Dilemma Just not hungry, low metabolism

smoneybabiee

Hey everyone,

I'm new to my fitness pal and I've been searching through topics and threads to find my answer. If anyone could give me advice for what has worked for them or what they recommend that would be awesome.


So my dilemma... I am 5'3 and weigh 138. My goal is to be 110-115. I'm trying to be realistic and do a half a pound to a pound a week. I know weight loss fluctuates. I want this to be a long-term life style change, so If it takes time to come off it takes time. As long as I'm heading in the right direction.

In high school I put my body through starvation mode and lost weight the unhealthy way. I was about 118 and then when I finally starting eating again I bounced up to my highest 165lbs. Steadily over 3 years came down to 138 and have been this weight for awhile.


I'm trying to get myself into gear and eating healthy but for the longest time I've skipped meals or ate too late in the day and my body has been affected. Eating healthy is not the hard part for me, ITs what to eat, the right amount of food groups and so on.(if this makes sense? what I mean, is I really mind giving bad foods up.) I'm willing to stick to the healthy food and give up any of the crap that doesn't work. I've gone to trainers and done food logs and haven't lost the weight they expected. My metabolism has been kicked to the curb.

I've gone to doctors to lose weight and I was put on an appetite suppressant which were horrible. Not eating is not my problem, I ended up getting light headed and not eating for 2 days because I had no urge, it was like forcing food when your not hungry. (And only lost about 5 pounds total)


Now I've been working out daily for about 1.5hours (30-60mins cardio, the rest toning) and consuming 1200 calories. Everything I've read says to eat your calories back to avoid starvation mode. My dilemma is that I'm JUST NOT hungry. 1200-1300 calories is plenty and actually sometimes hard to fit snacks in. I eat about every 3 hours.
My doctor recommended waiting for my stomach to growl and ignoring a few times before eating (Not the best advice I take it? My stomach use to growl around 3pm)

With everything I see about weight gain, revolves around food choices, exercise, STRESS and LACK OF SLEEP.
Things I can't control: Sleep deprivation and stress!


So my question is... by eating 1200 calories and not being hungry, just force myself to eat more?
AND what can I do to kick my metabolism up after treating it so bad in the past?
My body was use to less that 1200 calories, so when I work out lets say, 500calories and consume 1200calories I have now reduced my calories to 700 and have to eat 500 back?
I feel like raising the calories and forcing myself to eating when im not hungry will just make me gain weight.
My stomach throughout the day constantly feels a sense of fullness.

honeysprinkles

you need to eat more calories, but that doesn't have to mean more food. Add in nuts, peanut butter, cheese, avocado, oils, etc. Basically any healthy fats, they are calorie dense so you shouldn't have a problem with getting too full. Also, don't buy light, reduced fat, etc.

In the same way that you might compare nutrition info on similar products to lose weight and cut calories, do this and chose higher calorie options. You can eat more calories without having to eat more food if you really want to. If you don't actually want to take in more calories, you'll justify it with an excuse like "I'm just not hungry."

Also, I'd agree that your doctors advice doesn't sound good. Doctors might know a lot, but they aren't experts when it comes to weight loss and nutrition!

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

smoneybabiee

I wish they had a like button That's really good advice, I like your suggestions. I think i'll try eating back the calories with dense calorie foods. So I should eat all my exercise calories back and make sure I'm at 1200 calories at the end of the day?

astronomicals

or just stop doing all that cardio...

not being hungry is often a sign of over training and/or malnourishment.... feeling hungry does not dictate what your body needs.

ereck44

Why aren't you getting any sleep? That would help your metabolism more than anything.

Are you exercising too long perhaps? Or too late in the day? In the past I thought that if one didn't exercise, one couldn't lose weight, but after breaking my toe, found that weight loss is mainly based on diet. Anyway, sometimes I am not hungry for a couple of hours after exercising.

Try to get some fruits and vegetables into your diet. When you get into a habit of eating breakfast, even if it is just a handful of nuts, your body will get accustomed to it, and you will soon find your stomach growling within an hour after getting up. You will find people on this site who will say that eating breakfast isn't important but if you get 8-10 hours of sleep, you will have gone a long time with nothing in your stomach, and your blood sugar will be low, resulting in your energy level being low.

I don't really believe that there is good food or bad food (bad meaning spoiled or rotting, perhaps, but I don't think that you mean that.)There are probably better choices with regard to feeding your body nutrients and antioxidants. I think that to keep your energy levels up you should eat some lean meats, turkey, or chicken, beans, lentils, etc. Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes are nutrient dense.

honeysprinkles

I wish they had a like button That's really good advice, I like your suggestions. I think i'll try eating back the calories with dense calorie foods. So I should eat all my exercise calories back and make sure I'm at 1200 calories at the end of the day?

try to eat back at least 2/3rds, but with a goal of 1200 eating back all isn't a bad idea! I only say 2/3 because mfp and the calorie readings at the gym are often a little too high, but eating them all back is not bad either with a low calorie goal like 1200!

MuseofSong

Things you CAN control: sleep deprivation AND stress

We can make time to sleep more. And sleeping more will reduce our stress reaction.

I don't believe in Starvation Mode stopping you from losing weight

I do believe in Stupid Mode damaging your health while you try to lose weight

No, I'm not calling you stupid. I don't even know you, so why would I? I'm sure you're a thoughtful person despite the goofy instagram selfie. Self-deprecating humor is a sign of confidence, so anyway, here we go . . .

If you're not eating to fuel your activities, you're only going to hurt yourself in the long run. What you're gonna screw up is your immune system which will get weakened, and you'll get sick easier, stay sick longer, and possibly have other health problems (some people pass out, lose hair, get hangry (hungry / angry) etc).

You are 'starving' your body of the nutrients it needs for proper fueling. You body will take what it needs from other places when you don't feed it. That's the starvation going on when you eat under 1200 and exercise. You do not have much to lose, so I know that can make it harder and slower to progress but don't over exercise and under eat to make it go faster.

If you eat your BMR for your height, weight, body fat percentage, and activity level, you will have more energy and help your immune system do its regular job. At your BMR you will have an automatic caloric deficit because even sedentary people are 1.2x their BMR just because they're not laying in a coma. Your BMR will be higher based on your normal activity level.

If you do not eat your BMR, you will be weaker and be more likely to get sick. So, that's pretty much what you're looking at.

As for the 'forcing yourself to eat' thing, girl please, none of us got overweight or obese chewing on celery and carrot sticks all day.

Have a bowl of ice cream or some other food or beverage you enjoy. Venti Chai Latte? Yus Plz!

Remember, you like food. It's not your enemy.

If you aren't calculating your numbers yourself and doing the MFP guided method, NET your calorie goal EVERY DAY. That's all the math you have to do, and it's a good method to use if you exercise inconsistently or work out really hard on some days and not others.

smoneybabiee

Thanks guy.

I don't get much sleep because I'm in nursing school (almost done! woohoo! Trying to balance full time school, full time work, and fitting in exercise and healthy nutrition. It's manageable but stress and lack of sleep are usually my big problems.

Thank you for the suggestions. I'm gonna try eating back about 2/3 the work out calories and eating more dense foods will probably help when I'm not hungry (like nuts and avocados). Still get the nutrients I need.