calorie deficit & not hungry!

rjulian20

i'm hearing so many different things about counting calories, the deficit, starvation mode...and the list goes on and on. i am on average WAY UNDER my calorie allowance after exercise but i'm not hungry! do i need to adjust this or just keep at it the way i'm going? i've been eating high protein which probably counts for my fullness but i'm still confused. help please! haha

lal73

I happen to work in the food industry, and i spoke to one of our Dieticians/Nutritionist yesterday...He said that if your calorie (food) intake is TOO LOW then your metobolic rate decreases....it fools your body into thinking you dont need as many calories as you really do and it can sabotage the weight loss. Throw in some good carbs here and there to balance it out...(whole grain breads or beans)

superhippiechik

When it happens to me I will drink almond milk,chocolate or regular,just so I will keep dropping weight. I have lost about 50 inches doing this since I joined in September.

Mindful_Trent

Hunger is NOT the best indicator of whether or not you should eat. This may or may not apply to you, but in people who have been dieting/yo-yoing their whole lives, or even eating low-calories during the week and binging periodically (which causes them to gain weight despite being at low calories most of the time) it's not uncommon for the body to not indicate it is hungry even when you NEED more calories/nutrients. Think of it this way - after being deprived for a long time, the body gives up and accepts the situation, assuming it's just not going to get more than it is... it quits complaining.


Make it a goal to at least eat 1200 calories a day. Once you can do that then work at eating at least 25% of your exercise calories all the time, then up to 50%. Gradually progress to eating a healthy amount of your calories every day. There's not reason to eat 100% of all your calories every day - but on days you don't exercise you should be trying to eat pretty much all of them, and you shouldn't have more than a couple hundred left over on exercise days. (In general)

modernfemme

The hunger will come - and when it does, it'll come back with a vengeance. Think pigging out on anything in sight. Ya gotta eat. You're already at a deficit.

pftjill

I looked at your diary and it looks like you are doing fine and are getting enough. However I would be careful never to go below 1200 cals. That is way too little. Other than that it looks good.

BethanyMasters

If you really are not hungry you don't have to eat. I don't usually eat back all of my exercise calories. Some but not all.

There's no set calorie deficit that causes starvation mode. Starvation mode is caused when your body tells you it's hungry and you don't feed it.

So if you are genuinely hungry (not just got the munchies because your bored) then eat. If not don't eat.

LizardIsANerd

Also eat a high-protein/complex carb snack within 15 minutes of exercising - It may not cover all of your extra calories but if your body knows there is more protein right there it will help with fat burn and muscle building. This is a great time for Protein Shakes/smoothies (or peanut butter and a banana). Just be sure you don't eat JUNK to make up your calories. I have a really bad habit of hitting Taco Bell after practices and eating back my calories in cheese and fried stuff!

ETA: By practices I mean Roller Derby - and boy does that shred those calories.

Mindful_Trent

There's no set calorie deficit that causes starvation mode. Starvation mode is caused when your body tells you it's hungry and you don't feed it.

So if you are genuinely hungry (not just got the munchies because your bored) then eat. If not don't eat.

The problem is, is people's hunger responses will reduce over time if they're not getting enough calories. See my post above. Hunger is NOT the best way to gauge when you need to eat. Your body will not always tell you when it needs to be fed.

stormieweather

Eating too litle messes with your metabolism and it's hormones. Not feeling hungry is NOT a sign that you are eating enough and getting adequate nutrition.

Ghrelin is the 'hunger' hormone:

http://keepamericaslim.blogspot.com/2009/02/truth-about-ghrelin.html

If we maintain our caloric level above our basal metabolic rate level and below our maintenance level, as explained throughout the KCS - KAS materials we don't over-stimulate ghrelin and therefore don't have this issue to deal with.

I hope this explains to you how dieting and chronic under-eating causes hormones to be out of balance. When people continually live on a low-calorie diet as is the case today with many adults of all ages, especially postmenopausal women, they eventually disturb hormone levels and ghrelin and the other hormones become less effective.

It could to be that over time by constant dieting ghrelin is not even created in sufficient quantities to stimulate appetite.

Our biggest challenge as many of you know in the Keep Canada / Keep America Slim program is to actually get our clients to eat enough food every day. None of our clients are over eating and therefore none would require a drug to reduce ghrelin levels.

myofibril

Hunger is NOT the best indicator of whether or not you should eat. This may or may not apply to you, but in people who have been dieting/yo-yoing their whole lives, or even eating low-calories during the week and binging periodically (which causes them to gain weight despite being at low calories most of the time) it's not uncommon for the body to not indicate it is hungry even when you NEED more calories/nutrients. Think of it this way - after being deprived for a long time, the body gives up and accepts the situation, assuming it's just not going to get more than it is... it quits complaining.


Make it a goal to at least eat 1200 calories a day. Once you can do that then work at eating at least 25% of your exercise calories all the time, then up to 50%. Gradually progress to eating a healthy amount of your calories every day. There's not reason to eat 100% of all your calories every day - but on days you don't exercise you should be trying to eat pretty much all of them, and you shouldn't have more than a couple hundred left over on exercise days. (In general)

Nice post.

Sometimes you literally have to "reset" your body before you can rely on the signals it gives you.

One thing I would say is that discussions on here about "starvation mode" when it occurs and the effects it has are usually dramatically overblown. IIRC starvation mode is calculated at about 50% of your BMR as opposed to this magic 1200 calorie figure which is often touted on here. It has a parallels with a VLCD (very low calorie diet) which should only really be done with medical supervision at the 800 calorie mark.

A VLCD if (and that's a big if) it is nutritionally complete can be very beneficial to people who are morbidly obese. For individuals with a lower fat mass it generally isn't advised though.

rjulian20

thanks! all this helps! i'm really hoping that by just eating healthier & exercising...my body will turn back to "normal". i've never had problems with my weight until the past 4 years and it was mainly because i fed my body lots of fast food with minimal exercise....the complete opposite of what i was used to pre-college. good luck to all with your own journeys!