How to lose weight without starving!

KrysiaCA

Hello all,

I wanted some advice I am now back on track with this whole losing weight thing. I calculated I need to consume 1400 calories a day. I am dying! I am hungry all the time!! It feels like I am constantly starving. It's terrible, then I am tired, sluggish, have no energy to eat and then I want to eat a whole load of stuff/crap. Please could you guys help? I am serious about losing some weight.

Many Thanks,

KrysiaCA

999tigger

It will help the others if you give your details so they cna check.
Age, height weight and target weight.
Also open your diary so we know what you are eating and will probably make more sense as to why you are so hungry.

An effective diet should eliminate the feeling of hunger.
You probably need to eat more fruit, veg, complex carbs and lean protein. There are various strategies, but the above information would help people give you better answers.

Also I wouldnt discount the extra calories you can earn yourself if you exercise enough as they cna come in very handy.

pineapple_jojo

Exercise! Earn more calories plus it gives you more energy even a couple of 15 minute walks during the day will help.

kommodevaran

Have you set a too aggressive goal?

RodaRose

Change your goal to one half pound a week.

Jams009

Different foods have different satiety values. Usually high protein and complex carbs will keep you fuller for longer. Low calorie density food like leafy greens and veg help keep you full as you can have massive amounts of them for relatively few calories. Drinking lots of water throughout the day can also make you feel fuller.

lemonsurprise

I don't think 1,400 sounds too aggressive. I went from eating around 5000 calories a day right down to 1,200 and although it was a huge change, I coped fine.
For me it was all about planning meals and getting the most from them. I ate a load of veg on the days that I wanted big meals, and I'm talking huge. No person could feel hungry after a mountain of vegetable casserole.

TimothyFish

Eat more vegetables and avoid drinking your calories.

CatLady1309

My goal is 1400 a day & I find I cope well.Planning my meals really helps I always put plenty of vegetables on my plate for dinner.Brown & wholemeal bread's help too when i fancy a sandwich:)

Liftng4Lis

What are your stats?

Wondertje

I can recommend potatoes and veggies in the oven for dinner, it's light on the calories and is so filling 'cause you can eat quite a lot of it. Basically just chop up:

Potatoes
Carrots
Parsnip
Leek
Rutabaga
Onion
Garlic

On with some olive oil, salt, pepper and some spice to your liking if you wish.

The recipe I've build has a total of 93 calories / 100g, and I usually eat 200g for a dinner serving with some lean protein to it or if it's Friday - a nice juicy steak, haha.

Really, it's not difficult to stay satiated on fewer calories - one must simply learn what to eat/drink in order to do so. Another example is that I almost only drink water nowadays, means I don't get any of my calories from liquids (except from 100kcal/day from tea) which leaves more food for me to eat!

Good luck

ali2407

You just to find foods to substitute which have lower calories so you can eat more to make you full.
For example - previously i would eat something like steak and chips with a small amount of veg. I found that this would use up most of the calories for the day and therefore i couldn't eat much else.
I have changed this to something like cod fillet, mushrooms, beansprouts and cabbage. This gives me a big plate of food for only around 250 calories - meaning that i can eat more for the rest of the day and I'm not hungry.
Substitution of high calorie food with low calorie food is key.

mymodernbabylon

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ TDEE-15%. You won't starve.

Whiskeytub

I've found adding a fried egg on top of whatever I'm having makes me quite a bit more full while only adding about 70-90 calories (depending on what size egg and how much oil/butter you use).

Also, eat more fish and vegetables. I can stuff myself silly on vegetables and still have calories to spare. What works for me is making meals a balance of vegetables as filler, protein to make it last, and a small amount of grainy carbs (like polenta, oats, or bread) for the quick energy.

And excersize. I get real cranky when I actually eat 1400 calories, and there's very little room for snacking. Walk, run, cycle - even 200 more calories can make the difference between feeling satisfied or going to bed hungry and miserable.

You will not be able to maintain your weight loss if your diet makes you tired and depressed. There's little point in it, either. Isn't the point of weight loss to feel better? You will soon learn which foods have the most bang for their buck. Keep at it.

NoelFigart1

I am more comfortable on fewer calories under a couple of conditions: A higher fat diet, moderate protein, and LOTS of vegetables, leave off the grains.

As examples: Salads with some high fat component like full fat dressing, bacon or cheese. Bacon and eggs (my favorite breakfast in the world), Strawberries and whipped cream, or an apple and cheddar cheese or peanut butter for a snack (when I snack. I don't much), olive oil drizzled on veggies before roasting. Hamburger with a slice of cheese and no bun, with the rest of the plate taken up with veggies with a pat of butter. Half a plate of broccoli has few calories, but you will get full.

I'm not fanatic about it, but in general, that's what I do and am comfortable with.

klaff411

Its not wrong to feel hungry. Your body is adjusting to less, stick with it and give it time. Stomach needs time to shrink and your brain becomes accommodated to less. In the meantime, consider more water. A lot more. Not only does it aid in weight-loss but dehydration is the number 1 reason people overeat. They think their hungry but in reality they are thirsty. Stop snacking. NO reason for it. I work out twice as much as the average person since I'm in the military and I'm constantly on the move in my job. I PT 2x times a day (run, calisthenics, lifting). Its a little pain now for a long term goal. The feeling won't last past a week if you don't cheat.

Revonue

Things that have low calories in a lot of bulk, like vegetables. I also find that protein keeps me very full.

NoelFigart1

And the thing about it not being wrong to feel hungry? True. We're sold the idea that we should never feel hungry. That's a marketing ploy to SELL SNACKS (Cheap to make, easy to eat, high markup). It's TOTALLY APPROPRIATE to feel hungry before a meal.

