Close to maintenance and suddenly HUNGRY!

Linnaea27

Hi all,

As you can see in my ticker, I am close to my desired maintenance weight. I'm only 5'1", so I'm going for a weight/size I was at healthily a few years ago. At the rate I'm losing weight, it will probably be another month or a bit more until I get there.

The problem is, since getting under 109 lbs (4 lbs from goal and the lightest I've been normally for several years now), I've found myself getting hungrier and hungrier. I am not sure if this is because my body is rebelling and wanting to be heavier, or because I've become more capable of extended, intense workouts with large calorie burns, after which I eat back most or all of my exercise calories. --Maybe I'm getting used to larger amounts of food because of the few days a week I exercise quite a bit and eat back the calories?

Whatever the cause, I am finding this trend of feeling hungrier and hungrier to be very frustrating. I have been working hard to at least eat an amount that will allow me to continue losing slowly, even if it is 100-150 cals over my goal for the day. But I find that I'm still somewhat hungry unless I've eaten the equivalent of my *current* maintenance level. I generally eat quite well-- very few "junk" and refined foods, lots of veggies, whole grains, fiber, good fats, and have been careful to get adequate protein (usually 85ish grams a day, which works out to the correct amount for my lean body mass).

Anyway, UGH! Has anyone experienced this? What did you do while working on shedding the last couple pounds and contending with this hunger? Help is needed over here! Thanks!

ETA: and is anyone else finding they're cold way more than they used to be? I am. :frown:

zoeysasha37

Yes, I'm going through the same exact situation. I'm finding it impossible to eat under my maintaining goal and sometimes I'm well over it!! I have no idea why this is happening either, but I thought I would chime in and let you know I'm going through the same thing lately

jenschroll

I'm 2/3 of the way to my goal and while I have quite a bit more to lose, I'm starting to have the same problem. It's so frustrating! I'm interested in hearing what others have to say, too.

DeterminedFee201426

yes its been happening to me alot too .. i workout everyday intense as well never no rest day .. what i did for myself to stop it is just give myself some extra 250 calories 3 days of the week and iam good .. i also realize iam always not hungry either just bored sleepy or need water :P or stressed .... those the things that make me wanna eat more and i do but not too much and not everyday

DancingMoosie

Yes, I go through this as well. First, I think it has to do with your body not having so much of that extra fat storage to get energy from anymore, it actually has to use the food as energy. I don't know what your calorie intake has been while losing or whether you have increased calories as you approach maintenance. I had to increase gradually, until I was maintaining at around 1950 NET. Also, whenever I feel super hungry and exhausted from working out, take it as a hint to take a break (don't exercise for a day or two) and maybe not count calories for a week. Give your body and mind a little vacation, then start again. If you always exercise and eat the same, for months on end, your body kind of gets used to it. Change it up:)

DeterminedFee201426

Yes, I go through this as well. First, I think it has to do with your body not having so much of that extra fat storage to get energy from anymore, it actually has to use the food as energy. I don't know what your calorie intake has been while losing or whether you have increased calories as you approach maintenance. I had to increase gradually, until I was maintaining at around 1950 NET. Also, whenever I feel super hungry and exhausted from working out, take it as a hint to take a break (don't exercise for a day or two) and maybe not count calories for a week. Give your body and mind a little vacation, then start again. If you always exercise and eat the same, for months on end, your body kind of gets used to it. Change it up:)

i use to be on a 1650 cal diet 2 months ago then i switched it to 1850-2090 per day .. i agree with body not having extra fat to use so need food as energy

Linnaea27

Yay! People responding! Thank you all!!

yes its been happening to me alot too .. i workout everyday intense as well never no rest day .. what i did for myself to stop it is just give myself some extra 250 calories 3 days of the week and iam good .. i also realize iam always not hungry either just bored sleepy or need water :P or stressed .... those the things that make me wanna eat more and i do but not too much and not everyday

You're right about bored/sleepy/thirsty! I've been having some ultra boring work days lately and they just make me want to eat, eat, eat. I don't, but the desire is there. Blech. In fact I need some water right now. . .

