Food Diary Clean-Up: Why am I hungry at odd times?

Hi Ariane! 

Thanks for taking a look at my food diary. I've been hungry at odd times - usually I don't eat after dinner. Looking forward to hearing what you think. 

Thank you, Kate 

Thursday:

Breakfast: Coffee with skim milk 

1 piece whole wheat toast with peanut butter

Lunch: Smoothie- Almond milk, banana, cacao, dates, maca, and cinnamon

Snack: 1.5 oz pretzel bites 

1 piece turkey, hummus, pumpkin seeds

Dinner: baked chicken w/tomato, olives, and olive oil 

spinach and swiss chard 

Snack: dark chocolate 

clementine 

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Coffee with skim milk 

Fage 0% plain yogurt

1/4 scoop protein powder

Pumpkin seeds

Snack: Smoothie- Almond milk, banana, cacao, dates, maca, and cinnamon

Coffee and skim milk 

Snack: 1.5 oz pretzel bites

2 mini size baby ruth 

Lunch: 4 oz grass fed beef with salad with olive oil and vinegar 

Dinner: 1/2 whole wheat roll up with 1 TBSP hummus, clementine 

1 sq. 70% dark chocolate 

Hi Kate,

thanks for sending your food diary. 

The reason you're hungry is most likely because you're eating too many carbs that are high in sugar and not enough protein to balance it out. You're also not eating a lot of veggies, which would fill you up and keep you full for several hours. You're basically a bit on a sugar roller coaster due to high carbs and low protein. 

Here are a few things you might want to tackle this week: 

Your smoothie seems very high in sugar. 1 banana (30g of carbs) with dates (one has several grams of sugar) and possible sugar from the almond milk. You don't have any protein in the smoothie that would help you balance your blood sugar. High carb intake will create a massive sugar spike, a surge of insulin, which then makes you crash and hungry again. Plus, your body is storing all those carbs as body fat, unless you work them off. Take out half the banana and add protein. Make sure the almond milk is sugar free. 

Make sure you eat a better breakfast. One slice of toast with peanut butter gives you about 6 grams of protein and about 16 grams of carbs. To stay in fat burning mode, you need about 30 grams of carbs and about 20 grams of protein. Again, another reason you may be hungry shortly thereafter. 

It looks like you get hungry after dinner - eating chocolate and fruit - loading up on sugar that you won't burn off during your sleep. The reason you're hungry at night is because your breakfast wasn't balanced and you're not eating enough carbs to fill you up. Try an omelette with 3 eggs or 6 egg whites or add some cottage cheese to your toast  and notice that you'll feel full longer. 

Add a load of veggies to your day to stay satiated and get nutrients in your body. You barely have veggies coming in: a few tomatoes and olives, spinach and swiss chard and that's it. Your body needs nourishment and processed foods will strip your body of them, rather than adding to your health. 

Pretzel bites may be low in fat, but they're not a fat burning snack. Go for veggies or a protein shake instead. Dark chocolate is a great treat just as long as the cocoa content is higher than 80%. Loaded with fiber and antioxidants and it satisfies the cravings perfectly. 

Send me another food diary of a clean day so i can see how you put this to use.