Just Starting/ Hunger
mharnden92
Posts: 16 Member
Is it normal to think that your calorie goal is impossible the 1st few days every time i think about how many calories i have left i feel like i'm going to starve and just want more food.
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Replies
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Need more info.
What is your height, weight and did you select to lose .5, 1, 1.5 or 2 pounds a week? What is your calorie goal per day?
If you put in 2 pounds and your calorie goal is stressing you out, change it to 1 pound for now. For right now, getting started at a slower rate that you can live with my be better than something extreme that you feel you cannot manage.2 -
i selected to loose 2 a week so i will switch to one. with all my stressing i didn't think to do that. I am just so anxious and want to loose the excess weight. but im afraid that I may just let it slip away.0
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The key is to make changes that are sustainable for you. This won't work in the long run if you flame out after a few weeks. I agree with dropping your weekly weight loss goal to 1 lb. You can always eat a little less than you're 'allowed' on the days you feel like it (but not less than 1200) and you'll have a few more calories to play with as you get the hang of things. You can do this!2
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feeling hungry on a diet is fine its a sign your probably doing it right, No one said weight loss is easy or wed all be thin
That being said, 1 pound a week is definatly more doable, And you should never feel starving. It sounds very possible its a mind thing, As you havent even made i through the day "starving" your just thinking of it.
Eventually youll get foods you love that satisfy you and youll find how to make them as low calorie as possible with maximum satisfaction. Just stick it out and play around with your macros, Find what keeps you satisfied for me its carbs id be horrified if carbs one day suddenly left and id be forever starving. Pay attention to how the foods you eat make you feel. Youll find some staples that keep you happy5 -
After a week or 2 you won't be nearly as hungry. Probably still hungry but not nearly as bad:)3
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I was hungry all the time for the first 3 weeks. For me I stuck with it because I needed to retrain myself what was an acceptable portion. I am only almost 7 weeks into this and I still get really hungry in the morning but that is about it. I am actually get that full feeling after meals now. I agree with others that maybe choosing 1 lb per week may be better for now. It's not easy so far but it has been worth it.3
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Also small changed helped me alot, Something like instead of eating 1 bagel for a meal ill split that bagel over 2 smaller meals and spread them out a few hours, Kept me satisfied over a longer period and mentally i got 2 little delicious meals to look forward to. Its possible something like this may help you with the mental aspect2
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First you need to build willpower. It helps if you increase water intake. Eat healthy foods that are not super calorie dense and avoid the ones that are like bread, potatoes and pasta. Try snacking between meals. My favorite is a handful of almonds or an apple.3
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First you need to build willpower. It helps if you increase water intake. Eat healthy foods that are not super calorie dense and avoid the ones that are like bread, potatoes and pasta. Try snacking between meals. My favorite is a handful of almonds or an apple.
Why avoid bread and potatoes maybe they are like me the vast majority of my foods are potatoes and bread. Iv lost plenty of weight. Even when my nutritionist told me low carb to lose weight because i have PCOS (not recomending going against a nutritionist its just what worked for me )
Carbs are my fuel. Their not evil. Maybe itl be those foods that will make them satisfied2 -
Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.
For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.
You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.
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leanjogreen18 wrote: »Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.
For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.
You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.
This is a good point i never brought up. For me personally second i begin to eat i get starving for the rest of the day so i now eat as late into the day as possible, Save all my calories for the late afternoon/evening That way i can eat what i want more ...not have to fire my appetite up as early and worry about spreading my calories out thinly. If your anything like me and dont like breakfast that much it might be worth a shot to try. Wont work for everyone but i know many people who dotn bother eating until later and it definatly helps with satisfaction/hunger1 -
fupthesides wrote: »I was hungry all the time for the first 3 weeks. For me I stuck with it because I needed to retrain myself what was an acceptable portion. I am only almost 7 weeks into this and I still get really hungry in the morning but that is about it. I am actually get that full feeling after meals now. I agree with others that maybe choosing 1 lb per week may be better for now. It's not easy so far but it has been worth it.
