Help - hungry and self sabotage

juliaky84

Hi there,
I am 5'4.5", 30, female, 150#. I generally work out 3 days a week (2 sessions of pilates and one long walk). MFP told me to eat 1500 cals for weight loss (more on exercise day). I've only been at this 3 days, and I am HUNGRY after I eat 1500 cals. This always happens...I get hungry and fail to stay at my calorie goal, so I feel weak/hungry and EAT...then I "blow it" so I self sabotage and go back to eating whatever I want. I want to stick with this, but how can I when I am hungrier than my daily calorie allowance?
Please help - I want to succeed this time!

girlviernes

If you continue to be too hungry, I would definitely try upping your calories to see if that helps. Every body is a bit different so find out if you can lose about 0.5 lbs/week on a higher amount of calories.

I'd also suggest going to full fat milk and increasing your protein intake.

karenj_m

I show you should be around 1616 per day for calories.

Make sure you're eating foods that are filling...such as

TONS of veggies with 4 oz of a lean meat (chicken / fish)

Almonds (raw and natural) - use serving size only

Good breakfast cereal for example Kashi GO LEAN or oatmeal

Protein bars

Whey protein powder (chocolate - yummy) with skim milk

MONSTER salads with something like tuna fish on top and a light vingerette dressing (watch the dressings)

Etc.

You can lose weight eating anything, its all about calories IN vs. calories BURNED. BUT.....if you're a big eater (like me) and you like a lot of quantity...do the above. More FOOD / less calories YUM!

Karen

ChronicOptimist

Maybe try adjusting where you have your activity level set? If you set it to "sedentary" and you're actually more active than that, you would need more calories to stay satisfied.

marissanik

I'm not sure if you mentioned eating back exercise calories or not but you should eat them back because after exercise you're probably netting below the 1500 calorie mark.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

There's a reference on that page about exercise calories and setting your marco targets and exercise calories. Read up!

icrushit

If you want to feel less hungry and your intake is appropriate, swap some of your carbs for fat/ protein, and you should yourself fuller for the same amount of overall calories. Fat and protein are your friends when it comes to wanting to feel full, and curb hunger

karenj_m

Yeah she does mention that in her post: " 1500 cals for weight loss (more on exercise day"

She's only working out 2 Pilates day and 1 go for a walk day....so she's probably in the "lightly active" lifestyle.

baller777

Go for whole real foods including full fat and protein. Meat, seeds (sunflower and pumpkin are my faves), and good full fats like avocados. Eat real, eat as organic as possible, and if you're doing everything right, you may want to try to cut out flour, breads, cereals-- anything with gluten and also dairy. I know it's hard, but it took me years to realize that certain foods that were healthy for other people weren't necessarily healthy for me and how my body runs. But then again, this might not be the case for you in which dairy would actually be a filling source of protein maybe.

Also, make sure you're getting proper nutrients. It's possible to eat the right caloric amount, but if someone's body is deficient, even mildly, in important vitamins or minerals (like magnesium or whatever it might be) the body might respond in hunger... because it's hungry for nutrients, not just calories, found in whole, preferably organic real foods such as fruit, veggies, high quality meats, nuts, and seeds, etc,...

Also, if you give yourself a week, sometimes it's awful at first (you're so hungry!!! I know.) but it gets easier. Honestly, I think it's like going from a huge 747 (or whatever the equivalent) to a puddle jumper. The 747 plane obviously needs more fuel, right? Well when we're in the process of making our bodies smaller, in the beginning it's so hard because you just don't feel like you're getting enough fuel. Like you're starving! It sucks. But after sticking with it for a week or two it really does become sustainable. I'm alway super angry the first couple of weeks I restrict calories because my body takes time to adjust. But then it feels good and normal. Just stick with it and try to find healthy swaps for certain cravings or indulgences, including a low calorie dessert if you have a sweet tooth.

Just a tip, but organic salads are awesome because you can really eat all of the leaves you want and it can fill you up. It's full of nutrients, (just be mindful of dressing), you can include protein, and it can be quite filling and not a caloric issues because you're ...basically eating leaves, lol.

Good luck!!! Be proud of yourself for trying!!! It's hard but you can do it!

love8383

Make sure you're eating foods that are filling...

This...you can feel fuller or fewer calories if you eat healthy filling foods like protein and lots of veg.

itsbasschick

you might want to change your eating schedule or budget your calories differently. i eat smaller meals frequently and rarely have a chance to get hungry.