After losing weight, I find myself hungrier than before
krist3ng
Posts: 259 Member
I notice that as I’ve lost weight, it’s gotten harder to stay under my calorie goals. I remember this happening on previous weight loss journeys, but yesterday read an article that shed some light: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-lose-weight-brain-body-effects-2017-10
Anyway, a month or two ago I was having no problem sticking to my goals— even going under them most days. I was eating around 1200 calories a day (goal was 1500) and feeling satisfied. Now I’m struggling with cravings. Solely cravings for junk food. Anyone have any advice who’s gotten past this?
I’m also busy with work, which makes cooking meals kind of annoying (but I can make it a priority).
(A solution I’d come up with for snacking cravings had been to keep a supply of Fudgesicles and string cheese on hand— both delicious and relatively low-cal, and they take a while to eat. But it’s not a panacea..)
Anyway, a month or two ago I was having no problem sticking to my goals— even going under them most days. I was eating around 1200 calories a day (goal was 1500) and feeling satisfied. Now I’m struggling with cravings. Solely cravings for junk food. Anyone have any advice who’s gotten past this?
I’m also busy with work, which makes cooking meals kind of annoying (but I can make it a priority).
(A solution I’d come up with for snacking cravings had been to keep a supply of Fudgesicles and string cheese on hand— both delicious and relatively low-cal, and they take a while to eat. But it’s not a panacea..)
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Replies
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Hunger and cravings are not the same thing.
But yes, when you end up restricting too much (1200 is too low for most women), you typically end up craving what you've been avoiding, that's why so many people gain the weight back...
Eat to your goal.13 -
Are you still in weight loss phase, or have you reached maintenance?
Read this thread if you're still losing:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1
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Sounds like you're eating because you're tired and/or stressed. What I do is when I've been working hard but I feel logie, I'll drink a mug of flavored black tea or green tea- no milk/sugar. It's zero cal and it gives me the caffeine kick I need (I don't drink coffee).3
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Hunger and cravings are not the same thing.
But yes, when you end up restricting too much (1200 is too low for most women), you typically end up craving what you've been avoiding, that's why so many people gain the weight back...
Eat to your goal.
I think I wasn’t clear. I was feeling full on around 1200 calories a day, easily— some days I’d even eat extra just to hit my goal of 1200. Now, after losing around 23 pounds (over the course of 6 months or so), I’m not feeling full on 1300-1600 calories a day. And I hadn’t been avoiding junk food anyway (I can’t, lol), or depriving myself of what I want.
I guess what you’re saying is I should just eat all my calories and not worry about it so much.. that sounds kinda nice actually2 -
Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.21 -
Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
That makes sense! I’m sure every body is different, but does anyone have any anecdotal information on how long it usually takes for the hormones to even themselves out?
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I’ve experienced the same. I cut out some foods (like protein bars) and replaced them with high fiber fruits and veggies that fill me up more.4
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Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
That makes sense! I’m sure every body is different, but does anyone have any anecdotal information on how long it usually takes for the hormones to even themselves out?
For me, I don't know if it's a quieting of hormones or some other process, but I seem to reset to "normal" pretty quickly after I get busy with other things in life.3 -
Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
That didn't pass for me! 3 years and counting... When I was losing, I was satisfied easily on 1700 calories, now there's just no way for me to eat that little, for example (and I have to force myself to be active so I can afford to eat more).3 -
I am experiencing the same thing. I lost about 20 pounds over a year and I’m now starving most of the time. I have allowed myself to eat at or above maintenance for a few weeks (still ideally want to lose 5 pounds) and it has helped. Haven’t gained and my appetite has gone back down a bit now. I am going to try to push through and lose the last few! Also I’ve cut back my training due to a cold...not having “runger” is helping.2
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You may want to try changing what you eat, rather than the calorie count. Oh, and you should bring that up with your doctor at your next visit.Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
That didn't pass for me! 3 years and counting... When I was losing, I was satisfied easily on 1700 calories, now there's just no way for me to eat that little, for example (and I have to force myself to be active so I can afford to eat more).0 -
Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
That makes sense! I’m sure every body is different, but does anyone have any anecdotal information on how long it usually takes for the hormones to even themselves out?
Well, you need to start eating maintenance calories and stop undereating, even if you don't feel hungry. There are hormonal responses to eating at a deficit which are causing your chronic hunger, and continued deficit eating will only prolong the hormonal situation and continue your hunger.
You should be prepared for a slight uptick on the scale. This is normal and happens due to more food in your system. It's not fat gain. It goes away eventually, and that going away takes longer for some people than others. It's also important to remember that your weight will fluctuate while you're eating at maintenance and that it's normal. Give yourself a 5 pound range and don't sweat it.
