hungry!

agardengrrrl

Hello all,
I need advice on creating a deficit. Last fall/winter I lost about 35 pounds by eating a lot of veggies and protein and upping my exercise. After discovering EM2WL I started tracking and realized I was probably eating a bit on the low side 1500-1800 calories a day maybe. I thought it was affecting my energy levels and workouts. So I upped my calories and attempted a reset. Then I had a big cross country move and a lot of traveling for work, so I stopped tracking for a while. When I got back to the scale I had actually lost about 4-5 lbs during my break in tracking. But I think I also lost a little muscle (based on my measurements)...wasn't able to do my standard weight training for about 6-8 wks, so but I tried to keep up some activity - bodyweight exercises and walking/jogging a little.

Now I'm hoping to work on losing a bit more. Currently I weigh around 191 at 5'2". I would like to get down to around 160 and then reassess. I'm 41 years old. My normal activities weekly are 3 weight training sessions (Stronglifts 5x5) and then 2-3 days a week I either bike, do core/bodyweight training, or do walk/jog intervals. It kind of depends what I feel like and the weather, etc. Generally my workouts last around an hour...sometimes 90 minutes, sometimes 45.

So based on my experience earlier this year I estimated my TDEE around 2400-2500. It seemed like I was able to eat at that level for quite a while without gaining. So I figured that a reasonable cut would be around 2000. So I'm trying to eat between 1800-2200. But I'm finding myself super hungry at times. I'm kind of surprised because that doesn't seem like a big cut to me. I'm wondering if my appetite will tend to adjust after a few days or a couple weeks?

Any advice/tips would be appreciated.

heybales

It could also mean your deficit is bigger than you think, that you underestimated your TDEE.

At this point it should be of concern if normal hunger signs went away.

Normally a reasonable deficit is still enough to eat if timed well and macros are good for you - that you shouldn't really feel hungry.

agardengrrrl

Thanks Haybales! You maybe right. I didn't do a full test to see what my TDEE really is. I'm not sure how accurately I can do that since my activity varies a bit week to week and we go out to eat 1-2 times a week. While I was traveling I seem to have lost about 4-5lbs over about 2 months. Not happy about it though because if anything my waist measurement when up by about 1/2"-1" and my strength went down since I wasn't really strength training and was mainly doing cardio.

Last couple of days I ate around 2200 and I seem to be fine there, but hungry around 2000. Either I should do a full TDEE test or maybe I will just try eating at 2200 for a while and see what happens. I think 2100-2200 would be my TDEE at my goal weight, so getting used to eating that amount would be good. Maybe I'm not eating enough early in the day? I kind of like eating more later in the day, so I tend to eat a light lunch.

I'm trying for around 100-110 grams of protein a day and haven't been worrying about carb/fat balance. I do seem to eat more carbs than fats looking at my food diary. And that's even with trying to watch my servings of processed grains. My stomach tends to feel better if I don't eat a lot of grains. I do eat some avocado, butter, mayo, and even fried potatoes sometimes.

heybales

So it can indeed be more difficult to nail down TDEE if activity changes.

How much though?

Are we talking like an extra 300 cal burn workout difference between weeks?
So 300 calories in a total of around 16,000 calories weekly?
That would be 1.9% difference, or 43 extra calories average daily.

Ya - more inaccuracy in food labels than that amount - wouldn't worry about those differences.

Now - 4 hrs of intense cardio difference between weeks - ya, that's meaningful.

So strength training involved the upper body - did cardio?

So body doesn't keep what it doesn't need or not used, especially if you really have been in a deficit eating level.

I'd say the 2200 is good idea.

Meal timing is personal preference, no studies have shown a improvement to weight loss based on meal timing and frequency. If eating breakfast makes you start out hungry and leaves less for dinner, then not a good idea if not really needed for what you do until lunch.

So likely should be eating more carbs than fat, unless you have medical reason to keep carbs low.

harlequin0318

If your diary was open I could make a few suggestions, but feel free to look at mine. I like to eat a lot of food, as in volume of food. So I take in a lot of vegetables, like cabbage, cauliflower, green beans etc. For example, one of my meals (usually every day or every other day) I take in 450 grams of steamed cabbage with a pouch of salmon, or meat of choice. It takes me 45 minutes to eat the whole meal and it leaves me full for at least 4 hours. So if you're a volume eater like me - making some food swaps might seriously help you out. And I'm not saying to eliminate any foods, because why wouldn't you eat the things you love right

agardengrrrl

Thanks for the replies! True, maybe the variations in my food logging/exercise tracking aren't that much. I had been doing Stronglifts 5x5 and now I'm back to it.

Harlequin - True it is possible to fill up on lots of low calorie vegetables. I have done "raw foods" before, but I find that eating tons of low calorie foods to fill up just leads to a strong desire for hamburger and fries. I try to be balanced and include 1-2 portions of veggies at least at every meal. I want to feel satisfied so I'm not thinking about food all the time and having terrible cravings. Gotta keep the food/fitness aspect of my life workable. If I find that food/fitness thoughts start taking over that is when I know I won't be able to stay with it long term. Just tracking is a pretty big win for me. My normal work schedule is a lot of extra hours, working evenings/weekends so I don't always have time/willpower for going beyond the basics.