Starving all the time!! Anyone else?

bdt0831

I am on a 1600 calorie a day plan. I eat high protein (100-130 grams a day depending on workout) lots of veggies. An apple a day. 1/2 cup blueberries (frozen) a day. Eggs. Fish and chicken. I workout 5-6 days a week HARD. Minimum 90 min a day. Weights more than anything. I am STARVING ALL THE TIME!! I eat breakfast. Small snack. Lunch. Small snack dinner. No dessert allowed. I drink 100 oz of water a day. Green tea. What the hell? Anyone else's appetite go through the roof when hitting it hard and what do you do? I drink coffee in the afternoon now to try and squash my appetite a bit. Downside to exercising is MASSIVE APPETITE!!! I wake up at 4 am with a growling belly! WTF!!!!

3dogsrunning

What is your fat intake like? Protein helps keep you full but fat also helps with satiety.

How long have you been at it? How much are you losing?

Is 1600 calories total? You may also need to up your calories a bit.

cwolfman13

If you're hitting it hard, you might need to eat more....the more active you are, the more your body needs, even to lose weight.

callsitlikeiseeit

are you eating back some of your exercise calories?

bdt0831

I was told by several of my friends who are competitive builders and personal trainers that if I am trying to drop weight , which I am, to not eat more than half of them back 3-4 days a week. They said unless you are wearing a heart rate monitor and KNOW what you are burning it's hard to gauge exactly what you should be eating back and that's how people DONT lose weight. They guess and hope it's close. I wear a chest strap monitor during all sessions so I know what I am burning. I am eating a solid 1600 calories every day. And maybe 300-400 workout calories a few days a week. Been at it HARD Since last month. I want to drop 10 lbs by March 23. I am 135. 5'5" tall and 43 yrs old. I have that lower body fat most women have. I am lifting heavier every week so i know my strength is improving. Oh I eat pretty lean in the fat department. Not much. I do eat 1 oz raw mixed nuts every day. 2-3 eggs a day. Chicken 3-4 days a week. Fish 2-3 days a week. Olive oil butter spread on Ezekiel bread. Not a lot of fat at all. And low carb. I am seeing results in my shape but nothing worth writing home about on the scale. But we know that really doesn't matter if you are seeing changes for the Better in body shape.

cwolfman13

bdt0831 wrote: »

I was told by several of my friends who are competitive builders and personal trainers that if I am trying to drop weight , which I am, to not eat more than half of them back 3-4 days a week. They said unless you are wearing a heart rate monitor and KNOW what you are burning it's hard to gauge exactly what you should be eating back and that's how people DONT lose weight. They guess and hope it's close. I wear a chest strap monitor during all sessions so I know what I am burning. I am eating a solid 1600 calories every day. And maybe 300-400 workout calories a few days a week. Been at it HARD Since last month. I want to drop 10 lbs by March 23. I am 135. 5'5" tall and 43 yrs old. I have that lower body fat most women have. I am lifting heavier every week so i know my strength is improving. Oh I eat pretty lean in the fat department. Not much. I do eat 1 oz raw mixed nuts every day. 2-3 eggs a day. Chicken 3-4 days a week. Fish 2-3 days a week. Olive oil butter spread on Ezekiel bread. Not a lot of fat at all. And low carb. I am seeing results in my shape but nothing worth writing home about on the scale. But we know that really doesn't matter if you are seeing changes for the Better in body shape.

Your friends probably have never used MFP and don't understand how the tool works. In most cases, it would be correct not to eat back exercise calories...but if you're getting your target from MFP then it does not include any exercise activity, only your day to day hum drum...needless to say, your exercise activity would thus be unaccounted for activity.

If you're getting your calorie targets from elsewhere you're just going to have to do what you feel is best depending on what's going on in RE to your goals. If you're losing weight faster than you need to or would like to, you can up the calories.

Unfortunately, part of cutting is being hungry sometimes too.

You did mention not much fat though...fat is satiating...personally I'd add more fat in the way of things like avocados, almonds, etc.

joannewryan

Starving all the time is trouble for you because you're always tempted to eat. I've hit on a couple of things that are working for me keeping the hunger pangs at bay and my calorie count low (below or at 1200) so I've lost 4 lbs in the last 2 weeks. Not to say they'll work for you b/c I'm a lot heavier than you are, but here's what I'm doing. I used to do eggs in the morning, but now I've found Steel cut oats for breakfast hold me until almost 2 pm with out being hungry. One serving is large and only 150 calories. I eat about a 300-400 calorie lunch (usually the leftovers from dinner the previous night) then I've incorporated a lot more beans (legumes) into my diet for dinner. They are dense in bulk and very low in calories, not to mention inexpensive. I'm not worrying about fats anymore so i eat cheese etc if I want to. All the obsession with low fat doesn't seem to do any good and as "3 dogs running" stated, it helps keep you satiated. You also might not lose 10 more pounds if you're lifting pretty heavy, as you're building muscle which weighs more than fat.

