Recovery day hunger is killing me!

DaivaSimone

Hi gals!

I posted the same question on my profile, but I think that your answers may be more appropriate. So, here is my problem:

I ate my 450 cals lunch about 35 minutes ago and I definitely could eat another portion (like, another 450 cals plate!) right now. I know this is a side effect of weight lifting, but I'm so tired of feeling my stomach growling and hurting all the time.

Do you think I am eating enough?

I am currently eating 1825 cals a day, which is (more or less) the amount of cals MFP thinks a 240 pounds/5 f 4/lightly active girl should eat everyday if she wants to lose 1.5 pounds a week. I track my burned calories during my cardio and lifting sessions with an HRM, and I eat them back partially (I eat back about 200 cals on the 350 cals I burn everyday I'm working out).

I am lifting three times a week and burn about a 1000 cals in cardio during the two or three other day I exercise.

I'm comfortable with the MFP method (eat more the day I'm exercising) because it gives me room to have larger meal on the weekend, where I naturally tend to train more (hello, 75 km bike ride!).

I lose about 1.5 pounds a week.

And I am hungry ALL THE TIME!!!

I don't know if I want to switch to TDEE because it can add pressure on me about doing my workout or not. Also, the calculations are messed up and I never obtain the same result on any TDEE calculator.

I don't know what to do. I was used to eat my 1850ish cals everyday without complaining, but since I've started lifting, I am hungry, and it's hard.

Do you have any tips for me?

xcalygrl

What are your macro breakdowns?

(The following is from the EAt, Train, Progress group on here.)
Protein should be about 1 gram per pound of lean body mass (or 0.8 grams per pound of body weight), fats should be between 0.3-0.4 gram per pound of body weight, with the rest being carbs. The protein and fat goals are minimums (not maximums).

Would you be comfortable losing only 1 pound a week? If so, I would add 250 to your daily goal to eat everyday.

DaivaSimone

35/30/35 carbs-fat-protein which is about 160 g of carbs and protein for 61 g of fat.

I had the same suggestion about losing a pound a week instead of 1.5, but I still have a lot to lose (probably at least 60 to 70 pounds) and I don't know if I'll have the willpower to eat at a big deficit during more than a year. But that could be a way to slow the hunger.

xcalygrl

DaivaSimone wrote: »

35/30/35 carbs-fat-protein which is about 160 g of carbs and protein for 61 g of fat.

I had the same suggestion about losing a pound a week instead of 1.5, but I still have a lot to lose (probably at least 60 to 70 pounds) and I don't know if I'll have the willpower to eat at a big deficit during more than a year. But that could be a way to slow the hunger.

You may try increasing your protein by 5% and decreasing your carbs by 5%. Protein and fats help you feel fuller longer/faster. (You don't have to actually adjust them. You can just plan your meals with more protein and less carbs.)

You could set small goals, like 30 pounds, then take a break and do maintenance for a few weeks or months. That would break up the montony of eating a deficit for a year or more and wouldn't hinder your progress. (Yeah, you won't lose when you're eating at maintenance, but you can make recomp progress and strength gains during those times.)

Also on the food front:
-How much water are you drinking?
-Are you filling up on lots of veggies? (I find having a ton of veggies with my meals makes me feel like I'm eating more so I feel fuller. Plus, they are lower calorie than many other options.)

xcalygrl

So, I took a quick look at your diary. I would definitely up the protein you're getting and reduce your carbs just a bit on non-lifting days to allow for the increased protein. (You can reduce your carbs everyday if you want, but you might notice a bit of an energy-sluggishness the first week or two. But you definitely want to keep some carbs in there. I'm not saying go low carb or anything like that )

krokador

Okay, don't shoot the messenger. I have a tomato shield...

I have a similar problem with foods making me not feel like I am full.

Mostly, well... processed carbs.

Tortillas, pastas, chips, breads, rice... Whenever I eat those, they actually make me HUNGRIER.

I'm not gluten-intolerant or anything.

Carbs just make me crave more carbs.

On a somewhat related note, high sodium pre-packaged foods also have a similar effect.

I suspect you have a similar issue here. So while I'm not going to suggest you get rid of all that good stuff (it is yummy as hell and hey, YOLO right?), I'd say swapping some of that stuff with fresh fruit, oatmeal, spaghetti squash or the likes would get you a little closer to sanity.

