Hunger after consuming daily calorie quota

DrMac1691

Hello there.

I've been using MFP on and off for a couple of years but never really felt I had achieved the goal I'm looking for. I'm fairly sure this is down to diet management as I'm in an active profession and supplement this with regular cycling, swimming and running. My problem is that in the past I have seen notable reductions in body fat around my arms and legs (actually never have had an oz of fat on legs) but around my pecs and middle, the residual fat simply will not budge. I tried HIIT training for 5 months and saw a little improvement but nothing particularly drastic. As a 45 year male I'm desperate not to hit a slow decline into middle-aged spread but I have two recurring hurdles that I just can't seem to beat. Apologies if this is falling into the category of typical newbie posts. The hurdles are:

i. regularly have a significant hunger despite consuming allowed calorie intake (according to MFP which currently is set at 1900 per day) - this often manifests as a craving for something stodgy/carbs.

ii. despite best efforts, nothing seems to move the fat that is around my middle.

As I'm moving a lot through daily routine and exercise, I can only think that it's my diet that is the problem. I eat clean, go easy on the alcohol and hardly ever eat junk food. So despite these things, the fat remains. I'm not looking for a six pack (although one would be nice) but any suggestions or ideas as to how you have shed stubborn midriff fat would be wonderful to hear. Also, if you've reached your calorie limited do you simply ignore the hunger (drink water etc) or is the hunger a signal you're perhaps not eating as much as you should?

Thank you in advance.

D

L1zardQueen

How accurate is your calorie counting? Do you use a food scale? Do you pick the right entries from the database?

FibroHiker

I have found that I am hungry no matter what I eat. I didn't used to be this way. Before, I could easily eat only three meals a day and be fine. Now? No way. I am hungry every two hours.

Some friends of mine that are into CrossFit and exercise a lot reported that they must eat every 2 hours in order to stay satiated. They said it just comes with the territory of their level of activity.

Perhaps you should try eating to gain muscle mass rather than fat loss, that might work.

DX2JX2

It's all about calories. Eating clean, avoiding alcohol, etc. make no difference except as a way to make it easier/harder to stay within your calorie target.

You can't spot reduce fat. The only way to lose your tummy is to continue to eat below your maintenance calorie level and unfortunately the thinner you get the harder it is to lose weight (since your maintenance calorie level also drops as you get smaller). How many pounds per week are you set to lose on 1900 calories per day?

And yes, unfortunately hunger after eating your daily target is not unusual when trying to lose weight. If this weren't the case, losing weight would be much easier than it really is! See if you can find foods that keep you full, or low calorie snacks that will satisfy your need to snack without blowing your calorie goal (I always ate celery dipped in salt to satisfy a need for salty things, or cottage cheese with a teaspoon of jelly to satisfy sweet).

slbbw

High protein for me helps me stay full without being hungry. I do reduce carbs a bit, but it does not need to be drastic. Adding in low fat high protein foods may prove useful. I also find IF to be helpful for me to cubs the I'm starving all the time feelings I sometimes get.