Still feel hungry

Kile2198

I have reduced my daily calorie intake from about 2500 a day to 1600. I maintained around 147 lbs at 2500 calories a day for 1 1/2 years. This program is saying I should have gained weight but didn’t. I want to get down to 130lbs but at 1600 calories a day, I feel like I am starving all the time and it hasn’t eased up. If I maintained at 2500 calories a day, could I consume 2000 a day and still lose weight? If not, do you have some good low calorie snack ideas? I stay away from anything with artificial sweeteners.

Keladelphia

MFP's calorie settings are a recommendation that fit a good deal of the population correctly (especially when activity levels are selected appropriately) however they are not a good fit for everyone. Your own TDEE can vary from what MFP estimates and it sounds like you found yours at 2500. If you were maintaining at 2500 calories a day and you cut to 2000 a day you should still lose a pound a week.

TeaBea

Protein, fiber, and fat are satiating components. But it's a different combination for everyone, so unfortunately it's trial and error.

If your TDEE is really 2,500, then yes you would lose on 2,000 calories.

deannalfisher

if you were maintaining on 2500 (which is slightly below my maintenance at 5'3", 148), then 2000cal would be a 500cal deficit a day - which would result in approx. 1lb weight loss a week

TavistockToad

Kile2198 wrote: »

I have reduced my daily calorie intake from about 2500 a day to 1600. I maintained around 147 lbs at 2500 calories a day for 1 1/2 years. This program is saying I should have gained weight but didn’t. I want to get down to 130lbs but at 1600 calories a day, I feel like I am starving all the time and it hasn’t eased up. If I maintained at 2500 calories a day, could I consume 2000 a day and still lose weight? If not, do you have some good low calorie snack ideas? I stay away from anything with artificial sweeteners.

Yep, if you maintain on 2500 then you should lose around a pound a week on 2000

Kile2198

Thanks everyone! I assumed that would be the case but I wanted to make sure because 2500 to maintain sounded like a lot. It doesn’t seem like it is too uncommon. I must be more active than I had thought.

steveko89

If you want to try to back-calculate your TDEE rather estimating/calculating calorie burn or activity levels, check out the link to a google sheet for doing so under "Step 1" on the page below. Been using it since July and have been much happier with it than using MFP's or other means of calculating TDEE and deficit levels. Plug in your desired loss/gain rate and log your daily body weight and calories, it spits out your calculated TDEE (included exerciese and other daily activity) and maths what your intake should be for losing, gaining or maintaining.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/getting_started

flippy1234

Make sure you are incorporating healthy fats in your eating. So important for feeling satisfied and keeping your brain from getting foggy when you cut calories.

Kile2198

We are farmers so most of our food comes from the farm and my husbands hunts so we usually have elk, chicken, and pork in the freezer year round. I do a lot of vegetables, eggs, a little fruit (maybe a cup a day), minimal dairy (usually cottage cheese because that stuff is addicting), and meat. I can’t do gluten because I am celiac. I can’t stand nuts or fish — i tried and can’t stomach either.

deannalfisher

what about avocado? like @flippy1234 said - getting healthy fats is good for you - personally i use full-fat dairy (yogurt/whole milk) to make sure i get mine

Nixi3Knox

I find the MFP generated goals to be wrong for me. For example, without exercise it claims I should be able to consume 1,580 to lose weight. When it says that "If everyday were like today you will weigh such-and-such in 5 weeks". It is never correct. I find If I eat at MFP suggested "maintenance" I gain, and gain fast. If I want to lose beyond 145 lbs I have to seriously cut my calories uncomfortably low, and that's even with exercise. All that being said, thank God I love vegetables. When I get insatiably hungry (as I often do when consuming too many carbs) I have to really struggle to stay remotely in range for at least maintenance. I think it's nice that the formula here is great for most, but for a few of us it just doesn't work all that well.