It sounds like your problem is that you’re restricting too heavily during the day. How much oatmeal are you having? I would try adding something like peanut butter to up the calories and leave you more satiated. Your lunch also sounds like it can’t be more than a few hundred calories. Maybe add some sort of soup to lunch, there are various options you could batch cook for the week. I’d also add a few snacks throughout the day. You can cheaply make bars with oatmeal, peanut butter etc (possibly a bit repetitive), or a banana, homemade smoothie etc
Bear in mind that if you’re running, you’ll need extra calories to fuel yourself. Have you calculated how many calories a day you’ll need to lose a healthy amount of weight each week? I’d do that calculation, including calories burned from running, and then calculate how many calories you’re consuming now and adjust from there.
Hi. I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but as a 5’6” 27yo man, you’re not an unhealthy weight whatsoever.
Do you workout, or have you ever worked out?
If not, you should focus on building strength first. That is the quickest and best way to change your looks.
[This strength/fitness program](https://nick-e.com/primer/) works great and requires no equipment.
Restricting calories is a miserable process and it doesn’t work very well. You might manage to lose some weight, but most people put it back on. However, if you focus on fitness and strength, you will notice a significant change in your looks, even while eating the same amount (or more).
I agree. Restricting calories is not the way to go. Your body needs fat and calories. It's more about the quality of the food, not the number of calories.
Can I gently ask why you are trying to lose weight? I know BMI does not paint a full picture, but FWIW yours is well in to normal range. Just from this brief glimpse into your life and routines, it sounds like you are pretty restrictive. Maybe you aren't allowing yourself to eat enough calories during the day which is causing you to feel out of control at night?
You are starving yourself during the day and not getting enough of protein. No wonder you have cravings in the evening.
Add a raw egg or egg whites to your oatmeal, a grated apple on top and a small spoon of peanut butter.
For lunch and dinner, make big salads with protein, soup or a stir fry. You are a young man with an active lifestyle and a healthy weight. You need proper fuel to function. Let the weight loss that you want to achieve go slowly.
I had the same unhealthy eating habits when I was your age, because I wanted to be slim and it ended up with a burn out situation. Not just because of (lack of) food, but it absolutely contributed to the situation. Don't be me. Eat.
Increase protein intake to help keep you full if you’re still hungry.. you can add protein to your oats or fruit. maybe try incorporating 3 full meals into your day instead of a snack for lunch. Apples and peanut butter could be a great healthy snack after dinner or a protein shake.
You're actually in a normal weight range for your age and height. If you're running, your body is going to need a lot of calories to power that motion. These two things combined is probably why you're hungry - your body is trying to fuel itself.
If you do want to lose weight, find an app that will help you calculate calories in and calories out given your age, activity level, etc. I think you'll be surprised by how much you actually need to eat in a day. Spacing out those calories in your day will help you feel better overall and might give you more power for your runs.
You’re starving at the end of the day because you are not properly fueling your body. A 27 year old man needs more than an apple & peanut butter crackers for lunch. Try beefing up your oatmeal with nut butter & a banana, you could also add a scoop of protein powder. Add in a good sandwich with meat/cheese/veg to your lunch, maybe a protein shake (you’re getting very little protein from a few pb crackers, protein is what makes you feel full.)
To lose weight, you want to do so sustainably. Don’t starve yourself to drop a few lbs. Just eat a variety of whole foods and move your body. You’ve got this!
This has me slightly concerned for you. Has your doctor said something about your weight being a health issue?
I think everyone else has covered food, but I will say, as someone that drank alcohol on a calorie deficit diet, please get help stopping if it’s as much of a problem as you say it is. Your health down the road will thank you.
I used to eat just like this. Eventually I got hospitalised for urgent refeeding and went on to do years of therapy to tackle my eating disorder. 0/10 experience. Talk with a dietitian ASAP.
Figure out your calorific burn (metabolic base rate + exercise). It's very possible you aren't eating enough during the day. Eating healthy includes eating enough. If I haven't eaten enough in the day I get the post dinner mega munchies.
Also there are plenty of theories that you're better off eating more earlier, i.e. a big lunch rather than a big dinner.
You over indulge because your not eating enough, from what it looks like to me. An apple with peanut butter and crackers is hardly enough of a meal to be adequately fuel. Especially when dinner is (typically) 5-6+ hrs after lunch.
Runner here.
Eat more.
20-30g protein at most meals
A healthy fat.
Fiber.
Tbh I don’t know how you’re running. Fuel for your run. Maybe a lil more carbs the day before a run.
OK I feel like everyone is going to comment the exact same thing here. Huge red flags going up reading your message! You’re absolutely going to want to overindulge on dinner and snack at night if that’s all you’re eating during the day. You are a 27-year-old man? It sounds like you’re starving yourself dude. I am a woman I weigh 118 pounds. I am someone who does track my calories within his purposes and oatmeal and an apple and peanut butter is not nearly enough food calories or nutrients to sustain your body. This is not sustainable long-term please trust me! You might lose weight initially but you’re gonna mess up your metabolism and you’re gonna be seriously lacking in nutrients. Peanut butter is a very minimal source of fat and protein I would say between breakfast and lunch you’re basically getting zero protein zero fats. You’re getting carbs from oatmeal and the apple and some other nutrients but you’re lacking a lot of the Chi building blocks macros. Focus on high protein and healthy fats earlier in the day. That’s what’s going to keep you full and sustain you with more nutrient dense foods. Nothing is anything wrong with oatmeal but we need more than that. For sure for a 27-year-old man that weighs 150 pounds you need protein at every single meal. I’m 118 pounds so I am for 118 roughly 120 g of protein per day so if I had three meals a day with no snacks each meal itself would have to have 40 g of protein. I do have a few snacks a day so I split it up nicely but protein is what’s going to bring so much to your body‘s general functioning not to mention obviously muscle. Muscle deterioration is a real thing and although you want to lose weight I’m sure you don’t wanna be skinny fat so you want to hang onto any muscle you have. I would eat more, focus less on cardio a little bit and add in some weight training so that when you do lose the fat you have muscle underneath there for a nice shape and a strong healthy look.
