• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Still hungry.

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Sorry to have to ask this question again. Since I've taken Metformin and started low carbing I have been hungry, my tummy is forever complaining. When I first asked here about this I was advised to raise the amount of protein and fats to sate my appetite but it hasn't helped one iota. I've been guzzling double cream, olive oil and sat fats til they're oozing out of me alongside above ground veg, occasional nuts etc etc. It has become clear to me just in the last couple of weeks that not eating at all is better than eating and becoming hungry forty minutes later, the pangs aren't as strong if I don't eat but this is unsustainable plus I need to eat to take other meds I'm on.
Speaking of which, I take four Gabapentin a day. When I first started taking them everyone warned me that I would gain weight as this is a common side effect and it is due to the drug's affect on appetite. This did not happen to me and I did not gain weight. Everyone seems to say that Metformin acts as an appetite suppressant but again this is not the case for me.
My portion control is good, I eat until I am full but like I said I have some degree of real hunger all the time. I was never one for snacking even before dx but I have tried having small cubes of full fat cheese to sate but again no joy.
 
how do you know the gaberpentin isnt affecting your appetite? the side affect may be being triggered by the metformin.

I have had to learn to live with the hunger pangs, as i need to lose weight so count calories as well as carbs.
 
serenity648 said:
how do you know the gaberpentin isnt affecting your appetite? the side affect may be being triggered by the metformin.

I have had to learn to live with the hunger pangs, as i need to lose weight so count calories as well as carbs.
Click to expand...
@serenity648
This had occurred to me, however, there is no way to see if this is the case as I have complex sacral sciatica and even missing one dose of the Gabapentin leads to a rise in pain levels.
 
sending more hugs as I can only give your post 1. Pain and hunger are horrid
 
It does seem maybe the Gabapentin is making you hungry. Metformin is more likely to decrease the appetite not increase it that is why they say it can help with weight loss hope you work it out
 
It is a well known side effect of chinese takeaways is that as soon as you finish eating it then you want to start again. It is the carbs doing it. It is oft reported here that a carb binge will trigger the munchies, so it could be that snacking will not help if you are low carbing. It takes a while to lose the carb addiction, so I use a fasting mentality to assist me keep on the straight and narrow, I fast whenever I am not eating, simples. I have also cut my meals to just breakfast and evng meals to help my monitoring and induce some fasting. I no longer get the pangs.
 
@Guzzler until six months ago I was taking Gabapentin (I don't any more because it has had no discernible effect on what it was supposed to be treating - a constant crawling sensation in one side of my head). Like you I didn't notice any weight gain while on it, and although I have become trimmer since stopping it I think this is down to my ramped-up levels of exercise.

As regards the hunger, you've tried more fat and protein. How about some really bulky stuff like crudités - celery, radishes, cucumber, broccoli stalks (not joking - I'm mad for cruciferous veg!) dipped in cream cheese? I find eggs fill me up really well, too.

Remind me how long you've been low carbing? Perhaps your body's just getting used to your new eating style.

Hugs.

 
@Oldvatr
May I ask roughly how long it took for the hunger to dissipate? My fear is that I will fail the low carbing because I cannot face months or years feeling like this.
 
@Snapsy
Yes, tried all of those things, even to the point of putting olive oil on my salad which I detest. I was telling my son earlier that never before in my life have I felt hungry whilst I am actually eating.
I started LCHF about eight weeks ago but made a lot of mistakes in the first two weeks before I got the car and calls book. I had thought that the diet would be a shock to my system but not like this.
 
I can't bear oily salad, either! I dress mine with apple cider vinegar instead.

I have an eating routine which usually sees me have a hardboiled egg with mayo and a cup of coffee at around 10.30, and if I'm hungry again in the afternoon I'll have a Babybel cheese and/or a Peperami.

Breakfast is eggs, lunch is a massive massive salad with some ham, egg, tuna mayo or cheese, and my evening meal is home cooked yumminess of ever changing variety but with cauliflower and/or other veg instead of pasta/potatoes/rice/bread, with sugar free jelly and homemade yoghurt, sometimes with strawberries, for pud. If I'm still hungry after that I'll have a cup of tea and mount a mission to the fridge to find the stash of Brie. In terms of volume I eat a great deal.

8 weeks is I guess pretty early days. Ooooh, thinking about it, are you drinking enough? That might make a difference to feeling full.
 
Guzzler said:
@Oldvatr
May I ask roughly how long it took for the hunger to dissipate? My fear is that I will fail the low carbing because I cannot face months or years feeling like this.
Click to expand...
Took about 3 months, but did have an XMAS in the middle. I have bot gone overboard with the fat. Just use butter instead of marge/axle grease, and more cheeses esp hard cheddar types. A cheese/celery /apple with mayo salad is good, and we have stirfry veg or roast veg quite often. If I need to put on weight then I do the bulletproof coffee with double cream, but find tht can give me dispepsia (wind!) and increases the runs if I add too much dairy. So I may be lactose intolerant.