bdt0831

I do eat oats for breakfast about 3 days a week. I add in blueberries and about 1/2 ounce of chopped walnuts. I eat it an hour before a workout and I have all the energy in the world during that time frame. But I am STARVING about 30 min after my workout but I make sure to get in my cellucor protein. (25 grams) I do eat avocados. Beans. Nuts. I do add in exercise on my fitness pal diary every day. But I don't always eat them back. And yes fat weighs more than muscle but trust me my body is holding onto these last 10 lbs of fat like a hoarder!!!! I might try upping my calories a bit to 1900 for a week and see what happens. I have lost 5 lbs since December 28 th. And kept them off. But now at a plateau. I know I am adding muscle because I can see IT. cardio just does NOTHING for my body as far as fat loss. If I want to lose fat I have to lift weights. Blah. I just need to eat more huh? Lol GROSS. I feel like a pig at 1600 calories a day. Lol thanks everyone for advice and tips. More food it is. For a little while at least. Lol

bdt0831

I mean muscle weighs more than fat. My brain.

kshama2001

What percentage of carbs : fat : protein are you targeting and roughly actually eating?

Azercord

I had the same issue and then I picked up intermittent fasting. It pushes all my calories into two meals so instead of being hungry all day I have 2-3 hours of hunger in the morning until I break my fast. I break at noon with lunch (1000-1100 calories), mid day snack, and dinner (1000-1100 calories). My target is around 2300 calories so there would be adjustments but I'm full from lunch through dinner. Made all the difference in the world for me, so much happier.

ASKyle

3dogsrunning wrote: »

What is your fat intake like? Protein helps keep you full but fat also helps with satiety.

How long have you been at it? How much are you losing?

Is 1600 calories total? You may also need to up your calories a bit.

I have to second the fat. Fat keeps me even fuller than protein does. Try upping your fat for a week or two and see how you feel- it's worth a shot!

Wouldn't be hard- Trade in your oats for an over easy egg(s) in some butter or topped with avocado on toast. Add in some salmon or steak. Eat some cheese!

ETA: Use actual cream in your coffee instead of half and half or skim!

callsitlikeiseeit

bdt0831 wrote: »

I mean muscle weighs more than fat. My brain.

no, it doesn't.

a pound is a pound, no matter it muscle, fat, bricks, or q tips.

the MASS of muscle is denser than fat, so a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat.

but they weigh EXACTLY the same.

bdt0831

I kicked the creamer habit in my coffee. I was drinking 150 calories a DAY in coffee creamer. And I am lactose intolerant so half and half is out. I was using a non dairy sugar free vanilla creamer. BUT I found a almond coffee creamer that is all natural. No dairy. No GMO no sugar. No additives. It's more $$$ but it's got NOTHING bad in it whatsoever and only 15 calories a tablespoon. They have hazelnut and almond flavor. Going to add that back in. Had 12 oz of salmon tonight. And topped it off with Arctic zero ice cream topped with 1/2 oz raw pecans and 1 tsp natural peanut butter. God I feel like a pig!!!! Lol

kbmnurse

try eating 5-6 smaller meals daily. I do this and rarely find myself starving.

angelamichelle_xo

water in between, always water.

areana350

Hi there. I want to echo everyone's "fat increase" suggestion. My macros are 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs, but I only eat around 1200-1400 calories a day. I find that I'm never hungry and cravings are a bit rare. Look into keto, it's fat-burning and muscle-sparing

20yearsyounger

a growling stomach at 4 am in the morning for me means that I didnt refeed myself enough. I dont need to eat it all back but if that happens, then My body is short some calories.

bdt0831

. I eat 5-6 small meals a day. I drink 100 ounces of water a day PLUS hot green tea. I am sure I have just jacked my metabolism up which is good. I am just not eating enough and I think I need to get more fat. Going to increase my calories and healthy fats. Try it for 2 weeks and see what happens.

arditarose

I'm 5'4" and at 135 I have to eat 1500-1600 to lose. Total. I do no cardio. I am very uncomfortable...starving ALL THE TIME? No. But extremely uncomfortable, yes. I mean, we are lifting heavy *kitten* weight still. I find keeping a weight lifting program up with a lot of volume does not work for me on a cut. What is your program like?

asimms221

If your stomach is growling you should prob eat something, it's not growling for its own amusement.