Always hungry on 2,000 calories and not losing weight :( Please help!
Replies
-
Tacklewasher wrote: »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.
Agreed. OP, eat a variety of foods...find out what fills you up. Though tedious, maybe start a food journal and write down what you eat at certain times and maybe jot down how you feel after a few hours. Might help you determine which foods make you feel full.0 -
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.
7 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »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.
I agree! Which is why I said fat is *my* satiating macro. Hopefully that was clear enough, but if not -
OP, fat helps ME feel full, and happy, and not like I'm punishing myself. I eat plenty of carbs and protein, too, but if I have a super low fat day like you outlined earlier, I feel like I want to gnaw my own arm off. Your mileage may vary.4 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »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.
This all day long.
I largely need a mix of all three macros with my meals to feel full.
That said, I can also eat carbs all day long and feel satisfied, it's just it doesn't help me hit my important to me protein goal. I also largely only get about half of my fibre goal, fibre isn't important to my satiety personally.
So play around with your macros, fit in some of your "junk" foods to help psychologically. Find what works for you personally. To start with, as you are now low in it, I would try adding in some fats. It does sacrifice calories for other things but it may be the key. Switching out some fruit for fat could be the easiest way. If not then fine, try a different balance.
Eating healthfully is a good goal to have but fast food still has lots of nutrients so don't be afraid to include some if it helps with compliance.3 -
I agree with the suggestion of playing with your macros to see what effect is has on your satiety. The only thing I would like to add is to also pay attention to how your exercise affects your appetite. I didn't realize how much running was increasing my appetite until I had to reduce my running for a few days due to travel. I was worried about being hungry without all the extra calories I "earned" from working out, but I was surprisingly satiated on much fewer calories. I'm going to experiment with reducing the volume of cardio to see how it affects my "runger", especially those long run days when my hunger far exceeds the calories I get from running that 8-10 miles.2
-
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, that and the comments about 2000 calories possibly being too high for weight loss. OP may not have the same rate of loss as others. Besides, I'm 5'3" and 113 pounds and even I lose weight on 2000 calories.3 -
I agree with the suggestion of playing with your macros to see what effect is has on your satiety. The only thing I would like to add is to also pay attention to how your exercise affects your appetite. I didn't realize how much running was increasing my appetite until I had to reduce my running for a few days due to travel. I was worried about being hungry without all the extra calories I "earned" from working out, but I was surprisingly satiated on much fewer calories. I'm going to experiment with reducing the volume of cardio to see how it affects my "runger", especially those long run days when my hunger far exceeds the calories I get from running that 8-10 miles.
It's funny, I have a sweet spot with running. If I don't run at all, I get hungry, and if I run too much I get hungry.
There's a "just right" amount of daily running which suppresses my appetite.2 -
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.
I would have to also disagree with this.
I am 5'1'', 180 lbs losing a pound per week eating 2200 calories. So I don't find 2000 to be unreasonable at all. And as someone else mentioned, the OP is actually eating closer to 3000 cals and maintaining. If anything they could eat around 2500 and see if the extra cals help them feel satiated. 1500-1600 for someone that maintains at 3000 is not a good idea...4 -
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.
So much this.1 -
More fat, more protein. Less carbs, less sugar. Fruit makes me feel hungrier because of the sugar.0
-
Sagittarius1995 wrote: »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?
Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
I would like to see what your protein is set to and what you hit. I wouldn't be satisfied with that little protein. Can't tell about the fat because I don't know how much nuts you are eating. But if it's just a moderate amount of nuts, you may not be getting enough fat to satisfy yourself either. Especially since you were satisfied with presumably higher fat junk food.
Also, beware of trying to log the past. It's hard enough to do same day. Easy to forget a protein bar here or a candy bar there (or whatever) and this ads up.1 -
I don't do keto or really low carb because that makes me hungry, but I do find fat and protein with smaller amounts of carbs more satiating. Fruit always makes me ravenous so I tend not to eat much of it, maybe a serving a day. Your body may be entirely different from mine, but it does help to experiment with different ways of eating to see what makes you feel best. For example, one poster said milk isn't filling; a glass of whole milk will leave me full for 4-5 hours. Others find oatmeal a satiating breakfast. I don't, unless I have some eggs with it. Someone else may feel great on ketogenic; it doesn't work well with my health. Experiment and see what works for you. Really, the biggest thing I see from your menu plan, without knowing all the details and specifics, is way too much sugar in the form of fruit and starches, and not nearly enough fat and protein.
Also, have you recently begun a new exercise program. If so, your muscles may be retaining fluid and that can affect the scale.0 -
Sagittarius1995 wrote: »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.
As people have said (or illustrated by their comments), what actually ends up being a satiating diet is individual. It's also often difficult -- especially at first -- to separate out mental hunger (or freak out to changing things) from actual hunger. Meal timing is also individual -- some do much better eating a lot, as they feel it prevents them from being hungry and overeating. Others do best skipping breakfast (which makes them hungrier) and eating only 2 big meals. Me, I hate snacking and find it makes me hungrier and like 3 meals, but I am also a creature of habit and if I start snacking again and stop I am hungry all the time (or want to eat all the time, even if I don't actually feel hungry, which is my thing).
I think you maybe want to approach this like an investigation. Keep a journal (on your computer or jot notes on MFP or whatever works) or even use the blog function. Try different things and note how you feel. For example, start with what you've been doing and make one change -- adding in more fat is a good one, as cutting fat way back is a change you made from how you were eating before. Then for a few days note how much sleep you got (undersleeping can lead to hunger), what you eat and drink (the log works for this, but do include non calorie drinks), how you feel before and after each meal/snack, when you are feeling hungry at various times of the day (with the time, also include the times of your meal), what else is going on (did someone offer you something you consider off-limits and turned down, were you stressed, were you bored).
