Suddenly feeling hungry all the time

fmfisdead

I've been using MFP for a little over 3 months now. I've lost 25 pounds total and it's been awesome and so much easier than I expected it to be. About 3-4 weeks ago I added in workouts via EA active 2. Previously I had lost all my weight by eating correctly and spottily working out here and there. I originally started with 1520 calories per day by through losing weight and keeping with my goal it's now down to 1410.

My problem is that I am now feeling hungry a lot more often then I once was. I'm eating the same way as before but the foods never seem to satiet me for long periods anymore. For example I eat a bowl of oatmeal and will feel hungry again in about an hour. This is a dramatic shift from what I felt before. I have just recently decided that I need to eat back calories burnt which I hadn't been doing before. Should I wait and see if this helps the problem or am I doing something else wrong?

I work out 4 times a week and burn within 150-200 calories per workout. Also work an office job. HELP!

superwmn

This happened to me. I:

- Increased my fat/protein consumption and limited refined carbs. I now eat primarily meat, fruit and veg.
- Increased my calories.

MFP gives me 1230/day. I would die on 1230/day.

Charmagne

marrieandfive

Maybe you should add back in the calories and make sure you're getting enough fat/protein with each snack or meal? I know I am much more satisfied when I am eating that way...

Anidorie

You are suppose to eat your workout calories. I only eat half of mine. Try doing that. Secondly if you eat oatmeal everymorning for breakfast, your body might just be wanting a change. Try to eat an egg and a piece of whole wheat toast for breakfast instead of your usual oatmeal. Change things up a bit and eat some of your workout calories. Working in an office is hard because for most of the day you are sitting. AMybe try upping your workouts and eating your calories. I also find that i stay fuller if i drink two glasses of water 15 minutes before i eat. Often times when your feel hungery, its your body telling you to drink. Good luck and good job on the 25

wolfchild59

I felt the exact same way after I started working out finally. I was confused because I was eating the same way that had been making me feel full and satiated before and suddenly I was hungry all the time again.

But as soon as I upped my calories to make up some of the difference for what I was getting from working out and increased the amount of protein I was getting each day that hunger went away. So I would definitely recommend eating some or most of your exercise calories and work on trying to get those calories from protein rich foods and see if that helps.

MelanieHartman

I know the feeling with the hunger! It stinks. For me it comes and goes, but here is what I have learned in the process: Eating high fiber/high protein foods help to satiate us for longer periods of time. Especially after a workout, we need to have a snack with these important nutrients. Also, if you can break your meals up into smaller meals that are eaten more frequently, it not only helps your spikes in hunger, but also with your metabolism (your blood sugar doesn't fluctuate as much when you eat more frequently, thus helping your metabolism). This is sometimes hard with an office job, but even having smaller meals and a few snacks a day is good. Of course, just make sure they stay in your calorie goal. With all that said, sometimes we just get hungry. Listen to your body. If you simply feel hungry, it's probably okay to just wait it out until the next meal, but if you feel week, light-headed, or get a "hunger headache", or other ailment, you should sit down and reevaluate your habits and ask questions of yourself such as: "Have I cut too many calories out to be healthy?" "Have I drunk enough water today?" "Does my body need a few days break from all this?" Etc. Anyway, these things have helped me. Hopefully they help you too!

SHBoss1673

eating exercise calories is always a good idea, especially as you approach your goal weight/fat %.

also, have you adjusted your goal to account for the fact that you have less weight to lose? I.E. someone with 30 lbs to go can't have the same deficit as someone with 60 lbs to go and still expect the same results. It's important to remember, as you lose weight, the amount of weight you can safely lose per week will go down as well. You have less fat to make up the difference in deficit, therefore, you need a smaller deficit to compensate.

iplayoutside19

One other thing. Have you thought about changing your "lifestyle' setting. When I started I was set at sedentary. Then I got to where I ran, and lifted quite a bit. I was now at least "moderatly-active".