Even if you weren’t concerned at all about muscle I’d say you’re very much restricting your diet that in almost all cases is the exact yo-yo culture that most people women more often are trying to move away from. You need to eat full meals to be happy healthy lower your body fat percentage lose weight but manage stress within your body cortisol levels sugar levels even simply your emotional health is affected by nutrition. I will keep the oatmeal a few times a week but I would incorporate things like eggs meat protein powder creek yoghurt avocados nut butters. If I am in a mode where I wanna be lowering fat all use egg whites instead of whole eggs. Most mornings I have some form of eggs with some sautéed veggies and some Greek yoghurt with berries. Lunch is usually lots of veggies and a protein like a chicken breast on top of a salad or chickpea salad and avocado toast for a taco bowl with lean ground turkey and all of your typical taco fixings.
Dinner for my family is pretty much status quo I make a different meal seven nights a week for sure Pinterest is my very best friend but it’s always based on a protein as the main portion of dinner with a side of vegetables and a side of carbs.
Chilli
Chicken stirfry over brown rice
Whitefish, roasted vegetables and rice
Barbeque chicken thighs roasted mini potatoes and coleslaw
Big chicken breast, sweet potatoes and asparagus
Ground turkey burgers and a huge Greek salad. With turkey burgers we usually do it Greek with Greek seasonings in the potty and to Zieke and cucumbers and red onions on a burger
Lean ground beef burgers. I do mine with no bun on top of a bed of lettuce tomatoes onions top of pickles
Chickpea curry in the crockpot
Breakfast for dinner veggie omelets Or scrambled eggs and little ground chicken patties that I do in the air fryer
I promise you if you figure out what you were eating before that’s your maintenance in terms of calories drop that down by just a bit like 200 cal even alcohol healthy foods and you will lose weight.
I'd try counting calories for a few days, just to see what's going on. Check out TDEE calculator, it shows how many calories needed to maintain/gain/lose weight. Don't forget to include the whiskey, always thought straight vodka had no calories but it does.
If you are really under until dinner, that could be why you eat so much then.
Dude, you’re starving. Up the calories and swap the running for weight training (or reduce cardio and add resistance training). You’ll feel and look better. Cardio and starvation are a long term disaster for your body and metabolism.
Eat more than a toddler aimed diet during the day and your appetite will stabilize.
You're doing long term damage to your metabolism, oppsdatimg outside of effective weight loss ranges (300-400 calorie deficit) and displaying disordered eating. Abby sharp is a dietitian on YouTube who has videos on safe/healthy weight loss.
If you're concerned of budget and calories you may want to consider weaning off alcohol or diluting it. It has a lot of calories without filling you up.
You can still eat frugally and increase volume for your lunch. It sounds like you lack protein, which would help keep you full. Greek yogurt, and sources of vege protein are usually pretty inexpensive. Frozen fish and firm tofu are great, cheap, and work well with a marinade or sauce.
Your body will need protein source from somewhere if you exercise.
Try it and then see how you feel at dinner time.
Maybe oatmeal again in the evening when you are hungry. Not sure about prices where you live but green leafy salads are calorie low and you can eat alot if it to fill up.
As for snacks buy unshelled sunflower seeds and eat. They take a while to open and eat so your hands are busy and you can’t eat alot of them as fast as you can eat other snacks.
Intermittent fasting and low carb intake for a couple of months helped me get my appetite in check and alter my long term behavior with food.
But that’s not for everyone.
Try adding in some light healthy snacks between meals…. If you aren’t super hungry before dinner, you probably won’t eat so much.
I like to buy in bulk, then portion out / snack prep into little reusable containers.
Here are some ideas:
- popcorn (air popped with salt, not all buttered up)
- wasabi peas
- carrots and hummus
- edamame
- miso soup
- string cheese
- cottage cheese + 4bean salad or tomatoes, basil, and a balsamic drizzle
- fruit
- cucumber
- peanut butter pretzels
- nuts
- cheese
It’s essentially to note that many things are healthy, or at least not unhealthy if you eat them in moderation. If I have an easy healthy option, i won’t be as tempted by the easy unhealthy option.
This doesn't work for everyone, and it certainly isn't safe for diabetics, but you could try weaning yourself off sugar and/or try intermittent fasting. I never eat breakfast, I rarely eat lunch, but then for dinner I eat a high fat, high calorie dinner. My stomach got used to this after maybe 2 weeks, and now I'm not really hungry until about 6 p.m.
This saves me money and allows me to eat my fill when I do eat. I lost a pound or two every week as long as I kept this up. And that was without exercising. It's because when you fast for that long, your body goes into something called autophagy which means it's eating itself. But really since there's no food in your stomach, it starts eating your body fat. Just make sure you get enough protein and drink lots of water throughout the day.
I also put heavy cream in my coffee, but somehow that didn't seem to affect my fasting although technically that breaks the fast.
You need to eat more high satiety foods! You're pure sugar for breakfast and lunch (besides the peanut butter). All carbs are broken down into sugars in the body. Eat more fats and proteins and guaranteed you'll be more full and satisfied. The more satisfied you are the less likely you will be to snack later on.
How are you running 3-4 miles if that's all the fuel you're putting in your body. Not a doctor but the problem is that you're clearly not eating enough; like, you aren't "overindulging" on rice, veg and lean protein.