I can't say the hunger ever fully goes away though. But after a while the cravings for junk do diminish and it gets more tolerable. When I figure out how not to wake up at 2AM starving I'll letcha know xD

Oh, and I was looking through your diary... where are you from? A lot of that stuff sounds so familiar to me! Haha. (Qc, Canada over here) ***edit: and I just actually looked at your profile. Wee, fellow Québecker!

DawnEmbers

My solution has been... distraction. I only struggle with eating too much on days I am at home and don't do much for a good part of the day. So, that's my days off from work, basically. Though I'm really working to get more protein but I struggle. If I get over 60 grams a day, I'm doing good but it's not enough. *sighs* Some nights when I work out I end up eating after midnight cause calories were too low for the day.

But back to what helps me. I'm easy to distract. ooo look what is online or oh yeah, I need to edit that chapter. Which I should be doing now (editing) but the oo online got me. lol When I'm at work, I try to keep busy so I don't even have time to snack, unless I'm stuck cashiering. I did have a thing of hi-chew yesterday while cashiering. mmm candy.

Then again, I also don't go by the "feeling of hunger" because it's not a good indicator for me. I can feel hungry and nauseated at the same time. It's kinda weird. And there is the whole question of getting enough water and such too.

So, I'm not of much help. I'm still working on getting those ratios better and less candy and such. Hope you find something that works for you.

TravelsWithHuckleberry

I would absolutely start eating more protein -- that has helped me immensely!

I'm like Krok -- carbs beget more carbs for me, so she has good advice there (as always).

Also, how long has this been going on? Sometimes there's just an adjustment period and the hungries lessen with time.

C.

LazyFoodie

I find that sometimes I get hungry at random times but if I just wait it out for a bit it goes away. So if you are properly fueling yourself and just dealing with a bit of hunger then try some distractions? Also I find that the more little snacks and meals I eat, the hungrier I get. If I don't eat at all, I am magically less hungry. So when I don't do early morning workouts I tend to not eat during the day and eat a lot at night, kind of like intermittent fasting but not so strict.

DaivaSimone

Yay, Québec alliance FTW!!

Thank you everyone for your answers. I've been lifting for about a month now.

I'm not sure if I can increase my protein goal for now because I (almost) never hit it anyway. I should probably work on eating as much protein as I should in first place (before increasing the macros target). But seriously, I don't know how! I'm already eating egg and egg whites, cheese, lean meat and seafood, whole grains bread and pasta, greek yogurt... I can't stomach shake or smoothie (anything too thick to drink is repulsive to me, it's my only food disdain), so I don't know what to eat to add more protein. Or when to it eat.

For the processed carbs. Well... I eat some of them for the sake of convenience (bread and tortilla, 'cause I eat breakfast at work and it has to be portable in some way), and some others 'cause I like snacking (chips, I love you so much!). So, I definetly can reduce the last one, but it's hard to cut bread and pastas. I can try to eat more low carb meal for a while, though. Like salad and things like that. I'm also trying to reduce sodium these days, I'm a little bit confused about everything I need to think about.

TravelsWithHuckleberry

I know lots of folks around here add protein powder to their recipes to help up their intake. It doesn't always have to be in the form of a shake if that doesn't work for you.

krokador

Another thing that nobody has hit up here so far is: you could trade in a few carbs for some healthy fats. Avocado, nuts, fish. Y'know the drill. You seem to be going over your fat "goal" on a regular basis, anyway, so maybe actually planning them out as such would give you a mental edge. You never know!

For the breads and pasta, what I end up doing for the most part is splitting the carb portion in half and adding more meat if possible. Yes, it looks really tacky to eat a half sandwich, but it works. you might also look into the flatout/fold-it breads, as they are higher protein and fiber. Metro/super C has them that I know of. And I'm the gal who will have half a cup of spaghetti, 3 servings of homemade meat sauce and a serving of shredded cheese (low fat most of the time) on top. It's still quick and convenient, has some texture, but also fills me up more.

Oh, and breakfast-wise, have you ever tried overnight oats? Heard those are pretty good (I microwave mine anyway cuz I like 'em warm, lol). It's a fairly portable breakfast. You could also make your own protein bars. And as crabada said, if you can't drink shakes there's always the option to cook the protein powder into things. Added to oatmeal, made into a "cake" with a banana and egg, protein bars made with peanut butter and oats, pancakes... So many yummy things!

arabianhorselover

Funny. I've never noticed increased hunger from lifting weights.

