Constantly hungry!!!

lreiland

Ever since I started limiting my caloric intake to 1200 using MFP and exercising more, I have found that I am constantly hungry!! I've been having a difficult time staying at the 1200 limit without being hungry throughout the day, despite choosing healthy snacks to try to combat the hunger pangs. Any suggestions????

Mollywater

Are you logging your exercise and eating back your calories burned?

lreiland

Yes. But like today, for instance, I did not exercise and I logged everything I ate. I am at 1100 calories right now (so I have 100 left for the day) and I am HUNGRY!!!!!

tabicain55

I am having the same probaby and im not even doing 1200 im doing like 1300 and its killing me =[ im very upset. im either starving or so full im sick. i dont know what to do either! so at least your not alone lol

steacher24

Add more protein into your diet. It keeps you feeling full for longer.

lreiland

That's what I'm going to try to do but I bought some protein bars today and they each have like 220 calories. Not sure when I should eat it....

staybek

Will some tea work? Or maybe a cup of fat free hot chocolate? Good Luck!! I hear ya!!

SarahR1984

I upped my calorie limit by changing my weight loss goal. I did 1200 for the last month and it was too hard. I felt so restricted and hungry. I had a very hard time staying under. Now I'm at 1400 and it's so much easier to stick to. I don't feel deprived and I feel it's something I can keep going with. If I stuck to 1200 I would quit sonner or later. It wasn't realistic for me. I need something I can live with. So it will take a little longer to come off? Better than quitting and going back to where I started.

Lisamarie7574

Hi!

The SAME thing happened to me when I first joined MFP......as a matter of fact, I think I posted a message on here with the SAME exact subject! I was new at the keeping-a-food-journal thing, and I came to realize that I was making too far a jump going from God knows HOW many calories a day to just trying to eat around 1220. I talked to some great folks on here who gave me some tips. If you go into your settlings and go into Edit or Update Diet Profile info, and change how many pounds you want to lose per week, you can give yourself more calories per day. Then I realized you can also go in and CUSTOM edit how many calories you want per day. But I would change your pounds-lost-per-week first. I realized that if I'm going to make life changes that I'm going to stick with, I simply CANNOT go from eating whatever free for all to absolutely STARVING. You know?

Let me know how you do and good luck!! I know the feeling!!!

scalpay

If you are hungry then eat something, up your goal to 1400, you will still be losing! To avoid hunger eat chicken and tons of salad at around 5 o'clock, or tuna and salad, or chicken and veggies like green beans. The protein in the chicken will keep you satisfied, while the voluminous salad will keep your belly full for a long time (your body has a hard time digesting salad, so it stays in your stomach for a long time)

jlcghs27408

I have the same problem! I'm following the tips I've read. Eating filling foods - oatmeal, sweet potato, trying to fill up on veggies. But I'm hungry all the time! I allow myself to go a little over so I don't go to bed hungry, to avoid gorging, but I'm still working on getting it worked down to under my goal.

Let's keep trying to get better!

jlcghs27408

I upped my calorie limit by changing my weight loss goal. I did 1200 for the last month and it was too hard. I felt so restricted and hungry. I had a very hard time staying under. Now I'm at 1400 and it's so much easier to stick to. I don't feel deprived and I feel it's something I can keep going with. If I stuck to 1200 I would quit sonner or later. It wasn't realistic for me. I need something I can live with. So it will take a little longer to come off? Better than quitting and going back to where I started.

Exactly! Good advice.

absolament

If you're hungry. Eat. But start with a small, dense snack at a time. Maybe 1 bar of a 2 bar pack of crunchy granola bars. Remember, this site is just a generalization. Your body is unique and it'll take time to find what works best for you.

rileysowner

It looks like you only have 5 pounds to lose according to the ticker on your profile page. If that is the case, you should not try to lose more that 1 pound a week, maybe even less. That would increase you calorie budget from 1200 likely.

sgtrobinson

try fiber one bars. they have a ton of fiber in them and they are only 140 - 150 calories per bar depending on the flavor and wal mart even sells their own brand (duplicate calories/fiber, but taste.....not quite but close) I usually eat 1 or 2 a day and they keep me pretty full. I'm 230 pounds and a typical day for me consists of 500+ calories of my 1860 (number keeps going down!!) worth of beer/wine/rum and i manage to stay under 1900....usually.

lreiland

Fiber One bars have been a staple snack for me but they do not keep me full for very long at all...

souper71

Ive found that lots of water and chewing gum help. The water fills you up temporarily and the gum satisfies the urge to chew. Give it a try it may help.

lreiland

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I just went in and changed my goal from losing 1 lb per week to 1/2 lb per week and it raised my calorie budget from 1200 to 1400. We'll see if that helps....In the meantime, I will continue to eat snacks that contain protein, drink lots of water, and try chewing a piece of gum!

One other question....should I enter the calories that are in fruits and veggies to be included in the 1400 budget or not?? Just wondering since I know fruits and veggies are 0 points with Weight Watchers.

wownelly

Try adding high fiber foods. I have found that large amounts of water make a difference too. Kashi cereal and a banana or a fiber muffin in the morning helps me stay full in the morning. Make sure to get lots of protein too. I was DYING the first week. I never used to have an appetite until I got married and had a man around reminding me to eat. It took me awhile to get my appetite back under control. It helps to avoid simple carbohydrates as well, which your body will break down faster. Try to combine carbs, protein, and fat every time you eat. Good luck!!!!

Aspynmom

I'll plug VitaTops again!!! I've got the same problem when it comes to snacks, the low-cal, healthy ones do NOTHING to fill me up...until I found VitaTops. So tasty and only 100 calories. I ate one, slowly, and drank a big glass of water and it did me pretty good...can't say I was FULL, but moderately satisfied! Give them a try, you can get them at Target.

lreiland

What are VitaTops??