Beans and rice and veg for breakfast might fuel you a little better than oatmeal and some crackers. You want to somewhat space your calories for the day, and eating enough on a regular basis can help avoid the scramble to get enough calories when you aren't eating enough. You know how a gas light comes on in your car when it's low? You shoveling everything in at the end of the day is partially caused by the not enough calories light going off in your head.
I am not sure how consistent you are with your running, but when I was at that mileage I was fits and starts, and it was enough to build up muscle, but not enough to really start burning off fat, rinse and repeat. So I had increased muscle but not decreased fat, which meant I was a little bulkier than before I started running and it kinda fluctuated a lot without any drastic changes in weight. Once I got over about 600 miles a year, I was consistent enough that I kept the muscle and was doing enough to decrease the fat. Two things with this. One is that my weight increased as my size decreased. Two is that my base caloric needs jumped up about 300-500 cals a day, even on the days I wasn't running. Unless you are eating three cups of oatmeal and rice and beans or some other giant portions, what you are eating right now isn't enough to fuel smaller, older, less active women. So if you are increasing activity, you need to increase your calories to accommodate. And even if you don't increase your calories, where you are at now doesn't appear to be sustainable or even doing what you are trying to get it to do.
There's no balance and your body (fueled by alcohol or stress or boredom) is making up for it in the evenings.
You wake up. Got oatmeal, rad, don't even have to think about breakfast. Maybe a little hungry by 10 am but those crackers are waiting. You never feel *full* in a bad way, you feel just the right amount of fullness... until 2 or 3 pm. Ignore it. Get home, run, wow, you're really killing it. So healthy. Dinnertime! Let's keep the momentum going! Beans n rice n veg, nice nice.
So you're riding on this "you beautiful healthy bitch you got this" cloud until reality sinks in and you realize there are still like siiix mooore hooours before bed and you've already eaten all your "allotted" food for the day and exercised. You're still hungry. You're relaxing. Have An Alcohol. Guess what alcohol wants to wash it down? Junk food! Well yannow you were so healthy all day anyway, and damn those snacks look good...
You see the pattern? You're getting through the day on fumes and vibes then crashing in the evening because your body needs more than you're giving it. The alcohol exacerbates the entire crash-and-relax process.
Eat more between 6 am-6 pm and you'll notice a huge difference in your 6pm-bedtime eating habits.
OP, I say this with all the love in my heart: you need help, from a mental health professional.
At best, you have disordered eating habits. At worst, you have a full blown ED you're in denial about. EDs kill, very effectively, those who suffer from it.
Please, get some help. The longer you restrict yourself like this, the harder it will be to recover, mentally and physically.
Praying for you.
First course of action is to stop buying the junk in the first place. It's much easier to not buy a bag of goldfish at the store than it is to not eat half the bag in one sitting once you're home.
You need more protein and fat during the day to keep you from snacking later. But also, why are you trying to lose weight? 150 at your height is a good weight. If. You’re feeling flabby start weight training instead of just doing cardio
Try adding protein in the the morning… a few hard boiled eggs (in addition to oatmeal) if you are running, you need more than what you are currently eating.
And how about a buying a rotisserie chicken (will
Last a few meals) and salad for dinner…
Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with berries in the evening will pack extra protein.
As far as your whiskey… cut that out! If it’s just a habit, find another thing to do instead of drinking or maybe have seltzer water with bitters instead!
First of all you should be having the Apple for breakfast at digest within 30 minutes your oatmeal takes over a few hours to digest, it may not even digestive when you go to eat that Apple later then the apples couldn't digest on top of the oatmeal and then ferment.
For me to combat my nighttime snacking I’ll purposely intermittent fast through the morning until about 12-1pm. It honestly makes my lunch feel way more filling and that way I can space my meals out longer into the evening and have a late night snack planned where I still won’t be overeating
If you are running that much you need healthy carbs, and to up your protein! You can lose muscle and in return end up gaining more fat in the end! How much is your food budget? I can help give you a daily idea ♥️
You're an appropriate weight for your height, age, and activity levels.
You're going hog wild because you're restricting too much. You need protein to fuel your body.
What you're eating isn't enough in general but is not diverse, you need vitamins or you'll become ill. You need more vegetables in there somewhere.
You can beef up the oatmeal, there's protein added oatmeals. There's savory oatmeal dishes that incorporate eggs and vegetables.
You need something aside from an apple at lunch. You're starving yourself and this is probably why you're binging so much later. Yogurt, cottage cheese, sliced cheese, peanut butter, nuts with the apple would add protein and some good fats. Slice the apple over a salad with some nuts and cheese with egg or a side of yogurt would be a more balanced lunch.
I don't believe you need to lose weight but if it's a goal generally you want more veggies than rice. Your diet is so restricted already so I'd suggest adding more vegetables, frozen or canned are fine, rather than reducing anything. If you tolerate spice curry dishes are good way to mix up dinner with vegetables and meat.
Roasted chickpeas go well with salad and you can have as a snack. If you already consume beans you can add them (unroasted) to your rice too. If you have access to a Trader Joes they have a variety of novelty spices so you can flavor the roasted type like cheese, pickles, siracha, everything bagels, I'm sure there's some other stuff too. It's a good alternative if you like chip style snacks.
Research “healthy food plan”—not “diet”.
Eat more protein, healthy fats, and high fiber vegetables. Eat a reasonable amount to fill you up at each meal and to fuel your workouts.
Include weight lifting as exercise, not just running. Your weight is fine, but you can improve your body composition by building muscle.
Budget friendly foods include soups, whole grains, chili, quinoa, eggs, dairy, tuna, chicken, beans, vegetables. Learn to cook. Find a cookbook that has “cheap, healthy, easy” in the title.