I think it has a lot to do with my stomach needing to shrink down i hope that it does go away i think its mind over matter. And lately i haven't had the right mind set witch is a lot to do with why im overweight now i think. I hope i can stay on the straight and narrow1 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »Also small changed helped me alot, Something like instead of eating 1 bagel for a meal ill split that bagel over 2 smaller meals and spread them out a few hours, Kept me satisfied over a longer period and mentally i got 2 little delicious meals to look forward to. Its possible something like this may help you with the mental aspect
thank you i differently will start to play with my diet and see what works. Its nice to here i dont have to drop everything i love to get my weight down. I think that helps a lot with the mind going crazy. I think a lot of my problems with this diet thing are in my head at this point. Hopefully in a week or so things will calm down a little. My problem is i overthink.0 -
mharnden92 wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »Also small changed helped me alot, Something like instead of eating 1 bagel for a meal ill split that bagel over 2 smaller meals and spread them out a few hours, Kept me satisfied over a longer period and mentally i got 2 little delicious meals to look forward to. Its possible something like this may help you with the mental aspect
thank you i differently will start to play with my diet and see what works. Its nice to here i dont have to drop everything i love to get my weight down. I think that helps a lot with the mind going crazy. I think a lot of my problems with this diet thing are in my head at this point. Hopefully in a week or so things will calm down a little. My problem is i overthink.
I eat what i want i just make sure i work for it, If i want a chocolate bar ill have it but ill walk my booty to the store an hour away and back and then sit down and enjoy every last little bite. Dont cut off foods its horrible to crave constantly, Just work them in3 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »leanjogreen18 wrote: »Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.
For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.
You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.
This is a good point i never brought up. For me personally second i begin to eat i get starving for the rest of the day so i now eat as late into the day as possible, Save all my calories for the late afternoon/evening That way i can eat what i want more ...not have to fire my appetite up as early and worry about spreading my calories out thinly. If your anything like me and dont like breakfast that much it might be worth a shot to try. Wont work for everyone but i know many people who dotn bother eating until later and it definatly helps with satisfaction/hunger
This is what I do by using the 16:8 IF method. I delay eating as long as possible. Sometimes longer than 16 hours. You're right. Once I eat my first thing for the day, my brain says game on. It's feeding time. So, I try to push that back as long as possible. In fact, I'm already past the 16 hour mark. I'll try to hold off a bit longer since I'm not hungry anyway.2 -
leejoyce31 wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »leanjogreen18 wrote: »Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.
For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.
You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.
This is a good point i never brought up. For me personally second i begin to eat i get starving for the rest of the day so i now eat as late into the day as possible, Save all my calories for the late afternoon/evening That way i can eat what i want more ...not have to fire my appetite up as early and worry about spreading my calories out thinly. If your anything like me and dont like breakfast that much it might be worth a shot to try. Wont work for everyone but i know many people who dotn bother eating until later and it definatly helps with satisfaction/hunger
This is what I do by using the 16:8 IF method. I delay eating as long as possible. Sometimes longer than 16 hours. You're right. Once I eat my first thing for the day, my brain says game on. It's feeding time. So, I try to push that back as long as possible. In fact, I'm already past the 16 hour mark. I'll try to hold off a bit longer since I'm not hungry anyway.
yeah i generally start with something small. ill get hungry say okay i can eat in 30-1 hour. eat a small piece of kolbassa to hold me off 45mins-1 more hour before my first meal. By time thats done its nearly dinner time its wonderful.0 -
I've had to retrain my hunger - and the first week or two is hard. I used to eat a snack every day at 10. I have stopped, but I was super hungry at 10 for a while. Definitely drink lots of no-calorie beverages (tea, coffee, water, even diet pop if it makes it easier), focus on big volume foods for at least part of your diet (lots of veggies, fruit, and things like popcorn that can *feel* like a lot of food).
And of course, there's just the fact that getting hungry before I eat needs to be my new normal. Not that I'm hungry all the time, but that I allow that discomfort in my life. If you're used to eating a lot, you don't really ever get to "hungry". It's a new feeling and you'll learn how to manage it.3 -
First you need to build willpower. It helps if you increase water intake. Eat healthy foods that are not super calorie dense and avoid the ones that are like bread, potatoes and pasta. Try snacking between meals. My favorite is a handful of almonds or an apple.
Avoiding bread, potatoes and pasta works for some.
