Hungry at Maintenance...

Elle408

I've decided to try and drop my 'get to 120lbs' goal. I'm fluctuating between 125-130 at the moment and completely fine with that. I still need to tone more but that's a work in progress. I had a bad few days of binging this past month (mega 5000cal binges), something I hadn't done in the 2 years that I was actively losing weight. Now i'm at my goal i'm finding it hard not to binge.

The problem is, i'm always hungry. I always was hungry but it seemed justified when I was losing weight, now i'm at goal and i'm still hungry and i'm finding it very hard to deal with. I drink about 65-70oz water a day (which is more than enough for my weight) so don't believe it's thirst and try to eat regularly (every 3-4 hrs) and all the right things (plenty of fibre, protein with each meal, wholegrains etc.) so don't believe it's a diet issue. But i'm stumped as to what it could be. And I don't mean just a bit peckish, I mean, my stomach feels like it's eating itself and i'm too exhausted to go and pee hungry! I used to suffer hypoglycaemic attacks as a teenager that went away in my early 20's but these seem to be coming back too. I'm just exhausted with fighting these hunger pangs all day.

I've tried 'listening' to my body and if it's hungry it must need feeding etc. etc. and I do eat if i'm getting to the point where i'm feeling faint, but the hungry feelings never go away. Within minutes of finishing my meals I feel like I haven't eaten. I've now had to time my meals and wait the hunger out and eat at those set times or I eat constantly and then end up in the midst of a binge.

So, after all that... any suggestions? Any one deal with this and have any pointers? I can't even exercise at the moment because the extreme exhaustion I feel afterwards leaves me feeling ill. I really don't see how I can maintain with these hunger feelings!

dragonbug300

If you're still always hungry, that means that your metabolism is higher than MFP is accounting for. It's likely that you have a higher muscle mass than the default setting, causing you to burn through calories much faster than the average person. Set your activity level to something like "moderately active" or "very active" to account for this.

Also consider what you eat and the supplements that you're taking. I know I get dizzy and weak if I take multivitamins after a light meal. I also feel that way if I eat fruit and soymilk with no stable protein or carbs to round it out.

staciekins

Try upping your fiber and protein intake. Helps you to feel fuller longer.

ltf304

I have a similar problem and it could be that you burn more while your body is at rest then you think it does. Try upping your calories slowly and see if that helps. If you're gaining then back it down. I am trying this and seem to be a little better but its still a work in progress.

pocketsam

Hiya,
sorry to hear you are feeling this way! Well done on getting to your goal. I have been maintaining 98 lbs for 13 weeks now. I have days where I am really hungry but I think thats just normal.

What are your maintenance cals set at? I have 1600 and I work out most days so thats fine for me (5ft tall dancer). You might want to check if your activity setting is accurate and if mfp is giving you 'enough' cals to eat.

I wonder if your eating enough complex carbs to keep you going longer. Things like oats and bananas are slow burn/slow release energy foods and should keep you topped up.

If you hunger is really that intense though and so soon after eating I really would check with your doctor about it! If you are hungry eat !! BUT eat the right foods not just eating to put it in your face and get in your stomach as fast as possible.

I hope something somewhere in there is helpful to you!
Best of luck finding out whats wrong or how to fix the problem.
Sam xxx

Elle408

Thanks for the quick replies! I hadn't considered that my maintenance cals would be too low. They're set to 1650, but i'm still hungry when i eat that much, even when I eat back my exercise cals and end the day on about 1800 I find that i'm hungry still.

I've set back to 1200 at the mo' and then plan to increase every week (I gained a lot after my last binge and am trying to do a bit of a detox) and hopefully find that middle ground where i'm satisfied with the cals that I can eat.

I've tried a couple of times to cut carbs and find that it's a lot worse when I do, so have accepted the fact that i'll always be around my carb goal. I try to eat low GI too so that my blood sugar isn't spiking. But it just seems whatever I do try i'm still hungry.