Hungry All the Time!

tomorrowperfume

I started lifting weights with a personal trainer about a month ago. I've noticed a lot of positive changes to my health, strength, and endurance (yay for taking the stairs two at a time again!) but I've also noticed a negative - I am hungry ALL THE TIME. I used to naturally eat 1400-1600 calories a day, but my body is starting to crave 2000+. I'm only 137 lbs! I can't eat that much!

What am I supposed to do when my choices are between eating five meals a day and being hangry? My friends, family, and coworkers can tell when I don't eat

queenliz99

Maybe you need to eat a little more, no sense in being hungry all the time.

SezxyStef

I eat that much and I am a lifter...I do weight more but eh.

perhaps it is what you are and aren't eating.

What are your protein and fat macros set at?

kommodevaran

If you are hungry and don't gain weight (or your goal IS to gain weight), you can eat that much. Maybe I just don't understand the problem?

Francl27

Less refined carbs, more protein, fat, and fiber.

Also my TDEE is 2200+ at 136 pounds so I'm not sure that 2000 calories is necessarily too much.

tomorrowperfume

My nutrition goals are currently set at:

1200 calories
carbs - 150g
fat - 40g
protein - 60g

My goal isn't to lose or gain weight; it's to maintain weight and build muscle. I guess I'm just unsure on exactly how much I should be eating, and what, exactly, to eat. I'm a terrible cook, so eating out (expensive) and processed foods (unhealthy) are the best tasting things I eat all day.

I have toyed with the idea of supplementing my morning smoothies with whey protein, but I'm already easily hitting my daily protein goal. I've heard that overeating protein can lead to kidney damage and dehydration.

queenliz99

1200 is not a maintaining amount.

TavistockToad

Eat more calories. I doubt you need so few to lose weight. Definitely increase fat and protein.

ETA if you don't want to lose weight why are you only eating 1200 cals?????

vespiquenn

tomorrowperfume wrote: »

My nutrition goals are currently set at:

1200 calories
carbs - 150g
fat - 40g
protein - 60g

My goal isn't to lose or gain weight; it's to maintain weight and build muscle. I guess I'm just unsure on exactly how much I should be eating, and what, exactly, to eat. I'm a terrible cook, so eating out (expensive) and processed foods (unhealthy) are the best tasting things I eat all day.

I have toyed with the idea of supplementing my morning smoothies with whey protein, but I'm already easily hitting my daily protein goal. I've heard that overeating protein can lead to kidney damage and dehydration.

Then you are eating way too little. You will not build muscle on a deficit. It requires a calorie surplus. Protein is essential in building muscle, and your body discards any extra. So unless you have a medical condition, it will not harm you. Protein should be about .85g-1g per pound of lean body mass to build muscle. Not knowing that, I cannot tell you what your protein levels should be at.

cee134

tomorrowperfume wrote: »

I've heard that overeating protein can lead to kidney damage and dehydration.

Only by constantly going over 30% protein from total calories which for 1200 kcal is 90g (math may be wrong).

Yes, you are probably eating alot of processed refined carbs and sugars. That will make you feel hungry. Also, you may need to up your total kcal because I think it's hard to build muscle without gaining some weight (when done in a healthy way).

Just guessing, but it sounds like your under eating for what you do in a week.

Bxqtie116

You definitely need to increase your calories and your protein. For lifting weights, you should consume more protein for muscle build and repair. Adjust your macros to 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat. You can add simple snacks to help increase your calories such as Greek yogurt, nuts, peanut butter, and add some whey protein to your shakes every morning.

tomorrowperfume

All right, I'm bumping it up.

1500 cal a day
169 g carbs
58 g fat
75 g protein

I was having a lot of trouble consistently eating 1200 calories, even net of exercise per my Fitbit heart rate tracker (which seems a bit generous.) I would turn into a hungry shark that attacked anything that approached me. My home life has... suffered.

Thanks guys.

SezxyStef

eat more food.

as a lifter your protein should be calculated at 0.8 grams per each lb you weight and fats should be 0.35 grams per lb of body weight.

protein is fine as long as you don't have a pre-existing condition.

1200 is too little for a lifter...I can maintain on 2x that...and that was when I weighed 143.

Trish1c

tomorrowperfume wrote: »

What am I supposed to do when my choices are between eating five meals a day and being hangry?

Grazing throughout the day as long as it's on healthier stuff is actually better for you. Stick to your meals if you like but have a mid-morning & mid-afternoon snack of some cheese, some fruit, a yogurt, some fresh veggies etc. It really helps reduce the hungry all the time feeling.

