Hunger and Satiety

Sheesh, I had no idea it had been so long since I'd posted! I've been in a holding pattern as far as Weight Watchers is concerned. I've lost about 15 pounds, but keep going up one or two and down one or two. I go over my weekly points almost every week. I just don't understand how members and leaders say they stay within their allotted points while eating out in restaurants and eating desserts, unless they go around hungry most of the time. One dinner with one piece of veggie pizza, one smallish piece of birthday cake, and one 1/2c serving of ice cream is enough to knock out most of your extra weekly points.

I met with a nutritionist recently as part of a community wellness program. It was free so I figured "what the heck". I think she was a bit puzzled about why I was there, since I already knew everything she shared, but I did discuss my hunger issue. I told her that I was simply ravenous sometimes by late afternoon and then had difficulty not overeating at dinner and after -- even when I eat an afternoon snack of greek yogurt and fruit or something else equally nutritious and protein/carb filled. She suggested that I eat smaller meals and more snacks in between. I'm a little torn about that because I don't want to be constantly focused on food, but I must admit that I sometimes feel somewhat stuffed after lunch. Even if I'm stuffed with vegetables and beans, eating to the point of being overfull isn't really a good habit to get into. Lately I've tried to stop sooner at lunch and have a bigger snack, or have two afternoon snacks. I'm not sure it really makes a difference, but I'm going to experiment further with it. This morning for breakfast I had oat bran (1 serving -- 1/3c uncooked) cooked with: 1/2c of unsweetened almond milk, a medium banana, a tablespoon of flax seed, and about a tablespoon of peanut butter. I got up at 4:45am, walked the dog a mile, did 20 minutes on the elliptical, and about 20 minutes of weight training. I ate breakfast at 7:15am. It is 11:06am right now and my stomach is asking for lunch. I know I exercised and all, but I still feel like my breakfast should have lasted a bit longer.

I found a study that talked about satiety. It mentioned that some of the most satisfying foods were baked or boiled potatoes, apples. oranges, fish, whole wheat pasta, baked beans (!), and oatmeal. I wonder why baked beans rather than simply beans in general? I try not to eat baked beans because of the sugar. Yesterday I had a homemade soup that had potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, mixed vegetables, and black beans in it. It didn't keep me satisfied for more than 3 hours. That was disappointing, especially since it was 8 points! I have some again today for lunch, to eat over a couple of handfuls of spinach and kale -- along with an apple, orange, and a mini Kind bar for snacks.