Is hunger a good sign?

Dmkolls

Hello! I've been in the group, but first time posting. I'm 5'4.5", and am 180.5 lbs. I do crossfit 4-5 times per week. Our crossfit box had the hydrostatic water tank people come in to officially give us our body fat %. They also told me that based upon my weight, activity level, etc. I wasn't losing weight because I was eating too little calories (1500-1700).

They told me that I needed to eat 2240 exactly daily to lose fat/gain muscle, whether it was a rest day or not. So, I did some research, and found you guys and the Scooby calculator. According to Scooby based upon the Katch-Mcardle my TDEE is 2189 and -10% is 1970. This is a lot lower than the Hydrostatic people told me. So, I'm trying to "average" out the numbers.

On October 1st, I compromised and started upping my cals. Like most people starting out, I was FULL. I would get to around 1,900 - 2,000 cals and could not get another stitch of food into my mouth.

However, in the first week I lost 3 pounds. So, I stayed the course....making sure I'm not less than 1,900, but no more than 2,200.

Now, I'm 30 days into this and my weight has kept the 3 lbs loss (outside of the daily/hourly fluctuations), and now my hunger is GROWN! What used to keep me stuffed at 2,000 cals before I'm now hungry almost all of the time.

I eat a whole foods paleo diet. I eat starchy carbs like sweet potatoes after workout days, and I eat a TON of vegetables. I keep my carb level to around 70-125 (total and not net carbs).

Is this normal to now be this hungry 30 days in?

heybales

With that kind of workout, sure.

Means your body is wanting to make some great improvements, and it's not getting enough for what it wants to do.

You eating less than that is how the fat is lost.

As to TDEE estimates, at least starting both out on LBM estimates, but do you know what activity level they selected, and are they using the same rough 5 TDEE levels you used from the Harris 1919 study?
Perhaps you shared more about daily life level they included, but the standard table doesn't unless you think about adding it in?
Or perhaps they are going for very slow recomp not weight loss by having you eat at maintenance level, to maximize the exercise improvements.

Might try this in case life is more active than just those sessions.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1018770-better-rough-tdee-estimate-than-5-level-chart

And were you prepped for the hydrostatic weighing the day before, so you knew to have a rest day, eat normal sodium, ect?
Because just as you can throw off scale weight with false gains and losses from carb storage and hydration level, you can do the same with bodyfat test.

Dmkolls

With that kind of workout, sure.

Means your body is wanting to make some great improvements, and it's not getting enough for what it wants to do.

You eating less than that is how the fat is lost.

As to TDEE estimates, at least starting both out on LBM estimates, but do you know what activity level they selected, and are they using the same rough 5 TDEE levels you used from the Harris 1919 study?
Perhaps you shared more about daily life level they included, but the standard table doesn't unless you think about adding it in?
Or perhaps they are going for very slow recomp not weight loss by having you eat at maintenance level, to maximize the exercise improvements.

Might try this in case life is more active than just those sessions.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1018770-better-rough-tdee-estimate-than-5-level-chart

And were you prepped for the hydrostatic weighing the day before, so you knew to have a rest day, eat normal sodium, ect?
Because just as you can throw off scale weight with false gains and losses from carb storage and hydration level, you can do the same with bodyfat test.

They work with crossfit boxes all over the area. So, they said they accounted for that kind of activity when they calculated my BMR and TDEE. I think they have their own formula they use. It's only about 100 calories or so off, which isn't much.

I think they were having me eat full TDEE to maximize the full LBM gain and Fat Loss. I've been eating below that because my fat % is really high, and I want to focus on that a little more than lean gain.

The only prep things they said was to watch sodium, alcohol, etc the day prior and we couldn't eat/drink for 2 hours before the measurement.

They are coming back for testing on November 15th, and we all get tracked again to see our progress. I hope to see some change even though I'm not seeing anything outside of the initial 3 lbs off the scale. My hunger getting larger now is somewhat making me hopeful that the metabolism fires are starting to burn again.

heybales

Interesting. If they didn't ask what your other daily life was like, they could potentially miss a big part of TDEE. What if you had a mail-carrier in the class, that walked 6 hrs a day with 30-50 lb bag, and they never asked?
That's what I mean by daily life included.

Very true the Crossfit is going to want you to see max benefit from the program, so tweak to that direction.

So hunger could be metabolism getting better, but you can have a suppressed metabolism and your workout makes you feel hungry too because of improvements desired by the body. More like repairs actually. And repairs to get stronger by building is very constrained when undereating, body isn't going to do that if not getting enough for basic stuff first.

So good job not being anywhere near down at that level.

Usually metabolism doesn't include anything to do with the exercise itself. Resting metabolism can be elevated during time of repair, but that's still related to the repair from the exercise.

So good work tweaking for slight weight/fat loss while doing body recomp. Should be nice results in a month.

Do they have a van setup, or actually setup a tub in the facility for the bodyfat test?

Dmkolls

They did ask me what my occupation was, how many times do I crossfit, any other activities, how many calories do I eat and how many meals/day. I thought I was going to be told too much when I said 1,700, but she quickly told me I was nowhere near enough.

I'm going to press on as is and see where I land with the next test.

They have a van that comes to you with all of the equipment set up and ready to go. I plan on doing this every so often to keep a good check on my % and use that towards updating the Katch number for TDEE and TDEG.

Here's the website, if you're in an area they operate: http://www.bodyfattest.com/

Thanks so much for your guidance!