Hunger

flyandsleek

I am more hungry on certain days than others. I decided to eat my exercise calories today to help curve the hunger because I dont want to get off track. How do you all deal with the days that you seem more hungry?

cmriverside

Well, first of all I always eat the exercise calories. That is the way this site is set up to be used. It starts you at a little lower than other plans which use a TDEE minus some percentage as your daily goal.

So. I eat the exercise calories. Always have, all the way through my weight loss and now many years into maintenance.

With that said, some days I am hungrier than others, usually it's due to not enough fiber or protein. If I keep my macros and my fiber in line, I find I don't have much hunger. But then, I'm in maintenance. When I was losing, some days I just had to be okay with eating over my goal.

janejellyroll

If your calorie goal is coming from MFP, they're *intending* for you to eat the exercise calories. I help minimize hunger by not undereating and that includes eating my exercise calories. They are there for a reason!

quiksylver296

I find that if I push breakfast back as late as possible (usually about 9:30 or 10:00), I am less hungry throughout the day than if I eat early.

I have about 2 days during PMS when I am ravenous. I eat to maintenance on those days.

I've also learned I cannot survive on 1200 calories per day. I'm 5'9", 179 lbs, and can lose slowly and steadily on 2000 calories per day.

flyandsleek

Im 6 feet. I get 1700 right now

AriyahIsrael

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I find that if I push breakfast back as late as possible (usually about 9:30 or 10:00), I am less hungry throughout the day than if I eat early.

I have about 2 days during PMS when I am ravenous. I eat to maintenance on those days.

I've also learned I cannot survive on 1200 calories per day. I'm 5'9", 179 lbs, and can lose slowly and steadily on 2000 calories per day.

I agree with quiksyvler completely. I’m the same height as well but put in much more weight and working it back off. I rarely eat all my exercise calories, regardless if it’s intended by MFP or not. My body is comfortable around 1800-2000 per day except when I’m PMS’n then I can get anywhere to 2500 (blushes). I work out 5 days a week and burn roughly 400-800 calories per workout. Eating later in the morning helps me eat about 1800 calories per day and I feel fine by dinner. No crazy cravings

diannethegeek

These are my really general tips for hunger:

1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. Try different macros. A lot of people look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below. Others feel better with high volume, higher carb diets (I trend this way during my period, personally). That's okay, too. See what makes you feel best.

3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

flyandsleek

Thanks everyone!!!