about

advice

Alright so I'm 17 years old, and a female. I am over weight, (... About 220 lbs...) and I loooove to eat. But I never seem to feel full...

Let me explain. No matter what I eat, small meal or huge, mainly meats and veggies or junk food, I can never satisfy my stomach! You see, maybe I'll feel full for a minute or two, but then a hunger comes back. I can feel my stomach is extremely full, like when I take in a big breath? But It's like there's this hunger on top of it... I don't know. But to sum it up, I'm always hungry, so I eat a lot. And it scares me!

I'm trying, on and off, to lose weight. Atkin's always seems to work for me. (I love meat.) And I'll do Jillian Michaels work-outs too, and I do good! For a while... I always fail a few weeks in because I eat and eat, and eventually I just give up and eat junk. I hate it, and I always feel ashamed of myself. But it's embarassing too because on my mother's side of the family, basically everyone's skinny. And they judge people's looks and size. I feel outcast because at their family gatherings, the girls my age have a tiny bit of food and are full. And I have this huge plate and I'm still hungry after. I sometimes have to sneak and hide food just to get by.

It's humiliating, and I want it to stop. I want to live a better life, a happier one. So, can someone help me out?

Here are some other weird stuff about me that might help: I am always tired, at night it takes me an hour or more to fall asleep and I wake up frequently, I get chronic head aches, I get hot easily and I sweat a looot, I crave lots of sugar, I consume a lot of salt everyday and... I'm kinda like a camel. (XD) I'll drink a lot of water at one time, and then not for a while, so on. That's about all I can think of. Please help me, people! I want to change, but with my stomach it's way too stressful and challenging. Anything will do. Thanks for your time. :]

OctoberBeat gave some excellent advice so I wont repeat any of that, but I want to add a few things.

While fruit juices are healthier than soda and are a good source of some vitamins, they are extremely high in sugar. Some juices are also somewhat acidic, so this combined with all the sugar can wreak havoc on your teeth in the long term. Most doctors recommend eating whole fruit for the benefits and limiting how much juice you drink. But drinking water regularly is very important, especially if you consume a lot of salt! Dehydration leads to a lot of problems, and if you don't drink enough water to flush the wastes in your kidneys (salt, first and foremost), you could develop kidney stones. I've never had one, but I've heard that they are horrifically painful. Start carrying a reusable water bottle with you, and sip from it throughout the day.

If you get sick of the taste of water, experiment with different teas (with little or no sugar added) for different tastes. Arizona has a good diet green tea sold in large jugs, and Celestial Seasonings sells boxes of tea bags without a lot of added sugar. I like to brew a bag of blueberry tea with two bags of honey vanilla chamomile, refrigerate the mixture, and carry it with me when I leave the house. But if that flavor combo doesn't appeal to you, there are plenty of others to choose from.

Something that helps keep you full is whole grain. Whole grains take longer to digest than refined grains (like in regular pasta and white bread), so they are more satisfying overall. As long as you can accept the taste difference, it's pretty simple to switch the type of pasta, bread, and rice you use around the house. They aren't lighter in calories, but they are more nutritious, and hopefully they will help you eat less overall.

In addition to lifestyle changes like calorie counting and changing eating habits, I recommend you see a doctor and have a blood test done. Chronic headaches and exhaustion can be signs of a serious medical condition and should be evaluated by a professional. It's possible you have a medical condition contributing to both these things and your excessive hunger. And you are supposed to consult a doctor before any major diet changes, anyway. Most people ignore that step, but if you haven't had a blood test and/or a general check-up in the last year, it's important that you do.

Also, be aware that there are different types of hunger. Here is a basic guide on different types of hunger:
http://www.healthy-eating-support.com/types-of-hunger.html
One part of losing weight is learning to be aware of the source of your hunger and training yourself to ignore it when it isn't welcome. But this is a simplified model of hunger in the body, and it only applies if you are mostly healthy. There are medical problems which can cause you to eat more or less, and they can alter the signals your brain sends regarding hunger. Like I said before, it's important that you go to a doctor to rule out these types of conditions.

Good luck. :)

[view]

(Rating: 5) Thank you very much for warning me about some potential health risks. I'll be sure to drink a lot more water. I've heard kidney stones are almost as painful as giving birth... o-o;; Haha, thanks for the tips and great advice. :DD
<<< Previous Advice Column
Next Advice Column >>>
eXTReMe Tracker