Always hungry on 2,000 calories and not losing weight :( Please help!
Replies
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I also agree with others here. Add more protein and drop the fruit rice and potatoes. I have 3 eggs with cheese for Breakfast. I also found cottage cheese as a snack helps with my salty cravings and is high in protein too. I like how you are doing the Greek yogurt. Great choice! I am using that as a sweet snack between breakfast and lunch. Like the nuts too. I am working those in as well. Good fat there.
Keep persevering and adapting as you go along. You will see progress!
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There is nothing wrong with being hungry some times. You're not starving after eating all that.12
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Assuming correct log of food, there is one problem: you feel hungry.
There are TWO elements in food that help in filling sensation and ONLY TWO: Fiber and Protein.
So you should include high protein and high fiber food.
Seeing your diet, I will remove completely the nuts, so you can replace by protein and fiber.
So more meat and beans should be my suggestion, careful with pasta, bread and even fruit. With fruit only whole fruit (especially the skin AND seeds, where the fiber is). So no smoothies.
If after all that did not work, there are some cheats: tea, coffee and maybe chewing gum.
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Assuming correct log of food, there is one problem: you feel hungry.
There are TWO elements in food that help in filling sensation and ONLY TWO: Fiber and Protein.
So you should include high protein and high fiber food.
Seeing your diet, I will remove completely the nuts, so you can replace by protein and fiber.
So more meat and beans should be my suggestion, careful with pasta, bread and even fruit. With fruit only whole fruit (especially the skin AND seeds, where the fiber is). So no smoothies.
If after all that did not work, there are some cheats: tea, coffee and maybe chewing gum.
That isn't true, fat is what gives me the most satiety.18 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »Assuming correct log of food, there is one problem: you feel hungry.
There are TWO elements in food that help in filling sensation and ONLY TWO: Fiber and Protein.
So you should include high protein and high fiber food.
Seeing your diet, I will remove completely the nuts, so you can replace by protein and fiber.
So more meat and beans should be my suggestion, careful with pasta, bread and even fruit. With fruit only whole fruit (especially the skin AND seeds, where the fiber is). So no smoothies.
If after all that did not work, there are some cheats: tea, coffee and maybe chewing gum.
That isn't true, fat is what gives me the most satiety.
Your statement is that "fat is what gives me the most satiety". The fact that works with you did not mean that my statement is wrong.
Let's be serious.
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Okay...
1. The fact that you are not losing means you are not on a calorie deficit. No dancing around that one. You will not lose until you create one, either lower your calories or workout more.
2. 2000 calories ( if that's what it really is) is a lot of calories. Your hunger is most likely mental than anything else.
3. Increase your protein, it will make you feel Fuller.4 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »Assuming correct log of food, there is one problem: you feel hungry.
There are TWO elements in food that help in filling sensation and ONLY TWO: Fiber and Protein.
So you should include high protein and high fiber food.
Seeing your diet, I will remove completely the nuts, so you can replace by protein and fiber.
So more meat and beans should be my suggestion, careful with pasta, bread and even fruit. With fruit only whole fruit (especially the skin AND seeds, where the fiber is). So no smoothies.
If after all that did not work, there are some cheats: tea, coffee and maybe chewing gum.
That isn't true, fat is what gives me the most satiety.
Your statement is that "fat is what gives me the most satiety". The fact that works with you did not mean that my statement is wrong.
Let's be serious.
But if the OP falls more in line with the person who said you were wrong, then wouldn't you be...wrong? The point they were making is making a blanket statement might not be the right way to go. It's a good suggestion to try eating more protein and fiber, don't get me wrong, but it isn't the "ONLY TWO" elements (as you put it) to have someone automatically feel full.
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OP - would you consider making your diary public?2
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RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »Assuming correct log of food, there is one problem: you feel hungry.
There are TWO elements in food that help in filling sensation and ONLY TWO: Fiber and Protein.
So you should include high protein and high fiber food.
Seeing your diet, I will remove completely the nuts, so you can replace by protein and fiber.
So more meat and beans should be my suggestion, careful with pasta, bread and even fruit. With fruit only whole fruit (especially the skin AND seeds, where the fiber is). So no smoothies.
If after all that did not work, there are some cheats: tea, coffee and maybe chewing gum.
That isn't true, fat is what gives me the most satiety.
Your statement is that "fat is what gives me the most satiety". The fact that works with you did not mean that my statement is wrong.
Let's be serious.
If it works for me then your opinion that only fibre and protein are is incorrect.
Macro balance is very individual, we need to play around with it to find what works for the individual.
The OP hits her fibre and protein goals yet isn't feeling less hungry.10 -
Assuming correct log of food, there is one problem: you feel hungry.
There are TWO elements in food that help in filling sensation and ONLY TWO: Fiber and Protein.
So you should include high protein and high fiber food.
Seeing your diet, I will remove completely the nuts, so you can replace by protein and fiber.
So more meat and beans should be my suggestion, careful with pasta, bread and even fruit. With fruit only whole fruit (especially the skin AND seeds, where the fiber is). So no smoothies.