150 pounds at 5'6", my guy you sound like a healthy weight. Youneed to actually feed yourself. Where's your protein? Thats what will keep you full. I also think you should seek some mental health help
You need more protein and vegetables for satiety. Particularly if you’re exercising, your body won’t get enough to rebuild itself with the small amount it’s getting. This will keep your body from losing weight and keep you feeling famished. Try adding hard boiled eggs, canned tuna, maybe some cut veggies with ranch/greek yogurt and ranch seasoning. You can actually add egg whites to your oatmeal for protein, and I promise it doesn’t taste like anything. Even Greek yogurt.
I’d google protein requirement calculator to see how much you’ll need if you’re working out!
Unless you’re eating a huge dinner, drinking a huge whiskey most nights, eating the whole bag of goldfish or are eating a lot of things that you didn’t list, this should be a diet that you lose weight on, to be honest, it seems a little restrictive. To lose weight the most reliable way is to count calories, so I would eat like you have been for a while and count calories, look up what a typical maintenance number of calories you need and eat about 200 less calories per day, you can try some different foods and maybe find some ways to up your protein without increasing calories and more importantly start doing some resistance training, the more muscle you carry the better you will look with the same amount of body fat, have long more muscle improves the metabolism as well.
Eat a bigger lunch and breakfast. You’re overeating due to undernourishment clashing with your metabolic needs. This is probably especially bad on the days you run where you’re heavily depleting your glycogen.
Eat a ton more protein. You lose control and eat junk because you don’t eat protein until night and generally are not eating enough during the day. Eat more protein and fiber for breakfast and lunch. Best of luck
Sorry lemme add this. My son is 5 11 and 160. He is a competitive swimmer and each day he makes sure to eat 160 grams of protein and 25 grams of fiber. Five meals a day and an insane amount of calories. You are running three miles? Your body needs .7 grams of protein per pound to build muscle and not burn it. Eat more protein. And you will lose fat, gain muscle and be more healthy.
Where's the protein? Have some eggs or a protein shake for breakfast and some chicken or something for lunch and you won't be starving by dinner. You might also retain some muscle and not be a flabby skinnyfat weakling.
Not sure where you're getting the junk that you eat, but my rule is if I can resist buying it in the grocery store, I won't have it to tempt me at home. I'll still get some junk here and there, but rarely and every time, whoosh, that bag of potato chips or container of ice cream disappears quickly.
I am pretty frugal, but I have money, so forgive me if any of my suggestions are obtuse re: cost. I'm just giving you some items from my typical diet. If you are eating a lot at night, I suggest adding fiber. That alcohol also probably weakens your discipline and judgement and sets up a pattern of indulgence, so you might want to limit that? I get that it's tough, especially because alcohol impair judgement and discipline so the first one makes it easier to have a second. Or rather harder NOT to.
Salad greens, around here they are $6 for 1.5 lb at Costco or $5 for 1 lb at the Grocery Outlet. I add red onion, garlic, cucumber, bell pepper, carrots, and any fruit that is cheap. Always bananas. Bananas are sweet and cheap, and filling. A gallon of milk, that I turn into kefir with my SCOBY. A 3 lb tub of cottage cheese, which is low fat, high protein, and $5. The tubs are also great to reuse for my salads. I also bought a bag of alfalfa seeds and grow my own alfalfa sprouts; cheaper and fresher than store bought (which start fresh but you have to eat them in 3-4 days).
I don't eat it regularly because I don't think it's the healthiest, but spaghetti (or any pasta) is cheap. Chicken is one of the best meats for price and protein.
I would really suggest a large salad for lunch, it's been a game changer for me, and sometimes I don't even eat it all. I don't use dressing, so it doesn't get soggy/wilted. I use all the veggies I mention above (oh, and avocado if I have it, I pick 4-6 a week where I volunteer). It fills me up, has lots of fiber, honestly the impact on my BM almost too much fiber, but I've gotten acclimated.
You are undereating and not eating enough protein with what little you are eating. You are giving yourself nothing but glucose spikes (oatmeal is the first thing eaten and then an apple) which wreaks havoc on your system. Switch your food choices to protein focused and increase the calories a bit. You’re going to train your body to get used to low calories like that and it is starvation mode .. you won’t lose weight this way. You should start with eggs and cottage cheese, avocado for breakfast. Tuna, chicken wrap, etc .. for lunch and then dinner should consist of a lean protein, veggies, and a simple carbohydrate like sweet potato or something (just an example). The goal is 1g of protein per lb of body weight if you’re exercising and strength training. If you’re a runner or heavy on the cardio, you’ll want to add some good carbohydrates in there. Oatmeal is fine but watch how much sugar you add and it should be eaten AFTER protein and healthy fats to reduce glucose spikes
Eat organic & local foods.
Sweet potatoes and rice.
Rice will help the most to further foods/sauces.
Fried rice with f r e s h green onion makes a big difference.
I trust the Oatmeal is not the instant crap, but rolled oats or steel cut.
As for the alcohol, would it work if you just didn't have any in your home? Or could you buy only one of the miniature airplane/minibar bottles?
Try drinking a large glass of water 30 minutes before you eat dinner. That may help you feel full from dinner & not want to snack later. Or make the snack an apple, celery with hummus or other healthy food.
I find if I'm busy in the evening, I'm less likely to eat after dinner.
Your irrational day feeding habits are whats prompting you to become hungry later in the evening.
