Hunger

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cnelson820
cnelson820 Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
I have hit my goal weight of 125 and MFP says my maintenance mode is 1600, but I am still STARVING all the time. Any advice for this?

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  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Can't see your diary so can't say much, but eat more fats & protein, not too much processed food. Drink lotsa water. Not sure how tall or active you are either, but you might be able to eat back some exercise calories and still maintain fairly easily. Play around with it and don't go wide-eyed for a pound, you should be fine :)
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
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    eat more filling food for your calories, if you just eat crap you will use calories up but not feel full
  • newlife888
    newlife888 Posts: 83 Member
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    This tool is really useful for calorie approximation. It has been extremely accurate in my experience.

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
  • ThatOperaGirl
    ThatOperaGirl Posts: 138 Member
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    It may be that MFP has set your maintenance calories too low -- it also says that I should be maintaining on 1600 per day (not including exercise calories), but trial and error has taught me that I can eat a few hundred more than that each day without gaining. Try upping your calories by about 100 per day for a week and see what happens. If you don't gain, up them again. And so on and so forth -- you'll eventually find your sweet spot :smile: If you're eating a reasonably balanced diet and hitting your macros but are still constantly starving, then do listen to your body's cues -- it knows what it needs far better than an app does!
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
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    How many calories were you eating to get to goal? I don't know anything about maintenance, but I wouldn't think it would be lower calorie than it was when you were losing thus making you so hungry.
  • Saramelie
    Saramelie Posts: 308 Member
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    For myself, I know that when I eat more than 150 g. of carbs a day, I tend to be way more hungry. When I stick to around 100 g. carbs and eat more ""whole food"", up my proteins and my fats, I am more comfortable.
  • Lynn_babcock
    Lynn_babcock Posts: 220 Member
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    Personally I would just keep an eye on the scale.. if you go down in weight than you can be confident that you aren't eating enough to maintain. If you don't gain.. and that is your maintenance, then I'd take up an active sport so you can have a higher calorie limit. I would think it would be easier to get better nutrition being able to eat more than that.
  • cnelson820
    cnelson820 Posts: 5
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    I was eating 1200 per day for a while while dieting, and have been upping it gradually as I got closer to goal. I have been starving since I started my diet, so this isn't new I just thought it would get less as I hit my maintenance mode amount. I already run pretty much everyday, but if I eat back my exercise I gain weight. I was just wondering what foods people eat that help them feel more full. I do not eat very many empty calories. I try to do kashi bars or cereal for breakfast with fruit (usually a banana) and then do yogurt, soup, salads or whatever I can for lunch, and do veggies and protein for dinner usually chicken or fish with some carbs.
    Just frustrated with having food cravings all the time and don't feel like this is maintainable =(
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Eat a substantial amount of protein with each meal, and make sure you are hitting your fat macros. Also with all that running, you might do well to have your carbs set at ~40 to 45% and protein to 1g/lb LBM.

    Were you netting 1200 by eating your exercise calories back (I hope)? Did you strength train while you were losing?
  • Beautyandthebeef
    Beautyandthebeef Posts: 80
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    What activity level are your maintenance calories at? That can also be why they might be low :)
  • phyllisbobbitt
    phyllisbobbitt Posts: 347 Member
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    :flowerforyou: you need to eat lots of protein! it keeps you feeling full! but you really need to open up your diary so others can help you!
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    Your food sounds low protein and low fat - I'd up both for better satiety. Swap your cereal breakfast for an omelette with vegies (or something else protein), and protein and fat to you lunch, and fat to your dinner :)

    Having a more substantial/filling breakfast will likely satisfy you more throughout the day compared to cereal.
  • cnelson820
    cnelson820 Posts: 5
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    I am pretty high in my protein, but I have started adding more fats (nuts, avocado, etc) and it has been helping some. Breakfast is hard b/c I usually go to the gym, then go right to work so I have to eat food I dont have to make on the spot. Thanks for all the help! :smile:

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