Crazy hunger at night, what do I do?

capriqueen

Please don't get frustrated with me here... but you (a) aren't going to lose weight and (b) self sabotage by keeping this methodology that you have.

You're paying no attention to "Net Calories". Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by living... this number (BMR) is based on your gender, age, height and activity level. There are many different ways to figure it out. Using myself for an example, I am a 5'8, 190 pound male, aged 33, is 1783. Rounding up for ease of numbers, we can call it 1800.

This means, bottom line, I am burning 1800 calories by having my heart beat, my lungs breathe and my blood circulating.

As I walk around (even for basic tasks such as walking, talking, etc), I am burning more calories. Depends on your normal activity level, you can find your approximate TDEE, which includes your exercise.

For optimal health, the recommendation is 1/2 - 1g of protein per pound of body weight. You don't look like you're hitting that mark.

When MFP says to make it to 1200, you're supposed to be NETTING that amount (calories you burn).

My TDEE is 1750 calories. (sedentary, desk job). I log exercise separately, so on a typical day my TDEE would be around 2050-2100 calories. I eat 700 calories less which means 1400 calories. Is that wrong?
Oh and my lunches are usually 400-500 calories and dinners (lentil, brown rice, veggies, yogurt) are 500-600 calories.
I thought this was good enough to lose weight! Im a vegetarian and the only protein I can eat is lentils and soy. I eat 4-5 almonds in a day as a snack.
Will I really not lose any weight this way? :sad:

thatonegirlwiththestuff

I used to snack on apples at night, but fruit is pretty carby and fairly high in sugar, so I've switched to eating whole red bell peppers. Very little carbs, no sugars and filling.

astartig

Please don't get frustrated with me here... but you (a) aren't going to lose weight and (b) self sabotage by keeping this methodology that you have.

You're paying no attention to "Net Calories". Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by living... this number (BMR) is based on your gender, age, height and activity level. There are many different ways to figure it out. Using myself for an example, I am a 5'8, 190 pound male, aged 33, is 1783. Rounding up for ease of numbers, we can call it 1800.

This means, bottom line, I am burning 1800 calories by having my heart beat, my lungs breathe and my blood circulating.

As I walk around (even for basic tasks such as walking, talking, etc), I am burning more calories. Depends on your normal activity level, you can find your approximate TDEE, which includes your exercise.

For optimal health, the recommendation is 1/2 - 1g of protein per pound of body weight. You don't look like you're hitting that mark.

When MFP says to make it to 1200, you're supposed to be NETTING that amount (calories you burn).

that's not true. It's not necessarily netting 1200 calories. 1200 calories was the number chosen at what point you are probably getting the nutrients you need. you can safely go a bit under that even as long as you're getting your nutrients. a VLCD is at 800 calories. that has nothing to do iwht net but with nutrition. you're not going to die by eating 1200 calories straight up. It's not necessary or healthy for a male to eat 1200 or someone who is tall with a lot of muscle but for many women it's the only way to lose.

astartig

Please don't get frustrated with me here... but you (a) aren't going to lose weight and (b) self sabotage by keeping this methodology that you have.

You're paying no attention to "Net Calories". Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by living... this number (BMR) is based on your gender, age, height and activity level. There are many different ways to figure it out. Using myself for an example, I am a 5'8, 190 pound male, aged 33, is 1783. Rounding up for ease of numbers, we can call it 1800.

This means, bottom line, I am burning 1800 calories by having my heart beat, my lungs breathe and my blood circulating.

As I walk around (even for basic tasks such as walking, talking, etc), I am burning more calories. Depends on your normal activity level, you can find your approximate TDEE, which includes your exercise.

For optimal health, the recommendation is 1/2 - 1g of protein per pound of body weight. You don't look like you're hitting that mark.

When MFP says to make it to 1200, you're supposed to be NETTING that amount (calories you burn).

