Super hungry all the time!

LauraMarie37

Hey fellow MFPers,

So I just started MFP on the last day of May, and I've really enjoyed the discussions and support here, as well as learning a few new things!

I've been a dancer/dance teacher either pre-professionally or professionally for the past 12 years (since I was about 14), am the daughter of a nutritionist and a chemist, and have studied physical therapy, so I have a fairly good knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology, and nutrition science. I sadly do not have the ideal body type for dance, so while I have always been in the "healthy" BMI range, it's been a huge struggle to get/stay at the bottom of that range (which, unfortunately, is a requirement for my profession). I am very anti-ED, watching many people I love struggle with it, so I'm definitely not trying to be unhealthy with my weight loss goals.

Immediately prior to joining MFP, I was probably putting my body in starvation mode by working out 2-6 hours a day (including rehearsals, not including teaching) and eating around 1000-1200 calories most days, with one cheat day per week. I didn't lose any weight after two months of this and I was SO frustrated - I was convinced I had some kind of thyroid problem!

Since joining MFP, my weight has started coming off again - hooray! - and I am actually making sure I eat enough, including eating back my exercise calories. However, just since about last Friday, I've been STARVING. I'm still trying to come in right around my net calorie goal, though Sunday I did have a cheat day. I always try to eat lots of fiber and veggies, so that hasn't changed. I tried increasing my healthy fat intake (fish, guacamole or avacado, etc), but that doesn't seem to be helping. It's not that TOM for me (that was two weeks ago.) Any ideas?????

Does this happen to anyone else when they start tracking their calories better? I've tried going slightly over my calories (like +150-200), but that usually ends up with me just not losing/gaining when I weigh myself the next morning.

A few theories:

- This seemed to start last week, when I was exercising in a giant heat wave. I think I ended up with mild heat exhaustion one day (really dizzy and weak), but I hydrated and had some salt to replenish electrolytes for the next 24 hours and felt better, just hungrier.

- I've been pushing myself at the gym this past week, including a swimming workout with my mom (a triathlete). I definitely enjoyed changing up my workouts, and am definitely getting stronger more quickly now that I'm eating back my exercise calories, so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it.

- Now that my body isn't in starvation mode, might it be super-speeding up my metabolism because it's so happy it's not starving?

- I've been slightly more active in the past week - I have myself down as "moderately active" because some weeks I teach a lot, some weeks I rehearse a lot, some weeks I do both, and some weeks I do neither. (I record my exercise calories for things that get my heart rate up, like class or rehearsal, but not things like teaching or walking around the city to get places.) This happens to be a teach and rehearsal week - but again, I make up for extra activity by eating more!

Thanks for reading my super long post! Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated!

velvetkat

glad you are finding the weight now coming off after all that time and work without any results. I applaud you for sticking with it. I would have quit a long time ago Im afraid.
This is what I found happened to me. I was exercising burning 1200-1500 calories a day.. eating 1200 calories a day and I found no matter what how many calories I ate for breakfast by 11am I was starving..(I start work at 630 and am up at 330am) I was eating something every two hours but it wasnt how much it was WHAT I was eating. The last thing I ate in the morning would be one cup of either strawberries or cantaloupe. The sugar in the fruit picked me up initially but then made me starved soon after.
I was told to change the order of things that I ate and eat a protein after the fruit. So now I eat my fruit before I leave for work and then later eat a protein bar or shake or oatmeal. It worked!! Doesnt matter now how many calories I eat i have found I am not starving anymore. I usually eat 300-350 calories for breakfast. I had been eating 400-480.
Just a thought

Good luck!

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jonikeffer

My guess...it sounds like your metabolism has started to normalize after being in starvation mode. You are doing a huge amount of exercise and you're going to require a lot of calories to fuel all that. Even if you're not in starvation mode, your body is going to make you feel hungry to try to make you eat more. This is especially true because as you've said, you're at a healthy weight. It is extremely hard to lose weight when you are not at all overweight, that's why when we're approaching our "goal weight" we must accept smaller losses each week, 1/2 lb at MOST. If you simply MUST lose weight for your profession, you are likely to have to endure some hunger pangs unfortunately.

littlebones14

How many meals a day do you eat on average though?

LauraMarie37

Thanks for the ideas... I usually eat 4-5 meals a day (well, three meals and two snacks). I try to make all of my food a balance betwen protein, fat, and carbs - but I will try upping the protein between my afternoon snack and dinner (usually the longest gap between meals for me because I can't eat while teaching).

I was afraid "you just have to deal with hunger pangs" would be the answer, jonikeffer. I think you may be right.

LauraMarie37

Bump - I'd love to know if anyone else has any ideas! Thanks!

BJPCraig

When I was experiencing intense hunger pangs in the afternoon a while back, I started drinking a cup of appetite suppressant herbal tea (I use Yogi Tea's Healthy Fasting). It tastes good, is healthy, and usually holds me over to dinner just fine.

LauraMarie37

What exactly is in the tea that is an appetite suppressant? I've heard things that work as an appetite suppressant sometimes slow down your metabolism.

BJPCraig

From the Yogi Tea Web site: "A blend of organic red clover with burdock and dandelion supports the liver in eliminating toxins. Licorice supports overall stamina, and Garcinia cambogia supports the body’s ability to stay lean. Finally, fennel and cinnamon bark improve circulation and aids digestion." Plus, it's possible that just drinking something hot fools my stomach into thinking it's had something more substantial (I've read that this can happen). I've also considered looking into some of the Hoodia teas that are available, but just haven't gotten around to it.