Rachel0778

Even at 1500 you are eating at a fairly high caloric deficit for your height, weight, and age. Your body is trying to tell you that which is why it's sending you hunger signals. I recommend calculating your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure-calculators can be found through a quick google search). That way you have an idea of what your body needs to maintain.

kommodevaran

I didn't understand this

my choices are between eating five meals a day and being hangry

Why is that? Why can't you eat five meals a day? Why would you have to eat five meals a day - you could eat more at the meals you're already eating, or have snacks? If you are hungry, it means that you need more food and can eat more food.

meshashesha2012

Hunger isn't necessarily a good measure of how much you should or shouldn't be eating because it's controlled by hormones that can easily be affected by other things that have nothing to do with how much we put in our cake holes.

maybe you need to adjust what you are eating. also you havent really told us what your goals are? weight loss? boy recomp?

tomorrowperfume

Sorry for the lack of information.

I'm 30 years old, 137.1 pounds heavy, 5'4.5" tall, with a body fat of 24.1% as of 8/4/16 according to my fancy bioelectric impedance reader/scale. In order to get the most accurate reading on that, I weigh myself about once a week in the morning, always at least 24 hours after a workout and at least 12 hours after I've had anything to drink.

The internet (at www.mytdee.com) thinks my TDEE is 1666.

I wasn't familiar with the term body recomposition until you used it, but yeah, that's what I want. I want to stay at roughly the same weight, but I'd like for my fat to go away and to be replaced by muscle. Or really, I just want to be a very strong version of myself. The only reason I'm worried about eating too much is that I don't want to become a stronger, fatter version of myself.

I am not used to my increased hunger, so I tend to fix myself meals at what I think a correct portion is. After I finish, I realize that I'm still hungry, so I'll eat a little more. And then an hour and a half later, I'm hungry again. I do try to snack throughout the day on semi-healthy stuff (usually fruit, coffee, or oatmeal, which is easy and handy), but you're right - a handful of some protein-rich snack like unsalted nuts, cheese, or yogurt would probably be much more satisfying.

SezxyStef

tomorrowperfume wrote: »

Sorry for the lack of information.

I'm 30 years old, 137.1 pounds heavy, 5'4.5" tall, with a body fat of 24.1% as of 8/4/16 according to my fancy bioelectric impedance reader/scale. In order to get the most accurate reading on that, I weigh myself about once a week in the morning, always at least 24 hours after a workout and at least 12 hours after I've had anything to drink.

The internet (at www.mytdee.com) thinks my TDEE is 1666.

I wasn't familiar with the term body recomposition until you used it, but yeah, that's what I want. I want to stay at roughly the same weight, but I'd like for my fat to go away and to be replaced by muscle. Or really, I just want to be a very strong version of myself. The only reason I'm worried about eating too much is that I don't want to become a stronger, fatter version of myself.

I am not used to my increased hunger, so I tend to fix myself meals at what I think a correct portion is. After I finish, I realize that I'm still hungry, so I'll eat a little more. And then an hour and a half later, I'm hungry again. I do try to snack throughout the day on semi-healthy stuff (usually fruit, coffee, or oatmeal, which is easy and handy), but you're right - a handful of some protein-rich snack like unsalted nuts, cheese, or yogurt would probably be much more satisfying.

I doubt your tdee is 1666....sounds like your neat number (non exercise included living number bmr+regular day movement)
https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=30&lbs=137&in=64&act=1.55&f=1 calculated it at 2k with 3-5 hours of light exercise.

it's the amount of food you are eating as well that is causing the hunger...based on a TDEE of 2k you are at a 800 a day deficit...wowsers and for someone who doesn't want to lose that's huge.

queenliz99

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Maxematics

Yeah, if you want to maintain your weight and/or build muscle, eating 1200 or 1500 calories isn't going to make that happen. I'm 5'3.5" and 108 pounds and I'm maintaining at 2000+ calories. You're hungry all the time because you need to eat more food.

kshama2001

I agree that you need to start by eating more. What you eat is also important for satiety.