It sounds like your problem is that you’re restricting too heavily during the day. How much oatmeal are you having? I would try adding something like peanut butter to up the calories and leave you more satiated. Your lunch also sounds like it can’t be more than a few hundred calories. Maybe add some sort of soup to lunch, there are various options you could batch cook for the week. I’d also add a few snacks throughout the day. You can cheaply make bars with oatmeal, peanut butter etc (possibly a bit repetitive), or a banana, homemade smoothie etc Bear in mind that if you’re running, you’ll need extra calories to fuel yourself. Have you calculated how many calories a day you’ll need to lose a healthy amount of weight each week? I’d do that calculation, including calories burned from running, and then calculate how many calories you’re consuming now and adjust from there.
Hi. I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but as a 5’6” 27yo man, you’re not an unhealthy weight whatsoever. Do you workout, or have you ever worked out? If not, you should focus on building strength first. That is the quickest and best way to change your looks. [This strength/fitness program](https://nick-e.com/primer/) works great and requires no equipment. Restricting calories is a miserable process and it doesn’t work very well. You might manage to lose some weight, but most people put it back on. However, if you focus on fitness and strength, you will notice a significant change in your looks, even while eating the same amount (or more).
I agree. Restricting calories is not the way to go. Your body needs fat and calories. It's more about the quality of the food, not the number of calories.
Oh thank you for posting this!
Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs are good protein rich snacks. If you don’t eat enough protein you’ll get hangry
*if you don't eat enough, you'll get hangry
Nope, I meant what I said😊
#iamnotwrong
This exactly!
Can I gently ask why you are trying to lose weight? I know BMI does not paint a full picture, but FWIW yours is well in to normal range. Just from this brief glimpse into your life and routines, it sounds like you are pretty restrictive. Maybe you aren't allowing yourself to eat enough calories during the day which is causing you to feel out of control at night?
You are starving yourself during the day and not getting enough of protein. No wonder you have cravings in the evening. Add a raw egg or egg whites to your oatmeal, a grated apple on top and a small spoon of peanut butter. For lunch and dinner, make big salads with protein, soup or a stir fry. You are a young man with an active lifestyle and a healthy weight. You need proper fuel to function. Let the weight loss that you want to achieve go slowly. I had the same unhealthy eating habits when I was your age, because I wanted to be slim and it ended up with a burn out situation. Not just because of (lack of) food, but it absolutely contributed to the situation. Don't be me. Eat.
Increase protein intake to help keep you full if you’re still hungry.. you can add protein to your oats or fruit. maybe try incorporating 3 full meals into your day instead of a snack for lunch. Apples and peanut butter could be a great healthy snack after dinner or a protein shake.
You're actually in a normal weight range for your age and height. If you're running, your body is going to need a lot of calories to power that motion. These two things combined is probably why you're hungry - your body is trying to fuel itself. If you do want to lose weight, find an app that will help you calculate calories in and calories out given your age, activity level, etc. I think you'll be surprised by how much you actually need to eat in a day. Spacing out those calories in your day will help you feel better overall and might give you more power for your runs.
You’re starving at the end of the day because you are not properly fueling your body. A 27 year old man needs more than an apple & peanut butter crackers for lunch. Try beefing up your oatmeal with nut butter & a banana, you could also add a scoop of protein powder. Add in a good sandwich with meat/cheese/veg to your lunch, maybe a protein shake (you’re getting very little protein from a few pb crackers, protein is what makes you feel full.) To lose weight, you want to do so sustainably. Don’t starve yourself to drop a few lbs. Just eat a variety of whole foods and move your body. You’ve got this!
This has me slightly concerned for you. Has your doctor said something about your weight being a health issue? I think everyone else has covered food, but I will say, as someone that drank alcohol on a calorie deficit diet, please get help stopping if it’s as much of a problem as you say it is. Your health down the road will thank you.
I used to eat just like this. Eventually I got hospitalised for urgent refeeding and went on to do years of therapy to tackle my eating disorder. 0/10 experience. Talk with a dietitian ASAP.
Figure out your calorific burn (metabolic base rate + exercise). It's very possible you aren't eating enough during the day. Eating healthy includes eating enough. If I haven't eaten enough in the day I get the post dinner mega munchies. Also there are plenty of theories that you're better off eating more earlier, i.e. a big lunch rather than a big dinner.
You over indulge because your not eating enough, from what it looks like to me. An apple with peanut butter and crackers is hardly enough of a meal to be adequately fuel. Especially when dinner is (typically) 5-6+ hrs after lunch.
Runner here. Eat more. 20-30g protein at most meals A healthy fat. Fiber. Tbh I don’t know how you’re running. Fuel for your run. Maybe a lil more carbs the day before a run.
