Almost at target weight - But appetite is more voracious now

rredix

I have had good success with intermittent fasting to control hunger and stress eating. By shrinking the feeding window to the afternoon, I was able to curb desire for snacking when stressed. I eat the same amount of calories planned but I didn't feel hungry until it was time to eat. I also practice fasting cardio and weight training. Lost 30 pounds with that method

Now I have a new job and different schedule so I have been eating in the morning again and only have time for my cardio work. I am finding it more difficult to control hunger and lose weight. Hopefully switching back to fasting method and reintroducing weights will help.

As an additional note, even if you are not losing weight, body composition could be changing in a positive manner. Muscle needs more food than other tissues to survive and grow. Just remember that weight alone is not a measure of health or fitness.

Good luck

oat_bran

Mouse_Potato wrote: »

"Tried" is the appropriate term. That was my plan, but I have not yet had the discipline to stick with it. As soon as I give myself license to eat a bit more it turns in to a whole lot more. I've been at this for about five years now and I still haven't figured out my body. I will go through periods of near constant hunger - weeks, even months where I can barely stay at maintenance. Then suddenly it will stop and I can eat at a deficit without much effort. I've no idea why.

This speaks to me so much. I could've written this. I am pretty close to my goal weight (well not really, I have another 10-15 pounds to lose). But I've been struggling with intense hunger for over two years. I can eat at a small deficit for a few weeks, but then the hunger catches up with me and starts to build up until it becomes a struggle to eat at maintenance every time. I tried doing controlled refeeds and diet breaks several time but every time it only leads to more hunger. It's as if the more I eat the hungrier I feel. So eventually I can't control myself anymore and end up binging for several days, gain all the weight I've lost easily (because I had a small deficit before) and the cycle start all over again. It's as if my body doesn't allow me to go below a certain weight. Though I've been at a much lower weight in the past and was even able to maintain for a while.

I'm getting really desperate. I feel like I will never be at my goal weight. And I can't accept myself at this weight. Because of the way my body stores fat, my lower body looks really fat even at in the upper normal BMI range.

Currently I'm starting to see some correlations between my hunger levels and my cycle. If I can figure out what days of the cycle I feel particularly hungry, maybe I'll figure out how to power through them knowing that it is only temporary.

I'm following this thread. Really interested to hear from others with similar experiences.

Francl27

oat_bran wrote: »

Mouse_Potato wrote: »

"Tried" is the appropriate term. That was my plan, but I have not yet had the discipline to stick with it. As soon as I give myself license to eat a bit more it turns in to a whole lot more. I've been at this for about five years now and I still haven't figured out my body. I will go through periods of near constant hunger - weeks, even months where I can barely stay at maintenance. Then suddenly it will stop and I can eat at a deficit without much effort. I've no idea why.

This speaks to me so much. I could've written this. I am pretty close to my goal weight (well not really, I have another 10-15 pounds to lose). But I've been struggling with intense hunger for over two years. I can eat at a small deficit for a few weeks, but then the hunger catches up with me and starts to build up until it becomes a struggle to eat at maintenance every time. I tried doing controlled refeeds and diet breaks several time but every time it only leads to more hunger. It's as if the more I eat the hungrier I feel. So eventually I can't control myself anymore and end up binging for several days, gain all the weight I've lost easily (because I had a small deficit before) and the cycle start all over again. It's as if my body doesn't allow me to go below a certain weight. Though I've been at a much lower weight in the past and was even able to maintain for a while.

I'm getting really desperate. I feel like I will never be at my goal weight. And I can't accept myself at this weight. Because of the way my body stores fat, my lower body looks really fat even at in the upper normal BMI range.

Currently I'm starting to see some correlations between my hunger levels and my cycle. If I can figure out what days of the cycle I feel particularly hungry, maybe I'll figure out how to power through them knowing that it is only temporary.

I'm following this thread. Really interested to hear from others with similar experiences.

Write it down. For me it starts at ovulation, stops, then again for a week up to my period (and it stops on day 3). It does make things very hard and pretty much forces you to eat less when you're naturally less hungry, which possibly makes the problem worse later on because you were on a bigger deficit and your body is reacting.... Who knows.

The crazy thing is that I'm really not hungry for a couple weeks after, and I can't even take advantage of it because I still can't fit the higher calorie stuff I want because I have to keep a bigger deficit to make up for the hungry days. It's SO frustrating.

I NEVER had that problem until I got close to my goal and got that 'diet break' going on vacations. But honestly my mental health has been much improved since I stopped trying so hard to maintain that lower weight. Just really don't like the way I look right now so it's depressing (I gained 10 back, just 5 lbs below the top of the normal BMI now). My main issue being that I store all my fat in the belly/hips, and I naturally have a large waist, but no butt, so pants either fall off or give me a muffin top, and fitted dresses just show off my rounded hips too much... while my arms and legs are thin... So I pretty much just feel fat...

oat_bran

Francl27 wrote: »

Write it down. For me it starts at ovulation, stops, then again for a week up to my period (and it stops on day 3). It does make things very hard and pretty much forces you to eat less when you're naturally less hungry, which possibly makes the problem worse later on because you were on a bigger deficit and your body is reacting.... Who knows.

You know what, it actually sound so much like a pattern that I am observing. Well, I don't technically ovulate since I'm on oral contraceptives (monophasic combo pill) - and before you suggest it, no it doesn't seem like the pill itself causes the hunger since I've been on it for the last five years and the hunger problem only started about 2 years ago. Actually, the fact that I'm on the pill was the reason I had a hard time figuring out that the changes in my hunger levels are probably hormonal, especially because I'm on the kind of pill that is supposed to lessen PMS symptoms. I mean, I am not supposed to have an actual menstrual cycle and the dose of hormones in the pill is the same all month long. However, I do seem to have an increase in hunger around the middle of my 28 day "cycle" which would correspond to ovulation in a normal cycle. Then it goes down. And then it goes up and build up and becomes really intense in the week before I am supposed to take the dummy pills which corresponds to the beginning of the new menstrual cycle in those who have it.

I am currently looking into ways of tracking my hunger levels. I've downloaded an up that you can use to track data and transform it into graphs. I usually assign my hunger level of the day a number (1-10). In a moth or two I'll have enough data to see if there's really a correlation.

Francl27 wrote: »

The crazy thing is that I'm really not hungry for a couple weeks after, and I can't even take advantage of it because I still can't fit the higher calorie stuff I want because I have to keep a bigger deficit to make up for the hungry days. It's SO frustrating.

I NEVER had that problem until I got close to my goal and got that 'diet break' going on vacations. But honestly my mental health has been much improved since I stopped trying so hard to maintain that lower weight. Just really don't like the way I look right now so it's depressing (I gained 10 back, just 5 lbs below the top of the normal BMI now). My main issue being that I store all my fat in the belly/hips, and I naturally have a large waist, but no butt, so pants either fall off or give me a muffin top, and fitted dresses just show off my rounded hips too much... while my arms and legs are thin... So I pretty much just feel fat...

I feel you!! It is frustrating, isn't it? I'm currently slightly below the "normal" BMI and really don't like how I look either. I'm more accepting of my body than I used to be but still I don't think I'll ever accept it at this weight/body fat percentage.