A little over a week in and I'm loosing motivation!

Craft_queen

So I started my diet last week and the first week was great. So great, I thought why don't I eat like this all the time because I enjoy the food and feel full.
However...
This week I am so hungry all the time and am lacking energy and craving every unhealthy food you can think of.

Any suggestions on how to avoid raiding the cupboards and stay motivated?

Thanks

Psychgrrl

Welcome to MFP, Lindi! It's a holiday week here in the US and if you're a Thanksgiving person, there's always lots of stress around the holidays (holidaze). You're going to have your ups and downs no matter what the time of year, you just have to hang in there.

To help with hunger, maybe try a little more protein, healthy fat and fiber (complex carbs). My macros are 35%c/35%p/30%f and that has worked well for me. It took a while to figure it out and I'm not perfect every day, but on a weekly average I'm pretty close.

Craft_queen

Thank you for the advice! At the moment my macro is 50, 20, 30 (not sure if that's a default setting?) so I could change things to suit me a bit more. Saying that though I love carbs!!! Maybe that's another thing I need to work on

Psychgrrl

Carbs aren't the enemy, though we can be out of balance with them in comparison to other nutrients (protein, healthy fat). And we can choose simple ones or the majority of calories instead of complex carbs. If you like rice, try quinoa, amaranth or millet. All nutritious powerhouses, though each is a bit different.

I think the 50,20 30 is the MFP default and yes, you can tinker with it. Or you could keep it the same and up the amount of complex carbs you're eating.

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cerise_noir

How many calories are you consuming?

Also, to lose weight, a deficit is needed... no need to cut out any foods. You can eat still the foods you enjoy and stay within your calorie intake, just make sure you weigh all your foods.

If you're feeling hungry all the time, consider altering your macros to include more protein and fats and slightly less carbs. Carbs aren't the enemy, but for me personally, I am hungrier if I eat more carbs, so I try to eat balanced macros.

ForeverSunshine09

The second week is always the hardest for me for some reason. Once I made it past that ravenous stage my body kind of just got used to eating less because it knew I was not going to give it anymore food.

JustMissTracy

There will always be tough days/weeks. Push through, DO NOT give up! If you're finding you are really hungry every day, you probably need to revisit your goals. Maybe consider decreasing the amount of loss you have it set at...also, I find eating more fat helps to feel fuller longer. Cheese is my go-to when I'm famished...Good luck, don't give up, push push push!!!! You can do it if you DONT GIVE UP!

mysteps2beauty

Welcome....yeah the first 2 weeks were pretty hard for me. Luckily someone who had lost a lot of weight recently told me she too had a rough first two weeks. I think the body is getting adjusted to the change in food amounts. I find that if I eat a lot of vegetables or other fiberous items (beans) that are not heavy in calories it fills me up for longer. Water too is important especially in between meals.

Sometimes we are shooting for a big goal like 2lbs loss per week, but that is not always possible for some of us. I had to up my calories so that I could eat more but still lose but at a slower rate. Good way to practice how I'm gonna eat for life.

The beauty of tracking your foods is you get knowledgeable on what works and what doesn't and when you know you have to put that item in your food diary you think about your choice of food a lot more. Can be fun but I guess not so much when you are hungry!

Hang in there...every day is different....

WendyLaubach

I'm in my third week, started at 245, down to 238, perhaps 120 or so to go, eating 1600-1800 calories a day. I'm faintly hungry all the time, but not in the unpleasant "I can't get the energy to do anything" way, just a mild constant appetite. I'm learning to ignore it, or rather accept it as a normal feeling instead of the constantly stuffed-full feeling I was used to before. For me, vegetables are the key, along with portion control and variety. By the time I finish eating a plateful of vegetables, I've had time to realize that's enough food, I don't need any more. I find it helpful to eat them first and the meat last. Also, I add psyllium fiber (the active ingredient in Metamucil) to whatever flavored drink I'm including each day, like V8, and that tends to fill the gut up. (Even V* alone isn't bad for filling you up.) One other thing that works is to be busy doing something, which distracts me from the idea of snacking. I just eat three meals a day, so if it's not one of those mealtimes, food simply isn't an option--I need to be doing something else, like gardening or walking or cleaning out a closet.

I read a book this week with the subtitle "Stop Trading What You Want Most for What You Want Now." When I think about eating more than is in my calorie budget, I consider what a buzz I'll get the next time I record a lower weight instead. That motivates me to do a minimum 45-minute cardio session every day, too. What I want most is to get my health back under control. What I want now--a piece of pie or something--is much less important. A year from now, I want to look back and say, "I lost the weight I intended to lose," not "I ate as much pie as I could get my hands on."