DeterminedFee201426

Yay! People responding! Thank you all!!

yes its been happening to me alot too .. i workout everyday intense as well never no rest day .. what i did for myself to stop it is just give myself some extra 250 calories 3 days of the week and iam good .. i also realize iam always not hungry either just bored sleepy or need water :P or stressed .... those the things that make me wanna eat more and i do but not too much and not everyday

You're right about bored/sleepy/thirsty! I've been having some ultra boring work days lately and they just make me want to eat, eat, eat. I don't, but the desire is there. Blech. In fact I need some water right now. . .

Francl27

I'm in the same boat... 4-5 lbs from my goal, but I keep getting hungry or having massive cravings so I basically eat at maintenance or a bit over 3 days out of 7. I haven't had my period in 6 weeks for some unknown reason though, and I'm not sure it's helping... bleh.

Linnaea27

Yes, I go through this as well. First, I think it has to do with your body not having so much of that extra fat storage to get energy from anymore, it actually has to use the food as energy. I don't know what your calorie intake has been while losing or whether you have increased calories as you approach maintenance. I had to increase gradually, until I was maintaining at around 1950 NET. Also, whenever I feel super hungry and exhausted from working out, take it as a hint to take a break (don't exercise for a day or two) and maybe not count calories for a week. Give your body and mind a little vacation, then start again. If you always exercise and eat the same, for months on end, your body kind of gets used to it. Change it up:)

I've been going on MFP's recommendations for someone my size (started at 116 lbs a few months ago) to lose 0.5 lb a week. So around 1400 calories a day net, though now I'm below 110 lbs my goal is sadly at 1390 calories which sucks. . . psychologically as well as food-wise!

I would like to avoid increasing calories as I get closer to maintenance-- rather I want to get to my goal weight and then increase to maintenance levels! I feel like, as a small person, these 3 pounds I want gone are still a decent amount of weight. . . But anyway, it seems my appetite is increasing my calories for me despite my brain's desires!

Agree completely about taking a rest day when I feel tired! When I feel really tired or run-down, I take a break from exercise, which results in eating at maintenance, which bugs me but it's becoming hard to avoid. I hesitate to take a break from logging and sticking as much as I can to my goal, though, because I'm so close and I just want to be done with losing weight already! I do certainly need to change up my exercise-- another issue is that I am bored out of my wits with the general routine I've been following all winter (indoor weight/circuit training, riding stationary bike, and on warm days running or walking outdoors), but I'm not free to d the exercises I WANT to be doing, like running, biking, gardening, etc. outside because there is still 3 feet of snow where I live!

Thanks very much for your input.

Linnaea27

I'm in the same boat... 4-5 lbs from my goal, but I keep getting hungry or having massive cravings so I basically eat at maintenance or a bit over 3 days out of 7. I haven't had my period in 6 weeks for some unknown reason though, and I'm not sure it's helping... bleh.

I wonder if your body is freaking out over being a lot lighter than it used to be, so it's not menstruating? That sucks, I hope things even out for you soon!

DreamBigEatLarge

Have you played around with your macros lately? Upping the protein for satiety, decreasing carbs?? Seeing as they are both 4 calories per gram.....? Not sure what your other macros are like but it could work?

Robin_Bin

Could be your body rebelling… but make sure you're covering your nutrients. If your body is missing something, it could cause a desire to eat until the need is met. If you're not already taking one, consider a multi-vitamin -- at least temporarily. When you're eating healthily, you're probably not missing much, but for example, if you're eating less bread, you might be low on the B vitamins… that can also make you more tired.
Good luck!

Linnaea27

Have you played around with your macros lately? Upping the protein for satiety, decreasing carbs?? Seeing as they are both 4 calories per gram.....? Not sure what your other macros are like but it could work?

I have been trying to get more protein-- I just got a higher-protein whey powder and have been doing fruit protein smoothies for breakfast. It doesn't seem to help me be less hungry later (after digesting it!), which seems odd. . . part of my issue with going over my goal often, I think, is that my breakfast smoothies are higher-cal than my greek yogurt/berries/coconut breakfasts I was having before.