Understanding satiety: feeling full after a meal

...Tips on how to feel fuller

So how can we best try to enhance these feelings of fullness to help us control how much we eat? Here are some top tips for helping you feel fuller:

1. Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so including some protein at every meal should help keep you satisfied. Foods high in protein include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans and pulses.
2. If you are watching your weight, opt for lower fat versions, using leaner cuts of meat, cutting off visible fat and avoiding the skin on poultry as this will help reduce the energy density of the diet, which can help to enhance satiety (see below).
3. Foods that are high in fibre may also enhance feelings of fullness so try to include plenty of high-fibre foods in the diet such as wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables.
4. Alcohol seems to stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more. Alcoholic beverages can make you forget about your intentions to eat healthily by making you lose your inhibitions. Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so you should cut down on alcohol consumption if you are trying to control your weight.
5. The ‘energy density’ of food has a strong influence on feelings of fullness or satiety. Energy density is the amount of energy (or calories) per gram of food. Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories. Low energy density foods include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods. Click here for more information on energy density.

Read more: http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html

SusanMFindlay

When I was lifting heavy at 140 pounds (5'4, 35 years old), I regularly ate 2000 calories/day without gaining weight. 1200 is definitely too little. Even 1500 sounds low. If 2000 sounds too high, try 1800.

I also found that I would be superhungry the day after a workout so, working out every second day, I would eat about 1800 on workout day and 2200 the next day. It all evened out.

tlflag1620

Trish1c wrote: »

tomorrowperfume wrote: »

What am I supposed to do when my choices are between eating five meals a day and being hangry?

Grazing throughout the day as long as it's on healthier stuff is actually better for you. Stick to your meals if you like but have a mid-morning & mid-afternoon snack of some cheese, some fruit, a yogurt, some fresh veggies etc. It really helps reduce the hungry all the time feeling.

Not so. Some people find the grazing approach helpful, but there is no evidence that eating meals/snacks every couple of hours is healthier than eater fewer, larger meals (keeping total calories equal). There is some evidence that intermittent fasting can help with insulin resistance, but, then you would need to be IR in the first place to see that benefit. Moral of the story - food timing makes no difference for the majority of people.

Raptor2763

are you refueling after your workouts? are you having snacks between major meals? answer those questions and you've 85% cracked the code

cebreisch

I remember having a conversation with my nutritionist telling her I was still hungry. She suggested increasing my fiber intake, and that pretty much did it.

Also - as others have said- you need to "refuel" after working out - have a good serving of protein to help your muscles rebuild.

AnnPT77

tomorrowperfume wrote: »

Sorry for the lack of information.

I'm 30 years old, 137.1 pounds heavy, 5'4.5" tall, with a body fat of 24.1% as of 8/4/16 according to my fancy bioelectric impedance reader/scale. In order to get the most accurate reading on that, I weigh myself about once a week in the morning, always at least 24 hours after a workout and at least 12 hours after I've had anything to drink.

The internet (at www.mytdee.com) thinks my TDEE is 1666.

I wasn't familiar with the term body recomposition until you used it, but yeah, that's what I want. I want to stay at roughly the same weight, but I'd like for my fat to go away and to be replaced by muscle. Or really, I just want to be a very strong version of myself. The only reason I'm worried about eating too much is that I don't want to become a stronger, fatter version of myself.

I am not used to my increased hunger, so I tend to fix myself meals at what I think a correct portion is. After I finish, I realize that I'm still hungry, so I'll eat a little more. And then an hour and a half later, I'm hungry again. I do try to snack throughout the day on semi-healthy stuff (usually fruit, coffee, or oatmeal, which is easy and handy), but you're right - a handful of some protein-rich snack like unsalted nuts, cheese, or yogurt would probably be much more satisfying.

That calculator says your TDEE is 1666 if you're sedentary (I reran it with your data). You're not sedentary, if you're working out regularly.

How long had you been at 1200? How much weight had you lost?

Your own experience will give you a lot better estimate of your TDEE than any calculator. Convert your pounds lost in a week to calories (pounds X 3500, roughly), divide by 7 (days in a week), add that to your average daily calories eaten, adjust for any average daily exercise burn you can estimate reasonably, and you'll get a more realistic TDEE.

The calculators are based on population samples, and report average values. Most people cluster close to the average, but there is a bell curve, and an individual can be anywhere on it.

That calculator thinks my sedentary TDEE is 1431. I would think that should be close to my NEAT estimate, as I'm sedentary outside of intentional exercise. Yet I still lose weight at 1800 net calories. And I'm 17.1 pounds lighter, 30 years older, and only half an inch taller. Personally, I aim for 100g protein minimum (as a vegetarian!), but I have more calories to work with in maintenance.

Your new values look better, and your plan for more protein/fat rich snacks is a good one. Watch your scale for 2-3 weeks; I wouldn't be surprised if you need more than 1500 calories to avoid losing weight.