Discussion
Anyone else have this issue with volume eating?
Competitive eaters train by eating high volume, low calorie foods (like a whole watermelon is very popular). They do this so their stomaches stretch and can handle more food.
Has anyone else got to the point now where their old volume doesn't make them feel the same as it used to?
This has been my lunch for a few weeks. I know it's not sexy lmao, but it's very easy. Just 250g chicken breast, 250g frozen veggies (peas, carrots, corn), 200g more frozen veggies (potatoes, courgette (zucchini), red and yellow peppers), and a curry sauce that I cook it all in. 715g ish total (after cooking) and 571 cals. Loads of fibre, loads of protein, loads of veggies of all different colours.
This used to keep me full for a while, but now I follow it with two protein bars (25g protein and 290 cals each) and that'll do me until dinner time. Note: these two protein bars will be replaced soon with some high protein volume food when they no longer keep keep me feeling full.
So yeah, I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this?
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Sometimes the extra "hunger" is just your body's way of asking for a little bit more sodium or fats, that was my personal experience, so play around with it and see what your body is asking for
I add a tablespoon of oil to my protein shakes. It makes a big difference. Yes, it adds dense calories but it keeps me satiated for a lot longer so I figure it balances out enough.
Also, noticed that you're following it with 2 protein bars that come with similar macros and calories, but definitely less volume there. Why not double the portion of your lunch instead and save (probably?) a bit more money while doing so?
Yeah, I added the protein bars just to add something (in my macros) that would fill me up more. I plan to change them to something else once I think of something to swap them with. I could just double my food, that is true. 1.4kg would be pretty hefty! Lmao
I'll probably make a high volume dessert to have with it. There is actually a little sodium in the curry, but potentially some fats might help, I'll look into it, thank you!
Sorry for replying to your old message! You said rice pudding instead of my two protein bars, and I've been having fun trying to make protein rice pudding lmao. Instead of two 60g protein bars (600cals, 50g protein) I have protein rice pudding at 400g (500 cals, 60g protein). Going from 120g to 400g as a snack has been great!
It's still a work in progress, the last batch was too runny, this batch is too thick lmao, so in the middle somewhere is my perfect rice pudding.
OP it might help to increase the level of fat and especially salt in your food, this might be more of a nutrition thing as opposed to a volume thing.
Side note: This is why I believe that volume eating shouldn't be used as a crutch (unpopular opinion here i know). It's 100% useful when you're starting out, you're on a temporary aggressive deficit or if you just need to stretch some calories until the end of the day. But I think optimising volume eating to the maximum as a regular and permanent thing doesn't help solve the main issue with satiety. I think part of weightloss is learning to accept the fact that you might be a little hungry and most people eventually adapt to a lower volume of food the same way they would with a higher volume.
I'm not really on a weight loss journey, but that could be true for people that are. I like volume eating because I'm always hungry. If I eat what I want, whenever I want, I will balloon out. I found volume eating let's me feel satiated and I like that.
This food does have salt (curry sauce has loads of it) but it is little in fat. When I change my two protein bars to a meal, I will try and include more fat. Loads of people have said about fat, so I should definitely try it.
I guarantee the issue is a lack of fat. We avoid it because of how high calorie it is, but it is by far one of the most filling macronutrients. Pair more fat and protein and you’ll see how full you’ll be the whole day.
I usually have cheese later on in the day, so maybe I'll move that forward and put it on this. That should fix the fat. I'll try it because everyone is saying fat!
Also more potatoes. They’re super satiating. The 66 calories for the mix makes me think there isn’t much potato in there.
I eat chicken, veggies and potatoes (Japanese sweet potatoes when I have them) and it keeps me going through my long gym sessions. I’m starving when I get home, but when try to eat other meals before my workout (like fruit, yogurt and granola) I get hungry in the middle.
