Days vary...

sonemoso

So I sometimes have one of my usual meals an for the last few days they have left me hungrier than usual.
Other days, usually following the hungrier days, I feel very full. I have that once every few months and it's not related to my time of the month.
Something hormonal? Seasonal? Right now spring is a hungry week for me

Francl27

That's pretty much why I don't think I'll ever eat 'at maintenance', because for every 3 weeks where I stay under my calories, there are 2 when I'm starving and going 2000 calories over maintenance.

betuel75

Francl27 wrote: »

That's pretty much why I don't think I'll ever eat 'at maintenance', because for every 3 weeks where I stay under my calories, there are 2 when I'm starving and going 2000 calories over maintenance.

Yup, this is how i do it too and it works fine for me...

klkateri

A friend of mine is a trainer and he encourages this... kinda. What he says is that when you eat a certain way your body gets used to it (Clean, 80/20, CICO, diet food, fast food, etc.) but if you mix it up say once every couple weeks (Say 80/20 at 15% under calories and then go crazy and eat pizza and chips for a weekend and go over by 15%) it makes your body go "WOWA!!! There are all these extra calories coming in and we have to use them up!!". So somehow the shock to the body gives it a rev-up the metabolism and you can give your weight loss a small boast.

I've seen this myself actually. I'll be really good, eating at or below my calories, sticking to a 80/20 kind of plan and then one day or a weekend I'll just waaaay over do it and then I get on the scale to see a drop.

I'm not totally sure of the science behind it or what it's call, but it seems like everyone here, lol all three of us so far, seem to have experienced this too!!

sonemoso

Great that I'm not the only one. I always tried to hit my goal, even on not hungry days but I had my hungry days anyway so I went over then... I think it's natural

kdiamond

I have hungrier days for sure...depends on my exercise that day, what time the month it is for me, etc., etc.. So I would say go by a weekly average of calories instead of daily, and compensate for hunger as necessary.

sonemoso

For sure

sonemoso

Sorry for the double post, my phone can't candle MFP... I wanted to write that I'm no longer ravenous but having growing pains even though I've had my period for 4+ yrs. Growing again? *sighs*

maxit

This is why I do "maintenance" with a calorie range - it tends to even out over a week but even if it doesn't, it evened out over the last month and I have stayed put weight-wise.