How hungry is “good” hungry?
co0211
Posts: 1 Member
I’m 5’4” 135 lbs and looking to lose about 15-20 lbs. MFP has me on 1200 cals a day to start with. I take a 50 minute indoor cycling class 3x a week and walk upwards of 15 miles a day (6 miles to school, about 3 miles stop and go while at school, and 6 miles back home). I end some (3-5/ week) days with an hour of hip hop dance practice. After logging the fitness class (under “general indoor cycling”) and dancing, and after MFP’s step calorie adjustment from my Apple health app, I get up to 1400-1600 calories a day. Does that sound right? Just wondering because I’ve been starving at all points during the day (I eat salads, eggs, chicken, all sorts of soup) and I’m not sure if it’s normal and I just need to get used to feeling hungry or if maybe my caloric intake is too low. I’m at the point where I can’t sleep because I’m so hungry at night. Last night, I did end up falling asleep, but when I woke up this morning I was so hungry and tired that without any sort of self control I just devoured this whole plate of pasta my sister brought home for me the night before (at 700 calories that was half of my allowed intake by 5 am). I feel like it shouldn’t feel this hard, but I also feel like maybe I’m just being a little *kitten* that can’t handle a few hunger pangs. People are always saying to just “listen to your body” but after the month long binge that made me gain the weight I’m trying to lose, I’m just not sure I can trust my body’s signals anymore. I just feel so lost and confused I think and if it’s going to be this hard I don’t know if I have what it takes to keep going.
Help?
Help?
1
Replies
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What did you set as your goal weight loss per week?
How long have you been eating 1,400-1,600 calories a day?3 -
Change your weight loss per week to 0.5 lbs, your activity setting to active, and eat back your exercise calories.18
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What have you set as the number of lb you wish to lose each week? For your height and weight, a deficit of 3500 might be too much, and a deficit of 1750 per week might let you eat more.6
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quiksylver296 wrote: »Change your weight loss per week to 0.5 lbs, your activity setting to active, and eat back your exercise calories.
^^This.0 -
How does walking 15 miles a day, cycling class and hip hop dance only add 200-400 calories a day? Sounds like you are undereating. Being hungry for an hour before your next meal is normal, not being able to sleep is not normal.
Make sure you are getting protein, fiber, vegetables, fruits so that you can stay full longer. But you need to recheck your calories and possibly slow down the rate of loss. You should at most be going for 1 lb a week for the amount you have to lose. Recheck you calorie counts on exercise because that seems crazy low for your amount of activity.21 -
If all I was eating was salad, chicken, eggs, and soup, I'd be starving too. Sounds like you need to eat more and are on too aggressive weight loss. With so little to lose, you should set MFP to lose .5 a week and if you are walking that much, set your activity level higher.
I am hungry about 1 - 1 1/2 hours before I eat supper. I can handle that.7 -
How much weight have you lost and in what time frame? if it were me I'd up your calories by another couple hundred and see how that goes. Not gonna lie that doesn't sound like enough food for someone as active as you are.1
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If you were eating a lot before, your stomach is maybe used to being consistently full and may have “stretched” a bit, which means you’ll feel hungry eating normal amounts until it adapts. If you’ve been doing this for a bit already then maybe checking on the type of nutrients in your food or finding a way to accurately track your daily calorie burn could help determine what to change in your diet.15
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I’m 5’4” 135 lbs and looking to lose about 15-20 lbs. MFP has me on 1200 cals a day to start with. I take a 50 minute indoor cycling class 3x a week and walk upwards of 15 miles a day (6 miles to school, about 3 miles stop and go while at school, and 6 miles back home). I end some (3-5/ week) days with an hour of hip hop dance practice. After logging the fitness class (under “general indoor cycling”) and dancing, and after MFP’s step calorie adjustment from my Apple health app, I get up to 1400-1600 calories a day. Does that sound right? Just wondering because I’ve been starving at all points during the day (I eat salads, eggs, chicken, all sorts of soup) and I’m not sure if it’s normal and I just need to get used to feeling hungry or if maybe my caloric intake is too low. I’m at the point where I can’t sleep because I’m so hungry at night. Last night, I did end up falling asleep, but when I woke up this morning I was so hungry and tired that without any sort of self control I just devoured this whole plate of pasta my sister brought home for me the night before (at 700 calories that was half of my allowed intake by 5 am). I feel like it shouldn’t feel this hard, but I also feel like maybe I’m just being a little *kitten* that can’t handle a few hunger pangs. People are always saying to just “listen to your body” but after the month long binge that made me gain the weight I’m trying to lose, I’m just not sure I can trust my body’s signals anymore. I just feel so lost and confused I think and if it’s going to be this hard I don’t know if I have what it takes to keep going.
