Always, always, ALWAYS hungry.

ccruz985

I am at goal weight and am in maintenance now. Lately, I’m always always hungry. It’s very rare that I eat and am not legitimately hungry again an hour and a half later. I drink a LOT of water and have at least one 16oz cup of green tea with lemon and Splenda a day. My food diary is open. I’m restricting myself to maintenance calories but honestly, I’m so sick of feeling hungry half the time when I’m supposed to be in maintenance! Yesterday I was googling this mystery and I skimmed an article before I left and I saw something about it saying that eating more carbs and less protein is a huge contributor to my issue. Unfortunately, I can’t find the article again today to read it more in depth. I’ve also been craving sugar more lately. I did see something that said to eat more protein and fiber and less carbs and that carbs were the root of the hunger. I thought it was just CICO and exercise and that the rest was mostly irrelevant. Is this not the case after all?

janejellyroll

CICO is the formula of how your body loses weight. But the foods/macros you eat are important in meeting your nutritional needs and avoiding hunger.

You can lose weight on whatever type of food if your calories are in order. But, as you seem to be finding, we can be a lot hungrier on some types of food than others. Many people do feel better when they get more protein and fiber and fewer carbohydrates. For others, the secret is fat. And some people actually feel better when they eat more carbohydrates (I'm one of these people). So if you're hungry, experiment with different macronutrient targets and pay attention to how you feel on those days. That's how you can figure out what will work best for you.

janejellyroll

Also, if you open your diary we may be able to suggest some swaps or additions to help you out.

cwolfman13

Different people find that different foods satiate them. Note that most foods high in fiber are also high in carbohydrates...so when you say carbohydrates, you're talking about a pretty broad spectrum of food. Personally, I find that things like lentils and legumes and potatoes, etc are very satiating...these are all high carbs foods...so it probably depends on what kind of carbs you're eating.

CICO is just the weight management formula...it's just the energy math...it has nothing to do with satiety...I can eat 800 calories worth of doughnuts for breakfast and I'm not going to be satiated...I can eat a 500 calorie breakfast of eggs, avocado, and pinto beans and be quite satisfied until lunch.

kommodevaran

Eat more balanced, varied and nutritious food, and less junk food. Only CICO controls your weight, but that's all it does.

ccruz985

@janejellyroll I'm sorry, I thought it was!! It is now.

Fitnessgirl0913

Are you weighing your food? I know this question is usually asked when people have stalled weight loss but I have a reason. I was not weighing my food, thinking I could "eyeball" and measure everything just fine. I was always hungry and it turns out I was actually overestimating my food intake. This is the opposite of the problem people usually have but a food scale helps both ways! I started to weigh everything and realized I was eating a lot less then I thought I was which is why I was always hungry.

jayemes

I'm losing right now, but I find it's much easier to stick to my deficit when I eat enough protein. I aim for 107g a day on 1430 calories (I'm 5'7 1/2" CW183)
If I'm hungry, invariably I'll look back and realize I'm super low on my protein for the day. My weakness before was bread in all shapes and sizes and now I realize that bread doesn't fill me up.
If I eat grilled chicken or eggs or yogurt, I'm good for a few hours. If I eat a giant bagel I'm hungry again in no time.

Penthesilea514

ccruz985 wrote: »

I am at goal weight and am in maintenance now. Lately, I’m always always hungry. It’s very rare that I eat and am not legitimately hungry again an hour and a half later. I drink a LOT of water and have at least one 16oz cup of green tea with lemon and Splenda a day. My food diary is open. I’m restricting myself to maintenance calories but honestly, I’m so sick of feeling hungry half the time when I’m supposed to be in maintenance! Yesterday I was googling this mystery and I skimmed an article before I left and I saw something about it saying that eating more carbs and less protein is a huge contributor to my issue. Unfortunately, I can’t find the article again today to read it more in depth. I’ve also been craving sugar more lately. I did see something that said to eat more protein and fiber and less carbs and that carbs were the root of the hunger. I thought it was just CICO and exercise and that the rest was mostly irrelevant. Is this not the case after all?

Your diary shows you have not managed to hit your protein goal in the last 4 days or so. I find protein to make a huge difference (personally) with satiety and feeling full. Others find fats to be very satisfying to feel full. It can take some trial and error, but you can find a way to feel less hungry.

Penthesilea514

That is to say, I don't believe carbs are bad, I eat about 50% calories from carbs- I just don't feel as full eating say a donut versus some scrambled eggs and some bacon. YMMV. So be open to perhaps trying some new things. For example, when I want something sweet and hit my protein goals, I don't mind using protein shakes to satisfy my sweet tooth and help me hit my macros. Greek yogurt and some toppings like berries or nuts are a great option too.

KelGen02

I find the days that I do not get in enough protein I am ravenous... looking through your diary you are not even close to your protein goals most days. Maybe increase that for a few days and see how it goes... I am big on protein and healthy fats, they are what keep me feeling full and satisfied. Good luck!

ccruz985

Fitnessgirl0913 wrote: »

Are you weighing your food? I know this question is usually asked when people have stalled weight loss but I have a reason. I was not weighing my food, thinking I could "eyeball" and measure everything just fine. I was always hungry and it turns out I was actually overestimating my food intake. This is the opposite of the problem people usually have but a food scale helps both ways! I started to weigh everything and realized I was eating a lot less then I thought I was which is why I was always hungry.