I personally have some form of bread almost daily and am losing weight steadily. I modified by getting bagel thins, killer Dave 60 cal bread and sandwich thins. These are staples for me.
I have potatos maybe 4-5 times a month and I rarely eat pasta as I'm not a big fan, although in my 6 months of counting calories I have had lasagna a couple of times.
I think the thing is one needs to figure out if they can adhere to their calorie goal while eating certain foods or not. Adherence is most important to be successful at not only losing but maintaining.
I personally could not stick to a way of eating that restricts my favorite foods.1 -
annacole94 wrote: »I've had to retrain my hunger - and the first week or two is hard. I used to eat a snack every day at 10. I have stopped, but I was super hungry at 10 for a while. Definitely drink lots of no-calorie beverages (tea, coffee, water, even diet pop if it makes it easier), focus on big volume foods for at least part of your diet (lots of veggies, fruit, and things like popcorn that can *feel* like a lot of food).
And of course, there's just the fact that getting hungry before I eat needs to be my new normal. Not that I'm hungry all the time, but that I allow that discomfort in my life. If you're used to eating a lot, you don't really ever get to "hungry". It's a new feeling and you'll learn how to manage it.
It's interesting that you use the words retrain your hunger. I feel that's what I have done with IF 16:8. Before I started IF in October, I felt the need to eat as soon as I became hungry. But IF taught me that if I ride it out for a bit, the hunger actually goes away. It was so amazing because after all these years, I didn't know that. I guess because as soon as the hunger urge hit, I would react to it. Now, I get a little hungry in the mornings some days. But after a while, it passes and I'm not hungry again for hours.
I love IF. It has really taught me a lot about hunger cues. Oh by the way, I'm not advocating IF for everyone. I know that it's just a method of eating and not everyone can or wants to do it.3 -
leejoyce31 wrote: »annacole94 wrote: »I've had to retrain my hunger - and the first week or two is hard. I used to eat a snack every day at 10. I have stopped, but I was super hungry at 10 for a while. Definitely drink lots of no-calorie beverages (tea, coffee, water, even diet pop if it makes it easier), focus on big volume foods for at least part of your diet (lots of veggies, fruit, and things like popcorn that can *feel* like a lot of food).
And of course, there's just the fact that getting hungry before I eat needs to be my new normal. Not that I'm hungry all the time, but that I allow that discomfort in my life. If you're used to eating a lot, you don't really ever get to "hungry". It's a new feeling and you'll learn how to manage it.
It's interesting that you use the words retrain your hunger. I feel that's what I have done with IF 16:8. Before I started IF in October, I felt the need to eat as soon as I became hungry. But IF taught me that if I ride it out for a bit, the hunger actually goes away. It was so amazing because after all these years, I didn't know that. I guess because as soon as the hunger urge hit, I would react to it. Now, I get a little hungry in the mornings some days. But after a while, it passes and I'm not hungry again for hours.
I love IF. It has really taught me a lot about hunger cues. Oh by the way, I'm not advocating IF for everyone. I know that it's just a method of eating and not everyone can or wants to do it.
Looking back i did something super similar...
I hadnt decided to lose weight but i got really angry that when i didnt eat every few hours id get shakey and starving and feel weak. One day out of nowhere i just refused it i was like no im not going to eat see what truely happens. After a few hours it stopped fully so i rode it out to see when i got hunger see if i could recognize true hunger, 3 days later i hadnt felt it and was like i need to eat now but what the actual hell. And i had lost weight so i was like....this is a thing i can do...Set up my calories and stuck to them and now im down 82 pounds XD
Its very empowering to learn what hunger really is1 -
If you are still hungry for at least the first few weeks... have some fruits or veggies... veggies especially are considered 'free calories" for a lot of diet plans anyways.1
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My first 2 weeks at 1250 calories were tough--mostly because I had distract myself from mindless eating and I was working REALLY HARD on getting my portions weighed and all that. It was all very new and foreign to me. After a while, I was truly less hungry at that calorie level and stayed there for about five months. I upped my calories when I got to having +/- 50lbs to lose (I started out needing to lose 100), which is about 1430 for a 1lb per week loss.
If you stick it out for 2 weeks and still feel terrible at that level, then look at changing your rate of loss. I know I had a sense of fear and panic that I could never eat and my brain really wanted me to cave in and eat ALL the food. I drank lots of water, had some black coffee, and went for walks to distract myself from what was really breaking the habit of eating out of boredom.