Llamapants86

If you can't do the thick shakes have you ever tried just adding some protein powder to a warm beverage, I will add vanilla powder to either coffee or chia tea. It makes it taste nice and milk-y and sweet. Words of caution a full scoop is too much sweet so I use have a scope for each mug full and make sure the tea/coffee isn't to hot or you denature the protein powder and it turns into a gritty mess of nasty-ness.

xcalygrl

Llamapants86 wrote: »

If you can't do the thick shakes have you ever tried just adding some protein powder to a warm beverage, I will add vanilla powder to either coffee or chia tea. It makes it taste nice and milk-y and sweet. Words of caution a full scoop is too much sweet so I use have a scope for each mug full and make sure the tea/coffee isn't to hot or you denature the protein powder and it turns into a gritty mess of nasty-ness.

This is a good idea. I used to do it with my coffee. A tip to avoid the gritty mess of nasty-ness: put the protein powder in your cup/mug, add a small bit of cold water to mix it up, then add the coffee/tea.

Sumiblue

I've been adding vanilla whey powder to plain yogurt in the evening. It helps satisfy my sweet tooth & hit my protein goal. It's yummy, too.

canadianlbs

Sumiblue wrote: »

I've been adding vanilla whey powder to plain yogurt in the evening. It helps satisfy my sweet tooth & hit my protein goal. It's yummy, too.

i do that, although 'yummy' isn't the word i'd go for. 'resigned' might be a little closer. a handful or so of frozen berries or other fruit goes a long way towards helping me deal with the stuff. and i freeze the yogurt in ice-cube trays too, since anything tastes better if you can disguise it as some kind of milkshake.

well, except maybe fish soup.

DaivaSimone

I can try those ideas for the protein powder, but I don't have sweet tooth. Like, not at all. So, eating normal yogurt feels already sweet, I'm not sure I won't find it overly sweet. I remember a friend of mine doing pudding with Jell-0 pudding and whey protein powder. Have you ever tried it?

Well, it would be sweet too, but I can make an exception with dark chocolate. And I can probably add some protein pancakes from time to time.

I'm not drinking hot tea or coffee often, though, but one thing I like is to make iced cappuccino with espresso, milk, ice cubes and whey. It's a recipe from NROLFW, and it's good! I should probably try to integrate it in my routine. I know I said I didn't like shake, but in slush form, it's ok. (Contradiction!)

Now for the fat... By how much can I increase my target? Can I decrease my macro at 30% carbs and up the fat at 35%? That would make sense?

DaivaSimone

krokador wrote: »

Yes, it looks really tacky to eat a half sandwich, but it works. you might also look into the flatout/fold-it breads, as they are higher protein and fiber. Metro/super C has them that I know of.

I'll check for those tomorrow! Thanks!

xcalygrl

Decreasing carbs to 30 and upping fats to 35 is a good place to start. Follow that for a bit and see how your hunger reacts.

VeryKatie

How about trying to mix some with coffee? Maybe the bitter would help to negate some of the sweet..
Or maybe you can see if there are plain types that you can cook into your rice and stuff.

krokador

Well, there is also such a thing as unflavored whey. That'll go pretty much anywhere without adding any sweetness. I *wish* I didn't have a sweet tooth -_-'. I can't stand plain yogurt, so I add flavored whey to it to make it taste better without the added carbs.

Also, as disgusting as it may sound (and it sure as hell looks it), chocolate-flavored whey in cottage cheese with fruits is a delicious thing, too. It's my go to pre-bed snack, and one of the only things I found so far that seems to keep me not starving through the night.

Vailara

DaivaSimone wrote: »

35/30/35 carbs-fat-protein which is about 160 g of carbs and protein for 61 g of fat.

I had the same suggestion about losing a pound a week instead of 1.5, but I still have a lot to lose (probably at least 60 to 70 pounds) and I don't know if I'll have the willpower to eat at a big deficit during more than a year. But that could be a way to slow the hunger.

I lost 60lb at a very small deficit (about 300 calories on average). It does take longer, but for me, it was SO much easier to stick to, and it was very steady (no stalls). When I used the MFP system I usually had it set at 1/2lb a week loss. I was lifting through most of that time, and I'd have really struggled to lift and lose 1 1/2lb a week, I think, even at my biggest.

It's also easier to get more protein in if you're physically eating more. You'll have a higher protein goal if you're going by percentages, but it should be easier to hit (and even if you don't hit it, you're probably eating more protein, if you're eating more overall).

I know we're all different - just saying what worked for me!