Caloric Mental Block

blukitten

Ok, so I have noticed I have a Caloric Mental Block,, or self sabotage.. not sure which.

One of the reasons I have struggled with my weight is that everytime, in the past, when I would say I was on a diet,, going to eat healthy,, going to lose weight,,, or any version thereof,, I was all of the sudden starving like all the time.

I have managed to change my eating habits, eat healthier, not call it dieting but calling it a lifestyle change,, etc. and have not experienced the issue so far.... until today.

So after finding out my actual BMR, I have decided to cut 200 calories from my BMR to lower it to 1600 cals a day. Which isnt that low,, but now I am all of a sudden starving! Like actual physical symptoms of hungry- feeling in my stomach, thoughts of I need to eat, etc.

I havent even actually done the deficit for a full day yet. I ate my usual breakfast, my usual snack just an hour ago and usually would not be hungry again until lunch but today (the first day I have started the 200 cal deficit from BMR) I am starving!

Has anyone else expereinced this and how did you solve it? Ignore the hunger? Go ahead and eat something?

Also have you found a reason for it? Is it just a mental thing (all in my head)?

Thanks!

climbing_trees

You shouldn't eat below your BMR.
That is the bare minimum calories that your body needs to function.
Check out this thread for help with setting a calorie goal
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets


Something that helps distract me from hunger is to drink a lot of water.

WildBillR

Agree with post above regarding BMR. If you meant TDEE (which is what I mistook your post to mean), then read on.

Your experience is not that unusual. I've tried drinking water first. If I still feel hungry, then I eat something. Lifestyle changes have made that be a yogurt or an energy bar instead of half a bag of chips or a quart of ice cream. Some days are like that. I notice that when I'm busy, that I don't eat have hunger pangs like this. Also, I exercise in the morning, and if I expend a lot of calories (running vs weight lifting), then I'll try to add a snack somewhere in the mid-day timeframe.

blukitten

You shouldn't eat below your BMR.
That is the bare minimum calories that your body needs to function.
Check out this thread for help with setting a calorie goal
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets


Something that helps distract me from hunger is to drink a lot of water.

This is what I originally thought,, but my personal trainer and my trainer at my gym, and some of the already fit people on here say that is one of the best ways to obtain a deficit. Which makes sense to me, I am combining the deficit below BMR with my excercise deficit to obtain a 500 cal a day deficit. But my original question is why am I all of the sudden hungry even though I havent even acheived the deficit yet?

blukitten

Agree with post above regarding BMR. If you meant TDEE (which is what I mistook your post to mean), then read on.

Your experience is not that unusual. I've tried drinking water first. If I still feel hungry, then I eat something. Lifestyle changes have made that be a yogurt or an energy bar instead of half a bag of chips or a quart of ice cream. Some days are like that. I notice that when I'm busy, that I don't eat have hunger pangs like this. Also, I exercise in the morning, and if I expend a lot of calories (running vs weight lifting), then I'll try to add a snack somewhere in the mid-day timeframe.

No I meant BMR, which I have had calculated by a body comp machine at my gym/with my trainer at my gym. This was my original though about BMR also,, that you shouldn't eat below it but isnt that what you are supposed to do when trying to lose? Create a deficit either by intake or excercise, or both?

BTW I do drink alot of water through the day,, usually 132 oz or more, as my trainer/s have suggested I drink half my body weight ( I know the mixed messages on here about how much) but I have felt fine drinking this much and so strive to obtain it as a goal

vismal

You shouldn't eat below your BMR.
That is the bare minimum calories that your body needs to function.
Check out this thread for help with setting a calorie goal
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets


Something that helps distract me from hunger is to drink a lot of water.

This is what I originally thought,, but my personal trainer and my trainer at my gym, and some of the already fit people on here say that is one of the best ways to obtain a deficit. Which makes sense to me, I am combining the deficit below BMR with my excercise deficit to obtain a 500 cal a day deficit. But my original question is why am I all of the sudden hungry even though I havent even acheived the deficit yet?