A lot of people mess up entering maintenance because they don't allow this to happen and panic if the scale creeps up even a tiny bit from that goal weight they were fixated on, scale back on their calorie intake, and never truly eat at their real maintenance calories. Because they're not eating at real maintenance, their hormones are messed up, and they experience constant hunger. I think this is responsible for a lot of people regaining lost weight.
As far as how long it takes for your hunger to even out when eating at maintenance, it can vary. Just stick with it and see what happens.11 -
You may want to try changing what you eat, rather than the calorie count. Oh, and you should bring that up with your doctor at your next visit.Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
That didn't pass for me! 3 years and counting... When I was losing, I was satisfied easily on 1700 calories, now there's just no way for me to eat that little, for example (and I have to force myself to be active so I can afford to eat more).
Again though, it comes back to being hungrier than before, if you have to change your diet as you lose weight to avoid being hungry.0 -
Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
No, actually, white knuckling through it is not the answer.
OP, @GottaBurnEmAll has already pointed you to the Reeds and Diet Breaks thread, I whole-heartedly endorse having a read of that. At the very least, read this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/9 -
Actually, multiple studies have demonstrated that a partial recovery in hormone changes have occurred in various study populations within time periods less than 12 months after the initial weight loss. One can indeed 'white knuckle' through the changes over time.Nony_Mouse wrote: »Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
No, actually, white knuckling through it is not the answer.
I think what you meant to say is that 'white knuckling is not the only answer,' to which I would agree, but I have not encountered any studies that would indicate what those other solutions might be.4 -
Actually, multiple studies have demonstrated that a partial recovery in hormone changes have occurred in various study populations within time periods less than 12 months after the initial weight loss. One can indeed 'white knuckle' through the changes over time.Nony_Mouse wrote: »Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
No, actually, white knuckling through it is not the answer.
I think what you meant to say is that 'white knuckling is not the only answer,' to which I would agree, but I have not encountered any studies that would indicate what those other solutions might be.
Yes, but that's after. I'm talking about during weight loss.
Regular diet breaks. There's an entire 500 post and counting thread about them in this forum, with a heap of links.4 -
So, OP and I were discussing after weight loss if that helps our conversation make more sense. I don't have too much of an opinion for while people are dieting because, in my experience it's just such an individual experience.2
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OP I have this too, I ate a little more over the weekend (I went over my calories but was still in a deficit, and I felt alot better today,) I've had this phase once before and just eating a little more for a few days seemed to help me mentally.6
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So, OP and I were discussing after weight loss if that helps our conversation make more sense. I don't have too much of an opinion for while people are dieting because, in my experience it's just such an individual experience.
From her posts, it would appear she's still in the process of losing weight.3 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »
Actually, multiple studies have demonstrated that a partial recovery in hormone changes have occurred in various study populations within time periods less than 12 months after the initial weight loss. One can indeed 'white knuckle' through the changes over time.Nony_Mouse wrote: »Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
No, actually, white knuckling through it is not the answer.
I think what you meant to say is that 'white knuckling is not the only answer,' to which I would agree, but I have not encountered any studies that would indicate what those other solutions might be.
Yes, but that's after. I'm talking about during weight loss.
Regular diet breaks. There's an entire 500 post and counting thread about them in this forum, with a heap of links.
@Nony_Mouse I am a more with @davidylin on this.
Post diet adaptation does tend to resolve quite well if you regain all the weight + 10%.
That would probably be counter-productive to your goals; certainly it would be to mine!
Short of that the options I've found in my reading are:
--allow for a very very slow rate of weight increase at 'maintenance' for a period of 6 months to a year. [A bit of a dangerous game, at least for me.]
(an interesting (POTENTIAL) sub option of the above is that adaptations (MAY) persist while initial muscle mass is below starting muscle mass, hence strength training at maintenance/during a period of slow regain might help) [sounds good; but I don't seem willing to do the work!]
--keep at it at a maintenance level and hope for the best (aka "white-knuckle it long enough and it shall pass") [This is the option I seem to have gravitated to due to my individual make-up, though I am definitely trying my best to avoid any white-knuckles ;-)]
Hence my obsession from the beginning with minimising any adaptations during the weight loss phase!
And yes, re-feeds and diet breaks do enter into that discussion!1 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »
Actually, multiple studies have demonstrated that a partial recovery in hormone changes have occurred in various study populations within time periods less than 12 months after the initial weight loss. One can indeed 'white knuckle' through the changes over time.Nony_Mouse wrote: »Feeling hungrier than before after losing weight is a fairly well studied effect. The answer is hormones. For a period of time after you lose significant fat reserves, your hormone production will alter itself to make you try to replenish that fat.