Help?
With your stats, you are already a healthy weight, so your rate of loss will be slow. If you chose an aggressive weekly rate of loss, change it. Having said that, I am 5'4 and started at 145, and I ate 1500-1600 cals per day to lose 0.5lbs per week. You sound a bit more active than I am though, so your cals might be a bit low. You are doing a lot of exercise which can put stress on your body, is it possible you are overdoing that?
How is your daily protein, fat, and fiber? Some combo of one or more of those three things is typically filling, so make sure none of them are consistently low.
My suggestion would be first make sure your weekly goal isn't too aggressive and your activity level is correct. I'll bet you get at least a few more calories. Then look at your macros and see if you are shorting any of them. You could also try easing into your deficit... Say eat 1800 for a week, then 1700 next week, then 1600 the week after.
If you just started out, it might take a week or two to get used to the reduced calories. Try to be patient with yourself. It's a process, and unfortunately the vanity lbs can be the toughest. It took me a year to lose the last 10 lbs, simply because there were some days I just couldn't stick to the deficit. I don't say that to discourage you, just to let you know it's not just you, this can be difficult! Best of luck
3 -
With all that walking id be making sure your activity level is set to very active and weekly deficit is set to 0.5lbs per week. Youre not doing it right if your that hungry.
Im smaller than you only 5ft1 and 115lbs and eating about 1800-1900 average lately and still loosing weight! Dont starve yourself, its not a race!
Sounds like you need to do some strength training too as you are already fairly light for your height, trust me, it will change the shape of your body for the better!0 -
Snowboardbunni wrote: »If you were eating a lot before, your stomach is maybe used to being consistently full and may have “stretched” a bit, which means you’ll feel hungry eating normal amounts until it adapts. If you’ve been doing this for a bit already then maybe checking on the type of nutrients in your food or finding a way to accurately track your daily calorie burn could help determine what to change in your diet.
Your stomach can stretch to accommodate more food but it reverts back to the normal size after the food leaves it. Your stomach doesn't shrink without surgery.
9 -
I only get hungry prior to meals (I eat 3-4 full meals and no snacks) but I never go for huge deficits. I go for 0.5lbs loss rate if any. I'm 137lbs. So I eat 1600cals on days I exercise and I eat at maintanance (1500) on completely sedentiary days.
I can't sleep unless I'm full either so I either eat my dinner close to bedtime or have a forth meal just before bed.
So like the above advice - see if you can lower your loss rate to 0.5lbs per week. (well I don't even know what "see if you can lower" means lol, just do it)0 -
No, it is not normal to feel starving. It is damaging to your metabolism to feel this way. Your basal metabolic rate WILL slow down if you starve your cells of energy. You are right in your gut feeling that it "shouldn't be this hard." I used to think that thin people were the ones with will power, and that the reason I remained fluffy was because of my lack of self control. However, self-control has nothing to do with it. Hormones control body weight, and the hormonal effects of foods will either keep you satisfied or ravenous. Pasta is highly refined, nutrient poor, and will only make your hungry. You must eat whole, unrefined, nutrient dense foods--the lower in carbohydrate the better (that reduce fat storage)--the higher in protein and nutrients the better (that satisfies your body's nutritional needs)--and then counting calories becomes a moot point.