If after all that did not work, there are some cheats: tea, coffee and maybe chewing gum.
No, the one problem here is that the OP is not losing weight. Feeling hungry is most likely mind playing games, or body adjusting if OP used to eat 4000 calories before dieting. If that's the case, the weight would have come off.
I don't understand why you would replace nuts. Nuts are one of the best foods for the body. The tricky part with nuts is that they are calorie packed and is super easy to have 400 calories in what you think it's a healthy snack. Portion is key. With everything.5 -
I'm 5ft 9.5. I try to stick to 1400 calories when I'm trying to lose weight. An example of a day's food would be Breakfast: Vegetable smoothie, 2 scrambled eggs, Lunch: Salmon salad, Dinner: Spaghetti Bolognaise (40g dry weight Wholewheat Pasta plus spiralised courgette, Supper: 8 walnut halves, a piece of 100% dark choc. Tea and Coffee through the day1
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Your profile is private so I can't see your diary. How often have you gone 1000 over? That won't help you lose. Are you measuring inch loss too? I didn't lose weight this week but did lose inches. Mentally this really helps me. How accurate are your scales? I find myself thinking more of food when I start logging or come on the community and this makes me hungry. It can really help to plan out your day's meals and snacks before the day starts so you can stick to it.2
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I would eat more carbs but reduce sugar. What I have experienced every time I drop my sugar intake the weight would fall off of me. In addition sugars cause me to feel hungry or want to snack.1
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can you please open up your diary?0
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Fruit smoothies and fruit snacks are a great way to get lots of fruit sugar which isn't necessarily the devil but can leave you short of fat and protein. Fat and protein is a good thing. Get some. Stay within your calorie targets by weighing and pre-logging everything your eat.2
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Could it not just be that it's psychological, because you are taking note of what you are eating it is on your brain?
I find that when I start logging again I'm always really hungry because I'm actively thinking about food.0 -
Hi there! Here are my two cents on your post. Number one is have a support system, have someone do it with you or have people who are willing to go the distance with you. When my dad started his weight loss journey we made it a family effort. We all would exercise and we would cut out most junk food.(key most) It really helped him tons to have everyone along for the journey and people to support him. Number two you don't have to cut out junk food totally. As several people have said just cut it back and measure! I cannot tell you how much of a difference measuring makes! An eyeball of that's about 1/2 a cup is way different than an actual 1/2 cup. The key isn't really to totally eliminate, it's to find a good balance. If you like chocolate have some chocolate! Just keep it to a serving. My dad loves chocolate so he made his snack low calorie high protein Greek yogurt with a serving mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Finding a good balance is all you need. Another thing is find foods that you like that are filling, don't eat oatmeal if you don't like it! Eating something you don't like tends to leave you less satisfied in the end run. My dad personally loves oatmeal so that was his go to, he has it every morning(barf!) and it keeps him satisfied until he has his snack. Eat what you like not what you feel you have to eat to stay full and at goal. Switch eggs for oatmeal, or try a protein milkshake. When it come to exercise I find do the exercise you like not what you feel you have to. My dad hates running tried to do it but hated it, so instead of forcing himself to run 3 miles he walks 5 miles at a brisk pace. Just find a balance look for foods that you like that fit into your diet, don't try and force yourself into a diet because others say it worked for them, do what works for you. Oh and water, drink lots of water drinking lots of water helps.:)(if you hate the blandness flavor it) That's my two cents and I am no nutritionist so that's just personal experiences. Good luck I know you got this!:)3
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Ironandwine69 wrote: »Assuming correct log of food, there is one problem: you feel hungry.
There are TWO elements in food that help in filling sensation and ONLY TWO: Fiber and Protein.
So you should include high protein and high fiber food.
Seeing your diet, I will remove completely the nuts, so you can replace by protein and fiber.
So more meat and beans should be my suggestion, careful with pasta, bread and even fruit. With fruit only whole fruit (especially the skin AND seeds, where the fiber is). So no smoothies.
If after all that did not work, there are some cheats: tea, coffee and maybe chewing gum.
No, the one problem here is that the OP is not losing weight. Feeling hungry is most likely mind playing games, or body adjusting if OP used to eat 4000 calories before dieting. If that's the case, the weight would have come off.
I don't understand why you would replace nuts. Nuts are one of the best foods for the body. The tricky part with nuts is that they are calorie packed and is super easy to have 400 calories in what you think it's a healthy snack. Portion is key. With everything.
Regarding the nuts, you mention the reason. In my case I removed nuts completely, they are healthy but not necessary. Now I am in maintenance and have some cashews to fill my calories, because I know they are very healthy.
I apply the same principle to rice, potatos, etc (except they are not specially healthy). I basically killed them and went to beans, salads and vegetables.
If the OP must reduce drastically the calories ingestion, my suggestion is to optimize them by increasing proteins and fibers and use other healthy fats for support (sautee artichokes in olive oil, for example).
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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.
The first reply was the right one.
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OP, there are a lot of people going back and forth about specific foods, but at the end of the day, the bottom line that they are all referring to is something called macro balance.
