Cannot believe how addicted i am to food

Charlot4444

On mfp I change my protein to 30% same with fat and my carbs to 40. Seems to keep me full for the most part!

courtneyfabulous

Yeah I have my protein at 25 or 30 % I think.

Sounds like you are just in carbs/junk food/fat/alcohol withdrawal lol! Probably mostly psychological but a little physiological too. It's really good you've improved your diet a lot from where it was- that's really dangerous eating (tons of carbs fat and alcohol and calories surplus). Soon you will be feeling great once your body gets used to your new diet.

Yes try to drink lots of water and get in more veggies & greens.

DebSozo

I had significant cravings when I first started. You might want to go back to your goals on MFP and ask it to calculate for a 1 pound weight loss a week instead of 2 (if that is the case). You want to be able to stay on plan long term, and you might quit if deficit and hunger pangs are too aggressive.

Experiment until you find a balance that makes you happy. BTW I don't crave sweets much anymore but had "withdrawal type" symptoms when I first cut down on sugar. Give your body a couple weeks to adjust. It gets easier.

brooke88z

Try adding mushrooms to your pasta. I find them to be very satisfying and filling for very few calories.

Gena575

cqbkaju wrote: »

Gena575 wrote: »

Are you breastfeeding? And chasing after two babies/toddlers *may mean your activity level is higher than you think.

Playing Devil's Advocate here... It statistically more likely for people to over estimate when it comes to calories burned than for them to under estimate. Just as it is more common to under estimate the calories consumed.

My advice is to up the protein, water and exercise for a couple of months before trying to increase calories.

I agree with purposeful exercise 100%. But a mom to two babies isn't sedentary either. Not saying the OP was/is set to that. But when true hunger is an issue, reevaluation is never a bad idea.

Also +1 to the protein, again. It's amazing to me the difference in my gnaw my own arm off urges when I have sufficient protein. Much below 100 gr/day and I notice hunger so much more. It took a bit for me to recognize that pattern.

WinoGelato

OP did you say what your stats are, how much you are trying to lose, what rate of loss you selected, what activity level you are set at, if you exercise, what kind and how often, and if you eat back some of those calories? Lastly what is your goal set at?

I know you may have answered some of these above but having it in one response helps people key in on things that may be able to be tweaked.

Soapstone

gabbyo23 wrote: »

Thanks all. Roxiedawn I do think a rebellion aspect is a factor, I have a pretty big self destruct button, but also genuine hunger.

I'm 5ft 4, and 13St 1. I have lost a stone so far...and I've lost 4 stone previously (pre twin pregnancy) on 1500 cals and I don't remember it being this hard. For background, I gained 2 stone during pregnancy, then 2 stone after through stress eating and too much junk.

My diet is very simplistic as I find it hard to find time to eat...but I try to make it filling.

Breakfast is either cereal with yogurt and banana or eggs and toast/omelette at weekend.
Lunch is usually a ready meal to be honest, or baked potato and salad at weekend. Snacks and would be 10cal jelly, low fat yogurt, light cereal bar or small portion of chocolate/biscuit if I can work it in. I need a snack every couple of hours so I try to use stuff very low cal per portion so I can have a few of them.
Dinner is pasta or stir-fry or something out of freezer with veg and rice.

I am more than aware of all the downfalls of my diet, but I find it really hard to stay on top of calories when I have ten minutes to make and eat a meal so I try and keep it to things I can take out of a packet and just read the calories off the packaging- like salad bags and a ready meal.

Is this why I'm so hungry?

You're eating mostly carbohydrate, with really small amounts of protein and fat. That's why you're hungry all the time.
Different things work for different people; for me, keto is doing wonders for dampening my hunger. The reddit sub helps a lot. If you're interested poke around on the site and read the FAQ.

https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/

duddysdad

I don't think there is anything wrong with thinking about your next meal, as long as you can maintain a deficit. I've always done that, which helps me think of something different to eat than I normally do. If you are not starving yourself, or are in an extreme deficit, then hunger is a normal feeling. If thinking about your next meal causes you to go over or binge, then it would be a problem.

gabbyo23

WinoGelato wrote: »

OP did you say what your stats are, how much you are trying to lose, what rate of loss you selected, what activity level you are set at, if you exercise, what kind and how often, and if you eat back some of those calories? Lastly what is your goal set at?

I know you may have answered some of these above but having it in one response helps people key in on things that may be able to be tweaked.

I'm 5ft 4, female, 26, 13st, have lost a stone and 1lb so far. I am trying to get down to at least 10st 7. I don't purposely exercise but I walk a lot as I have baby twins who need pushing around in a buggy a lot. But I count myself as sedentary on mfp and don't eat back anything. My goal is set at losing 1lb per week which mfp set to 1440 cals a day. I have manually changed that to 1500.

gabbyo23

Thanks everyone. I'm focusing much more on protein, water and veg today. However I have also made sure I have room for a big meal for dinner tonight as last night I'd snacked so much I could only have a small dinner and it was incredible depressing.

I really need that big portion for dinner, psychologically, to not feel deprived.

jgnatca

Knowing that your big meal is important, you can reduce say, your lunch to a soup or salad with sides (making sure there is sufficient protein) to reduce the calorie count for the day. Pre portioning your daily snack allowance can help too. At home the refrigerator and pantry are simply too handy.

There is boredom eating to consider too. You may need to disrupt your old habits by building new ones, say, a walk to the park or the library every day.

RoxieDawn

gabbyo23 wrote: »

Thanks all. Roxiedawn I do think a rebellion aspect is a factor, I have a pretty big self destruct button, but also genuine hunger.

I'm 5ft 4, and 13St 1. I have lost a stone so far...and I've lost 4 stone previously (pre twin pregnancy) on 1500 cals and I don't remember it being this hard. For background, I gained 2 stone during pregnancy, then 2 stone after through stress eating and too much junk.

My diet is very simplistic as I find it hard to find time to eat...but I try to make it filling.

Breakfast is either cereal with yogurt and banana or eggs and toast/omelette at weekend.
Lunch is usually a ready meal to be honest, or baked potato and salad at weekend. Snacks and would be 10cal jelly, low fat yogurt, light cereal bar or small portion of chocolate/biscuit if I can work it in. I need a snack every couple of hours so I try to use stuff very low cal per portion so I can have a few of them.
Dinner is pasta or stir-fry or something out of freezer with veg and rice.

I am more than aware of all the downfalls of my diet, but I find it really hard to stay on top of calories when I have ten minutes to make and eat a meal so I try and keep it to things I can take out of a packet and just read the calories off the packaging- like salad bags and a ready meal.

Is this why I'm so hungry?

Is there a way that you meal prep one day a week. Like on Sunday or a day off where you can cook up some things like a crock pot meal, grill up a bunch of chicken breasts, pre-make salads, pre-make chicken salad, egg salad, make a big pot of spagehhit sauce (you can do a lot with like make homemade pizza, throw over whole grain pasta, serve with chicken breast and Parmesan cheese, ) pre-make zip lock baggies with raw veggies, and nuts and nut mixes, I can think of a 1000 things that you pre-make throw in the fridge or cabinet and grab and go.

On this day weigh your foods and even pre-log for the week what you plan to eat each day. I eat the same things Mon - Fri breakfast and lunches and snacks (my dinners vary with my husband).

I make sure I eat protein and a healthy fat with almost all my meals. My carbs are anything like potatoes, yogurt (no dry cereal and milk, these make me hungrier), sweet potatoes, vegetables and fruits and berries, etc.