Hangry too often!
Kazzam33
Posts: 210
Hi All,
I find it REALLY hard to stay under my 5024kj (1200cal) allowance on the 1 day a week that I don't exercise (usually Monday). Any hints or tips?
I've had a few rough/bad weeks but today I'm on track eating well again & I've added in all my meals & snacks for the day & I'm 797kjs over. If I eat less than that I get really hangry.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Kazza
I find it REALLY hard to stay under my 5024kj (1200cal) allowance on the 1 day a week that I don't exercise (usually Monday). Any hints or tips?
I've had a few rough/bad weeks but today I'm on track eating well again & I've added in all my meals & snacks for the day & I'm 797kjs over. If I eat less than that I get really hangry.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Kazza
0
Replies
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Why are you trying to eat under 1200 calories per day would be my first question. My second would be what is your age weight and height?0
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That's my first question as well. 1200 calories is the absolute minimum recommended without being under direct medical supervision--hopefully by "under" you mean only 10-50 calories under.
Maybe your target is set too low! What are your weight and height?0 -
good lord id be hungry too0
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Honestly unless you are 4 foot tall 60 years old 90 pounds and sedentary you should probably be eating more than 1200 calories for weightloss. Im going to guess you are bigger than that so if you are hungry all the time eat more.0
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That probably is too little for you. Although I do tend to eat that amount but i didn't get there straight away. I gradually started eating less and less so my stomache got used to it slowly (I also got used to being hungrier but not over eating). I'd recommend startting at 1800 or something and taking 100 offthat every week.
*** I am not an expert I am just saying what helped me0 -
Hi Kazza.
How do you feel at 5000kj? Do you have fatigue, tiredness, dizziness or light headedness? Your body will tell you if you are not eating enough. As a comparison, I'm a 36yo male, I eat 5500kj in one meal once a day and I train for 7 hours a week. I don't feel hungry or tired - in fact I don't get sleepy in the afternoons anymore. What this means - if you are feeling good at 5000kj don't get stuck on numbers.
I'm afraid hunger is nothing but a mental thing. Our generation has been raised to fear hunger and fix it immediately with a convenient processed and packaged snack we can buy. You being hungry for that 1 day is nothing more than overcoming the messages you interpret to be fear. Instead of being afraid you can say to yourself "My stomach just rumbled which must mean I am now running entirely of my fat stores. Yippee!".
The best thing you can do is embrace it, ignore it and distract yourself.
Glenn.0 -
What is "hangry"? Is that where you are so hungry that you are very irritable and angry hence hangry?0
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What is "hangry"? Is that where you are so hungry that you are very irritable and angry hence hangry?
Yep you so hungry you are angry! lol0 -
Ok so my stats are 33y/old Female, 165cm tall (5.4feet), Current weight 111kgs (244pounds). I exercise 5-6 days a week. I don't feel tired or lethargic just a bit hungrier than what MFP allows me. I set my goal loss for 1kg (2.2pounds) p/week & the 5024kjs is just what MFP automatically calculated for me... I didn't set it that way.
I've logged in for 115days so far & I've lost 13kgs (28.6pounds). From 124kgs (273pounds) to 111kgs (244pounds) so I'm pretty happy with the result. Today is the beginning of my 17th week.
I just feel like sometimes, not all the time, I just need a bit more gas in the tank.0 -
Hi Kazza.
How do you feel at 5000kj? Do you have fatigue, tiredness, dizziness or light headedness? Your body will tell you if you are not eating enough. As a comparison, I'm a 36yo male, I eat 5500kj in one meal once a day and I train for 7 hours a week. I don't feel hungry or tired - in fact I don't get sleepy in the afternoons anymore. What this means - if you are feeling good at 5000kj don't get stuck on numbers.
I'm afraid hunger is nothing but a mental thing. Our generation has been raised to fear hunger and fix it immediately with a convenient processed and packaged snack we can buy. You being hungry for that 1 day is nothing more than overcoming the messages you interpret to be fear. Instead of being afraid you can say to yourself "My stomach just rumbled which must mean I am now running entirely of my fat stores. Yippee!".
The best thing you can do is embrace it, ignore it and distract yourself.
Glenn.
