CrankyJay said:
Yeah, I planned all along to up the protein intake. Seeing that in the last 2 days my carbs have been 50% of my caloric intake and my protein/fat both 25 I can see this causing a hunger issue.
Hunger is controlled by two major hormones:
1. Leptin. The absence of leptin in the hypothalamus increases hunger and reduces metabolism.
2. Ghrelin. Sort of a stress hormone that increases hunger. Easiest way to reduce it is to sleep 8-9 hours per night in a dark room.
50% carb is a bad idea in general, but especially if you're already overweight.
The problem is that you likely have a blood sugar control issue - ie type 2 diabetes or pre-type 2 diabetes. Add lots of carbs, especially fructose, and you're going to have chronically high levels of insulin...that both increases the tendency to store body fat and it reduces the ability of leptin to reach the hypothalamus. In other words it makes you hungry. It increases the body fat % your body naturally trends towards.
Read this stuff:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/01/body-fat-setpoint-part-iv-changing.html
Sure you could overcome this by counting calories like a champ, like that twinkie diet guy did. But if you'd prefer to lose the fat without the torture of hunger and lack of energy, I think it's best to change the body fat % that your body wants.
Prevention is easier than fixing. I'd recommend:
-Sleep 8-9 hours
-< 30% carbohydrate, focus on completely eliminating fructose that isn't from moderate amounts of whole fruit
-Lift weights
-Interval Cardio
-More omega 3s in your diet, and less omega 6s. Replace "beef" with pastured beef. Supplement fish oil. Replace corn/soy oil with coconut/olive oil.
If hunger doesn't go away, make a food log, try to understand what foods cause you to overeat. I remember reading about a mixture of certain salts, sugar, and fat can really fuck up leptin function, so also try replacing herb packet mixes like taco seasoning with recipes. Way less salt and MSG. Real herbs taste better and have lots of minerals.