Something to think about.

nikijohnson8

I'm really glad I read this post. I'm ALWAYS hungry lately! I can have a huge meal and be hungry within an hour. I'm eating a little over 1500 calories a day and exercising between 30 to 60 minutes daily with the occasional break.

I find a nice mug of hot tea will satisfy me for a little while between meals. I'll have to try eating more protein from now on and possibly more fiber.

fmfisdead

These are all awesome replies, thanks so much everyone. I feel as though I have a pretty high fiber/protein diet. Normally taking in 80-100g of protein. It really sounds as if I need to step up my calorie intake.

@SHBoss so you're saying since I have less fat now, and my body draws from that fat resource less, I essentially need to up my intake to account for how much my body was drawing from that? It almost sounds thats what you were saying. And I think it makes sense.

With that being said, what should I up my intake to? I'm 5'9. I don't really know how to decide whats a good amount to choose. MFP was my first foray into calorie watching. I've heard many different ways to calculate what you should eat etc. Any tips?

fmfisdead

UPDATE: I just read the post about should I eat my excercise calories and what I've found is yes you should! I have learned my lesson in this regard. I'm going to do that first and see how I feel over time. If it's still the same I will up my calories.

I honestly couldn't stop thinking about food. I felt anxious and miserable and I didn't know why. I couldn't focus on my job etc. Just a personal note.

jkestens63

You're light bulb went on and I just want to concur with everyone - eat those exercise calories. If you don't you'll definitely be hungry all the time. I exercise hard because I really enjoy it so my calorie burn every day is at least 1000 calories. MFP gives me 1210 calories so with my exercise I have to eat at least 2210. Sounds like way too much so I was actually only eating about 1700 and I was netting only 700. I found that I would do really well one day and then the next day binge which has totally screwed up my weight loss. I bloated up, gained like crazy. Now I'm eating the calories and while its only been a few days and haven't seen the weight change yet, I feel better and I'm not starving every other day. Also spending lots of time in the bathroom again, lol so I know I'm getting rid of the water.

Good luck!

SHBoss1673

These are all awesome replies, thanks so much everyone. I feel as though I have a pretty high fiber/protein diet. Normally taking in 80-100g of protein. It really sounds as if I need to step up my calorie intake.

@SHBoss so you're saying since I have less fat now, and my body draws from that fat resource less, I essentially need to up my intake to account for how much my body was drawing from that? It almost sounds thats what you were saying. And I think it makes sense.

With that being said, what should I up my intake to? I'm 5'9. I don't really know how to decide whats a good amount to choose. MFP was my first foray into calorie watching. I've heard many different ways to calculate what you should eat etc. Any tips?

that's close enough as to not matter. As to how much, that's not as easy as it sounds. It depends on your body. As you approach the correct weight, a few things should happen (besides reduced deficit). 1) your focus should start to shift away from the scale and towards body fat and physical fitness. 2) you should start trying to plan an end game. Focusing on enduring good nutrition. 3) your calorie deficit should be gradually decreasing to ease you into maintenance.

People who go from a large deficit directly to maintenance inevitably gain weight, because they aren't ready for the added calories, and their body isn't used to the calorie increase. Mentally it can be tough as well, not having a weight goal can really play mind games with you, you need to start dealing with it now, before you get there. Start making goals that have nothing to do with weight, I.E. exercise goals, fitness goals, lifestyle goals...etc.

I wrote a quick and dirty guide to calorie deficits here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

feel free to use it. But heed this first. IT'S A ROUGH ROUGH guide. I didn't write it to be a bible on what your deficit should be, I wrote it as a general guideline. Tweaking will be necessary, but it's a good place to start. Remember, with any change, you need to give your body enough time to adjust. Don't change, wait a week, and decide the new plan isn't working, it takes months for your body to adjust, let it. Keep the changes small and the body will adapt faster, don't jump hundreds of calories at a time, you'll just end up with weight gain (usually).