But I was used to having just 1 real meal a day even when I was working, so may have already conditioned my mindset in advance of my retirement.
 
Guzzler said:
@Oldvatr
May I ask roughly how long it took for the hunger to dissipate? My fear is that I will fail the low carbing because I cannot face months or years feeling like this.
Click to expand...
there is no failing. Its a matter of finding a way of keeping your quality of life, while doing your best for your conditions. It may be that low carbing to any great extent is not right for you and your well being mentally and physically. Its a balancing act, and only we, as individuals, know what we can cope with.

I have big bowls of chopped salad, with full fat mayo and some protein in, to keep the hunger at bay. Or a big plate of steamed green veg and a big knob of butter and a bit of sea salt. Would trying that help?

I found that the hunger and cravings got easier the fewer times I ate carbs. So I only have carbs twice a day. I have to have a certain amount as i have a bowel issue (TMI?)
 
PS slices of hard cheese and cucumber to nibble is also good. and a good quality vinaigrette dressing is another favourite. And I love Boursin soft cheese in a lettuce leaf wrap.
 
@Guzzler - I have no reason to disbelieve what you are saying about your hunger, but I'm also wondering if this hunger started about the same time you started Metformin?

The reason I ask is (and bear with me on this one), a few months ago, on medical direction, I went gluten free. Since then my gluten sensitivity seems to have really gone up, meaning if I trip up and inadvertently have something containing gluten (you'd be surprised where it can lurk!) my tummy lets me know. Part of that tummy protest along the way is lots of grumbling and gurgling. Initially, I felt hunger, but knew I certainly shouldn't be, until I realised that it was just my tummy letting me know it is miffed by the assault.

Practically, for some folks, Metformin can result in tummy disturbances of one sort or another, so I wonder if your hunger could be a sort of tummy discomfort from lots of gurgling, rather than true deficit hunger, bearing in mind the potentially corrective steps you have already taken.

Of course, I could be way off beam, but just thought I'm mention it.
 
Thanks for all the advice and ideas for assuaging the hunger pangs. I must say here that I adore some of the ideas I've learned here like celery sticks and Boursin, and the berries and greek yoghurt - I don't even feel guilty about the amount of full fat dairy any more re: a lifetime's worth of being told it is bad. I havn't lost any more weight which is good because I'm well within the guidelines for that. I did ask my son to eat a scotch egg that was whispering to me from the fridge earlier so I feel good about that (I refuse to put the whole family on a diet just because I can't have the same foods).
 
Actually Scotch eggs was a surprise for me. I was expecting it to be the perfect Low Carb snack, but it spiked me badly. so is no longer in my menu. There was nothing in the label to warn me, it seemed innocuous, and I can eat two sausages without adverse effect, so what on earth is the hidden ingredient? Surely not the breadcrumb coating?
 

Can I ask what might seem a counterintuitive question. Do you have breakfast?

My experience was that if I have breakfast I get hungry during the morning whereas if I extend my fast to lunchtime I don't. Very odd but something you might want to try.. if you delay your bodies start in food processing for me it seems to slow down hunger to the extent that I can go until dinner without having hunger pangs. Also how many carbs per day are you trying for? and when are you eating them?
 
Could I hazard a guess that it might have been the fillers in the sausage meat? As well as the breadcrumbs? I have never seen a 97% sausage meat covered scotch egg. Unless it was home made in which case please ignore this...
 
Sadly, most scotch eggs are at least 30% starch based. with wheatflour the 3rd largest ingredient.
I used to love them too.
But I draw the line at making them myself. Far too much phaff.
I would rather eat a sausage and a hard boiled egg, than do the Blue Peter thing.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/default.aspx?id=250301492
Ingredients:
Egg (37%), Pork (28%), Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Rapeseed Oil, Onion, Potato Starch, Salt, Dried Potato, Pork fat, Sugar Beet Fibre, White Pepper, Nutmeg, Black Pepper, Yeast Extract, Sage, Marjoram, Yeast, Paprika
 
@bullbiker
It is extremely rare for me to eat breakfast. Before I was any meds I could easily get to 3pm before eating but these days I have to eat before some of the meds I am on but still do not eat until about 12 ish. I will then usually have bacon and eggs or berries and greek yoghurt. Later on, about 6ish I have my main meal of the day which generally meat and 2/3 above ground veg filling up with cauli. Then I have to eat again to take meds before bed so I generally have half a piece of Burgen or some celery and Borsin. I drink plenty of tea and water throughout the day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…