Holy Hunger, Batman!

techie30

The last three weeks or so have gone a little weird for me: My hunger is completely OUT OF CONTROL! The first couple of months I had a hard time eating all my calories because I just wasn't hungry and couldn't force myself to eat it all. So now here we are and I am so hungry most days. I upped my calories and carbs (by 100 cals, then another 100 cals) hoping it would help but I'm still hungry. And by hungry I mean stomach gnawing, growling hungry. I'm up to a decent # of cals every day, sometimes go over, but upping my cals has slowed my weight loss. I want to stay healthy with this loss, but DANG, I want to eat everything in sight (I realize this is because my metabolism has finally decided to show up-yay!) So, I guess I need some advice: I need to eat to stay full longer I guess. And please don't tell me to drink water-it doesn't help

redwngs13

How many meals do you eat during the day? If you don't already, try eating smaller meals more frequently. That may help. Water does nothing to curb my appetite, either. :grumble: I've also heard that if you eat a large breakfast it will help to keep your appetite suppressed more throughout the day, but I haven't tried this.

techie30

How many meals do you eat during the day? If you don't already, try eating smaller meals more frequently. That may help. Water does nothing to curb my appetite, either. :grumble: I've also heard that if you eat a large breakfast it will help to keep your appetite suppressed more throughout the day, but I haven't tried this.

My diary isn't accurate as to when I eat, but I usually eat 3 meals (300-400 cals) with 3 snacks every day (snacks around 100-250 cals). I wish I could plan my meals to eat 5 times a day, but with my job that's not possible (I work in a lab where I cannot eat and sometimes have to be in there without leaving for 4+ hours at a time). Maybe if I planned better?? Hmmm.... Thanks!

army_cobra

Eat 6 meals a day and make your breakfast the biggest out of all of them. Try to get your carbs in your breakfast so you have energy throught the day. Do not up your cals that is just not good. Eat 6 meals about 3 hrs apart if possible, you will not be hungry at all this way. Also drink alot of water and i mean alot. Try to have water with all your meals and also just drink it throught the day

kimmerroze

You should up the weight lifting... If you build some more muscle your body wont notice the extra calories... and you will still lose weight!

I would also suggest eating around 500-600 calories for breakfast... there have been studies shown that people who eat a significantly larger breakfast will stay fuller and lose weight faster....

I am giving it a try this week...

Also make sure you aren't eating a lot of processed sugars... these will just make you crave food even more.

Enigmatica

Have you ever tried reallocating calories? For example, looking at your diary, you seem to start out with a relatively small breakfast. If I do that I tend to have the munchies all freaking day. If I go with a bigger breakfast (500-600 calories) I make it to lunch just fine and usually don't even feel like snacking in the afternoon.

DreamLittleDarling

protein and fiber! They both take longer to burn off, and keep you fuller longer, and the body uses more calories to burn them off as well, so it's just an all around win situation!
If you have a meal, or snack, that's high in both, it really will keep you fuller longer and give you more energy as well. Try benefiber powder, I use it and you REALLY can not taste it's there AT ALL. you can mix it in with any food or drink you choose and it truely makes a difference in how long before I get hungry again. I typically mix it in with a protein shake for breakfast and I don't get hungry until after lunch time, and even then I'm not starving... but on the days I don't use it for whatever reason, I do get hungrier sooner.
Give that a try, hope it helps!

SheilaSisco

Yes, more smaller meals is good. Instead of three meals a day between 400-600 calories, try 6 at half that. Also, take cinnamon capsules. I've read a few studies that proved cinnamon will 1) Regulate your blood sugar levels 2) Boost your metabolism and 3) SUPPRESS your appetite. I've been taking them for a little over a week and I've been less hungry AND dropped 5 pounds... it's worth a shot for you!

callipygianchronicle

You said you increased carbs, but what about protein and fiber? Foods rich in fiber and protein break down slower and tend to keep you much fuller, longer.

techie30

You said you increased carbs, but what about protein and fiber? Foods rich in fiber and protein break down slower and tend to keep you much fuller, longer.

I was already pretty high on my protein and I was crashing during my workouts, so I upped carbs since I was consistently coming in about 50-100 below.

kwardklinck

Do you spread your calories out and eat every 2-3 hours? I have a snack of apple slices about an hour and a half before lunch and I have some carrot sticks and celery a couple of hours before dinner. I eat eggs or peanut butter in the morning, a small salad with lunch, and beans with meat for dinner. It seems to really help keep me full.

techie30

Have you ever tried reallocating calories? For example, looking at your diary, you seem to start out with a relatively small breakfast. If I do that I tend to have the munchies all freaking day. If I go with a bigger breakfast (500-600 calories) I make it to lunch just fine and usually don't even feel like snacking in the afternoon.

Oooooh, good call! Thanks! I have a tough time eating in the mornings-I'm just not hungry. However, if it will kick this hunger thing in the butt, I can force it down. I'm going to start that tomorrow! Thank you!!!

erikazj

As well as re evaluating what you are eating when, it may be time to re evaluate your weight loss goals and expectations. You're still only eating just over 1200 calories (b/f exercise) cals, and for some people this just isn't enough. Sure, you may lose weight slower if you eat more, but at least you won't slow your newly found metabolism and you won't feel like you're about to gnaw your arm off.

These two posts are a good read:

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

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

I personally could never eat less than 1400 cals before exercise. I'm now in my last few pounds and am only aiming to lose half a pound a week, and I eat a fair bit more than 1400 (and I still have days when I'm hungry, but that's just life!).

All the best to you,

Erika

techie30

You should up the weight lifting... If you build some more muscle your body wont notice the extra calories... and you will still lose weight!

I would also suggest eating around 500-600 calories for breakfast... there have been studies shown that people who eat a significantly larger breakfast will stay fuller and lose weight faster....

I am giving it a try this week...

Also make sure you aren't eating a lot of processed sugars... these will just make you crave food even more.

I'm doing weights, I just don't keep track of them on here (they're in my diary on the laptop). Good call on the bigger breakfast though-I'm going to start that tomorrow and see how it goes! Thanks!!

Enigmatica

Have you ever tried reallocating calories? For example, looking at your diary, you seem to start out with a relatively small breakfast. If I do that I tend to have the munchies all freaking day. If I go with a bigger breakfast (500-600 calories) I make it to lunch just fine and usually don't even feel like snacking in the afternoon.

Oooooh, good call! Thanks! I have a tough time eating in the mornings-I'm just not hungry. However, if it will kick this hunger thing in the butt, I can force it down. I'm going to start that tomorrow! Thank you!!!

Well, different things work for different people. This works for me. You're welcome to cruise through my diary to get an idea of how it balances out over the day. Some people do better with 4-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Experiment with a week of each and see how it goes

Enigmatica

Here's what changed my approach to breakfast:

http://www.realage.com/tips/eat-a-healthy-breakfast-weight-loss-program?click=main_sr

http://www.realage.com/blogs/doctor-oz-roizen/bigger-breakfast-smaller-you?click=main_sr