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

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Replies

  • cellosmiles
    cellosmiles Posts: 680 Member
    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. :smile:

    Keep persevering and adapting as you go along. You will see progress!


  • CiaIgle
    CiaIgle Posts: 72 Member
    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.

  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
    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.
  • PikaJoyJoy
    PikaJoyJoy Posts: 280 Member
    OP - would you consider making your diary public?
  • aureus30
    aureus30 Posts: 1 Member
    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 day
  • megomerrett
    megomerrett Posts: 442 Member
    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.
  • 1coolmofo
    1coolmofo Posts: 65 Member
    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.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    can you please open up your diary?
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    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.
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
    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.
  • aelise99
    aelise99 Posts: 1 Member
    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!:)
  • CiaIgle
    CiaIgle Posts: 72 Member
    CiaIgle 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).





  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    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.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    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?
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    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!
  • ab0161
    ab0161 Posts: 3 Member
    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.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    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.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    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.