Not sure what my body is up to but I'm hoping someone can give me some insight

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Maxematics
Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I've been a member here for a while now and didn't have any problems losing weight. I've been in maintenance for a while now. I'm 5'3", between 111 and 113 pounds on average and have a TDEE of 2300 on average via my Fitbit. I usually get 15 to 20K steps per day and workout six days per week, upper or lower body resistance training on alternating days, cardio thrown in, and a second workout at night which is usually pilates or yoga.

My problem is that there are at least a few days per month, lately it's been once a week or so, where I'm so hungry no matter what I do. On these days, I'll usually eat up to 4000 calories and my stomach doesn't even look or feel swollen. I don't feel nauseated or stuffed either. I'll balloon up on the scale for a few days but then I'm right back down to where I was even though, according to my Fitbit, I should have gained a good pound or two by now. I don't restrict on other days and am usually within my maintenance goal. Once in a while I'll be under by 500 or so but not so frequently that it should offset any gain.

My question is why is this happening? Has anyone ever been through this? Is there anyone who has a lot of experience that could give me possible reasons why my body goes through this? I've tried Google but haven't found much about it. Anything helps. Thanks.
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Replies

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    You are very active and very lean. I think you are just getting plain old hungry. Is it around ovulation or your period? Just how often are you 500 under your calorie goal? That's more calories than you may think...my meals tend to be 500 or less. A few times a month and it adds up.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Yeah I'm in the midst of ovulating at the moment, actually. The days I'm 500 under are sparse. I can't handle a big deficit because I lose sleep. I always know when I haven't eaten enough regardless of what Fitbit says because I will be up every hour at night and my brain feels like I just drank a gallon of caffeine.

    To answer the other question, I've been ignoring the crap out of Fitbit lately because of what I stated above, so even if it says I'm under or over I'll just eat until my body is satisfied. Normally that works but not on days like today. I'm about to eat my entire pantry.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Haha thanks. Yeah I'm eating but my brain is just like "This can't be normal". Also, it's really cutting into my food budget sometimes. I was hoping at least one person had a similar experience so I could understand this a bit more.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    Just eat more. If you aren't gaining weight, its because your maintenance is higher than you thought. This happened to me when I first lost weight and had a very active job where I had to walk a lot. I could sit down at night with the ice cream and just eat. From your pictures, you really look almost under-fat. You could stand to gain a few.

    My upper body is a LOT leaner than my lower body. Also, which I'm sure many of us go through, I have like five days maximum where I look pretty shredded after my period, then my body is like "NOPE! WATER WEIGHT TIME!" My abs get less visible and I feel squishy, then after ovulation it gives me two more top physique days then I hold water again until my period is done and the cycle repeats. :D
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
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    You might try eating more protein on days when you are feeling really hungry. It will help fill you, without adding a lot of extra calories and without the bloating.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    You might try eating more protein on days when you are feeling really hungry. It will help fill you, without adding a lot of extra calories and without the bloating.

    Thanks. I'm not bloating at all though. The scale only increases due to the food amount and more carbs than usual though the protein is still quite high. My diet is usually higher in protein and lower in carbs on the regular.
  • KickassAmazon76
    KickassAmazon76 Posts: 4,562 Member
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    Maxematics wrote: »
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    Just eat more. If you aren't gaining weight, its because your maintenance is higher than you thought. This happened to me when I first lost weight and had a very active job where I had to walk a lot. I could sit down at night with the ice cream and just eat. From your pictures, you really look almost under-fat. You could stand to gain a few.

    My upper body is a LOT leaner than my lower body. Also, which I'm sure many of us go through, I have like five days maximum where I look pretty shredded after my period, then my body is like "NOPE! WATER WEIGHT TIME!" My abs get less visible and I feel squishy, then after ovulation it gives me two more top physique days then I hold water again until my period is done and the cycle repeats. :D

    Story of my life, too!
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    Maxematics wrote: »
    Haha thanks. Yeah I'm eating but my brain is just like "This can't be normal". Also, it's really cutting into my food budget sometimes. I was hoping at least one person had a similar experience so I could understand this a bit more.

    I am similar in that I am very hungry when I'm ovulating...So not similar when it comes to how lean you are and how many freaking calories your burn.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    The same happens to me, completely unrelated to my cycle. I'll be around TDEE for days or weeks and then BAM, I have day --like today--when I eat upwards of 4000 cals. My weight spikes, but I'm back to my normal weight in 2-3 days. It doesn't even bother me anymore.

    For me, I truly think my body is telling me something is missing in my diet, in my case, I think it's fat. I don't intentionally eat low fat, it just works out that way. On my high calorie days, I almost always splurge on nuts, nut butter, chocolate or other higher fat foods. It satisfies me and I'm back to normal.

    Study your diary and see if something major is missing (fats, whole grains, etc) and if so, try to work it in to your meal plan. Or, just roll with it!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,637 Member
    edited February 2017
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    For once I absolutely and unequivocally TOTALLY agree with @bbell1985 - and I bet you saw this coming! (Just kidding, I actually agree most of the time except when it comes to steps and the caloric expenditure they represent :wink:)

    Sounds like your maintenance given the intensity of your exercise may be a tad higher than you're calculating.

    Note that I once read a whole thing that essentially said that not only do you FEEL hungry during ovulation etc; but, you're actually expending more calories at that time too. Don't remember source so take it with grain of salt... but your results ain't lying :smile:
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
    edited February 2017
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    sigh.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Thank you everyone. I appreciate the insight. I'll just keep moving forward, I guess. :D
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Maxematics wrote: »
    Thank you everyone. I appreciate the insight. I'll just keep moving forward, I guess. :D

    just keep eating, you mean! :laugh:
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    What are your goals OP? To maintain your current physique? I agree with the others, you are very lean so maintaining that level of BF% will be difficult especially at your stats. I think if you wanted to stay more shredded constantly it would take a few bulk/cut cycles to bring your weight and muscle base up.. so that you could still sit at the lower BF% without going too low in weight (I don't know if that makes sense).. but obviously, that depends on your goals. Otherwise, I would listen to your body and fuel.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Your workouts could be more intense than what your Fitbit can calculate accurately. You may have a higher than average metabolism meaning you burn more than what Fitbit indicates. Either of these would mean your actual TDEE is higher than what Fitbit shows. If this is working, so be it. If you want to level it out try increasing your daily consumption by 100-250 and see if that helps alleviate the hungry day.
    Maxematics wrote: »
    So I've been a member here for a while now and didn't have any problems losing weight. I've been in maintenance for a while now. I'm 5'3", between 111 and 113 pounds on average and have a TDEE of 2300 on average via my Fitbit. I usually get 15 to 20K steps per day and workout six days per week, upper or lower body resistance training on alternating days, cardio thrown in, and a second workout at night which is usually pilates or yoga.

    My problem is that there are at least a few days per month, lately it's been once a week or so, where I'm so hungry no matter what I do. On these days, I'll usually eat up to 4000 calories and my stomach doesn't even look or feel swollen. I don't feel nauseated or stuffed either. I'll balloon up on the scale for a few days but then I'm right back down to where I was even though, according to my Fitbit, I should have gained a good pound or two by now. I don't restrict on other days and am usually within my maintenance goal. Once in a while I'll be under by 500 or so but not so frequently that it should offset any gain.

    My question is why is this happening? Has anyone ever been through this? Is there anyone who has a lot of experience that could give me possible reasons why my body goes through this? I've tried Google but haven't found much about it. Anything helps. Thanks.

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