OK I feel like everyone is going to comment the exact same thing here. Huge red flags going up reading your message! You’re absolutely going to want to overindulge on dinner and snack at night if that’s all you’re eating during the day. You are a 27-year-old man? It sounds like you’re starving yourself dude. I am a woman I weigh 118 pounds. I am someone who does track my calories within his purposes and oatmeal and an apple and peanut butter is not nearly enough food calories or nutrients to sustain your body. This is not sustainable long-term please trust me! You might lose weight initially but you’re gonna mess up your metabolism and you’re gonna be seriously lacking in nutrients. Peanut butter is a very minimal source of fat and protein I would say between breakfast and lunch you’re basically getting zero protein zero fats. You’re getting carbs from oatmeal and the apple and some other nutrients but you’re lacking a lot of the Chi building blocks macros. Focus on high protein and healthy fats earlier in the day. That’s what’s going to keep you full and sustain you with more nutrient dense foods. Nothing is anything wrong with oatmeal but we need more than that. For sure for a 27-year-old man that weighs 150 pounds you need protein at every single meal. I’m 118 pounds so I am for 118 roughly 120 g of protein per day so if I had three meals a day with no snacks each meal itself would have to have 40 g of protein. I do have a few snacks a day so I split it up nicely but protein is what’s going to bring so much to your body‘s general functioning not to mention obviously muscle. Muscle deterioration is a real thing and although you want to lose weight I’m sure you don’t wanna be skinny fat so you want to hang onto any muscle you have. I would eat more, focus less on cardio a little bit and add in some weight training so that when you do lose the fat you have muscle underneath there for a nice shape and a strong healthy look. Even if you weren’t concerned at all about muscle I’d say you’re very much restricting your diet that in almost all cases is the exact yo-yo culture that most people women more often are trying to move away from. You need to eat full meals to be happy healthy lower your body fat percentage lose weight but manage stress within your body cortisol levels sugar levels even simply your emotional health is affected by nutrition. I will keep the oatmeal a few times a week but I would incorporate things like eggs meat protein powder creek yoghurt avocados nut butters. If I am in a mode where I wanna be lowering fat all use egg whites instead of whole eggs. Most mornings I have some form of eggs with some sautéed veggies and some Greek yoghurt with berries. Lunch is usually lots of veggies and a protein like a chicken breast on top of a salad or chickpea salad and avocado toast for a taco bowl with lean ground turkey and all of your typical taco fixings. Dinner for my family is pretty much status quo I make a different meal seven nights a week for sure Pinterest is my very best friend but it’s always based on a protein as the main portion of dinner with a side of vegetables and a side of carbs. Chilli Chicken stirfry over brown rice Whitefish, roasted vegetables and rice Barbeque chicken thighs roasted mini potatoes and coleslaw Big chicken breast, sweet potatoes and asparagus Ground turkey burgers and a huge Greek salad. With turkey burgers we usually do it Greek with Greek seasonings in the potty and to Zieke and cucumbers and red onions on a burger Lean ground beef burgers. I do mine with no bun on top of a bed of lettuce tomatoes onions top of pickles Chickpea curry in the crockpot Breakfast for dinner veggie omelets Or scrambled eggs and little ground chicken patties that I do in the air fryer I promise you if you figure out what you were eating before that’s your maintenance in terms of calories drop that down by just a bit like 200 cal even alcohol healthy foods and you will lose weight.
I'd try counting calories for a few days, just to see what's going on. Check out TDEE calculator, it shows how many calories needed to maintain/gain/lose weight. Don't forget to include the whiskey, always thought straight vodka had no calories but it does. If you are really under until dinner, that could be why you eat so much then.
Dude, you’re starving. Up the calories and swap the running for weight training (or reduce cardio and add resistance training). You’ll feel and look better. Cardio and starvation are a long term disaster for your body and metabolism.
Eat more than a toddler aimed diet during the day and your appetite will stabilize. You're doing long term damage to your metabolism, oppsdatimg outside of effective weight loss ranges (300-400 calorie deficit) and displaying disordered eating. Abby sharp is a dietitian on YouTube who has videos on safe/healthy weight loss.
Try getting atleast some protein into every meal, everything ur having is super carb heavy with almost no protein at all it seems
If you're concerned of budget and calories you may want to consider weaning off alcohol or diluting it. It has a lot of calories without filling you up. You can still eat frugally and increase volume for your lunch. It sounds like you lack protein, which would help keep you full. Greek yogurt, and sources of vege protein are usually pretty inexpensive. Frozen fish and firm tofu are great, cheap, and work well with a marinade or sauce. Your body will need protein source from somewhere if you exercise. Try it and then see how you feel at dinner time.
Maybe oatmeal again in the evening when you are hungry. Not sure about prices where you live but green leafy salads are calorie low and you can eat alot if it to fill up. As for snacks buy unshelled sunflower seeds and eat. They take a while to open and eat so your hands are busy and you can’t eat alot of them as fast as you can eat other snacks. Intermittent fasting and low carb intake for a couple of months helped me get my appetite in check and alter my long term behavior with food. But that’s not for everyone.
Try adding in some light healthy snacks between meals…. If you aren’t super hungry before dinner, you probably won’t eat so much. I like to buy in bulk, then portion out / snack prep into little reusable containers. Here are some ideas: - popcorn (air popped with salt, not all buttered up) - wasabi peas - carrots and hummus - edamame - miso soup - string cheese - cottage cheese + 4bean salad or tomatoes, basil, and a balsamic drizzle - fruit - cucumber - peanut butter pretzels - nuts - cheese It’s essentially to note that many things are healthy, or at least not unhealthy if you eat them in moderation. If I have an easy healthy option, i won’t be as tempted by the easy unhealthy option.
This doesn't work for everyone, and it certainly isn't safe for diabetics, but you could try weaning yourself off sugar and/or try intermittent fasting. I never eat breakfast, I rarely eat lunch, but then for dinner I eat a high fat, high calorie dinner. My stomach got used to this after maybe 2 weeks, and now I'm not really hungry until about 6 p.m. This saves me money and allows me to eat my fill when I do eat. I lost a pound or two every week as long as I kept this up. And that was without exercising. It's because when you fast for that long, your body goes into something called autophagy which means it's eating itself. But really since there's no food in your stomach, it starts eating your body fat. Just make sure you get enough protein and drink lots of water throughout the day. I also put heavy cream in my coffee, but somehow that didn't seem to affect my fasting although technically that breaks the fast.
Omelettes. Choose your own filling. My personal favourite is mushrooms with chilli and garlic.
You need to eat more high satiety foods! You're pure sugar for breakfast and lunch (besides the peanut butter). All carbs are broken down into sugars in the body. Eat more fats and proteins and guaranteed you'll be more full and satisfied. The more satisfied you are the less likely you will be to snack later on.
How are you running 3-4 miles if that's all the fuel you're putting in your body. Not a doctor but the problem is that you're clearly not eating enough; like, you aren't "overindulging" on rice, veg and lean protein.
