Why am I hungry all the time?

I’m 16, and for some reason, I’m hungry all the time, no matter what I eat. Even after I eat a big meal, I get hungry again like half an hour later. Tonight, I ate a bunch of hickory-smoked tofu with about a cup of quinoa, which is high in protein and normally very filling. But almost as soon as I ate it, I was starving again and had hunger pains. And just now, I ate a big peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, and I’m still starving.

Why am I so hungry all the time? I usually eat healthy, filling foods and meals that are balanced with carbs, protein, and fat, but it doesn’t help. And I drink a lot of water. Should I just keep eating? I’m afraid I’ll get really fat.
By the way, before you start assuming that I’m not getting the right nutrients, I take a multivitamin and eat very healthy… which is much better than a lot of people who don’t even have problems.

Frustrated! Why hasn’t my body changed that much?

I’m getting really frustrated because over the past 2 years, I’ve been consistently working out/exercising on nearly a daily basis. I do a lot of different things-high intensity interval cardio (sprinting, rowing, box jumping, jump rope, etc.) and strength training 3-4 days per week (dead lifts, bench press, chin ups, push ups, bulgarian split squats, russian twists, mountain climbers, etc.)

I have not lost weight and though I’ve toned/firmed up a lot, my body (especially my legs) seem to look the exact same as they always have. My arms and abs look a little better than they use to.

I also eat really well. Very little sugar and refined carbs and gluten. I stick to a high protein diet and include veggies and good carbs like quinoa and brown rice. On weekends I usually eat a little junk, but I rarely go overboard. I drink lots of water and never drink my calories; no sodas, juice and very little milk.

Here is a recent pic of my body:

http://i53.tinypic.com/11t936b.jpg

I’m not trying to fish for compliments, I just want honest opinions..especially on my legs. I’ve never liked them at all and it seems to me like they still don’t look very toned.

by the way, I’m 5’5 and 130 lbs and my max dead lift is 190 lbs. I’ve been told by many different people for so long that this is one of the best exercises for your legs and butt. Is there anything else I can do to make them actually look more toned? Like I say, they are more solid than they use to be but look the same.

What foods have all 8 essential amino acids?

After having been a vegetarian for over 14 years and a vegan for 3, can you believe I have ONLY JUST found out about amino-acids.
Apparently, there are 20 amino-acids in the body and 8 of them are “essential” for protein.
So, it’s not enough to eat things that have protein in them, such as beans, lentils etc, but we have to eat the right combinations of these to ensure we have all 8 amino-acids daily.
So, as I understand it, butter beans may only have 3 amino-acids and chick-peas might have another 5, but if they are not all different, we havent actually had the essential 8 building blocks that we need to build one full protein.

This does worry me, especially as my children are vegan too, and I want to make sure i dont see some deficiencies turning up later on.

Apparently one of my friends says that quinoa is the only food that has all 8 amino-acids in it. Of course I hate the taste of quinoa so much I almost cried!!!

But I was hoping someone on here might know something more on the subject and would be able to tell me the following:

a.
Is it true that quinoa is the “only” food that has all essential 8 amino-acids?

b. If not, do you know which other foods do?

c. Are there any supplements that can give us these?

Thank You so Much!!!

Alex
Sorry, forgot to say, what foods
APART FROM ANIMAL FLESH, EGGS AND DAIRY PRODUCTS
have all 8?
I want to stay healthy, not start drinking milk….
Goodygoodywitch,
FYI, lentils only have 6 amino-acids, so they cannot build a full protein.
Rice has only 7, hence that is also not a full protein.
But thanks for the TOFU tip! That seems to be right! (But does tofu contain cow’s milk???)

A question about PROTEIN?

I need a fast-acting protein because after I work out, my muscles need repairing. Besides supplements. If I blend Quinoa into liquid form and drink it, will it work as a fast-acting protein?

Am I eating too many pulses?

Okay, I am a vegetarian and by far my main source of protein are pulses. Normally every day i’ll have lentils, or quinoa, or amaranth, or buckwheat etc. However recently ive been gassing a bit, and Im worried these pulses are taking their toll on my digestive system. I have chickens so I also eat quite a lot of fresh eggs, but i eat loads of pulses. Last night I had onion, brocolli, carrot and lentil curry with a mixture of millet seeds, amaranth and quinoa instead of rice, and the night before that lentil soup! Cheers!