Always hungry on 2,000 calories and not losing weight :( Please help!

Sagittarius1995

Hi everyone,
So i started my weight loss journey 3 weeks ago and I have not lost any weight or inches. In fact i even gained about a pound. I have never eaten so clean and healthy as I am now. M goal is to lose about 1 pound a week so that i can keep if off for life. But eating 2000 calories as the app suggests leaves me absolutely ravished. I always think about food and am always hungry. I feel so defeated and have no idea what to do anymore. I have tried eating a lot of protein and fiber but it does not seem to work for me. I eat so much fruits, vegetables and whole grains but after an hour i feel as if i have not eaten at all. So every single day i end up going over my calorie limit by about 1000 calories in order to feel satiated. I have cut out junk food and refined carbs from my life completely and drink nothing but water.

Before starting this diet my usual diet consisted of nothing but junk foods. I actually calculated how many calories i would regularly eat of junk food and the total came to be about 2,000 a day. I was never hungry and was always satisfied and full. But with this healthy diet eating the same amount of calories leaves me hungry and even sometimes dizzy from the hunger. Not only that but I am not even losing any weight!!!! I dont want to calorie restrict anymore as I have done in the past. I want to eat healthy and feel satisfied.

This is what a regular day of eating is like for me:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal with milk and greek yogurt
banana
brazil nuts
water

Snack:
fruit smoothie with milk (berries, peach, banana, mango)

Lunch:
zucchini noodles mixed with whole grain spaghetti
baked lean chicken breast
salad
water

Snack:
some type of fruit or nuts

Dinner:
potatoes with salad or some type of stir fry with rice
water

Snack: some type of fruit



I am always over my total fiber intake and sometimes my protein intake. So i dont understand why i am hungry and not losing weight!! Why did junk foods satisfy me but my current meal plan does not?

I also do intense physical activity 3 times a week. So does anyone have similar problems to me? Should i just be more patient?

usmcmp

1. Clean eating is not how you lose weight. Eating appropriate calories is how you lose weight. Do you weigh everything you eat? You may find more protein or more fat is the key. You may find that having some candy or "junk" food is actually mentally satisfying and fills that "OMG I'M STARVING" feeling.
2. Again, weigh everything you eat.
3. You're going over your calorie goal by 1,000 calories per day (your admission), so that's why you aren't losing.

cathipa

You haven't mentioned how you know you are only eating 3000 cal a day. Are you weighing your food and logging everything you consume? If you are gaining you are consuming more than you think.

Francl27

Smoothies will never fill me up for the calories. Ditch it. Oatmeal doesn't fill me up either, eggs are more filling in the morning. Plus you're using up calories in milk... switch to almond milk or make sure to use skim milk (milk never fills me up for the calories either).

Fruit as a snack alone doesn't fill me up either... I need some cheese or nuts with it. I don't think there's enough fat in your diet.

Also if you're hungry, reduce your weight loss goal.

MrsSeager

I had a hard time logging my food correctly the first few weeks. A lot of the entries that pop up on your log are user entered and could differ from the food you are actually eating. I took a little time and checked out the nutrition labels on the food i frequently eat and entered them so I know they are correct. I agree with the other posters, weigh everything. If you don't have a scale, at least measure it...but maybe leave yourself a few extra calories at the end of the day because measuring by volume isn't as accurate as weight.

Arox312

Try working out more. 3 times a week sometimes just isn't enough. For weight loss you gotta reach for 5 times a week workout. And also try not to go over your 2,000 limit. If you work out every day, have a protein with some veggies or fruit after it

usmcmp

Arox312 wrote: »

Try working out more. 3 times a week sometimes just isn't enough. For weight loss you gotta reach for 5 times a week workout. And also try not to go over your 2,000 limit. If you work out every day, have a protein with some veggies or fruit after it

For weight loss you can workout zero times per week and still lose weight. Working out can allow you to eat more calories, but exercise doesn't cause weight loss.

aireseneca

I'm doing LCHF, low carb high fat, and personally find fat to be very satiating. I get that you are trying to lose weight without having to battle against constant hunger and cravings. Try browsing the keto community....see if it helps. Also try dropping grains, research "Wheat Belly" and other sources. Everybody has to find their own path. Best wishes!

Luna3386

You need to weigh your food to be sure of what you are eating.

I would add in more fat as well. That's what satisfies. I love fruit but it isn't filling. So I usually pair my apples with peanut butter. If I have oatmeal it better be with eggs if I want to actually be full. You'll have to try and see what happens.

Are you going off of mfp recommendations for macros? Their protein is so low. I would personally be hungry and dizzy with that much fruit and carbs as I am a hypoglycemic.

What are you doing for your workouts? Look into heavy lifting and put all that food to good use.

sympha01

MEASURE YOUR PORTIONS. It is more important that only eating sad "virtuous" food. You could lose weight eating junk food (note: not recommended) as long as you measured the size of every portion and counted every calorie.

It is very easy to add HUNDREDS of extra calories every day by eyeballing portions. I eat nuts and oats and fruit and pasta too but I know from experience how easy it is for any ONE of those things, mismeasured, to add on 100-300 calories I wasn't planning on.