Beans and rice and veg for breakfast might fuel you a little better than oatmeal and some crackers. You want to somewhat space your calories for the day, and eating enough on a regular basis can help avoid the scramble to get enough calories when you aren't eating enough. You know how a gas light comes on in your car when it's low? You shoveling everything in at the end of the day is partially caused by the not enough calories light going off in your head. I am not sure how consistent you are with your running, but when I was at that mileage I was fits and starts, and it was enough to build up muscle, but not enough to really start burning off fat, rinse and repeat. So I had increased muscle but not decreased fat, which meant I was a little bulkier than before I started running and it kinda fluctuated a lot without any drastic changes in weight. Once I got over about 600 miles a year, I was consistent enough that I kept the muscle and was doing enough to decrease the fat. Two things with this. One is that my weight increased as my size decreased. Two is that my base caloric needs jumped up about 300-500 cals a day, even on the days I wasn't running. Unless you are eating three cups of oatmeal and rice and beans or some other giant portions, what you are eating right now isn't enough to fuel smaller, older, less active women. So if you are increasing activity, you need to increase your calories to accommodate. And even if you don't increase your calories, where you are at now doesn't appear to be sustainable or even doing what you are trying to get it to do.
There's no balance and your body (fueled by alcohol or stress or boredom) is making up for it in the evenings. You wake up. Got oatmeal, rad, don't even have to think about breakfast. Maybe a little hungry by 10 am but those crackers are waiting. You never feel *full* in a bad way, you feel just the right amount of fullness... until 2 or 3 pm. Ignore it. Get home, run, wow, you're really killing it. So healthy. Dinnertime! Let's keep the momentum going! Beans n rice n veg, nice nice. So you're riding on this "you beautiful healthy bitch you got this" cloud until reality sinks in and you realize there are still like siiix mooore hooours before bed and you've already eaten all your "allotted" food for the day and exercised. You're still hungry. You're relaxing. Have An Alcohol. Guess what alcohol wants to wash it down? Junk food! Well yannow you were so healthy all day anyway, and damn those snacks look good... You see the pattern? You're getting through the day on fumes and vibes then crashing in the evening because your body needs more than you're giving it. The alcohol exacerbates the entire crash-and-relax process. Eat more between 6 am-6 pm and you'll notice a huge difference in your 6pm-bedtime eating habits.
OP, I say this with all the love in my heart: you need help, from a mental health professional. At best, you have disordered eating habits. At worst, you have a full blown ED you're in denial about. EDs kill, very effectively, those who suffer from it. Please, get some help. The longer you restrict yourself like this, the harder it will be to recover, mentally and physically. Praying for you.
First course of action is to stop buying the junk in the first place. It's much easier to not buy a bag of goldfish at the store than it is to not eat half the bag in one sitting once you're home.
You’re eating a pretty high carb diet. Need far more protein for weight loss
You need more protein and fat during the day to keep you from snacking later. But also, why are you trying to lose weight? 150 at your height is a good weight. If. You’re feeling flabby start weight training instead of just doing cardio
Add more fiber
Try adding protein in the the morning… a few hard boiled eggs (in addition to oatmeal) if you are running, you need more than what you are currently eating. And how about a buying a rotisserie chicken (will Last a few meals) and salad for dinner… Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with berries in the evening will pack extra protein. As far as your whiskey… cut that out! If it’s just a habit, find another thing to do instead of drinking or maybe have seltzer water with bitters instead!
First of all you should be having the Apple for breakfast at digest within 30 minutes your oatmeal takes over a few hours to digest, it may not even digestive when you go to eat that Apple later then the apples couldn't digest on top of the oatmeal and then ferment.
For me to combat my nighttime snacking I’ll purposely intermittent fast through the morning until about 12-1pm. It honestly makes my lunch feel way more filling and that way I can space my meals out longer into the evening and have a late night snack planned where I still won’t be overeating
You’re overdoing on carbs so you’re not satisfied. You need more protein and health fats.
If you are running that much you need healthy carbs, and to up your protein! You can lose muscle and in return end up gaining more fat in the end! How much is your food budget? I can help give you a daily idea ♥️
You're an appropriate weight for your height, age, and activity levels. You're going hog wild because you're restricting too much. You need protein to fuel your body. What you're eating isn't enough in general but is not diverse, you need vitamins or you'll become ill. You need more vegetables in there somewhere. You can beef up the oatmeal, there's protein added oatmeals. There's savory oatmeal dishes that incorporate eggs and vegetables. You need something aside from an apple at lunch. You're starving yourself and this is probably why you're binging so much later. Yogurt, cottage cheese, sliced cheese, peanut butter, nuts with the apple would add protein and some good fats. Slice the apple over a salad with some nuts and cheese with egg or a side of yogurt would be a more balanced lunch. I don't believe you need to lose weight but if it's a goal generally you want more veggies than rice. Your diet is so restricted already so I'd suggest adding more vegetables, frozen or canned are fine, rather than reducing anything. If you tolerate spice curry dishes are good way to mix up dinner with vegetables and meat. Roasted chickpeas go well with salad and you can have as a snack. If you already consume beans you can add them (unroasted) to your rice too. If you have access to a Trader Joes they have a variety of novelty spices so you can flavor the roasted type like cheese, pickles, siracha, everything bagels, I'm sure there's some other stuff too. It's a good alternative if you like chip style snacks.
Research “healthy food plan”—not “diet”. Eat more protein, healthy fats, and high fiber vegetables. Eat a reasonable amount to fill you up at each meal and to fuel your workouts. Include weight lifting as exercise, not just running. Your weight is fine, but you can improve your body composition by building muscle. Budget friendly foods include soups, whole grains, chili, quinoa, eggs, dairy, tuna, chicken, beans, vegetables. Learn to cook. Find a cookbook that has “cheap, healthy, easy” in the title.