Are you certain you mean BMR and not TDEE. People often confuse the two. To lose weight you want to eat 10-20% less then your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), not your BMR.

enzosmama

To address your original question- it's mental. Yes, you are experiencing physical reactions, but it's due to a mental thought- you are thinking about that 200 calorie deficit. Otherwise numerous other things can play into being more hungry- timing of your cycle, the weather, how much sleep you got the night before, the alignment of the sun moon and stars... really anything. Drink some water. Snack on something healthy, and move on. Focus on other things and I think you'll find the physical symptoms will alleviate themselves for the most part.

maidentl

You're supposed to create a deficit from your TDEE, the total calories you burn in a day. I eat above my BMR and I've been losing. I've seen differing opinions on whether or not it's the end of the world to eat under it but no, it's definitely not necessary to do to create a deficit.

WalkingAlong

1600 calories a day isn't going to hurt you regardless of what your BMR is or what acronym you call what.

The best way to get past mental habits is with practice. Day 1 of a new routine can be hard. Day 30 will be easier. Press on.

Rogiefreida

First of all, there aren't very many people around here who are going to tell you that eating below your BMR is a good idea. I am one of them. Your body needs fuel. BMR is the bare minimum of calories needed for your body to perform basic functions like breathing. Also, there's tons of PT's out there that give terrible advice when it comes to diet. Just because someone got certified to train people doesn't mean they have had proper education on nutrition.

As far as being starving, it sounds mental. I don't mean that in a bad way, but sometimes people like to rebel. Anytime I've ever told myself that I'm "on a diet", I turn hungry and insatiable instantly. It just doesn't work for me. Eating to fuel my body to perform better and/or heal itself is what's changed my relationship with food. And some days, hunger is just there, could be hormonal, could be emotional, could be from an epic workout the day before.

blukitten

You shouldn't eat below your BMR.
That is the bare minimum calories that your body needs to function.
Check out this thread for help with setting a calorie goal
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets


Something that helps distract me from hunger is to drink a lot of water.

This is what I originally thought,, but my personal trainer and my trainer at my gym, and some of the already fit people on here say that is one of the best ways to obtain a deficit. Which makes sense to me, I am combining the deficit below BMR with my excercise deficit to obtain a 500 cal a day deficit. But my original question is why am I all of the sudden hungry even though I havent even acheived the deficit yet?

Are you certain you mean BMR and not TDEE. People often confuse the two. To lose weight you want to eat 10-20% less then your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), not your BMR.

This is what I thought too, but yes it is my BMR calculated by the body comp machine. I had been eating 1882 cals based on my TDEE thinking this was creating a deficit but I havent been losing,,,,, so I had a program done for me at my gym and he suggested I eat below my BMR,, which also come to find out is what the trainer on Extreme weightloss does for the people on the show. He has them at 1500 cals a day with a 2hr workout-- so it made me think, ok maybe its not that wierd??

enzosmama

1600 calories a day isn't going to hurt you regardless of what your BMR is or what acronym you call what.

The best way to get past mental habits is with practice. Day 1 of a new routine can be hard. Day 30 will be easier. Press on.

And I'm sure you will have a few tough days/weeks in between. It's normal. Stick with it, it gets easier. Allow yourself a small treat every now and again (one that you log of course!)

blukitten

1600 calories a day isn't going to hurt you regardless of what your BMR is or what acronym you call what.

The best way to get past mental habits is with practice. Day 1 of a new routine can be hard. Day 30 will be easier. Press on.

Thank you!

enzosmama

[/quote]

is what the trainer on Extreme weightloss does for the people on the show. He has them at 1500 cals a day with a 2hr workout-- so it made me think, ok maybe its not that wierd??
[/quote]

Yeah, sorry, you need to ditch that way of thinking. Extreme workouts with low calories diets and dehydrating before weigh ins are common with these shows. Don't base anything off them. For your own health and sanity.

blukitten

First of all, there aren't very many people around here who are going to tell you that eating below your BMR is a good idea. I am one of them. Your body needs fuel. BMR is the bare minimum of calories needed for your body to perform basic functions like breathing. Also, there's tons of PT's out there that give terrible advice when it comes to diet. Just because someone got certified to train people doesn't mean they have had proper education on nutrition.