I like the way you think Glenn! I think you're probably right about it just being a mental hurdle seeing as I feel fine the rest of the week.0 -
That's my first question as well. 1200 calories is the absolute minimum recommended without being under direct medical supervision--hopefully by "under" you mean only 10-50 calories under.
Maybe your target is set too low! What are your weight and height?
I added my stats above.0 -
I think you hit the nail on the head!What is "hangry"? Is that where you are so hungry that you are very irritable and angry hence hangry?0 -
Ok so my stats are 33y/old Female, 165cm tall (5.4feet), Current weight 111kgs (244pounds). I exercise 5-6 days a week. I don't feel tired or lethargic just a bit hungrier than what MFP allows me. I set my goal loss for 1kg (2.2pounds) p/week & the 5024kjs is just what MFP automatically calculated for me... I didn't set it that way.
I've logged in for 115days so far & I've lost 13kgs (28.6pounds). From 124kgs (273pounds) to 111kgs (244pounds) so I'm pretty happy with the result. Today is the beginning of my 17th week.
I just feel like sometimes, not all the time, I just need a bit more gas in the tank.
At 244 lbs, you can definitely eat more and still lose weight. Just your BMR is around 1800 calories, and that doesn't include your activity level, or exercise! So you could adjust your goal to lose less aggressively and I bet you will still get good results.
According to this you could eat 1700cal/day and still lose 2lbs/wk. http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/0 -
I think just have a small healthy snack. Carrots, 10 almonds, that type of thing. I doubt that would ruin your hard work and stop you getting hungry. This programme is not a perfect science. I believe I need a little more because my job is mentally straining, which I think = calories.
Also 1kg per week is quite high, I couldn't do that either, so I changed it to .75kg per week. You'll find you might lose a kg a week anyway Also if you have been losing for a while, it may start to slow down. 0 -
That's a really easy one to get round just by saving say 40 calories a day or so on exercise days so you can go over by say 240 (without truly going over) on your rest day - that's assuming 1200 really is your required deficit. If you can afford it or have a birthday coming up I heartily recommend getting yourself a FitBit One which will automatically adjust your calorie requirement here. You could well find that you're eating at a different activity level than you're entitled to.
Don't starve yourself. It's better to go a bit over when you have to than give up up completely as an impossible task.0 -
Your goal should not be 1200.
Your height is same as mine and I am 20 years older than you, only lightly active, and I started at 72 kg - to lose 0.2 kg/week it gives me 1440.
You are 20 years younger and starting at 111 kg - I'm not sure how you are getting 1200 unless you have put in aggressive goal like 1kg/week.
I'm sure you are also at least lightly active - Change your goal to a realistic rate and it will adjust your calories accordingly - and eat at least half of your exercise calories back as MFP intends you to do.0 -
Ok so my stats are 33y/old Female, 165cm tall (5.4feet), Current weight 111kgs (244pounds). I exercise 5-6 days a week. I don't feel tired or lethargic just a bit hungrier than what MFP allows me. I set my goal loss for 1kg (2.2pounds) p/week & the 5024kjs is just what MFP automatically calculated for me... I didn't set it that way.
I've logged in for 115days so far & I've lost 13kgs (28.6pounds). From 124kgs (273pounds) to 111kgs (244pounds) so I'm pretty happy with the result. Today is the beginning of my 17th week.
I just feel like sometimes, not all the time, I just need a bit more gas in the tank.
Are you eating your exercise cals back? I'll say what everyone else has already said, 1200cal/day is not enough. The other reason MFP gave that is because that's the default bare minimum it will give you. Also, because you added over a 2lb/week weight loss to it. A more reasonable approach would be 1lbs/week. Doesn't mean you get hit weeks with a slighter higher weight loss, just recommended.0 -
Me again!
Firstly Kazza... WELL DONE!! You have lost an average of 0.76kg per week! That's fantastic!!
5000kj is perfectly fine if you feel fine! Forget everyone telling you your BMI and cal/kj. The BMI calculator is a generalised algorithm invented in a prehistoric age and suits only a tiny group of calculator-ideal people. BMI is a good place to get a starting number and that's it. Research and test - which you've done over 17 weeks and have determined you have a good number that is working brilliantly for you!
