Hungry teenager.

[Ghost]

Ghost here,

Lately I have been eating heaps, enough to derail my paleo. Normally I eat really well, kinda.

I'm not big on salad and heaps of vegetables. But the past few days I have just devoured as much

food as I can. Heaps of sandwiches, chocolates (the bad kind), and ice creams, and all manner of evil foods.

The worst I normally do is a milkshake, and maybe some dark chocolate.

But as the title says, I'm a teenager and for some reason I'm really hungry.

I'm trying to limit myself to things like almonds, apples and oranges, and things like that.

But they aren't enough right now. I always eat a good protein filled breakfast, drink a decent amount of water,

but still hungry.

I've been trying to slowly cut down my BF%, but this has all but stopped me.

I don't know whether to eat more better foods, or try to eat my normal amounts.

I can't get exactly what I'm trying to say onto the page right now, but I hope you get my meaning.

[TheSavageBean]

You're growing.

There's a lot written about adult nutrition, but not very much is geared towards teenage athletes. Basically the home-spun wisdom is to eat as much as you can, the hunger trigger is there because you need food, and as long as the food's coming from good sources like lean meat, fruit, nuts and milk then I don't see any reason not to eat. Sometimes you won't eat "ideally" or the way you want to sure, but you'll live. I used to hate being told this but you have a whole life ahead of you to cut your BF% down, there's really no rush unless you're already at dangerously high % or you need surgery.

Let the girls admire how many pushups you can do instead.

[Siferiax]

I agree with TheSavageBean. Also try to listen to your body a bit? With that I mean that it can sometimes take time for the hunger to go away. It's easy to overeat really.

I would suggest trying to eat slower and just really taking your time and focusing on your food. (then again I'm not sure about your eating habits right now).

Your body isn't very smart, and I read it can take the stomach about 20 minutes to send out an "I'm full" signal. And well if your brain is busy with something else, then your brain will simply not hear that signal. The result, you keep feeling hungry.

With me eating slower and more conscious really reduced my food cravings.

[Raincloak]

The common paleo wisdom is that if you feel hungry (eg, craving carbs), you might need to eat more fat. Not sugar... fat.

But like bean said, you're a teenager and you probably just need more food 'cause your body has a lot of building to do. Forget body fat percentage. Go ahead and pile up them sandwiches (sandwiches are undoubtedly better than ice cream, but if you are craving some sweet dairy smoothness, perhaps a scoop of Greek yogurt with some nuts, honey, and cocoa powder would do...)

Even though veggies are not what you really want, try and eat a handful here and there anyway. Add lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, and/or cucumber to your sandwiches -- as much as you can fit in. Fix up some tasty dip, and dunk carrots, raw broccoli, or sweet peppers in it. Cook a fistful of spinach in the microwave, plop a fried egg on top, sprinkle a little hot sauce, and dig in. You'll be okay. The "80-20 rule" might help you here (aim for 80% good diet, on't try for perfect 100%).

I don't know how long you've been doing paleo, but I think if you're not eating a lot of veggies, you're not doing it right. Perhaps your diet needs some adjusting.

[Ghost]

I'm trying to rectify the vegetable situation, I've got another thread on that topic in the Tavern.

[Elastigirl]

What do you mean by a good protein filled breakfast? Because I am thinking you need to eat more, if you're hungry. Aslo, fat is very satiating. Have you tried Steve's smoothie? He adds olive oil shots to his smoothies to up the calories. Or you could put an avocado in your smoothie. Basically what the others said, if you are hungry eat. However, try and eat stuff that is good for you, so your body recongizes it as fuel and not just junk.

[tigersheart]

nothing wrong with being hungry....and if you stick to the paleo, eat as much as you need. when hungry, eat, when not...don't eat.

Paleo does take a little extra work though, as it is not as 'convenience' friendly as junk food is.

Try different types of veggies to find out what you do and don't like...try them in different ways as well....steamed vs cooked in a pan, etc.

Also, make sure you are getting enough protein and fats if you are sticking to paleo, they will help curb some of that hunger.

As Elastigirl said..make sure you eat ENOUGH food. Paleo is not a 'diet' that means you limit your intake of food, so make sure you are not starving yourself.

and smoothies are a great idea!

[161803398874989]

EAT. TRAIN. SLEEP. REPEAT.

BF% can go fuck itself.

[smedly]

I can relate to ghost on this issue seeing as I'm 19 and working a labor intensive summer job. I carry around fruit and nut mix to snack on when I'm hungry and just eat big meals. My breakfast is usually 3 eggs and 3 slices of bacon, half a container of cottage cheese with some fruit and a glass of whole milk. It keeps me going for 4 hours or so. Still this week has been bad due to all the cookouts and availabilty of tasty treats...

On a side note i'm terrible about having vegetables. I've started putting spinach in my smoothies and making sure I cook up a bag of frozen veggies with dinners but sometimes I skip them. I might have 2-3 salads a week. This is no where near enough veggies for a paleo diet and I'm still trying to figure it out.