No matter what you decide, hang in there and don't give up. You can do it!2 -
I'm a firm believer that you don't have to be hungry to lose weight. I refuse to be hungry. There are tons of foods that will fill you up but aren't high in calories--mostly veggies and high protein foods. Eat smaller meals throughout the day if you have to (that's what I do. NOT for the fake "I want to rev up my metabolism" thing, but because it helps with hunger).
Changing to 1lb a week will definitely help, but don't feel like you have to be hungry to lose weight.1 -
Sometimes you're gonna feel hungry. I think getting comfortable with that will save a lot of stress. If you're sure you're eating enough and at good intervals, do something else to take your mind off it for a while.1
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I'm a firm believer that you don't have to be hungry to lose weight. I refuse to be hungry. There are tons of foods that will fill you up but aren't high in calories--mostly veggies and high protein foods. Eat smaller meals throughout the day if you have to (that's what I do. NOT for the fake "I want to rev up my metabolism" thing, but because it helps with hunger).
Changing to 1lb a week will definitely help, but don't feel like you have to be hungry to lose weight.
Agree. I couldn't have lost the weight nor remained in maintenance over a year if I were hungry/starving. I would have fallen back into old habits quickly.1 -
I'm definitely not saying you need to be hungry to lose weight. Or rather, you don't need to ignore hunger to lose weight. You should actually experience hunger, and fullness, and get used to more healthy definitions of those feelings. And if you decide to rejig your mealtimes, it takes time to get used to it. I was uncomfortable for a few days, and now it's fine. I'm not living in hungry misery indefinitely.0
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thank you all these are great tips and I feel like i can get threw this. I have changed my weight loss goal to 1 pound and hope to be back down to 2 soon. I am going to try all things mentioned and see what really works for this body of mine. I need the will power to control the urge and i think that's where i need to start.1
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In my opinion, you should not have to be truly hungry. Of course there can be mental adjustments to work thru.
Look for ways to have bigger meals that are not calorie heavy. Having a salad with light dressing (even cheese!) can add bulk to a meal without adding a ton of calories. And veggies like asparagus, broccoli, squash: not calorie dense. Meaning you can get a lot of them for 20, 30, 40 calories. Having these things in your meals really helps. Have lean meat, and mostly cook it by baking/grilling. Avoid things that add calories without much other benefit, such as having fried food. I don't mean that you need to give up fried food totally but it should not be a daily thing if you're adjusting to a reduced calorie limit.
My lunch today: spaghetti squash w/ sauce, parmesan cheese and garlic salt & some sauteed shrimp. It was a decent amount of food, because the squash is so low in calories. 236 calories total. I don't normally try to have that low of a lunch, but I also had some peanut butter on bread just before heading out to walk at noon. That was 137 calories and I logged it under breakfast. I may add a mid morning snack category...2 -
StaciMarie1974 wrote: »In my opinion, you should not have to be truly hungry. Of course there can be mental adjustments to work thru.
Look for ways to have bigger meals that are not calorie heavy. Having a salad with light dressing (even cheese!) can add bulk to a meal without adding a ton of calories. And veggies like asparagus, broccoli, squash: not calorie dense. Meaning you can get a lot of them for 20, 30, 40 calories. Having these things in your meals really helps. Have lean meat, and mostly cook it by baking/grilling. Avoid things that add calories without much other benefit, such as having fried food. I don't mean that you need to give up fried food totally but it should not be a daily thing if you're adjusting to a reduced calorie limit.
My lunch today: spaghetti squash w/ sauce, parmesan cheese and garlic salt & some sauteed shrimp. It was a decent amount of food, because the squash is so low in calories. 236 calories total. I don't normally try to have that low of a lunch, but I also had some peanut butter on bread just before heading out to walk at noon. That was 137 calories and I logged it under breakfast. I may add a mid morning snack category...
thank you that sounds very doable. I guess i just need to get recopies that are high volume low calorie.0 -
I've lost 93 lb in 55 weeks with a weekly goal of losing 0.5 lb per week. This needs to be comfortable and that bigger calorie goal gives me a comfortable cushion.1
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