As for your macros, you didn't list those but being MFP generated they will be based on the disproved and dangerous low fat diet. If you are wanting more consistent energy I would suggest you reverse it and choose the healthy levels we evolved to have:
Carbs: 30g
Protein: 75g
Fat: 87g
Almost everyone will be in shock with those figures. The percentages are based on human breast milk and body composition! I would never suggest to anyone they do something that I don't already do - and these are my percentages I have been using for 2 years. To get your energy stable you need to control your insulin ('sugar spikes'). Cut the carbs down to only green vegetables, berries and perhaps an apple or pear on the days where you just want something quick to get your carbs up. Use MFP to find fruit low in sugar. If you don't hit your daily carbs don't worry! Your body is perfectly capable of creating its own glycogen with fat and protein. The only problem is your body has to work a little harder... yay more fat loss!
Make sure a big part of your fat is saturated. Throw out any oil that starts with 'veg' and anything with 'seed' in the title. Saturated fat is the cleanest and most valuable fat your body can get. Use oils that are solid at room temperature - animal fat, dripping and coconut oil. To compare it to carbs, you get 9 calories (energy) per gram of fat but only 4 calories per gram of carbs (and protein). From the same weight you get more than twice the energy from fat with almost no by-product. If you were powering a house you wouldn't even consider paying more than twice as much on carbs! Your body is the same. You will also need a good healthy serving of mono-unsaturated. You can use cold pressed extra virgin Olive oil for this but drizzle it on your cooked meal - never apply heat to it.
As for protein - meat, broccoli and cheese. Use fatty cuts of meat, not the pure muscle of the animal which has no value in the wild. Chicken thigh, wings and drumsticks. Steak should be full fat mince or a heavily marbled cut like rib eye. Pork is excellent and bacon is near the perfect balance of fat and protein.
The fat will make you feel satiated the protein will fill you up, and the low level of carbs means you wont be bloated and gassy. Evolution, like all animals has a system. If you start eating meat and animal fat with little carbs your body will react chemically by shedding all the fat it stored over winter and start building muscle to make you a better hunter. As the animals you hunt get older and smarter you get leaner and stronger. Watch any documentary on Africa and you will see how evolution works. We are no different and need to move back to our roots. To complete the cycle, as Winter gets closer the animals move away either north or south and we are left foraging for roots, nuts, berries and flowers - carbs! Our body reacts chemically by converting those carbs to body fat and storing them ready to survive until next Sprint when the animals return. So you see, carbs are giving your body the wrong signals. It's time to hunt!
Now the last part... Intermittent Fasting! Do it! Do it! Do it! Read up on it, it's how we evolved and over the next 10-20 generations it will be the way everyone lives. If you think about it rationally, there's no way hundreds of thousands of years ago Man woke up to a refined carbohydrate breakfast, hung out until 10am for some cake then rested until it was time to eat at lunch. Man got up, and went looking for food and would not likely eat until the end of the day.
It's easy to start, just stop eating at 8pm after dinner and don't touch anything (except black coffee or tea) until 12pm the next day. After 12-14 hours your Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and testosterone levels will rise and start repairing and building your body. It will have the chance to replace cells marked to be replaced, repair any tissue damage and make you stronger in the muscles that you need. It's also shown to increase memory and mental alertness in mice (the theory there is you need to use your brain more when you are hungry to find and remember where food is). The best part is all this is done using your fat stores. In fact as soon as you eat your insulin goes up and HGH and Test go way down again for another 12-14 hours. At 12pm you will have the best meal of your life every day! Food tastes better and feels like fuel instead of the next meal. It's excellent at helping people detach themselves from food and learn that it's perfectly normal to be hungry. Even enjoyable!
That was quite a speel! I hope that makes sense and helps you understand the logic behind going against everything the big companies are telling us (and no doubt the 20 posts after this telling me I'm a crackpot and should be banned). The problem with eating clean and less often is no one can make money out of you so you will never see it advertised. You need to spend the time reading and researching. If you are happy with my ramblings you are welcome to message me privately.
Keep up the great work Kazza! You are rocking it!
Glenn.0 -
*puts hand up to be first poster to call Glenn a crackpot*0
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I'm always hungry, because I love food and don't have an "off" button. I've learned that I won't die or even faint from being hungry. I may get grumpy, so I work on myself.