After each day look for some patterns and after a week maybe decide what was working and not and change things up. Try cutting out snacks or changing the macros (more protein or some such), try eating more protein in the morning and more carbs in the evening, whatever appeals. You can figure out what works for you and it might even be fun/interesting. It also might make you have an easier time sticking to 2000 and determining if that is the right limit for you (seems reasonable to me), as thinking of the hunger as part of the experiment might make it easier to deal with until your next planned meal.
Another thing is that satisfaction is important. This was something that I actually didn't recognize for myself for a while even though I've always preached eating for enjoyment while losing and making sure you love your meals. I find that I tend to want to eat more outside my planned meals or struggle more sticking to them as soon as there is any hardship (being stressed, tired, burned out) if I am not satisfied by how I am eating. So do try including some foods just because you enjoy them. Like breakfast sandwiches? My sister makes herself one every morning with some bacon, an egg, whole wheat english muffins. There's no reason something like that would be less able to fit in a good diet than your current breakfast, and you might find the fat makes it more satisfying.3 -
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.
I think it's the part where you said the ONLY TWO elements that help with satiety (specifically fibre and protein) is where you misspoke. A lot of people find fats more satiating than either of those two. And I'm another one of those.
10 -
Everyone is different, but I cannot eat carbs for breakfast, I will be hungry in 30 mins again, kind of like Chinese food. lol if I eat eggs/protein I feel more satisfied but everyone of course is different. I only eat on average two meals a day and hardly ever snack, some days I am hungrier, depending on my workout and I might eat other snacks but protein and fat satiate me. I think its just all about tweaking it. So if you are ravenous with eating oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast, try something else for breakfast that isn't so carb based and more substantial to hold you over or vice versa. We all don't fit in a box. Remember when kale was all the rage, you couldn't get me to eat kale if my life depended on it (well maybe then), now all the rage is cauliflower everything, rice, pizza, cauliflower is the new coconut oil. Just keep switching things up, still keep things clean, people used to think it was weird that sometimes I'd eat chicken for breakfast because it wasn't "breakfast food" who cares, its food and I am breaking my fast, nobody said I had to eat oatmeal for breakfast. Find what works for you. Good luck.2
-
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.
This is what you should pay attention to. Find what works for YOU. I was a low carb vegetarian and gained weight quickly but when I changed my diet and started eat a balance of everything (meat, fruits, vegetables, carbs, and even chocolate, candy, McDonald's, and alcohol) I wasn't hungry all the time and I could stay at a calorie deficit.
Weight loss doesn't require you to suffer or deprieve yourself of anything. This is why most people give up.
It is also important to remember there is a difference between not feeling full and being hungry, some people have trouble knowing the difference.
2 -
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
So not true. A calorie deficit is for weight loss. Someone who never leaves their bed could lose weight if they ate less calories than they burn. Exercise is for cardiovascular health and muscle retention (along with adequate protien).5 -
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.
Exactly. For me, a balance of carbs, fat and protien are filling. Too much fat? I'm hungry. Too much protien? I'm hungry. A balance of all 3 with adequate water and fibre? Call me Goldilocks.2 -
Another thought is that the junk food you were eating before could've had improperly labeled macros. I don't know if there are newer guidelines, but below is what I found on the FDA's website. Looks like packaged food can be labeled as having fewer calories than they actually have. Maybe you were actually eating more calories than you thought on your previous diet and your current foods are more accurate, so you'd be hungrier. I'd tough it out for now. Your appetite will eventually get used to it.The Third Group nutrients include calories, sugars, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. However, for products (e.g., fruit drinks, juices, and confectioneries) with a sugars content of 90 percent or more of total carbohydrate, to prevent labeling anomalies due in part to rounding, FDA treats total carbohydrate as a Third Group nutrient instead of a Class II nutrient. For foods with label declarations of Third Group nutrients, the ratio between the amount obtained by laboratory analysis and the amount declared on the product label in the Nutrition Facts panel must be 120% or less, i.e., the label is considered to be out of compliance if the nutrient content of a composite of the product is greater than 20% above the value declared on the label. For example, if a laboratory analysis found 8 g of total fat/serving in a product that stated that it contained 6 g of total fat/serving, the ratio between the laboratory value and the label value would be (8 / 6) x 100 = 133%, and the product label would be considered to be out of compliance.0
-
givesometogetsome wrote: »Another thought is that the junk food you were eating before could've had improperly labeled macros. I don't know if there are newer guidelines, but below is what I found on the FDA's website. Looks like packaged food can be labeled as having fewer calories than they actually have. Maybe you were actually eating more calories than you thought on your previous diet and your current foods are more accurate, so you'd be hungrier. I'd tough it out for now. Your appetite will eventually get used to it.The Third Group nutrients include calories, sugars, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. However, for products (e.g., fruit drinks, juices, and confectioneries) with a sugars content of 90 percent or more of total carbohydrate, to prevent labeling anomalies due in part to rounding, FDA treats total carbohydrate as a Third Group nutrient instead of a Class II nutrient. For foods with label declarations of Third Group nutrients, the ratio between the amount obtained by laboratory analysis and the amount declared on the product label in the Nutrition Facts panel must be 120% or less, i.e., the label is considered to be out of compliance if the nutrient content of a composite of the product is greater than 20% above the value declared on the label. For example, if a laboratory analysis found 8 g of total fat/serving in a product that stated that it contained 6 g of total fat/serving, the ratio between the laboratory value and the label value would be (8 / 6) x 100 = 133%, and the product label would be considered to be out of compliance.
This is why it is recommended to weigh all solid food on a food scale and use cups/spoons for liquid only2
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 901 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions