If not I assess if it is an emotional need to eat or if there is another trigger. If it isn't I snack (per my nutritional plan with my nutritionist due to my RH). Then there is actual hunger. Some patients report this and some don't, I'm not usually hungry if I eat on my plan and eat every 2 to 3 hours like I need too, but here is something new for me. I'm hungry at night on days I work out and do cardio. We aren't talking I want to snack, we are talking post dinner, ravenous at midnight - wake you up out of your sleep hunger.

First, I was shocked then more confused. What is wrong? Is it my RH? Is it my diet? Am I doing something wrong? I looked over my intake and was wondering am I eating enough. So Step 1 - emailed my nutritionist this morning. Step 2 - waiting for her to read over my intake log to make some recommendations. This is hard for me to relearn to balance food and exercise, but I know this has to be done and I can't be the only one out there hungry when I exercise. So I'll report back when we figure this out and figure out what works for me. I'm a work in progress I have to remember.

Hunger isn't something I feel on a normal basis especially now that I've gone low carb, high protein and focus on lean, low, and light foods. I've incorporated alot more protein in my diet through shakes, greek yogurts, lean meats, reduced fat and light cheese, quinoa, and some protein bars. I don't crave sweets anymore overall and if I want a sweet I go to a piece of my protein bar. I thought I would share some of my favorite foods that I've been intaking and enjoying that are all pre-packaged.

Oikos Greek Yogurt - I'm not a plain jane and don't like natural greek yogurt but I am enjoying the flavors like toasted cocounut vanilla, banana cream, orange creamsicle, key lime!

Snickers Marathon Protein Bars - I love them and they give a sweet when I need it. I cut one bar down into halfs and thirds and pre-package. I can't eat a whole one unless it is a meal replacement and it takes me forever. My current favorite is chocolat nut burst.

Light/Reduced Fat Cheese squares from Land o Lakes in mild cheddar.

Light or No Fat string cheese with the swirl of cheddar.

Atkins protein shakes in mocha latte and caramel vanilla latte flavors.

Proasis and New Whey protein "shots" - I can't take them as a shot, but I do mix them into 20 oz of water and sip throughout my afternoon. I can get 25-45g of protein in my water this way!

Atkins frozen meals - these are a little high in sodium and around 330 calories, but a good option when I don't want to cook or don't have time to pack my lunch.

Sobe Life Water Zero
Vitamin Zero
Propel Zero

As it goes on the baking and cooking end I am in the middle of experimenting with alot of new things. Spices, fish, and baking powders. I have some low carb whole wheat pancake mix that I used this past weekend and I'm awaiting for my atkins baking powder with protein to come in - 20g per cup! I'm working on going low carb with things I like to spice up and add some change to my diet.

Recipes I want to try are some protein muffins, pizza dough made with atkins recipe, and to also try some new stews as well. I get caught with baking because there are some healthy options out there it is just rethinking and playing with recipes. I got the new Atkins cookbook in the mail yesterday and there are alot of great recipes in there that I can add or swap out some of the pre-packaged stuff above. Variety is key I'm finding, but there are days when you have go to favorites that you eat because they make you happy, no thinking involved, and for me with my RH are safe foods.

1 comment:

  1. I can really relate to having to rediscover how to eat and what your body can handle and what it can't. I've been doing that for almost a year now. I look forward to preparing more meals from my "Gluten Free Bible" (yes it's called that) once we get moved and settled in.

    Keep up the amazing work and never stop trying new things! =)

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