Willpower Help

mskeyes2

It seems I can either diet or exercise but never both at the same time. I joined the gym 2 weeks ago and have been going religiously but eating like a cow. Seems I'm always starving and get almost panicked waiting for my next meal. How do you all control your portions and your hunger. I know it's all in my mind but I'm so discouraged. Can I tone up with bad eating habits?

SonyaCele

why are you starving, are you eating enough? figure out your calorie level for weight loss and eat that amount. you shouldn't be hungry.

MichelleSilverleaf

Without knowing what your daily calories are, how much exactly you're eating and how much you're burning it's hard to say. But weight loss doesn't mean being hungry all the time or miserable. So let's start there - what are your daily calories, how much are you consuming a day, and are you eating back any of your exercise calories?

TavistockToad

msmossyoak1971 wrote: »

It seems I can either diet or exercise but never both at the same time. I joined the gym 2 weeks ago and have been going religiously but eating like a cow. Seems I'm always starving and get almost panicked waiting for my next meal. How do you all control your portions and your hunger. I know it's all in my mind but I'm so discouraged. Can I tone up with bad eating habits?

open your diary.

jemhh

SonyaCele wrote: »

why are you starving, are you eating enough? figure out your calorie level for weight loss and eat that amount. you shouldn't be hungry.

This.

I see many people make the mistake of cranking up exercise while slashing calories too low. I suggest eating at maintenance or in a small deficit to start. It's better to make small and sustainable changes.

SezxyStef

msmossyoak1971 wrote: »

It seems I can either diet or exercise but never both at the same time. I joined the gym 2 weeks ago and have been going religiously but eating like a cow. Seems I'm always starving and get almost panicked waiting for my next meal. How do you all control your portions and your hunger. I know it's all in my mind but I'm so discouraged. Can I tone up with bad eating habits?

Yes exercise will make you hungrier for sure.

But as others have said how much are you eating now? what are you doing for exercise?

As for toning up with bad eating habits....tightening up and having less jiggle (assuming that is what you mean by toning) comes from fat loss ( less food in) and maintaining muscle as you lose the fat (exercise such as resistance training or weight lifting) so yes you can...

but if by bad eating habit you mean over eating...no you can't.

ritzvin

msmossyoak1971 wrote: »

It seems I can either diet or exercise but never both at the same time. I joined the gym 2 weeks ago and have been going religiously but eating like a cow. Seems I'm always starving and get almost panicked waiting for my next meal. How do you all control your portions and your hunger. I know it's all in my mind but I'm so discouraged. Can I tone up with bad eating habits?

You can try opting for something that is slower and less calorie dense to eat right after gym. I know that when I am absolutely ravenously hungry after a workout, I can very quickly wolf down a tremendous number of calories before realizing I had eaten enough. (post-ride burger and fries with cycling group comes to mind).

Also- make sure you are eating back your exercise calories (you shouldn't be trying to eat the same lower amount as you would when you were sedentary) - that will leave you hungry and your workouts will suffer.

Other than that, aim more towards the macros that make & keep you feeling full (this varies by person. For me, higher fiber).

mskeyes2

My allowed calories are 1400 and I aim to stay around that mark. I occasionally do eat my exercise calories that I have made. I do all of the upper body machines one day, leg machines the next and cardio on the next and repeat. Resting one day a week. I did low carb forever and did well on it but I AM SO SICK OF LOW CARB

SonyaCele

msmossyoak1971 wrote: »

My allowed calories are 1400 and I aim to stay around that mark. I occasionally do eat my exercise calories that I have made. I do all of the upper body machines one day, leg machines the next and cardio on the next and repeat. Resting one day a week. I did low carb forever and did well on it but I AM SO SICK OF LOW CARB

make those 1400 calories count, make sure your macros are right. Eat often, eat healthy choices, drink a lot of water. carbs are ok, just eat the right amount.

SezxyStef

msmossyoak1971 wrote: »

My allowed calories are 1400 and I aim to stay around that mark. I occasionally do eat my exercise calories that I have made. I do all of the upper body machines one day, leg machines the next and cardio on the next and repeat. Resting one day a week. I did low carb forever and did well on it but I AM SO SICK OF LOW CARB

If you got the 1400 from MFP then you have to understand that MFP is designed to eat back exercise calories.

That is the first issue at hand. Now I am not saying eat them if not hungry but eat at least some of them.

2nd find what helps keep you feeling fuller.

Protein and fats and fibre often are the go to's for that.

For example I had my breakfast of an english muffin egg sandwich made at home...with cheese and ham.

I got hungry about 11 am (run yesterday plus heavy weights upper) so I ate a peach and a greek yogurt...lots of protein.

This afternoon if I get hungry before i leave work 1/2 protein bar...

mskeyes2

Thanks everyone. I am going to try again today and try to control my bingeing.

TavistockToad

msmossyoak1971 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I am going to try again today and try to control my bingeing.

quite often people binge because they're eating their feelings. next time you want to binge, maybe think about that, and how you can develop different coping mechanisms.

govenderd1

Try to incentive yourself. Promise yourself to buy something nice if you meet certain goals. I promised myself new running shoes if I dropped below 67kg by 31 Aug. Weighed 67.1kg just now

mskeyes2

Thank you everyone. This week has been a better one. Mindset is better and gym is still going well. Feel better already. Discipline is key and I'm trying to stay focused on the prize.

sheepingly

Yep. If you exercise more you need to eat more to compensate.

KetoZombies

Protein! You could also look into OMAD (one meal a day) where you intermitted fast and only eat once a day, a nice HUGE meal

spiriteagle99

If you hate eating low carb, then stop doing it. I lost weight a couple of times doing Atkins, but gained the weight back afterwards because the food choices were too limited and didn't include some of the foods I like best - like fruit, bread, beer and ice cream. Low carb eating was never sustainable in the long term for me. I also got to the point where I hated many of the foods I was relying on,like eggs and chicken. It took me a long time to get over that. You don't have to do low carb to lose weight. Yes, it can be helpful to stop eating a lot of high calorie sweets, but you don't have to eliminate huge classes of food in order to lose weight. Just eat less of the foods you like.

Calichusetts

I like IF not for the physical results but also mental. It helps train your body and mind as to when you need to eat and when you don't. I don't eat after 2 pm and workout at night. No issues. I also eat dinner for breakfast: 1 pound of chicken with tons of veggies. Fills me up, gets me my protein. Then just snacks and salads throughout the day. No real cravings or urges after years of doing this.