A recurring theme keeps popping up in my e-mail box that merits serious discussion.  Here's an e-mail illustration to explain it:

"Hello there. Congrats on your weight loss success. I have a question for you. I am doing the high protein diet but I am ALWAYS hungry and eat all the time. I eat all protein and A LOT of it. Was it the same for you? How can I fix this? I feel like at this rate I will gain weight not lose it."

Sound familiar anyone?

It simply amazes me how people can claim to be livin' la vida low-carb and be in CONSTANT hunger. This is one of the major reasons why low-fat and low-calorie diets fail, not the low-carb ones people. The key difference between those failed diet plans and livin' la vida low-carb is the satiety factor. Satiety equals NO HUNGER!

In fact, studies have shown satiety, or the ability to be satisfied after eating, to be the secret to low-carb diets and why they work so well for so many people. I was absolutely miserable in 1999 when I was on my low-fat diet and I could not keep it up despite losing a lot of weight. Why? H-U-N-G-E-R!!!

But what's with this hungry thing on low-carb, hmm? I have to be honest with you and say that just totally baffles me because it has not been my experience on low-fat. Ask my wife Christine, I do NOT like feeling hungry. It's one reason I started livin' la vida low-carb in the first place. Actually, I previously blogged about how waiting for hunger is awful and it's so true!

Being the ever-so-curious (okay, I'm nosy!) person that I am, I just had to ask my hungry, protein-eating dieting reader to share with me what she eats on her "high-protein diet." The answers she provide were quite illuminating.

Check out this list of foods she typically eats:

- Boiled chicken breast with tobasco sauce
- Turkey
- 4 oz cheese
- Egg whites with tobasco sauce
- Turkey bacon
- 2-3 cups lettuce with vinegar
- High-protein puddings
- Cheese-flavored bars
- Soy jerky

EWWWW! Can you see why this person is "ALWAYS hungry" on her low-carb, high-protein plan? It's pretty obvious to anyone who has been livin' la vida low-carb for any length of time and been successful at it--she's doing low-carb the wrong way which is the best one-way ticket to becoming a crash and burn weight loss failure.

This is PRECISELY what happens when you don't read a reputable low-carb book before attempting to start livin' la vida low-carb. I feel like a broken record saying this because I repeat this message so often until I get blue in the face. But apparently the message is not getting through and I'm happy to KEEP repeating it until it finally sinks in.

I've seen it happen a million times before from many well-meaning people, but it totally breaks my heart when I see it happening again and again. Even when people sit down long enough to read a popular low-carb plan like Atkins, Protein Power, or South Beach, they always seem to think they know how to make it healthier themselves by cutting the fat, too! UGH! Why do people do that to themselves?!

Heed this message: Don't mix low-carb with low-fat!

When you do that, you simply negate the positive benefits that fat can have in your body when carbohydrates are significantly reduced. In a high-carb diet, fat is destructive to your body and will lead straight to obesity and other health ailments. But with a low-carb diet, fat (even saturated fat!) is your friend and you NEED it to provide your body with energy as well as fighting hunger!

Yep, that's right! While protein is certainly an important element in keeping your full and satisfied throughout the day, fat also prevents the body from becoming ravenously hungry as well. This is one of the major elements that my reader has lacking in her current diet. Just about everything she eats is much lower in fat than it needs to be (boiled chicken, turkey bacon, and soy jerky?).

Here are a few suggestions I have for her to improve her diet:

- Add non-starchy veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans
- Include more salad greens (spinach) with tomatoes and cucumbers
- Avoid the processed cheese bars that aren't real cheese
- Start eating the egg yolk because that's the healthiest part
- Enjoy the naturally healthy low-carb foods God created

There are many more suggestions about improving her diet, but these are an excellent start. The bottom line is there is absolutely NO reason why anyone should EVER be hungry when they are livin' la vida low-carb. That's one of the major benefits of this permanent lifestyle change that helps people get on it and stay on it! It's worked for me for over three years and counting now.

Have you experienced hunger at some point on your low-carb lifestyle and figured out ways to avoid it? Please feel free to share your insights and wisdom with us in the comments section below. When people who are on low-carb tell me they're hungry, my response to them is, "Then go eat something!" Make it low-carb, of course! :)

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written by Susan, December 11, 2007

Atkin's did not die from a CVD and he was not obese. He slipped and fell on the ice! It just goes to prove that the "experts" don't really know what they are talking about, and why there are so many overweight individuals running around because they listened to people like you.

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written by M Agate, March 07, 2007

I dont know about all of you who are reading all of these comments, but I think that most all 'diets' are bogus. I do think if someone wants to read a book, or research online about all the different diet phenoms, and then incorporate all of the facts, from doctors, not just from any random person, and above all, just do most everything moderately, is the best and the most healthy of all. Actually, i think some people are wrong, saying we as humans are suppose to enjoy eating. All of these things are JUST my opinion, so if you dont agree with me, I understand. Back to enjoying eating, I think before everything evolved, we were eating to survive, but now that we can get a hold of all these foods that are artificial, we are just becoming accustomed to wanting them more. If we all were just to eat healthy all the time, except, maybe once a month, and all walked everyday, we would all be better off, than trying to eat badly, and then work it off at the gym.

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written by on my way to being skinney again, March 01, 2007

I have recently taken a cla*s in nutrition at our community college. I cannot believe how everyone is buying in to the low fat high carb diet! and calling it nutritious. I have never heard of anyone dying from low carb high proten. Infact why is everyone so down on it when it gives you so much energy, softer skin, and beautiful hair. I have now been low carbing and eating my fat and protein and have lost 25 lbs since December 29, 2006. I am so proud of myself! My husband keep saying a little bit of carbs won't hurt you honey, but I know differently, I just say no thank you sweetie.
A new tip I have used to help curb my appetite is before I eat my protein, steak, chicken, fish, tuna, eggs, or protein drink, I take about a tablespoon of cream cheese and it really satisfies my hunger and I do eat less. Also when I want a sweet snack, I take some real whipping cream about a 1/2 cup and blend it with my chocolate no carb protein powder and add a couple of teaspoons of Splenda and I have a instant, Zero carb mouse. It is really tasty. I have found to make a great muffin using flax seed, one egg, vanilla, 1 tspoon of baking powder stir, Splenda to taste, you may have to add a little bit of cream or water, just to get the consistancy of a muffin batter. You can add berries, depending where you are on the diet. Pop it into the microwave for about 1.50 minutes and it is so tasty and satisfies the bread, or carb craving. Well I have about 10 more pounds left. My Energy level is way up their now, Also My memory seems to be way sharper now. Good luck everyone and I hope you try some of this tricks to keep you on track. Keep eating the protein and the fat....Don't give up!!!

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written by Jimmy Moore, February 28, 2007

Oh brother, just what we need is "A Registered Dietitian" telling us the same old garbage that fat is bad for you and carbs are good for you. I know better because I'm living this way and have been happily for over three years--200 pounds lighter and healthier than I've ever been!

Where's the PROOF that eating a diet high in fat is unhealthy, hmmm? The fact is it doesn't exist. I don't know how the fat phobia has become so prevalent in American society, but it is PRECISELY why 2 out of 3 people are currently overweight or obese.

If you want to really help people lose weight and get healthy, then perhaps you might examine what you believe is true about diet and nutrition and realize that there are many ways to get there. Low-fat diets DON'T work for everyone and never will for most people.

Simply regurgitating the propaganda you have heard from the radical PETA group Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) does nothing for you credibility. Everyone knows the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins died in a tragic slip and fall accident on ice in New York City. Why don't you let the man rest in peace? IDIOT!

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written by A Registered Dietitian, February 28, 2007

This is when you need to be careful with the source of your information. While a moderate fat intake is important for a healthy diet, too much of a good thing is not healthy! Too much fat, no matter what type, is not healthy and can increase your risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Living on a low CHO, high fat diet is not healthy. It will catch up with you. By the way, Adkins died from CVD and he was obese!