I WEIGH EVERYTHIIIIING! When I cook, I separate the raw meat and weigh mine and cook it separately, I weight cold cuts when I'm making a sammy, I weight veggies before I'm making a pot of soup. That food scale is tired of me.

ccruz985

I really thought that once I hit goal, I could increase my carbs as long as I stayed within my calorie allowance but you all sound like you're really onto something. I'm going to do this and monitor my hunger pangs, thanks so much!

chaosbutterfly

Proteins and fats do help alot with feeling full. Also fiber, so make sure to eat lots of leafy greens so that you can get full with not so many calories.

I also don't know what your exercise regimen looks like, but if you aren't lifting weights, starting that might help.
Personally, I've found that increasing my muscle mass (I take a barre class 5-7 times a week and lift weights in the gym as well, as heavy as I can) has made it so I can afford to eat a bit more in general, since muscle naturally increases the metabolism. You also get to look leaner at a higher weight lol. I weigh 165 and wear a size 8, and people are always surprised that I weigh as much as I do.

luckywizard

I had a peek in your diary! I know from experience that if I had a bagel at brekkie, teddy grahams as a snack later, etc that I would probably experience some blood sugar spiking and crashing that would only increase feelings of ravenousness.

Like others above have mentioned, protein and fats may help to contribute to satiety. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much protein and fat I've had-- if I have eaten a source of very digestable processed carbohydrates like white bread, cookies etc, I'll experience that blood sugar spike and crash that leaves me hungry again in an hour. It's like clockwork. My solution is simply to avoid those foods and replace them with more satiating carbohydrates like brown rice, ezekiel bread, wild rice, sweet potatoes, squash, etc.

That said, I'm kind of a bottomless pit and really need to volume eat a ton of veggies to ever feel fully satisfied without overeating calories.

I'd also echo those who recommended resistance training!

ccruz985

@chaosbutterfly @luckywizard I always log it as circuit training but I actually follow the Insanity Max:30 calendar. I use my body weight as resistance a LOT, I also do an upper body weight workout once a week with T25's Upper Focus. I own a set of Select Tech weights; I'm all about the resistance training!! Nobody believes how small I am either, not at 170. Like I said, I <i>did</i> lose all of my weight and I'm at maintenance but I just wasn't understanding why I've been so hungry lately. Everyone has really enlightened me, thank you so much!

Francl27

I've been way hungrier at maintenance, but PMS has also been way worse, so there's that week a month when I'm a bottomless pitt (and a week when I'm not very hungry, so I *try* to make it average out, but I've failed). But the bottom line is, I can eat more than I used to, but I have to make better choices than when I was losing, or I'll be hungry all the time. It totally sucks.

Your diary actually looks good to me... are you sure it's not just PMS though? How long has it been going on?

maggibailey

I fell into IF sort of by accident but I have found for me at least it works really well. I don't eat breakfast, just coffee with a little milk, until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Then all of my calories between that and about 9pm. I don't have a hard and fast timeline, just around that start and end time. I get to have large meals in that time and pretty large snacks. I'm not really hungry in the morning until I start to eat. So if I start eating early in the morning I'm HUNGRY all day. Might be worth trying.

Iamnotasenior

You diary looks great but I do see that you are eating some processed foods (like the Teddy Grahams, bagels, etc.). Highly refined, processed carbs create a quick blood sugar increase, followed by a blood sugar "crash" afterward. The blood sugar "crash" creates instant hunger and cravings for more carbs/sugar. Carbs are a necessary part of a balanced diet, but maybe try swapping out the plain bagel and the Teddy Grahams for a 100% whole wheat bagel and a high fiber protein bar instead. Just my two cents.

sympha01

Looked at your diary, I agree you might find it helpful to get more protein and to make sure your protein is included in every meal. Carb-only meals and snacks WILL tend to make many people (including me!) actually feel hungrier. I like Teddy Grahams (and Goldfish!) too, but if I must eat them I'll have some peanut butter or cheese too (a little goes a long way! 50-100 calories is plenty!) to avoid a carb / sugar rebound. Nuts are good too, but hard for me to eat in small doses because they are so freaking delicious.

As far as the carbs you are eating goes, you haven't set fiber to be on your trackable nutrients, but based on the foods I'm seeing in your diary goes I'd say you might also benefit from getting more of your carbs as fiber. Fiber helps you feel full and slows digestion a bit. Fresh fruits and vegetables, plus beans (canned or dry or frozen: all good) are actually the best way to get more fiber, IMO. In my experience, whole-grain bread and pasta are -- while better choices than refined flour options -- not particularly helpful in increasing fiber intake given that they tend to be more calorie-dense (i.e., you have to take in a lot of bread and pasta calories to make a dent in your fiber goals, which can be counter-productive).

ccruz985

Francl27 wrote: »

I've been way hungrier at maintenance, but PMS has also been way worse, so there's that week a month when I'm a bottomless pitt (and a week when I'm not very hungry, so I *try* to make it average out, but I've failed). But the bottom line is, I can eat more than I used to, but I have to make better choices than when I was losing, or I'll be hungry all the time. It totally sucks.

Your diary actually looks good to me... are you sure it's not just PMS though? How long has it been going on?

No because I've been on Depo for four years. I actually just stopped, my next appt should've been the 12th but I decided to stop.