Increased calorie intake = increased hunger?

molliethehyena

I apologize if this is a common question, but has anyone had a problem feeling ravenous AFTER they increase their calorie intake? I have been eating about 13-1400 calories per day since March. The past couple weeks I started getting tired easily and was getting dizzy spells so I decided to give myself a break and increase to 15-1600+ as well as eating back my exercise calories.

Since making this change, I am wanting to eat constantly, whereas hunger wasn't a big issue for me before. I have been filling in the extra calorie 'wiggle room' mainly with quest bars or an extra snack of banana + greek yogurt or apple + 1 babybel cheese.

If it makes a difference, I am 5'3 143 lb.

ariamythe

Have you checked your BMR? Even at your size, 13-1400 calories was probably below your BMR, and that's assuming you weren't exercising. You were likely starving yourself. Your body is hungry and now that you're giving it food it wants MOAR. Give it a few days (and a few more calories) to get used to being fed again, then reconsider your calorie goals.

tracieangeletti

Have you checked your BMR? Even at your size, 13-1400 calories was probably below your BMR, and that's assuming you weren't exercising. You were likely starving yourself. Your body is hungry and now that you're giving it food it wants MOAR. Give it a few days (and a few more calories) to get used to being fed again, then reconsider your calorie goals.

I agree with this. The same thing happened to me. I upped my calories and for the first week all I wanted to do was eat! Once my system learned that the higher calorie level was going to be an everyday thing it subsided.

bizco

According to MFP, your BMR is 1,348 calories. This is the number of calories your body needs just to live even if you were in a coma and not moving at all. You should never eat below your BMR. So my guess is the other poster, Ariamythe, is correct.

You can manually adjust your calorie limit to your BMR by going to My Home>>Goals>>Change Goals>>Custom. Overtype the calorie number. Save your changes.

Continue eating back your extra earned calories from exercise as long as you're not overestimating them. Try this for at least 4-6 weeks before making any further adjustments. Glad to see you're filling the "wiggle room" with healthy stuff and not junk.

molliethehyena

That does make sense, thanks! I started in March using diet to go and they recommend their 1300 calorie plan for women. I didn't know any better so I went with that and followed to a T. Since I lost weight so well, when I cancelled the plan (due to cost) and started counting calories I figured 1300 must be a good number to go by. :noway: I have learned otherwise by reading a bunch on this forum. Hopefully the constant hunger goes away soon, today I treated myself to a chipotle bowl, first time I've dared to go there since March. It was totally worth every one of the 780 calories.

rosieknowsme

OMG I have exactly the same problem. I could eat 1200kcals no hunger but I'd feel tired and have no energy so I bumped to 1400-1600 and now I want to eat everything!

cwolfman13

Hunger signals are a result of the hormone leptin. The longer you are in a calorie deficit and the more aggressive the deficit, the lower the level of leptin becomes thus signaling your body that you aren't hungry. This is why anorexics and people with other eating disorders claim to not be hungry even though they're only eating like 600 calories per day...their hunger signals are completely shut down.

Conversely, individuals who over-eat have increased leptin hormone signaling that they're still hungry....this is why many obese individuals who consume a lot of food don't really feel "full" and can just keep eating.

Bottom line is that hunger signals are a pretty bad indicator of what you should be doing if you're not "normal"...i.e. you are an under-eater or over-eater...in either case, your hunger signals are all crossed up.

katpudda

Any suggestions on how to fix this hunger issue? Thank you for any ideas. My hunger is getting difficult to control.

Saramelie

I can't explain why, but it's the same for me!! I think it because when I eat more I just eat more carbs, and carbs make me crave for... more food (carbs). When I eat less, I focus more on whole food (less carbs) and my hunger goes down. I had a very bad day yesterdat and ate close to 4000 calories (yeah......) and I am so hungry today!! Grrrrrrrrrrr. I am usually around 1700 cal and doing just fine.

MrsLannister

I don't know if this will help, but I find that I feel less hungry if I eat more fat.