A lot of people here are saying you have to weigh your portions. Weighing is the most accurate (and for what it's worth, once you've tried it you'll agree it's easiest), but if today you are using your eyeballs only to measure your portions, trust me, using measuring cups will be a huge improvement in accuracy. And a rude wake up call, I'll bet.
When you're just starting out (i.e., haven't been losing weight consistently for 3 months), don't eyeball something and say "oh, I'm sure that's 1/4 cup of oats." Trust me, 1/4 cup of oats is hardly anything.

I snack on nuts in between meals and in the evenings, and boy are they freakin' treacherous. Miscalculate a portion there and it goes from "oh, that's probably 120 calories" to "whoops, I just horked down 500 calories and it felt like NOTHING."

Measure. Do it consistently without fail for 2-3 weeks, THEN complain that you're not losing weight on the recommended calorie target.

PAV8888

I will be up front with you, I have a hard time believing that you were more satisfied with 2000 Cal of Junk food vs 2000 Cal of "clean" food. Personal opinion is that in all probability the junk food was more than 2000 Cal.

BE THAT AS IT MAY.

Maybe I'm wrong and you really were more satisfied with 2000 Cal of junk food.

So eat 2000 Cal worth of junk food.

Seriously.

The goal, at least initially, is get to a point where you can consistently eat to your deficit. Once you've got that down then you can start worrying about optimising things and improving your nutrition. If you're hungry all the time and going over by 1000 Cal this most basic of goals is not being met!

So log each and every meal and review your log and the calories you spent on each and every item and the amount of satisfaction/satiation you got out of each item. Then keep on loading on satiating items and stop eating (for now) less satiating items that are not "worth" the calories. Regardless of whether they are healthy or not.

Once you've figured out the calories and are losing weight... then start considering the rest of it.

bioklutz

If I am in a calorie deficit I don't eat a lot of fruit. I also find that fruit does not fill me up. I usually up my veggies intake a little.

I don't cut out fun food - I just eat less of it or find some lower calorie alternatives: popcorn, pirates booty, pretzels, edy's slow churned caramel delight, yasso bars

I also try to find ways to trim some calories off of the foods I normally eat: 100 calorie sandwich flats, mustard instead of mayo, low fat cheese, alternative sauces - hot sauce and salsa are low in calories

All this little changes add up and don't seem that painful to me. You are probably going to need to experiment with what is satisfying to you.

raleighgirl09

I agree with all above. For the non-food aspect (weight loss is multi-faceted), you may be facing a less familiar 'catch up' from your body, meaning - you may need to take into account not only the food but time as your body catches up to what you are doing. I am like this - I *never* experience the immediate weight loss, big push that others do, my body seems to take some time to catch up to the new habits. Throw in some good, old fashioned getting better at the weighing/measuring, becoming more accurate as time goes on, becoming more aware, etc., and you may have a complete picture of why it is taking longer. Pay attention to the breakdown of the nutrients each day - eat fewer carbs at first (??? - just a suggestion, they can make you feel hungrier) and ease back into them with more fibrous carbs (long cooking oatmeal as opposed to instant, for example).

Less popular - embrace that it is tough to endure and become accustomed to, it takes time, and if you continue being aware and working to change habits, you will be successful at the same time that it becomes a little easier. Anything you do consistently over the long haul is where you will see results. It's tough - but if you made it to here and reached out for advice, you are on a good track.

cmriverside

:huh:

Well, this is a new angle.

So, eat the junk food. Do what works, ya know?

try2again

This doesn't do a lot to help explain all the posts by people claiming to be too stuffed to possibly eat 1200 calories on their new diet of healthy foods.

VeryKatie

You could also try upping your fat intake. That can make a big difference.

For me, I also need carbs to feel full, not just fibrous carbs.

Verity1111

If you're not losing you're eating more than you burn. Lower calories and eat foods you like within that calorie limit

Evamutt

protein & fat keep me from being hungry. for dinner today I had 8 oz of extra lean ground turkey patty, 3 cups of the steamers veggies in cheese sauce, eggo low fat waffle with 1 TBS peanut butter & 1/2 TBL jam, large glass of iced tea (no sugar) & I was full. for lunch I had similar but with a baked potato. you can eat a big meal thats fairly low cal. experiment to find what fills you up

nbingham

Way too much carbs in my opinion, not enough protein or fats. That's why the junk food kept you feeling full longer. Junk food has more fat.

Sagittarius1995

Wow! i didnt expect that many answers in such a short period of time. Thank you for all the suggestions I do measure all my food and log everything that i eat. I have done this for all my past diets as well. I just dont want to battle with the constant hunger. I just feel that if i am constantly hungry and i try to simply ignore it by limiting my calories more then i am not listening to my body. My past diets i strictly ate 1500 calories and exercised even more and would always lose the weight fairly quickly (8-10 pounds a month). However, i was always irritable, moody, and developed an obsession with everything that i ate to the point of it not being healthy. After a few months i would always gain the weight back. I just dont want to repeat this cycle again. I will experiment more to see what works for me and try to increase my fat intake as a lot of you suggested

Also as a final note, i dont want to just eat 2000 calories worth of junk food. I want to not only lose weight, but become healthy a swell. I want to nourish my body.

Bunch_of_nuts

aireseneca wrote: »

I'm doing LCHF, low carb high fat, and personally find fat to be very satiating. I get that you are trying to lose weight without having to battle against constant hunger and cravings. Try browsing the keto community....see if it helps. Also try dropping grains, research "Wheat Belly" and other sources. Everybody has to find their own path. Best wishes!

Keto for life!