Eating VERY clean and tons of protein but still hungry

allison1983weber

I am 257lbs 31yr old female. I started MFP last Monday and have lost 8lbs in 9 days. I eat VERY clean, no crap. I am starving!!!! What can I do?

DeWoSa

You need to open your diary so people can see what you are eating and how closely you are meeting your macros.

Good luck to you!

allison1983weber

Oh, is my diary not open?

3laine75

Maybe you've went for too aggressive a deficit? Don't know, your diary's private.

Good luck

Ready2Rock206

How many calories are you eating? Are you eating back exercise calories? Are you eating enough fiber which also helps fill you up? I agree with above - open your diary if you'd like more detailed advice and suggestions.

allison1983weber

Sorry!!! It was private, I didn't realize

allison1983weber

I just changed my "lifestyle" to slightly active over sedentary today so I am low on calories today

suzy1220

I've heard it takes your body 21 days to adjust to a change so maybe if you wait it out you will feel better. I too am starving but since I've done this before I know it will get better as my stomach shrinks. Good luck!

allison1983weber

ok I understand that Suzy, totally am ok with it but had a conversation with someone today and she thought I was not eating enough calories so I thought I should check

hill8570

Well, you're eating well below your BMR -- that's usually a sign you're being way too aggressive with your deficit. You should be targeting about 1900 calories net.

blankiefinder

If you're starving, have some carrot sticks, maybe a serving of 2% cottage cheese (100 cal for a 125g serving) or some cut up cauliflower or broccoli?

johnreeve6810

Hi @allison1983weber - try adding a couple of spoonfuls of Hemp Hearts to breakfast - lots of slow release proteins.

allison1983weber

ok, got it on the snacks and I will try hemp hearts. I am confused about the 1900 calorie comment though. I have put all my info into MFP and that is the number they came out with. Originally I had activity at sedentary but changed to lightly active. So now it says 1600 or so. I am VERY low today because I just changed it and haven't eaten the calories

DeWoSa

I need to eat foods that satisfy me, not just fill me up. Do you like your diet? Are those foods satisfying to you, as opposed to just healthy or good choices?

If your diet isn't satisfying, start eating foods that you do find satisfying. From just a quick look at your diary, you have calories, carbs, and fat left over every day. You could have a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, or a cookie, or bread slathered with butter. Or bread slathered with peanut butter!

One food that satisfies me and puts hunger to bed is a snack of cereal, yogurt, and fruit. Some mornings I have a latte and a muffin for breakfast. It's delicious and makes me happy, and a happy me = a satisfied and unhungry me.

As long as you are in a calorie deficit, you will continue to lose weight.

I hope I'm making sense!

And best of luck to you!

Maries_wine_calories

I didn't realize until I started with mfp how much I needed to eat snacks between every meal- like all week, every day. Before I would aimlessly eat bad calories and/or cram in a whack of carbs before bed because I was "hungry". I took some advice and made sure I began pre-planning about 300 calories per day in snack food- it could be a handful of goldfish crackers or two golden oreo cookies or carrots and hummus or pickles/cheese on melba toast... endless things. You are just getting your system sorted out so still lots of signals to look for but some people just need to eat more often, others need their calories in the first half of the day etc. Best of luck!

allison1983weber

Actually, I really like the food. I think because I used to eat so bad, I just love eating clean. Also, my stomach feels WAY better eating this way. I will have 1 cheat meal a week for some much needed indulgence, but other than that I am satisfied with the food

SnuggleSmacks

You've only eaten around 800 cals today, according to your diary, and you have 1200 cals remaining to hit your goal for the day...and you say you're hungry, so maybe I'm just not grasping the question? You need to eat more, you're hungry, you have the cals available...I'm just not seeing the issue??

lemurcat12

Sometimes it takes a while to adjust. When I first started I was used to eating at certain times or under certain circumstances and would often feel hungry at those times even though I knew I probably wasn't really. If it's that kind of thing you get over it, but it can help to just eat a little something to deal with the desire to just munch, carrot sticks or celery or radishes always worked for me.

Another thing that might help is to keep track of when in the day you are feeling hungry, maybe what's going on or what you were doing/feeling too. If it turns out you are usually struggling with it mid afternoon or some such, maybe build in a snack.

You can also play around with volume by adding more veggies or experiment with your macros (add more fat or some such), but they look okay to me. Once you get a sense of when you are most likely to be hungry you can see if there are any patterns (more hungry when you eat X or less when you eat more Y).

diannethegeek

These are my really general tips for hunger:

1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

hill8570

allison1983weber wrote: »

I am confused about the 1900 calorie comment though. I have put all my info into MFP and that is the number they came out with. Originally I had activity at sedentary but changed to lightly active. So now it says 1600 or so. I am VERY low today because I just changed it and haven't eaten the calories

The MFP calculator is a wonderful example of the garbage in / garbage out law. It allows people to input ridiculously aggressive goals, and gives out ridiculous calorie deficits. Even allowing for the usual first-fortnight water weight losses, the fact that you're losing nearly a pound a day is a waving, glowing red flag that you're not eating enough. It's a calorie deficit, not a concentration camp.

kyta32

You are doing amazing for protein. That was one of my problems.

Weight loss for the first week/s is often more dramatic than what you get in the weeks that follow, due to water weight loss and your metabolism slowing down with weight loss.

I think your original target calories might have been too low. Some peope use this calculator:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
and adjust MFP goals to fit. Keep in mind the scoobysworkshop calculator already includes expected exercise (you can't earn exercise calories unless to exercise in addition to your planned exercise).

Hunger is often a problem for the first few days of a diet. When you figure out the right calorie target, and eat at it for a few days, your body will adjust so that you end up feeling more full at a deficit.

Try to get even a half-hour exercise in each day, to get more calories to eat. Exercise can help diminish appetite. At your current weight, you will burn a lot of calories with any aerobic activity. It shouldn't take long to earn a 100 calorie snack.

You aren't logging water. Thirst sometimes presents as hunger. Try to get a glass of water in with each meal and snack, and a glass of water for every workout, as a minimum.

You may want to try some more high-fiber foods like green leafy vegetables. Fiber can be filling.

Good luck