My TDEE is 1750 calories. (sedentary, desk job). I log exercise separately, so on a typical day my TDEE would be around 2050-2100 calories. I eat 700 calories less which means 1400 calories. Is that wrong?
Oh and my lunches are usually 400-500 calories and dinners (lentil, brown rice, veggies, yogurt) are 500-600 calories.
I thought this was good enough to lose weight! Im a vegetarian and the only protein I can eat is lentils and soy. I eat 4-5 almonds in a day as a snack.
Will I really not lose any weight this way? :sad:

are you vegan or vegetarian? I don't know how to help if you're vegan, Seitan maybe? If you're vegetarian get an eggwhite meal in there somewhere. half a carton of eggwhites is something like half your daily needs for protein. what you describe as your diet sounds like a recipe for constant hunger. I know when I ate so many carbs I was always starving. oatmeal was especially bad for me . fats and protein are what keep you full.

capriqueen

I don't eat egg either! Or egg whites. As I said the only protein I can eat is lentils and soy. It is easier if I am at home since I eat two servings of lentils, for lunch and for dinner. But since Im working we follow a different eating pattern, just a mixed veggie-soy-rice dish that's easy to carry to work.
I'm also a bit OCD about protein since I'm strength training (as in interval training with light weights, not heavy weights) and that if I cross any protein thresholds I'll put on weight. I don't use food scales, and I don't exactly want to either. We have some nutrition books for Indian food at home and I leave a small margin for error adding around 50 calories per item.
I do hope I'll be able to see results this way??

psuLemon

Please don't get frustrated with me here... but you (a) aren't going to lose weight and (b) self sabotage by keeping this methodology that you have.

You're paying no attention to "Net Calories". Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by living... this number (BMR) is based on your gender, age, height and activity level. There are many different ways to figure it out. Using myself for an example, I am a 5'8, 190 pound male, aged 33, is 1783. Rounding up for ease of numbers, we can call it 1800.

This means, bottom line, I am burning 1800 calories by having my heart beat, my lungs breathe and my blood circulating.

As I walk around (even for basic tasks such as walking, talking, etc), I am burning more calories. Depends on your normal activity level, you can find your approximate TDEE, which includes your exercise.

For optimal health, the recommendation is 1/2 - 1g of protein per pound of body weight. You don't look like you're hitting that mark.

When MFP says to make it to 1200, you're supposed to be NETTING that amount (calories you burn).

My TDEE is 1750 calories. (sedentary, desk job). I log exercise separately, so on a typical day my TDEE would be around 2050-2100 calories. I eat 700 calories less which means 1400 calories. Is that wrong?
Oh and my lunches are usually 400-500 calories and dinners (lentil, brown rice, veggies, yogurt) are 500-600 calories.
I thought this was good enough to lose weight! Im a vegetarian and the only protein I can eat is lentils and soy. I eat 4-5 almonds in a day as a snack.
Will I really not lose any weight this way? :sad:

you are too lean to have that large of a deficit. Also, TDEE includes exercise. So if your TDEE is 2100, then eat 1700 calories a day. Also, you need to find ways to get more protein. Probably around 120-130g each day. If you do a search, there are a few threads that talk about getting protein and as vegetarian/vegan.

psuLemon

Please don't get frustrated with me here... but you (a) aren't going to lose weight and (b) self sabotage by keeping this methodology that you have.

You're paying no attention to "Net Calories". Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by living... this number (BMR) is based on your gender, age, height and activity level. There are many different ways to figure it out. Using myself for an example, I am a 5'8, 190 pound male, aged 33, is 1783. Rounding up for ease of numbers, we can call it 1800.

This means, bottom line, I am burning 1800 calories by having my heart beat, my lungs breathe and my blood circulating.

As I walk around (even for basic tasks such as walking, talking, etc), I am burning more calories. Depends on your normal activity level, you can find your approximate TDEE, which includes your exercise.

For optimal health, the recommendation is 1/2 - 1g of protein per pound of body weight. You don't look like you're hitting that mark.

When MFP says to make it to 1200, you're supposed to be NETTING that amount (calories you burn).

that's not true. It's not necessarily netting 1200 calories. 1200 calories was the number chosen at what point you are probably getting the nutrients you need. you can safely go a bit under that even as long as you're getting your nutrients. a VLCD is at 800 calories. that has nothing to do iwht net but with nutrition. you're not going to die by eating 1200 calories straight up. It's not necessary or healthy for a male to eat 1200 or someone who is tall with a lot of muscle but for many women it's the only way to lose.

VLCD's are designed for those morbidly obese and under medical supervision. They are also not designed for long periods of time. And it's very difficult to reach all your micro an macro nutrient needs on an 800 calorie diet, let alone on a 1200 diet. While large deficits lead to weight loss, they also lead to high percentages of muscle loss. When you lose lean body mass, your metabolic rate will slow down, your bone density can decrease and you can lose strength overall. It also makes it difficult to be lean and fit, which most people want.