Nowadays, I only eat real, whole, low carbohydrate food, as much as I want. I never EVER go hungry, yet I usually don't desire food for about 18 hrs overnight. I eat a massive amount of protein (meat). Protein is the superfood, the powerhouse that will ramp up your basal metabolic rate. You literally, physically cannot overeat protein. It is so satisfying and filling. It is the key to eating less calories overall (without having to count and starve yourself). Look it up: it's called protein leverage!
EDIT: I'm 5'7" and I weigh around 130 lbs. I don't really weigh myself much anymore and definitely don't count calories. I can tell how my diet and lifestyle are effecting my health basically by how small my waist feels ( I don't really exercise right now, no time with 4 kids). I woke up this morning feeling really well-rested and lean, so I just put in my foods from yesterday because I was curious. Looks like I had about 2200 calories. MFP says I'm going to be gaining weight, but I seriously doubt that, LOL. I always eat as much as my body desires. I never go hungry. But I do not ever touch processed, high carb foods.51 -
No, it is not normal to feel starving. It is damaging to your metabolism to feel this way. Your basal metabolic rate WILL slow down if you starve your cells of energy. You are right in your gut feeling that it "shouldn't be this hard." I used to think that thin people were the ones with will power, and that the reason I remained fluffy was because of my lack of self control. However, self-control has nothing to do with it. Hormones control body weight, and the hormonal effects of foods will either keep you satisfied or ravenous. Pasta is highly refined, nutrient poor, and will only make your hungry. You must eat whole, unrefined, nutrient dense foods--the lower in carbohydrate the better (that reduce fat storage)--the higher in protein and nutrients the better (that satisfies your body's nutritional needs)--and then counting calories becomes a moot point.
Nowadays, I only eat real, whole, low carbohydrate food, as much as I want. I never EVER go hungry, yet I usually don't desire food for about 18 hrs overnight. I eat a massive amount of protein (meat). Protein is the superfood, the powerhouse that will ramp up your basal metabolic rate. You literally, physically cannot overeat protein. It is so satisfying and filling. It is the key to eating less calories overall (without having to count and starve yourself). Look it up: it's called protein leverage!
EDIT: I'm 5'7" and I weigh around 130 lbs. I don't really weigh myself much anymore and definitely don't count calories. I can tell how my diet and lifestyle are effecting my health basically by how small my waist feels ( I don't really exercise right now, no time with 4 kids). I woke up this morning feeling really well-rested and lean, so I just put in my foods from yesterday because I was curious. Looks like I had about 2200 calories. MFP says I'm going to be gaining weight, but I seriously doubt that, LOL. I always eat as much as my body desires. I never go hungry. But I do not ever touch processed, high carb foods.
As someone with Italian heritage, who eats pasta multiple times a week, your statement is unappreciated. Carbs don't store fat, unless in a surplus and even then carbs tend not to convert to fat.. in a surplus I eat very high carb (all kinds of carbs) with little fat gain.
And while protein can be satiating for many, believe me there are people out there who could overeat protein and gain weight.
I am also around the same stats and will lose 1lb per week on 2200cals, eating all kinds of carbs so not sure the point you are making there.
OP it sounds like you are being aggressive with your deficit, as others mentioned I would reduce it to 0.5lb per week and make sure you are eating at least some of your exercise calories back, also play around with your macros and fibre. Eat closer to bed if that helps ward off hunger at night.21 -
Nowadays when I feel "hungry" I always check if I am actually thirsty. Since I am very happy with my meal times, I just have a cup of coffee / tea which is good enough to wait for my actual meal time.6
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No, it is not normal to feel starving. It is damaging to your metabolism to feel this way. Your basal metabolic rate WILL slow down if you starve your cells of energy. You are right in your gut feeling that it "shouldn't be this hard." I used to think that thin people were the ones with will power, and that the reason I remained fluffy was because of my lack of self control. However, self-control has nothing to do with it. Hormones control body weight, and the hormonal effects of foods will either keep you satisfied or ravenous. Pasta is highly refined, nutrient poor, and will only make your hungry. You must eat whole, unrefined, nutrient dense foods--the lower in carbohydrate the better (that reduce fat storage)--the higher in protein and nutrients the better (that satisfies your body's nutritional needs)--and then counting calories becomes a moot point.