47Jacqueline

1400 calories is probably fine - you might go up to 1500, but not necessary.

Drink enough water. Don't eat too fast. It take 20 minutes for your stomach to realize it's eaten enough.

And as someone says, you're supposed to feel hungry when it comes to a mealtime. If you've never been hungry before, you've been eating too much too often.

999tigger

You really need their stats and a look at their diary to see why its happening. Not really a fan of hunger myself and have avoided it.

47Jacqueline wrote: »

And as someone says, you're supposed to feel hungry when it comes to a mealtime. If you've never been hungry before, you've been eating too much too often.

Depends what you mean by hungry. Looking forward to a meal ok, feeling as though you are starving and constantly deprives not ok and not good. Just because you arent raveous downt mean you have been eating too much.

Paul_Collyer

- Exercise moderately but often and eat back the calories
- Keep the sugar down
- Try to eat as much fibre as possible
- Drink loads of water

RoxieDawn

For MFP was incorrect for me. I found my number and adjusted MFP accordingly. Go here http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator and put in your stats. You can go as low as 5% or 10% to lose option. Or you can go as high at 25% (which is too high for me).

Once you start, start out slow and if you are not seeing results you can go back and adjust. I think finding your number as close as you can to meet your goals is a start.

It helped me out a great deal. I did not know how to eat till I started logging in MFP. Then logging everything (it keeps you accountable and you know just how many calories there are in everything)

I choose not to drink my calories. That adds up to 100, 200, 300, 400 calories depending on what you drink.

Good luck.. You can always get MFP friends to help you!

carriecarrio

-eat more fruits and veggies
-more fiber
-drink more water/tea

UmmSqueaky

Open your diary. Without knowing what you're eating, any advice is just a shot in the dark

KrysiaCA

Hi guys,

Thank you for all the responses. I will start using my diary and open it (at present there's nothing there as I was using another app to track my eating)

I am 5"2 and 74 kilos. With a waist of 34 inches (I use to be 26-28 so this is a big jump).

Thank you for the scooby link. It gives me 1522 calories for the day, I went a head a checked the benedict formula and It agrees. Maybe I was underrating?


Example of my food on 1400 calories

Breakfast
27 gram microwave packet of quakes oats
Bana sliced and mixed with the porridge

Lunch
Falafel & butternut squash salad & water melon chunks

Dinner
Smoked mackerel
Broccoli
Bulgar wheat

That total was 1470 calories. I was literally starting the entire time.

ana3067

999tigger wrote: »

You really need their stats and a look at their diary to see why its happening. Not really a fan of hunger myself and have avoided it.

47Jacqueline wrote: »

And as someone says, you're supposed to feel hungry when it comes to a mealtime. If you've never been hungry before, you've been eating too much too often.

Depends what you mean by hungry. Looking forward to a meal ok, feeling as though you are starving and constantly deprives not ok and not good. Just because you arent raveous downt mean you have been eating too much.

Agree. This only happens when I go way too long between meals. Ate lunch at 3-4pm today

To OP, is the 1500 the deficit or maintenance?

But your intake consisted of mostly carbohydrates. Little fat, little protein, both are needed to help satiety. Consider upping your fat or protein (or both) intake.

I'm 162lbs as well and I consume at a minimum 1900 calories to lose weight. This includes my average weekly exercise (about 2.5hrs a week). So you very well could be under-eating.

allieallieoxenfree

ana3067 wrote: »

999tigger wrote: »

But your intake consisted of mostly carbohydrates. Little fat, little protein, both are needed to help satiety. Consider upping your fat or protein (or both) intake.

^^^This. Anyone would feel starving with what you've listed, because almost every single thing is super carb-y, other than the mackerel & broccoli.

I have no problem sticking to my 1600 cals because I eat tons of protein and usually a good amount of fat as well. Today I had a pretty carb-y lunch around 4pm, and I can already feel my stomach growling for dinner!

allieallieoxenfree

I can't get my post out of the quotes, ugh.

ana3067

allieallieoxenfree wrote: »

I can't get my post out of the quotes, ugh.

Lol. But yeah it does that sometimes. Let's see....

ana3067 wrote: »

But your intake consisted of mostly carbohydrates. Little fat, little protein, both are needed to help satiety. Consider upping your fat or protein (or both) intake.

^^^This. Anyone would feel starving with what you've listed, because almost every single thing is super carb-y, other than the mackerel & broccoli.

I have no problem sticking to my 1600 cals because I eat tons of protein and usually a good amount of fat as well. Today I had a pretty carb-y lunch around 4pm, and I can already feel my stomach growling for dinner!



^^ Haha, just needed to take out tigger's quote tag.

KrysiaCA

Hello All,

Sorry for the slow responses.

Thank you for your advice.

I realised the reason I was starving according to the Scooby calculator because my BMR is like 1522 and my TDEE is 2093, which explains everything. I am now following the Scooby calculator (which seems more realistic) and taking in 1674 calories per day to lose 20%. As well as working out with fitness blender for busy people 5 days a week and some gym classes (pilates/yoga/balance) and a bit of equipment such as cross country and the rowing machine. Today is my first day watching what I am eating closely, I've only had breakfast but I am VERY satisfied, even though I have had under 300 calories.

Thank you guys for all your help already! I really really appreciate it!! :-D

rachellll98

I had/have the exact same problem down to eating majority carb foods. I've heard that in addition to more protein, you can eat more fiber and more vegetables and that helps. Also drink water. But I completely understand where you're coming from.