As far as being starving, it sounds mental. I don't mean that in a bad way, but sometimes people like to rebel. Anytime I've ever told myself that I'm "on a diet", I turn hungry and insatiable instantly. It just doesn't work for me. Eating to fuel my body to perform better and/or heal itself is what's changed my relationship with food. And some days, hunger is just there, could be hormonal, could be emotional, could be from an epic workout the day before.

Thank you! Yes I think it is a mental thing as well,, not in a bad way either,, I know it will get easier with time, was just wondering if anyone else has expereinced this same thing and how they dealt with it

blukitten

is what the trainer on Extreme weightloss does for the people on the show. He has them at 1500 cals a day with a 2hr workout-- so it made me think, ok maybe its not that wierd??
[/quote]

Yeah, sorry, you need to ditch that way of thinking. Extreme workouts with low calories diets and dehydrating before weigh ins are common with these shows. Don't base anything off them. For your own health and sanity.
[/quote]

Didnt think of it that way,,, thanks! thats a good idea

JacquiKerzman

You need a deficit to lose fat and that is what you want! Every step of your journey is going to be getting stronger and stronger and it is 100% mental. The only way you can change your body is if you change your mind and how it thinks! It is YOU going thru these types of situations that will help you get stronger and stronger mentally and you will watch yourself getting better and better!!! You are doing great! When you hear that voice "eat" tell it no, tell it out loud if you have to, I do it all the time when I am competition training and have to go without treats :-) Check out my page for motivation if you would like but whatever you do KNOW this is mental!!!!! I do suggest 6 small meals throughout the day, that way you are eating more often and blood sugar stays stable, it works GREAT for many of my clients!!!! Best wishes, YOU GOT THIS!!!!! www.ripsandcurves.com

blukitten

You need a deficit to lose fat and that is what you want! Every step of your journey is going to be getting stronger and stronger and it is 100% mental. The only way you can change your body is if you change your mind and how it thinks! It is YOU going thru these types of situations that will help you get stronger and stronger mentally and you will watch yourself getting better and better!!! You are doing great! When you hear that voice "eat" tell it no, tell it out loud if you have to, I do it all the time when I am competition training and have to go without treats :-) Check out my page for motivation if you would like but whatever you do KNOW this is mental!!!!! I do suggest 6 small meals throughout the day, that way you are eating more often and blood sugar stays stable, it works GREAT for many of my clients!!!! Best wishes, YOU GOT THIS!!!!! www.ripsandcurves.com

Thank you! I will check out your page! Thank you for the encouragement!!

vismal

You need a deficit to lose fat and that is what you want! Every step of your journey is going to be getting stronger and stronger and it is 100% mental. The only way you can change your body is if you change your mind and how it thinks! It is YOU going thru these types of situations that will help you get stronger and stronger mentally and you will watch yourself getting better and better!!! You are doing great! When you hear that voice "eat" tell it no, tell it out loud if you have to, I do it all the time when I am competition training and have to go without treats :-) Check out my page for motivation if you would like but whatever you do KNOW this is mental!!!!! I do suggest 6 small meals throughout the day, that way you are eating more often and blood sugar stays stable, it works GREAT for many of my clients!!!! Best wishes, YOU GOT THIS!!!!! www.ripsandcurves.com

There is zero scientific evidence to support eating multiple times a day helps regulate blood sugar. In fact, more recent studies show the exact opposite to be true. http://www.e-spenjournal.org/article/S1751-4991(10)00054-5/abstract

AnimateDream

The only way to make any weight loss is to have a net calorie deficit. That deficit has to be made up for by metabolizing fat and muscle regardless. To the people complaining that BMR is the bare minimum of calories you need in a day, you should know it makes no difference. Your body isn't aware of its own BMR and the total calorie deficit has to be made up for the same exact way regardless of whether it extends beyond your BMR or not. Very extreme calorie deficits can be harmful, but for reasons that have nothing to do with BMR. The only thing BMR is useful for is a step in calculating your total caloric expenditure. You can forget about it after that, because its an arbitrary number that has no meaning to your body if you are exercising at all.