Go back and reset your goals, my dear. Change it to 1 pound a week and go with that. You'll see how much more doable it is and how much happier you'll be. As you lose weight, you'll have to reset anyway, and the thinner you are the less you get to eat, so enjoy every bite now while you can. 0 -
*puts hand up to be first poster to call Glenn a crackpot*
It's frustrating when people push complicated diet restrictions on newbies.
Just count cals for now, OP. You can worry about your macros later.0 -
Me again!
Firstly Kazza... WELL DONE!! You have lost an average of 0.76kg per week! That's fantastic!!
5000kj is perfectly fine if you feel fine! Forget everyone telling you your BMI and cal/kj. The BMI calculator is a generalised algorithm invented in a prehistoric age and suits only a tiny group of calculator-ideal people. BMI is a good place to get a starting number and that's it. Research and test - which you've done over 17 weeks and have determined you have a good number that is working brilliantly for you!
As for your macros, you didn't list those but being MFP generated they will be based on the disproved and dangerous low fat diet. If you are wanting more consistent energy I would suggest you reverse it and choose the healthy levels we evolved to have:
Carbs: 30g
Protein: 75g
Fat: 87g
Almost everyone will be in shock with those figures. The percentages are based on human breast milk and body composition! I would never suggest to anyone they do something that I don't already do - and these are my percentages I have been using for 2 years. To get your energy stable you need to control your insulin ('sugar spikes'). Cut the carbs down to only green vegetables, berries and perhaps an apple or pear on the days where you just want something quick to get your carbs up. Use MFP to find fruit low in sugar. If you don't hit your daily carbs don't worry! Your body is perfectly capable of creating its own glycogen with fat and protein. The only problem is your body has to work a little harder... yay more fat loss!
Make sure a big part of your fat is saturated. Throw out any oil that starts with 'veg' and anything with 'seed' in the title. Saturated fat is the cleanest and most valuable fat your body can get. Use oils that are solid at room temperature - animal fat, dripping and coconut oil. To compare it to carbs, you get 9 calories (energy) per gram of fat but only 4 calories per gram of carbs (and protein). From the same weight you get more than twice the energy from fat with almost no by-product. If you were powering a house you wouldn't even consider paying more than twice as much on carbs! Your body is the same. You will also need a good healthy serving of mono-unsaturated. You can use cold pressed extra virgin Olive oil for this but drizzle it on your cooked meal - never apply heat to it.
As for protein - meat, broccoli and cheese. Use fatty cuts of meat, not the pure muscle of the animal which has no value in the wild. Chicken thigh, wings and drumsticks. Steak should be full fat mince or a heavily marbled cut like rib eye. Pork is excellent and bacon is near the perfect balance of fat and protein.
The fat will make you feel satiated the protein will fill you up, and the low level of carbs means you wont be bloated and gassy. Evolution, like all animals has a system. If you start eating meat and animal fat with little carbs your body will react chemically by shedding all the fat it stored over winter and start building muscle to make you a better hunter. As the animals you hunt get older and smarter you get leaner and stronger. Watch any documentary on Africa and you will see how evolution works. We are no different and need to move back to our roots. To complete the cycle, as Winter gets closer the animals move away either north or south and we are left foraging for roots, nuts, berries and flowers - carbs! Our body reacts chemically by converting those carbs to body fat and storing them ready to survive until next Sprint when the animals return. So you see, carbs are giving your body the wrong signals. It's time to hunt!
Now the last part... Intermittent Fasting! Do it! Do it! Do it! Read up on it, it's how we evolved and over the next 10-20 generations it will be the way everyone lives. If you think about it rationally, there's no way hundreds of thousands of years ago Man woke up to a refined carbohydrate breakfast, hung out until 10am for some cake then rested until it was time to eat at lunch. Man got up, and went looking for food and would not likely eat until the end of the day.
It's easy to start, just stop eating at 8pm after dinner and don't touch anything (except black coffee or tea) until 12pm the next day. After 12-14 hours your Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and testosterone levels will rise and start repairing and building your body. It will have the chance to replace cells marked to be replaced, repair any tissue damage and make you stronger in the muscles that you need. It's also shown to increase memory and mental alertness in mice (the theory there is you need to use your brain more when you are hungry to find and remember where food is). The best part is all this is done using your fat stores. In fact as soon as you eat your insulin goes up and HGH and Test go way down again for another 12-14 hours. At 12pm you will have the best meal of your life every day! Food tastes better and feels like fuel instead of the next meal. It's excellent at helping people detach themselves from food and learn that it's perfectly normal to be hungry. Even enjoyable!
