Always hungry

JuneyNoony
JuneyNoony Posts: 7 Member
edited November 14 in Food and Nutrition
If I stay within my prescribed calories, I am often quite hungry. Particularly on a day that I exercise hard, I usually go way over my calories. I know part of this is that I need to let myself be a little hungry sometimes and get used the lower amount of calories, and that I could react to hunger with lower calorie snack. When do you decide to ignore your body and push through the hunger, and when do you listen and just eat?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I am not often hungry, other than normal, "oh it's supper time" hunger. Whenever this type of post comes up, I have to ask--what is your daily calorie goal? Do you eat back your calories? How many pounds did you tell MFP that you want to lose?

    When you are cutting calories to lose weight, you may feel hungry because you are eating less. But, IMO, you shouldn't feel hungry all of the time. (I'm sure that somebody will now come and argue that point.) You should be eating enough to fuel your activity, albeit with a moderate calorie deficit.
  • mzjenn2u
    mzjenn2u Posts: 78 Member
    If your hungry....eat...make healthy choices......if youre working out really hard youre burning a lot of calories and your body is hungry....fuel it
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
    Could it be a matter of what you are eating rather than how much you are eating? I can't see your diary, so can't make suggestions, but really there's no point in being ravenous since it could just lead you to give up. Swapping out refined carbs and candy for protein, fat and fiber would make you feel fuller, but I don't know what you're eating now..
  • Chezzie84
    Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
    How many calories have you set yourself?
    What is your gender and height?
    Are you sure you are not eating too little to begin with?
    How much do you drink, thirst can disguise itself as hunger.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    JuneyNoony wrote: »
    If I stay within my prescribed calories, I am often quite hungry. Particularly on a day that I exercise hard, I usually go way over my calories. I know part of this is that I need to let myself be a little hungry sometimes and get used the lower amount of calories, and that I could react to hunger with lower calorie snack. When do you decide to ignore your body and push through the hunger, and when do you listen and just eat?

    if you're using MFP calculations you should be eating back exercise cals?

    is your deficit too large? are you getting enough fat and protein?
  • curt40
    curt40 Posts: 137 Member
    Veggies and some sort of fat, like olive oil fill you up. Thats what I have been doing and its working great!
  • curt40
    curt40 Posts: 137 Member
    And protein of course!
  • WeddedBliss1992
    WeddedBliss1992 Posts: 414 Member
    one of the meds i take causes a HUGE increase in appetite. i started taking an appetite suppressant and that has helped alot.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    I'm always hungry.

    I'm used to this!
  • gramarye
    gramarye Posts: 586 Member
    How long have you been doing this? In addition to the other questions -- how much you're eating, what types of foods you're eating -- the adjustment can also be brutal. When I first started I just logged without actively cutting my calories, and discovered that I easily ate/drank 3000 to 4000 calories in a day with stunning regularity. Even cutting back to 2100 calories was really hard at first, even with filling foods that balanced protein/fat well.

    That said, if you're really, really hungry, it may be best to examine how much/what you're eating first.
  • juleszephyr
    juleszephyr Posts: 442 Member
    As Homer would say "From this day forward I will always be hungry again..." I love this quote...
    I could always eat and often feel 'hungry' I won't die and I know I am eating healthily and that another meal will be coming soon. It isn't the end of the world, I have a drink or a small low cal snack and do something to take my mind off it...
  • cosmichvoyager
    cosmichvoyager Posts: 237 Member
    slow-burning carbs and fiber helps to keep you full if you are working out. Stuff like wheat berries, brown rice, soba noodles. A serving of a slow-burning carb, a lean protein some fat and a big pile of vegetables all eaten together will help.

    My dietician told me to eat complex carbs, protein and vegetables all together so I do that and usually add fat in the form of olive oil or avocado.

    If you are doing strength training or working out a lot (like training for a marathon or something)--you might just need to eat more than MFP tells you to and work towards body recomposition instead of the #'s on the scale going down quickly. Find what you can live with and do that. I personally cannot live with being hungry more than occasionally
  • SonofNorthernDarkness
    SonofNorthernDarkness Posts: 64 Member
    I push through the hunger, but I fast for 16 hours a day
  • agbmom556
    agbmom556 Posts: 694 Member
    when I started MFP I was always hungry.........I actually dreamed about food. :smile:
    After 3 weeks the hunger went away and now I am content with what I eat.