If you hold it down, stay accountable to your intake, and be responsible with what you eat, this too, should pass.
No, actually, white knuckling through it is not the answer.
I think what you meant to say is that 'white knuckling is not the only answer,' to which I would agree, but I have not encountered any studies that would indicate what those other solutions might be.
Yes, but that's after. I'm talking about during weight loss.
Regular diet breaks. There's an entire 500 post and counting thread about them in this forum, with a heap of links.
@Nony_Mouse I am a more with @davidylin on this.
Post diet adaptation does tend to resolve quite well if you regain all the weight + 10%.
That would probably be counter-productive to your goals; certainly it would be to mine!
Short of that the options I've found in my reading are:
--allow for a very very slow rate of weight increase at 'maintenance' for a period of 6 months to a year. A bit of a dangerous game, at least for me.
--keep at it at a maintenance level and hope for the best (aka "white-knuckle it long enough and it shall pass")
Hence my obsession from the beginning with minimising any adaptations during the weight loss phase!
And yes, re-feeds and diet breaks do enter into that discussion!
Oh yeah, I'm not denying that adaptations resolve post-diet at all @PAV8888, just saying it doesn't have to be this way if you minimise the adaptations during weight loss (girl with shiny new toy, yelling it from the rooftops until everyone listens
).
And yeah, don't really want to regain all that weight (and mine was a small amount compared to many)!0 -
I think @Nony_Mouse has brought up a viable issue.
But, while there is some limited evidence that suggests that "refeeds" may have some beneficial effects on an overall weight loss plan, however, I have not come across a study that is well controlled and/or tracks overall outcomes.
I will say that if a "refeed" will help you individually stay on track and control your overall weight trend, then it would indeed be beneficial to you personally. But I think everyone can be successful without it as well.0 -
I think @Nony_Mouse has brought up a viable issue.
But, while there is some limited evidence that suggests that "refeeds" may have some beneficial effects on an overall weight loss plan, however, I have not come across a study that is well controlled and/or tracks overall outcomes.
I will say that if a "refeed" will help you individually stay on track and control your overall weight trend, then it would indeed be beneficial to you personally. But I think everyone can be successful without it as well.
@davidylin have a look at the paper Pav just posted in the refeeds thread. Well controlled study
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I did. Three issues with this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018593/Nony_Mouse wrote: »@davidylin have a look at the paper Pav just posted in the refeeds thread. Well controlled study- Tiny sample group of 72 people that are highly obese.
- "Adherence" (complying with the study protocol) was self-reported.
- Followup was only a month after a 6 week long trial period.
I would not draw any far reaching conclusions from this study.7 -
I did. Three issues with this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018593/Nony_Mouse wrote: »@davidylin have a look at the paper Pav just posted in the refeeds thread. Well controlled study- Tiny sample group of 72 people that are highly obese.
- "Adherence" (complying with the study protocol) was self-reported.
- Followup was only a month after a 6 week long trial period.
I would not draw any far reaching conclusions from this study.
Well, just to play devil's advocate, do you have studies that show the contrary?2 -
I did. Three issues with this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018593/Nony_Mouse wrote: »@davidylin have a look at the paper Pav just posted in the refeeds thread. Well controlled study- Tiny sample group of 72 people that are highly obese.
- "Adherence" (complying with the study protocol) was self-reported.
- Followup was only a month after a 6 week long trial period.
I would not draw any far reaching conclusions from this study.
Also body composition by two electrode bio-impedance. which, err, sucks.
Having said that. And even though I don't think that this is a seminal study. The general level of information from usually reliable sources, to me, seems to indicate that re-feeds and diet breaks are good and help mitigate some adaptations.
But it is still an open question as to how good and how effective. How much do they mitigate? Is that mitigation preferable to powering through till weight loss stops and only then adjusting? Does people's RMR recover faster/better/to a higher level than when powering through on pure CR? Is that recovery difference significant at the one month, six month, one year, 5 year level? How much easier or harder does it make weight loss for people? Is there a different amount of fat loss taking place? Are people more likely to adhere to re-feeds and do they return to a CR on schedule? Short term? Long term? While obese? When overweight? When normal weight? When athlete level of fat? How does exercise and training get affected by either option? See.... lot's of open questions ;-)
As a normal weight individual my feeling is that re-feeds and breaks are probably a necessary strategy, if for nothing else, in order to promote adherence.
When I was an obese individual I thought (and acted on that thought) that other than unplanned re-feeds due to life/events/friends/holidays/etc, it was more important to just concentrate on keeping my caloric deficit going and to develop strategies to deal with my perennial over-eating. At least until my body composition changes started showing an increase in lean mass lost as I moved into the overweight range, which led me to bring my calories further up.
