Hunger struggles today

SlimBride2Be

was doing so well.. Barely any hunger or cravings. Then over the weekend I had some raspberrys, some strawberries and a couple of chocs and all of a sudden my hunger is an uncontrollable rage. Dinner is going to be a struggle today with only about 300 cals left and I still feel empty inside after a reasonably lunch with fat and protein.
God why is it so hard sometimes?! I hate feeling empty. I think it's a post carb reaction. I hope so.

Dragonwolf

Have your calories been under in the days prior to today? What was your activity level like over the weekend? How long have you been eating this way?

I find that I'm not generally hungry on a highly active day (at least not in proportion to my activity level), and I'm hungrier the next day. My hunger also goes in cycles -- I'll be light on calories for a couple of days, then one day I'm hungry and feel like my stomach is practically a black hole. The result, though, is that my calories for the total week are right about where they should be on average. This kind of cyclical thing is normal, too, so if that's what's happening, don't worry about it too much. Just look at the averages over the weeks.

If you're hungry, then eat. Just make sure to eat good, on-plan foods -- lots of good fats and proteins. Make sure you're drinking enough water, too. That will help you feel more full and should curb the hunger signals, especially if you haven't been drinking enough water, prior.

SlimBride2Be

I've been over the past two days by a couple of hundred so I was counting on today being strict so as to get back on track. I can't afford to go off the rails at this stage.
This is my 7th week of this WOE and I was starting to get into my stride. Maybe it's just a blip. I'm prepared to suffer today in order to get back in the groove. I'll try to build up a couple of hundred exercise calories over the afternoon to boost dinner a bit.

SlimBride2Be

Water a good idea too. Off to sort that right away!!

Dragonwolf

SlimBride2Be wrote: »

I've been over the past two days by a couple of hundred so I was counting on today being strict so as to get back on track. I can't afford to go off the rails at this stage.
This is my 7th week of this WOE and I was starting to get into my stride. Maybe it's just a blip. I'm prepared to suffer today in order to get back in the groove. I'll try to build up a couple of hundred exercise calories over the afternoon to boost dinner a bit.

What has been your average deficit over the previous weeks? If you were restricting calories during the initial phases, or if you just weren't hungry, and therefore not eating enough, this may also be your body swinging the other direction for a short while in order to stabilize.

Just keep your eating on-plan and it will stabilize, but it may take a couple of weeks. Your body has been firing up the old fat-burning equipment, which requires energy, but the body doesn't work on a day-by-day or even week-by-week pattern, necessarily. Sometimes, it needs to store up a little of that energy before it gets everything on line 100% and can release it all again.

See also:
http://myzerocarblife.jamesdhogan.com/wp/2015/03/when-lowering-carbs-causes-weight-gain/
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10067269/your-scale-is-a-lying-liarpants

SlimBride2Be

Thanks a lot for the support. Sometimes it is just hard. I am eating 1200 a day plus 60-100% of my exercise cals which are generally 400-500 a day so usually about 1600 cals a day in total.

Have been losing very well up to now and haven't weighed for a week so assume all is going well with the losing.

I'm not worried about the scale at all - my only concern is my own consistency and not going off the rails as I need this to be a plan for the long term and work for me for the rest of my life. The scales are a tiny factor in the face of those goals.

glossbones

The best part of this plan is not having to be hungry. As long as your hunger cues typically work as they're supposed to, and there's no other factor (dehydration, emotional urges, etc), my advice is to eat. Eat to satiety on-plan, and it's better than the binge you may think you want if you try to ignore your hunger.