Nowadays, I only eat real, whole, low carbohydrate food, as much as I want. I never EVER go hungry, yet I usually don't desire food for about 18 hrs overnight. I eat a massive amount of protein (meat). Protein is the superfood, the powerhouse that will ramp up your basal metabolic rate. You literally, physically cannot overeat protein. It is so satisfying and filling. It is the key to eating less calories overall (without having to count and starve yourself). Look it up: it's called protein leverage!
EDIT: I'm 5'7" and I weigh around 130 lbs. I don't really weigh myself much anymore and definitely don't count calories. I can tell how my diet and lifestyle are effecting my health basically by how small my waist feels ( I don't really exercise right now, no time with 4 kids). I woke up this morning feeling really well-rested and lean, so I just put in my foods from yesterday because I was curious. Looks like I had about 2200 calories. MFP says I'm going to be gaining weight, but I seriously doubt that, LOL. I always eat as much as my body desires. I never go hungry. But I do not ever touch processed, high carb foods.
Personal experience is personal. I can (and do) overeat protein if I don't eat a starch with it. I almost always pack away 1000+ calories in kebab and BBQ when I don't eat it with bread. The higher my carbohydrate intake the less hungry I am, and weirdly, white rice and bread satiate me better than brown rice and whole bread. It must be the texture.
OP, how much are you losing on average? Could you be undereating? With that much activity, it looks like you might be (plus, you're already small so anything over .5 lb a week is an overkill and can wreak havoc with your hunger hormones). Have you noticed any foods, meal timing, activities...etc that correlated with less hunger? Keep an eye on how you feel at all times, and any time you're not as hungry as usual, write it down. You may discover foods that help you feel less hungry, or that eating several small meals or fewer large meals works better, you may find high intensity activity contributes to hungry or blunts it...etc. Be your own detective.
ETA: If all fails, have you considered a recomp? At your current height and weight, you're a perfect candidate for it.9 -
calories seem low to me
Im 5'7 129lbs
44mins of spinning gets me 300 calories + 1hr of walking (3 miles) is 164 calories so 464 of extra calories added to my baseline which is 1440
If you are literally walking 15 miles a day you should be adding on ~820 calories**** (if you have activity set to sedentary).
Also for hunger signals for me:
Stomach rumble: ill survive
Feeling peckish: ill survive
Feeling very peckish and starting to feel shaky inside: go get a snack or meal, adjust meal schedule
Starving: should have eaten something 20 mins ago, venturing into the even if I eat Ill still end up hungry because my hunger signals are slowly being messed up.
Hunger pangs: WAY past when i should have eaten!!! Even if I eat a normal size meal I probably still feel hungry afterwards and need wait some time to let my hunger signals re-calibrate, easy for me to binge in this state.
in summary: peckish is fine, starving is not. Starving and hunger pains means you need to reevaluate what you eat and when especially if it is reoccurring, because this is not sustainable.9 -
OP: IMO, no hungry is "good" hungry. It's not a sign of virtuous self-deprivation, determination, or discipline.
Slightly hungry before meals is "OK" hungry, because that's how things are supposed to work: You get hungry, you eat.
If I get hungry and it's not near mealtime, I eat a small snack that I personally find satiating. IME, it's a bad plan to let myself feel ultra hungry, because I'm more likely to Eat All The Things.