Admittedly (post joining MFP) I never engaged in large % deficits. Even the above study talks 40% deficits. I kept to sub 20%
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I did. Three issues with this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018593/Nony_Mouse wrote: »@davidylin have a look at the paper Pav just posted in the refeeds thread. Well controlled study- Tiny sample group of 72 people that are highly obese.
- "Adherence" (complying with the study protocol) was self-reported.
- Followup was only a month after a 6 week long trial period.
I would not draw any far reaching conclusions from this study.
Also body composition by two electrode bio-impedance. which, err, sucks.
Having said that. And even though I don't think that this is a seminal study. The general level of information from usually reliable sources, to me, seems to indicate that re-feeds and diet breaks are good and help mitigate some adaptations.
But it is still an open question as to how good and how effective. How much do they mitigate? Is that mitigation preferable to powering through till weight loss stops and only then adjusting? Does people's RMR recover faster/better/to a higher level than when powering through on pure CR? Is that recovery difference significant at the one month, six month, one year, 5 year level? How much easier or harder does it make weight loss for people? Is there a different amount of fat loss taking place? Are people more likely to adhere to re-feeds and do they return to a CR on schedule? Short term? Long term? While obese? When overweight? When normal weight? When athlete level of fat? How does exercise and training get affected by either option? See.... lot's of open questions ;-)
As a normal weight individual my feeling is that re-feeds and breaks are probably a necessary strategy, if for nothing else, in order to promote adherence.
When I was an obese individual I thought (and acted on that thought) that other than unplanned re-feeds due to life/events/friends/holidays/etc, it was more important to just concentrate on keeping my caloric deficit going and to develop strategies to deal with my perennial over-eating. At least until my body composition changes started showing an increase in lean mass lost as I moved into the overweight range, which led me to bring my calories further up.
Admittedly (post joining MFP) I never engaged in large % deficits. Even the above study talks 40% deficits. I kept to sub 20%
I, too, think that the information available indicates that refeeds and diet breaks are good and help to mitigate at least some of the adaptations. Do they completely mitigate them? No idea, and possibly not, but that's no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water.
My personal opinion (based on listening to a billion Lyle McDonald podcasts and reading a lot of his articles, plus other stuff) is that diet breaks are for everyone, and should become more frequent as one gets closer to their desired weight. Refeeds, if you're doing regular diet breaks, can probably be left until you are in the healthy weight/lean getting leaner category.
The massive deficits generally used in these studies are definitely a drawback. It would be great to see more research on normal or mildly overweight individuals, at more realistic deficits. From memeory, the recent MATADOR study used overweight, as opposed to obese, individuals, but still at a 33% deficit.
I can only give my N=1, but I am finding this a whole lot easier as a normal weight individual with diet breaks and refeeds.3 -
Same concern here. I've lost around 25 lbs for the last 9 months, and my appetite has been fluctuating. I went on a vacation a week ago, and I wasn't strict with my diet. Before this vacation, I was semi-strict with my diet. When I got back, I felt hungrier than usual all the time, and I am not easily satiated anymore. I also crave for a lot of junk food lately, and I give in a lot which is not good. This is kinda messing me up mentally since I still want to shed some fat especially from my abdominal area.0
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captivatedheroine wrote: »Same concern here. I've lost around 25 lbs for the last 9 months, and my appetite has been fluctuating. I went on a vacation a week ago, and I wasn't strict with my diet. Before this vacation, I was semi-strict with my diet. When I got back, I felt hungrier than usual all the time, and I am not easily satiated anymore. I also crave for a lot of junk food lately, and I give in a lot which is not good. This is kinda messing me up mentally since I still want to shed some fat especially from my abdominal area.
Haha yeah. I was 2 lbs from my goal 3 years ago, and we went on vacation, ate out all the time, after that I was never able to get back to my deficit. Yes, part of it is more cravings/less willpower, but when I compare what I eat now with what I ate when I was losing, for the same deficit, I'd just be hungry all the time if I ate what I used to eat.
That's why I don't really understand why people recommend diet breaks all the time. It messed it all up for me.2 -
I did. Three issues with this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018593/Nony_Mouse wrote: »@davidylin have a look at the paper Pav just posted in the refeeds thread. Well controlled study- Tiny sample group of 72 people that are highly obese.
- "Adherence" (complying with the study protocol) was self-reported.
- Followup was only a month after a 6 week long trial period.
I would not draw any far reaching conclusions from this study.
On the first bullet, having great fat stores correlates to higher leptin (more satiety). As BF% drops, leptin (satiety) drops. I think I'm saying the same thing as PAV8888 but in a different way.
ETA: Studies of highly obese people don't shed much light on normal weight people with completely different hormone situations.1
This discussion has been closed.
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