The balance in your diet of carbs, fat, protein, and fiber will affect how full the food you are eating will make you feel. This is something that's very individual and only you can determine this through trial and error.
So even if people are definitively telling you to go keto or ditch oatmeal or stop eating nuts, only you will be able to determine if any of these are the optimal solution for your problem with hunger! (For example, I personally feel fullest on a low fat diet that's high in starch, fiber, and protein whereas someone on keto would be ravenous eating the same 1600-1800 calories I do).
As someone else said upthread, it seems likely that since your "junk" food diet was higher in fat than your current diet, fat might be something you need to increase in order to feel full. One way to do that would be to cut the nuts, slightly decrease some of your servings of carbs and start using oils on your vegetables for those calories instead.11 -
I totally agree with @amyr271. Is it possible you miss your "junk food" and are obsessing over it. I totally do that. Maybe leave 200 calories for a treat at the time of day you need it most. For me, that is at night. I like some ice cream or chocolate. By not denying myself these things I tend to be more satisfied and give myself something to look forward to.
My other suggestion is maybe eat for volume. Were you a volume eater before? Like, I can eat 1 piece of toast with butter, or I can eat 2 pieces of toast dry. I can eat 4 cups of steamed broccoli or I can eat half of a baked potato with sour cream. See what I mean? If volume eating is important to you feeling full maybe try that?3 -
Fat is my satiating macro. If I cut it too low, I'd probably feel hungry even on 2k calories/day. Which, incidentally, sounds high for losing *to me* but I maintain on 1700 so maybe I'm just jealous!4
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2000 cals a day sounds like a lot for weight loss. I am similar stats to you - 5'8" and 190lbs. I can only lose weight at 1400 cals a day and I train 4-5 times a week plus 10k steps a day. My maintenance cals are 1800 so unless you have a very active job then 2000 cals is probably too high. I would consider dropping to 1500-1600 and fill up with lots of fibrous veg, protein and drink plenty of water. It can be trial and error with the cals- I had to play around a little with the figures until I found what worked.5
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theledger5 wrote: »2000 cals a day sounds like a lot for weight loss. I am similar stats to you - 5'8" and 190lbs. I can only lose weight at 1400 cals a day and I train 4-5 times a week plus 10k steps a day. My maintenance cals are 1800 so unless you have a very active job then 2000 cals is probably too high. I would consider dropping to 1500-1600 and fill up with lots of fibrous veg, protein and drink plenty of water. It can be trial and error with the cals- I had to play around a little with the figures until I found what worked.
She's eating 3000 a day and maintaining. She needs to actually eat at 2000 calories a day and see what happens before changing things.
I'm 5'9" and 158lbs. I can maintain around 2500 to 3000, lose at 1800 to 2000.5 -
When you're hungry, eat salad or green vegetables. Steamed, no butter, little or no dressing (which usually has oil, try just the balsamic vinegar). "You can eat all the broccoli you want." Avoid oils, fats, white starch (i.e - potato) and refined sugars. Look for complex (whole) carbs.0
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1. Fat and protein are filling. Sub out some of those carbs for more fat and protein.
2. You have a lot of snacks and meals throughout the day, so you may not be satiating yourself enough with this "grazing" approach. I'm most successful when I intermittent fast - I skip breakfast and only have 2 meals a day. At 1300 calories, I get to have 2 650 calorie meals. They are very filling and keep me full for a long time. I don't miss breakfast or snacking at all.3 -
I really, really wish that forum members would stop making definitive statements like "X and X are filling" as if they are universally factual.
They are, in fact, not, and they may not be universally factual for any given individual over the time they are dieting if, for example their activity level or preferences change.
Making general suggestions to play with macro balance for satiety is helpful. Making specific ones outside of the context that you're only basing them on your own experience without regard to the fact that satiety is an individual thing isn't.22 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I really, really wish that forum members would stop making definitive statements like "X and X are filling" as if they are universally factual.
They are, in fact, not, and they may not be universally factual for any given individual over the time they are dieting if, for example their activity level or preferences change.
Making general suggestions to play with macro balance for satiety is helpful. Making specific ones outside of the context that you're only basing them on your own experience without regard to the fact that satiety is an individual thing isn't.
Agreed.3 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I really, really wish that forum members would stop making definitive statements like "X and X are filling" as if they are universally factual.
They are, in fact, not, and they may not be universally factual for any given individual over the time they are dieting if, for example their activity level or preferences change.
Making general suggestions to play with macro balance for satiety is helpful. Making specific ones outside of the context that you're only basing them on your own experience without regard to the fact that satiety is an individual thing isn't.
Yes, please.
I find I'm quite satisfied, mentally and physically, with fat+carb combos (which are typically high calorie). I can eat a peanut buster parfait from Dairy Queen and be full, satisfied, and not thinking/planning my next meal for 4-5 hours. I ate 173 grams of milk chocolate bunny on Easter breakfast and I felt no desire to wonder about lunch.
OP, find a macro combo that works for you. Yes, it's okay to eat "junk" food as part of your plan just fit it into your calories without crowding out "healthy" foods.7 -
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