    Look up information on "volume eating" . You get great ideas on how to bulk up your meals with veggies.
  • missylou9
    missylou9 Posts: 3
    I paid attention to when I was hungriest and made adjustments in my calorie points for that time. For example, after work on my way home to go pick my son up I am STARVING so I make sure I have an apple and some protein like a Made Good bar or trail mix. I always try and use a fruit or vegetable with a protein like peanut butter or humus
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
    gramarye wrote: »
    How long have you been doing this? In addition to the other questions -- how much you're eating, what types of foods you're eating -- the adjustment can also be brutal. When I first started I just logged without actively cutting my calories, and discovered that I easily ate/drank 3000 to 4000 calories in a day with stunning regularity. Even cutting back to 2100 calories was really hard at first, even with filling foods that balanced protein/fat well.

    That said, if you're really, really hungry, it may be best to examine how much/what you're eating first.

    You beat me to it. The first week or so is hard but eventually you get used to it.
  • JuneyNoony
    JuneyNoony Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks all for the analysis and suggestions!

    I am 5'9 150 lbs. MFP tells me my goal is 1,560/day with no exercise to lose 1lb a week. Regardless of exercise, I'm pretty hungry if I eat less than 2,000 cal in a day. And I can easily eat 2,500-3,000 without feeling too full. 4pm-bedtime is the trouble time for me. After holding out all day and evening I tend to lose my resolve and eat everything I can see right before bed.

    I did this once before with Calorie Count and successfully lost 10 pounds and felt great. They are back now. This is just the end of my first week with MFP, so I expect I will adjust to the lower calories with some time.

    I just want to make sure I'm not inappropriately under-nourishing myself as my end goal is really more to be strong, fit and healthy, not to kill myself reaching a specific number on the scale.
  • Mistizoom
    Mistizoom Posts: 578 Member
    I eat low carb, high fat, so I rarely get hungry even when I'm eating 1400 cal/day for weight loss. High fat is very satiating.
  • Chezzie84
    Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
    I am 5foot 5inches, female 30 205lb and myfitnesspal recommends I eat 1560 calories for a 1lb loss with no exercise. Something is not right, are you sure you entered the correct information?
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    If you're hungry on 2000 calories a day, you need to choose different foods! Pick items that are more filling but less calories. For 110 calories, you can eat 125g of 2% cottage cheese OR 340g of strawberries, OR 6.5 tortilla chips. Either of the first two choices will fill you up better than the third! Take a look at your diary, hunt out the higher calorie items and replace them with better 'bang for your buck' foods.
  • kpw818
    kpw818 Posts: 113 Member
    I have similar issues. It could be that your activity level when you set your goals are off. Honestly, I went with a manual formula, and a couple of other calculators, and they all put me at about 200 calories more than what MFP set for maintenance. I averaged them all, set my goals custom (macros too) and have stopped entering my workouts to see how things fair. If I'm packing pounds after a couple weeks, I will adjust, but I'm really just trying to track nutrients and maintain my weight while I'm active.

    When you say exercise hard, what are you doing? I find that weight lifting makes me more hungry than running (unless it is the day after a long run). How much are you eating over what is prescribed?
  • leaso75581
    leaso75581 Posts: 103
    I can relate...s/t I get what I call an "Insationable hunger" in which NOTHING satisfies me...It seems like if I eat, the more hungrier I get...This happens most often during "that Time Of The Month". But I don't want to give into it...I'm learning to tell the difference between ACTUAL hunger and CRAVINGS... Ask yourself does it makes sense for you to be hungry right now? Learn to listen to your body and read your bodies cues.
  • leaso75581
    leaso75581 Posts: 103
    :D
    juleszephyr wrote: »
    As Homer would say "From this day forward I will always be hungry again..." I love this quote...
    I could always eat and often feel 'hungry' I won't die and I know I am eating healthily and that another meal will be coming soon. It isn't the end of the world, I have a drink or a small low cal snack and do something to take my mind off it...

    Good Quote!! Great suggestion!
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