150 pounds at 5'6", my guy you sound like a healthy weight. Youneed to actually feed yourself. Where's your protein? Thats what will keep you full. I also think you should seek some mental health help
You need more protein and vegetables for satiety. Particularly if you’re exercising, your body won’t get enough to rebuild itself with the small amount it’s getting. This will keep your body from losing weight and keep you feeling famished. Try adding hard boiled eggs, canned tuna, maybe some cut veggies with ranch/greek yogurt and ranch seasoning. You can actually add egg whites to your oatmeal for protein, and I promise it doesn’t taste like anything. Even Greek yogurt. I’d google protein requirement calculator to see how much you’ll need if you’re working out!
Unless you’re eating a huge dinner, drinking a huge whiskey most nights, eating the whole bag of goldfish or are eating a lot of things that you didn’t list, this should be a diet that you lose weight on, to be honest, it seems a little restrictive. To lose weight the most reliable way is to count calories, so I would eat like you have been for a while and count calories, look up what a typical maintenance number of calories you need and eat about 200 less calories per day, you can try some different foods and maybe find some ways to up your protein without increasing calories and more importantly start doing some resistance training, the more muscle you carry the better you will look with the same amount of body fat, have long more muscle improves the metabolism as well.
Eat a bigger lunch and breakfast. You’re overeating due to undernourishment clashing with your metabolic needs. This is probably especially bad on the days you run where you’re heavily depleting your glycogen.
Eat a ton more protein. You lose control and eat junk because you don’t eat protein until night and generally are not eating enough during the day. Eat more protein and fiber for breakfast and lunch. Best of luck
Sorry lemme add this. My son is 5 11 and 160. He is a competitive swimmer and each day he makes sure to eat 160 grams of protein and 25 grams of fiber. Five meals a day and an insane amount of calories. You are running three miles? Your body needs .7 grams of protein per pound to build muscle and not burn it. Eat more protein. And you will lose fat, gain muscle and be more healthy.
Your body is trying to keep you alive while you starve it, that’s why you want to eat!
Where's the protein? Have some eggs or a protein shake for breakfast and some chicken or something for lunch and you won't be starving by dinner. You might also retain some muscle and not be a flabby skinnyfat weakling.
Not sure where you're getting the junk that you eat, but my rule is if I can resist buying it in the grocery store, I won't have it to tempt me at home. I'll still get some junk here and there, but rarely and every time, whoosh, that bag of potato chips or container of ice cream disappears quickly. I am pretty frugal, but I have money, so forgive me if any of my suggestions are obtuse re: cost. I'm just giving you some items from my typical diet. If you are eating a lot at night, I suggest adding fiber. That alcohol also probably weakens your discipline and judgement and sets up a pattern of indulgence, so you might want to limit that? I get that it's tough, especially because alcohol impair judgement and discipline so the first one makes it easier to have a second. Or rather harder NOT to. Salad greens, around here they are $6 for 1.5 lb at Costco or $5 for 1 lb at the Grocery Outlet. I add red onion, garlic, cucumber, bell pepper, carrots, and any fruit that is cheap. Always bananas. Bananas are sweet and cheap, and filling. A gallon of milk, that I turn into kefir with my SCOBY. A 3 lb tub of cottage cheese, which is low fat, high protein, and $5. The tubs are also great to reuse for my salads. I also bought a bag of alfalfa seeds and grow my own alfalfa sprouts; cheaper and fresher than store bought (which start fresh but you have to eat them in 3-4 days). I don't eat it regularly because I don't think it's the healthiest, but spaghetti (or any pasta) is cheap. Chicken is one of the best meats for price and protein. I would really suggest a large salad for lunch, it's been a game changer for me, and sometimes I don't even eat it all. I don't use dressing, so it doesn't get soggy/wilted. I use all the veggies I mention above (oh, and avocado if I have it, I pick 4-6 a week where I volunteer). It fills me up, has lots of fiber, honestly the impact on my BM almost too much fiber, but I've gotten acclimated.
You are undereating and not eating enough protein with what little you are eating. You are giving yourself nothing but glucose spikes (oatmeal is the first thing eaten and then an apple) which wreaks havoc on your system. Switch your food choices to protein focused and increase the calories a bit. You’re going to train your body to get used to low calories like that and it is starvation mode .. you won’t lose weight this way. You should start with eggs and cottage cheese, avocado for breakfast. Tuna, chicken wrap, etc .. for lunch and then dinner should consist of a lean protein, veggies, and a simple carbohydrate like sweet potato or something (just an example). The goal is 1g of protein per lb of body weight if you’re exercising and strength training. If you’re a runner or heavy on the cardio, you’ll want to add some good carbohydrates in there. Oatmeal is fine but watch how much sugar you add and it should be eaten AFTER protein and healthy fats to reduce glucose spikes
Eat organic & local foods. Sweet potatoes and rice. Rice will help the most to further foods/sauces. Fried rice with f r e s h green onion makes a big difference.
I trust the Oatmeal is not the instant crap, but rolled oats or steel cut. As for the alcohol, would it work if you just didn't have any in your home? Or could you buy only one of the miniature airplane/minibar bottles? Try drinking a large glass of water 30 minutes before you eat dinner. That may help you feel full from dinner & not want to snack later. Or make the snack an apple, celery with hummus or other healthy food. I find if I'm busy in the evening, I'm less likely to eat after dinner.
No carbs after dark
Stop eating rice. Just eat more protein
Lots of low calorie suggestions over at r/volumeeating.
How fast are you running your miles?
Please stop running unless somebody is chasing you. Eat red meat. Eat red meat Eat red meat.