When you start out, it may take a week or two to adapt to lower calories, but if your deficit is sensible (not too agressive) many people find that things do settle down. If they don't for you, experiment with what you eat and when you eat it, to try to find better satiation.
Be sure you're distinguishing hunger from boredom, stress, or habit. If a distracting activity makes the hunger disappear, it was boredom. If you find yourself hungry in very specific situations or when doing certain activities, it's probably habit.
Beyond that, I agree with those who say that, especially with your activity level, you're probably eating too little. 1200 net was way too low for me, when I tried it at 150-some pounds, 5'5", age 59, sedentary outside of intentional exercise (that I ate back). I got fatigued and weak; it took weeks to recover, even though I ate more as soon as I realized I was losing too fast. Don't do that!
I also agree with those suggesting you consider recomposition. I can't post the link from my phone, but there's a great thread about it in the "Most Helpful Posts" section of the Maintaining Weight section of the forums.
Best wishes!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p14 -
When I am very active with cardio-based activities (like your cycling class, high walking mileage), I need to eat carbs with every meal. If I don't, I am so much hungrier. You mention eating a lot of protein and veg (soups, salads, chicken, eggs) which is good, but likely your body would do well with some quality carb intake to fuel all that activity you're doing.
As others have said, set your MFP to lose 0.5lbs a week, eat back your exercise calories (and honestly, with all the activity you do I'm not sure how your step adjustment isn't gaining you a lot more exercise calories to eat! Maybe check its settings and accuracy). In my experience being VERY hungry all the time leads to breaking down and binging, OR it leads to getting very run down and not having enough energy to pursue all the activity I do.5 -
I’m 5’4” 135 lbs and looking to lose about 15-20 lbs. MFP has me on 1200 cals a day to start with. I take a 50 minute indoor cycling class 3x a week and walk upwards of 15 miles a day (6 miles to school, about 3 miles stop and go while at school, and 6 miles back home). I end some (3-5/ week) days with an hour of hip hop dance practice. After logging the fitness class (under “general indoor cycling”) and dancing, and after MFP’s step calorie adjustment from my Apple health app, I get up to 1400-1600 calories a day. Does that sound right? Just wondering because I’ve been starving at all points during the day (I eat salads, eggs, chicken, all sorts of soup) and I’m not sure if it’s normal and I just need to get used to feeling hungry or if maybe my caloric intake is too low. I’m at the point where I can’t sleep because I’m so hungry at night. Last night, I did end up falling asleep, but when I woke up this morning I was so hungry and tired that without any sort of self control I just devoured this whole plate of pasta my sister brought home for me the night before (at 700 calories that was half of my allowed intake by 5 am). I feel like it shouldn’t feel this hard, but I also feel like maybe I’m just being a little *kitten* that can’t handle a few hunger pangs. People are always saying to just “listen to your body” but after the month long binge that made me gain the weight I’m trying to lose, I’m just not sure I can trust my body’s signals anymore. I just feel so lost and confused I think and if it’s going to be this hard I don’t know if I have what it takes to keep going.
Help?
With how active you seem to be does the Apple Watch give you an additional 1400-1600 calories to eat extra per days on top of the 1,200 you're currently at?
Do you have it selected to lose two pounds per week? If so lower it to 0.5-1 pound per week since you're already close to your goal weight?1 -
This thread has been substantially cleaned and as a result, 5 pages of 'debate' and snark have been removed.
If you want to debate the merits of certain foods or approaches to weight loss, or ANYTHING else, take it to the debate section. If I see it here again, I will have zero mercy.
If you see a post that you believe violates community guidelines, report it. If you engage in such a post and violate guidelines doing so, you may be warned. The moderation team reviews reports and makes a determination regarding whether or not a poster is in violation of the guidelines. In some cases, we may wade into a thread that has multiple reports to see what the heck is going on... in that case, anyone involved in a dumpster fire is likely to end up with a warning.
Cheers,
Em5
This discussion has been closed.
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