So just to be clear you should not plan your caloric intake to be a deficit on BMR either. Just increase the total deficit by exercising more or consuming fewer calories. BMR is a completely arbitrary thing to base your caloric intake on.

Also regarding cravings, your body reacts to fat loss with hormones that make you crave energy laden foods. There are lots of tricks to fight cravings or make you feel full, but those hormones are released no matter what. This is one reason why extreme diets tend to fail and people regain the weight. Your weight probably varies a lot by water and food in your system. Maybe you were losing fat without knowing it?

blukitten

[/quote]There is zero scientific evidence to support eating multiple times a day helps regulate blood sugar. In fact, more recent studies show the exact opposite to be true. http://www.e-spenjournal.org/article/S1751-4991(10)00054-5/abstract
[/quote]

Hmm, this is interesting research, I eat 5 times a day now, high protien breakfast, berries for a morning snack, high protien lunch, and high protien afternoon snack, usually high protein dinner....... ugh cant somebody just say here-- eat this at this time or this many times a day and you will lose weight easily.

lemurcat12

To address your original question- it's mental. Yes, you are experiencing physical reactions, but it's due to a mental thought- you are thinking about that 200 calorie deficit. Otherwise numerous other things can play into being more hungry- timing of your cycle, the weather, how much sleep you got the night before, the alignment of the sun moon and stars... really anything. Drink some water. Snack on something healthy, and move on. Focus on other things and I think you'll find the physical symptoms will alleviate themselves for the most part.

This. When I first started I'd get hungry at times I was used to snacking or when I was stressed, even when there was no reason to be hungry. I'd either snack on something low calorie (carrots or celery or radishes) or channel my thoughts of food into something else (if I was thinking about some kind of food I'd plan out how to make something that satisfied in a similar way with fewer calories).

Once I got used to the new way of eating it's like the mind accepted it and moved on and I stopped feeling hungry between meals.

I suspect if you just get through it like that it will go away.

ChristineMeg1

My Fitness Pal will set a caloric goal for you, one that takes into account any activity you do. That may be more appropriate for your needs.

Also, I notice the same thing, anytime I set out to "diet" "eat healthier" "lose weight". Maybe part of it is just feeling deprived. When we consciously set out to lose weight, or eat healthier, it means maybe we are giving up those little unhealthy habits we are so used to.

For me, my unhealthy habits were eating whenever I wanted instead of set meals and snacks, and. . . Dunkin Donuts coffee with added sugar and cream (and flavor shots, more sugar!).

To fill in for those habits, I started making my coffee at home to substitute the Dunkin Donuts coffee, and I started eating set, satiating meals. When I have the urge to eat that isn't definite hunger, if I drink a glass of water, chew gum, drink some hot tea, or go for a walk to distract myself. . . if I try that and I'm still hungry and it is not meal time, I will eat a snack with the appropriate amount of fat/protein/fiber in it.

Maybe it's just the fact that you are making new habits (like me) and you body just has to adjust.

vismal

There is zero scientific evidence to support eating multiple times a day helps regulate blood sugar. In fact, more recent studies show the exact opposite to be true. http://www.e-spenjournal.org/article/S1751-4991(10)00054-5/abstract

Hmm, this is interesting research, I eat 5 times a day now, high protien breakfast, berries for a morning snack, high protien lunch, and high protien afternoon snack, usually high protein dinner....... ugh cant somebody just say here-- eat this at this time or this many times a day and you will lose weight easily.

When you eat, and how much you eat per meal, and the number of meals you eat are all of very little importance as far as results are concerned. Total calories and macro nutrients consumed for the day are by and large the most important part of weight loss. You should structure your intake in a pattern that allows you to meet your calorie and macro goals the easiest. For some it's eating 6 small meals. Others do better with 2 large meals. Some prefer the typical 3 meals and a snack. There is no best choice. If you stick with your goals, any meal timing scheme will work fine.