Hunger Question

RedRaven49

I'm just wondering if the fact that I'm hungry is my body's way of saying it wants more calories to function? Because some days I never get hungry although I eat very little, and some days I'm hungry despite eating a lot and it seems to depend on how active I am in the day but I'm not certain. So does being hungry mean "more calories please"?

PeachyCarol

RedRaven49 wrote: »

I'm just wondering if the fact that I'm hungry is my body's way of saying it wants more calories to function? Because some days I never get hungry although I eat very little, and some days I'm hungry despite eating a lot and it seems to depend on how active I am in the day but I'm not certain. So does being hungry mean "more calories please"?

Not necessarily. Hunger is a complicated thing which can be easily influenced by a lot of factors. It's not some finely tuned imperative.

Gauge your performance and energy levels to know if you're eating enough. If you are taking in enough calories, it might be best to learn to deal with hunger. Sometimes, it might help to tweak your macros a bit to increase satiety.

ElizabethKalmbach

It depends on the person and how well attuned they are to their body signaling. Some people manage to maintain fit bodies with a stable balance of fat to lean mass without logging calories. Some of us need to log in order to fuel our machine more accurately, because we have morning sickness, or insulin resistance, or chemo, or some other appetite problem. Or we eat when we're thirsty, or any number of other issues that make people over or underweight every day, all over the world. I try to listen to my body, and let my calories more or less even themselves out over a week to hit my calorie goals, but I still log to try and stay close, and I still maintain "calorie goals" so that I will lose weight at the speed I more or less want.

AJ_G

Hunger is not a reliable indicator of caloric need. You can eat 1000 calories of protein and not be hungry all day, or eat carbohydrates all day and still be hungry

diannethegeek

Hunger signals are notoriously unreliable. The hormones that control them get knocked out of whack by too many things, including habit, prolonged undereating or overeating, exercise, stress, etc.

These are my really general tips for hunger. Maybe you'll find something useful here:

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.

PeachyCarol

ElizabethKalmbach wrote: »

It depends on the person and how well attuned they are to their body signaling. Some people manage to maintain fit bodies with a stable balance of fat to lean mass without logging calories. Some of us need to log in order to fuel our machine more accurately, because we have morning sickness, or insulin resistance, or chemo, or some other appetite problem. Or we eat when we're thirsty, or any number of other issues that make people over or underweight every day, all over the world. I try to listen to my body, and let my calories more or less even themselves out over a week to hit my calorie goals, but I still log to try and stay close, and I still maintain "calorie goals" so that I will lose weight at the speed I more or less want.

^This. I know, for example, that I have borked hunger signals. They are messed up both ways. They sometimes don't tell me I'm hungry when I need to eat, and they'll tell me I'm hungry when I don't need to.

For me, knowing on paper (well, on computer), my body's energy needs, has been really helpful in navigating the battle of what my body wants/doesn't want vs. what my body truly needs/doesn't need.

kshama2001

Seconds what @diannethegeek said. For me, increasing protein, fat, and fiber (and decreasing simple carbs) was key.