Maybe decreasing carbs and eating a bit more fat would help me? I do find that fat keeps me full, but eating a good amount of complex carbs is necessary to have enough energy to work out, etc. . . . Hmm, I might try playing around with the macros and see what happens.

Linnaea27

Could be your body rebelling… but make sure you're covering your nutrients. If your body is missing something, it could cause a desire to eat until the need is met. If you're not already taking one, consider a multi-vitamin -- at least temporarily. When you're eating healthily, you're probably not missing much, but for example, if you're eating less bread, you might be low on the B vitamins… that can also make you more tired.
Good luck!

Hmm, good point! I do take a "hair, skin, and nails" high-quality multivitamin (lots of B vitamins in there, as well as other things) and have been making an effort to take other vitamins and minerals as needed (vitamin D since the climate here sucks, and a couple other things on the advice of a naturopathic doctor friend). Perhaps the multi-vitamin I'm taking is missing something; I'll try a different one when this bottle runs out. Thanks!

firedawg527

Try decreasing your fat grams and increasing your protein grams with whey isolate proteins. The body needs whey when burning large amounts of calories. Chase protein shakes w/ copious amounts of water, should give you a sensation of being full.

geekyjock76

I go to bed hungry each night and pretty much have to. Since my deficit is only 250 to 300 calories, I'd easily bring my intake to maintenance levels if I were to satisfy hunger. I've cut weight several times and notice I am most hungry the first week of a cut and the final few weeks before hitting my body fat goal.

Linnaea27

I go to bed hungry each night and pretty much have to. Since my deficit is only 250 to 300 calories, I'd easily bring my intake to maintenance levels if I were to satisfy hunger. I've cut weight several times and notice I am most hungry the first week of a cut and the final few weeks before hitting my body fat goal.

Your deficit is pretty much the same as mine-- a very easy one to blow on not feeling hungry anymore! It seems like being extra hungry a short while before getting to one's weight/body fat goal is very common! Thanks.

mamadon

I am so glad to see this post! I have been on maintenance for two weeks. I have been slowly upping my calories, to figure out of tdee, but I am finding myself famished all the time, even though I am eating more now than I was a month ago. Even though, it is only 8pm here now, I am thinking of going to bed, cause I'm still so hungry lol.

heybales

Here are the hormonal reasons as to why that generally happens, especially when you haven't screwed them up so bad by taking an extreme deficit. And why you don't want to give in to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A

But it easily could also be the fact that when the body has more to work with as far as food, and your workouts stay just as intense despite being lighter, the body can be damaged more and need more repair. Of course the body would prefer to be in surplus for some repair, but it's not getting it.

The latter would be the good reason you'd desire.

arguablysamson

Hi all,

As you can see in my ticker, I am close to my desired maintenance weight. I'm only 5'1", so I'm going for a weight/size I was at healthily a few years ago. At the rate I'm losing weight, it will probably be another month or a bit more until I get there.

The problem is, since getting under 109 lbs (4 lbs from goal and the lightest I've been normally for several years now), I've found myself getting hungrier and hungrier. I am not sure if this is because my body is rebelling and wanting to be heavier, or because I've become more capable of extended, intense workouts with large calorie burns, after which I eat back most or all of my exercise calories. --Maybe I'm getting used to larger amounts of food because of the few days a week I exercise quite a bit and eat back the calories?

Whatever the cause, I am finding this trend of feeling hungrier and hungrier to be very frustrating. I have been working hard to at least eat an amount that will allow me to continue losing slowly, even if it is 100-150 cals over my goal for the day. But I find that I'm still somewhat hungry unless I've eaten the equivalent of my *current* maintenance level. I generally eat quite well-- very few "junk" and refined foods, lots of veggies, whole grains, fiber, good fats, and have been careful to get adequate protein (usually 85ish grams a day, which works out to the correct amount for my lean body mass).