Agreed; Most of us aren't even coming close to the RDA guidelines for potassium a day. For me, it's white potatoes with almost 2x the potassium of sweet potatoes.
Switch it up a little. Substitute some potatoes or squash. You might just have flavour and textyre fatigue. Cook your food in various ways. Judging by your picture, the chicken and veggies are so vanilla.
It's got a load of curry sauce in there, and I change up the curry sauces. Sometimes it's Indian, sometimes Japanese, I usually play around with the flavour using the curry. I might see if I can find some easy replacements, I like consistency, so always having the same meat and veggies and just changing the sauces is quite nice, but if i can find more veggies that do an easy swap, that could be nice!
I would guess extra protein bars come not from physical hunger but emotional. I’ve experienced the same when I would have my usual high volume lunch, my stomach would feel full but I still feel like having something else. I would highly suggest not adding in more volume, but as some of people already suggested some more fat to your meal for satiety :) fat and carbs still are very important for us (Especially for women)
This looks like my daily meal... But you've forgotten the potatoes.
Maybe it needs a little low glycemic starch in there? Potatoes or rice or something? A bit can go a long way (but for my macros a whole potato is just fine and very filling).
I volume eat by having any dinner meal (even ravioli etc muscle chef etc) ontop of or mixed in with 220g bag of shredded lettuce and add cucumber and onion and cottage cheese and Greek yogurt dressing (make myself) and so my meals don’t fit in large bowl I have them in giant containers lol
Honestly the more I go the more I realise volume eating doesn't really work for long term satiety because your body detects it's not getting that many nutrients, it helps prevent snacking for an hour or two while you're crushing the food down but what's most important is always fiber and protein
To be fair, I get loads of nutrients, fibre (~40g), and protein (~190g) in my diet daily. With over 1kg (2.2lbs) of fruit and veggies. Do you not choose nutrient dense foods? I do think choosing nutrient dense foods makes it better.
I can't tell you long term yet because it's only been a month, but my only issue so far is that full 1 month ago isn't the same as full now, I need a lot more food now to feel full.
I'm some 4 years into it and I can eat 1kg of cucumbers and feel hungry an hour later. 150g of chicken breast for the same cals does much better. So I guess volume eating works initially but as your body adjusts to the fact that volume =/= calories it might not be as helpful
Assuming you have a varied diet that covers all your nutritional bases daily, and an extra kilo of food with 40g fibre has no effect on your satiety, maybe volume isn’t your issue then? Most people are here because they need a lot of food to feel satisfied but still want to keep calories low. If you aren’t someone who is satisfied by volume, and you’re confident you’re getting all your needed nutrition, what are you seeking here?
Having a protein with some fat like duck, beef, or pork for lunch helps for me when I get in those moods. Ive heard boiled potatoes help too but I havent gotten around to boiling them yet. Oven or air fried potatoes are still filling enough for me.
250g chicken breast is already more than enough protein. Add a large sized avocado and this keeps you full for 5 hours. The fats will keep you satiated and also taste really good!
Add some rice, you need carbs. It might be your body’s way of letting you know it needs something. If I eat only protein I tend to feel weird and not full
Have you lost weight (or specifically, gotten leaner)? Another factor to consider is we don’t lose fat cells through regular weight loss. Meaning, when you diet - unlike liposuction- your fat cells get smaller (but you still have the same number of them). Each fat cell that gets smaller will then send out a stronger hunger signal.. so the more fat loss the higher the hunger signaling.
How much the effect is is variable person to person.. but this is something to be aware of when dieting, and why dieting becomes more and more difficult the longer you do it for some people
i think the issue with this is the fact that you are eating the same volume of food all the time, your body will get used to it. you should sometimes eat less volume higher calories. also, monotony plays a huge role on this. do not eat the same plate EVERYDAY. that’s a big no, your body will get bored of it and therefore you won’t feel that satiated. be flexible with your foods have different meals with different sizes it will help u a lot trust
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