That was quite a speel! I hope that makes sense and helps you understand the logic behind going against everything the big companies are telling us (and no doubt the 20 posts after this telling me I'm a crackpot and should be banned). The problem with eating clean and less often is no one can make money out of you so you will never see it advertised. You need to spend the time reading and researching. If you are happy with my ramblings you are welcome to message me privately.
Keep up the great work Kazza! You are rocking it!
Glenn.
Hummm....what????
All that just to tell OP to do intermediate fasting and eat paleo? nice.....haha0 -
Thanks.All that just to tell OP to do intermediate fasting and eat paleo? nice.....haha I like to explain answers, rather than just shout them at people. 0 -
All that just to tell OP to do intermediate fasting and eat paleo? nice.....haha
He's spouting this to everyone all over the forum and recommending 1200 cal limits as well.
I wish this was against the rules or something.0 -
I believe you were the first and only person in this topic to mention BMI.Forget everyone telling you your BMI and cal/kj
i agree with the others - 1200 is too low, under 1200 is definitely too low.
Set your stats and goals accurately in MFP. Eat your calories. Exercise, and eat back at least a good portion of those cals. Drink water, take rest days, get good sleep, and repeat. And have patience - it will happen!0 -
Presumably she's getting 1200 because she wants 2 lb (1 kg) per week, which is reasonable at her weight. Also it sounds like it's only a problem one day a week and she's appropriately eating back exercise calories.
OP, one thing to check is whether you can change your activity level to lightly active (if it's now at sedentary) and get more calories. Most people (especially outside of the US) aren't really sedentary. If you do this you wouldn't separately log daily activity like walking on errands or chasing your kids around or commuting (not assuming you do).
Otherwise, I agree with the person above who said the solution is to save some exercise calories and eat them on your off day.0 -
I don't think there is anything wrong with 1200 calories a day, it sounds like you are eating your exercise calories on days you do exercise, so that's great. First take a look at the types of foods you're eating. Choosing whole foods high in protein to keep you feelin full. If you are eating a lot of 'diet' foods/empty calories you may get to eat more quantity wise but it's really not doing you any favors healthwise and little to keep you feeling full.
Also I want to point out: at 1200 calories you have about a 1000 calorie deficit for the day. If you're hungry, eat something! A 300 calorie snack/small meal will still leave you with a 700 calorie deficit for the day. It's not going to throw you off track or undo all your hard work. Look at the big picture
Good luck
Teresa0 -
Ok so my stats are 33y/old Female, 165cm tall (5.4feet), Current weight 111kgs (244pounds). I exercise 5-6 days a week. I don't feel tired or lethargic just a bit hungrier than what MFP allows me. I set my goal loss for 1kg (2.2pounds) p/week & the 5024kjs is just what MFP automatically calculated for me... I didn't set it that way.
I've logged in for 115days so far & I've lost 13kgs (28.6pounds). From 124kgs (273pounds) to 111kgs (244pounds) so I'm pretty happy with the result. Today is the beginning of my 17th week.
I just feel like sometimes, not all the time, I just need a bit more gas in the tank.
Are you eating your exercise cals back? I'll say what everyone else has already said, 1200cal/day is not enough. The other reason MFP gave that is because that's the default bare minimum it will give you. Also, because you added over a 2lb/week weight loss to it. A more reasonable approach would be 1lbs/week. Doesn't mean you get hit weeks with a slighter higher weight loss, just recommended.
Yes. On the 5-6 days that I do exercise I do eat them back (happily!) but its just really the one day that I don't get the extra that bugs me.0 -
Thanks everyone. I appreciate everyone's advise. Also, I am a big girl that's capable of making my own decisions so don't stress about me following anyone's advise to the tee if you don't agree with it. I think I will just take snippets of everyone's suggestions & try to work it in with what I'm comfortable/capable of doing at this point in time. I realise its not going to be a race & I have a long way to go so I'm just trudging along; baby steps.
Thanks again to you all!!!
Kaz
0
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