Anyway, UGH! Has anyone experienced this? What did you do while working on shedding the last couple pounds and contending with this hunger? Help is needed over here! Thanks!

ETA: and is anyone else finding they're cold way more than they used to be? I am. :frown:

If you haven't been at a weight long, it is entirely possible and even likely for your body to be rebelling and trying to put weight back on. But at least you know what it's doing. :-) If you are not at a certain weight for a while, your body remembers your heavier setpoint weight and tries to bring you back there. Stay strong and don't give. You won't die from being hungry. But if you give in, old habits will reappear very fast, robbing you of progress. Don't give in, but a weekly splurge day doesn't hurt and can even make up for losses.

As far as being cold, yes, that is a symptom of a calorie deficit. I know that from December to February, I was so, SO cold and even a gentle breeze of just remotely cool air would tear a hole in me. The solution, I found, was to drink milk at one of your meals, which can replenish any lost magnesium and otherwise offer up some very good nutrients all-round. Your body will continue to adapt in time.

EDIT: Make sure your weight loss goals are reasonable.

Chris_Pierce

On days that I want to eat more I work out more to cover it. Carbs tend to be less filling than protein and fats, so that might help?

firegypsy

Try switching some of your protein intake from liquids (supplements, smoothies, etc) to solids, such as grilled chicken breast, etc. That usually helps me feel a LOT more satisfied!

Newbeginnings46

Thank you very much for your original post and peoples responses. I have been experiencing huge cravings and usually give in with high sugary foods usually chocs. Was feeling pretty disgusted with myself because I have worked hard to get to this weight and had visions of weight increasing again. Thank you again.

DancingMoosie

I would still recommend increasing calories gradually as you approach maintenance. I say this because I had to go to the ER for bradycardia, and the only thing the doctor could tell me was to eat at least 1800 calories. I had been at around 1600 then. Slowly increasing to 1950 NET was to stabilize between 110 and 115lb, and I'm 5'3". Yes, your maintenance for 5'1" will be slightly lower, but it might not be as low as you think. If you eat at maintenance for your goal weight, you sill still be in a deficit now, just a smaller one.

zoeysasha37

Bump
( don't wanna lose this, cuz I wanna read threw later)

nxd10

I said this on another thread recently, but . . .

When I get near my 'ideal' weight, I have fewer reserves to draw on when it's been a while since I ate. It's not that I need more calories, but when I am hungry, I'm not a little peckish, I need to eat NOW.

The same thing happened when I was pregnant and when I was a skinny teenager - not enough reserves.

To get around this I . . .

Never skip meals
Have something small around for a snack when I feel hungry. 5 or 6 cashews a piece of fruit, or a cookie stave me for a couple hours if I'm hungry at 11 or 4 and don't add a lot of calories.
Eat more protein.

If you've been overweight, you may be somewhat insulin resistant - especially if anyone in your family has diabetes. I'd just barely hit overweight when I started this, but had been on the edge of it for 15 years. For me, if my carbs get over 50% I get really hungry and I can't lose weight no matter what I do. More protein and fat, not hungry, weight falls off.

For me, the worst thing I can do when I'm feeling really hungry is eat something too sweet and high in carbs. Frosted cake (yum) makes me want more. Just a few nuts and I'm good. If I eat a cookie, it's something boring, small, and not sweet.

I'd also note that in the Spring we tend to underdress for the weather and may actually use more calories keeping ourselves warm.

Foodiethinking

I can't comment on the majority of your post, but to being cold, definitely!
I get cold, and my parents call me weird but I'll be wrapped up with the heating on and still cold! Then it's time to break out a cuppa to clutch onto and sip

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nxd10

I spent two weeks cleaning my cold basement last year and thought I was going to starve to death if I didn't up my calories. BRRR!!!

adorable_aly

Have you fiddled about with your meal timings? Obviously it doesn't make a difference to weight loss, but it could help with the hunger. For example, snacking for me just seems to make me more hungry, so I try to stick to breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a post workout shake. Or possibly another snack could help you. I'd play around with it.