opinions please!

tami107

I am 5'4 and 162 pounds!

my BMR is 1435 but I have been sticking to 1200 a day,

I also burn 400-500 a day in exercise that I do not eat back.

I have been losing but am very hungry most of the time.

should I eat below BMR? is that healthy

Cilenia

If your hungry thats your body telling you you are getting loo little nutrients. I know there is a lot of debate on eating your excersize calories back or not, but i think that it might be an option you can try to see if you are less hungry

AmbitiouslyMe

One thing you could try is spreading your daily calorie intake thoughout the day so you can eat every 2-3 hours. This will mean eating little and often it worked for me. Also having a glass of water when you feel hungry first then if you are still hungry after that have some fruit or veg something like a cucumber or water melon as it has a high water ratio which will hopefully satisfy you without taking away too many calories from your daily allowance.

DBabbit

I am 5'4 and 162 pounds!

my BMR is 1435 but I have been sticking to 1200 a day,

I also burn 400-500 a day in exercise that I do not eat back.

I have been losing but am very hungry most of the time.

should I eat below BMR? is that healthy

Increase your protein to make you feel fuller longer. Low-fat dairy, lean meats, seafood, ocean fish - Those are all healthy proteins, and they fill you up. Eat back no more than 1/2 of your exercise calories, otherwise, you'll only maintain your weight.

velvetkat

I had that problem in the morning.. it wouldnt matter how many calories I was eating I was starved by about 11am(Im at work at 630am) Someone told me to make sure if I am eating fruit to eat a protein after it as the sugar in the fruit will pick you up for a short time but then you will feel starved afterwards.. I was eating strawberries as the last thing I ate for breakfast while I was at work(I ate other things at different times in the morning but the fruit was always last) I changed it up and ate my Fruit at home before I left for work and then ate everything else after. Almost immediately I felt the difference. I can eat less calories and still feel pretty full. Not gonna lie I am still hungry when it gets to lunch time but I am not starved.

Just an idea!


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cindy859

If you are hungry all the time then you need to eat more. You can't live life being hungry and that's why we are doing this to make life style changes not just to lose weight and then gain it back. Add more healthy foods to your meals and snacks and see how that works for you, watch your sodium and sugar intake and don't worry too much about going over on protein ( I don't mean way over, but some extra protein won't hurt) then see how you feel. You need to find what works for your body, you also need to feel good while losing the weight you want to lose.

agentblondie

Eek.. I always eat back my excercise calories.. but hey I am new and didn't know about this.. :-(

hyenagirl

I used to feel the same way. I would eat my BMR calories but still felt very hungry though out the day. I would eat breakfast and then 11 am be starving. Then I started doing lower carb, higher protein and fat intake and the hunger went away. A nice eggy breakfast would keep me full until 3 or 5 pm. I was feeling pretty satiated on 900-1200 calories a day and really couldn't feel like I can eat more. Once more money comes my way I'll be able to buy some protein shake powder.

Pebble321

Eek.. I always eat back my excercise calories.. but hey I am new and didn't know about this.. :-(

If you're new, you should be eating back your exercise calories. I think it's better to start out using MFP the way it is designed and if that doesn't work for you after a while, that is the time to start tweaking.

To the OP: I'm the same height and only 4 pounds heavier and I eat around 1450 - 1600 NET calories a day - and I'm losing weight! (So that means I eat anywhere between about 1450 - 2000 cals a day, depending on how far I run).

If I ate only 700 net cals a day, as you are I would be hungry, weak and incredibly grumpy. For most people it's just not necessary to drop your calories so low in order to lose weight. You are punishing yourself unnecessarily.
I know that everyone is different, but if you are always hungry then your body is telling you that you just aren't eating enough!

warphoenix

I'd eat at least 50% to 75% of those exercise calories back, but recommend not going below 1200 net calories. I personally find that low carb and higher fat diets make me feel full longer and make "dieting" much easier.

DBabbit

Eek.. I always eat back my excercise calories.. but hey I am new and didn't know about this.. :-(

There is quite a bit of a debate about this in MFP. The non-debatable thing to remember is that you need to cut 500 calories per day in order to lose 1 lb. per week.

Papillon22

You're eating 700 calories/day? how could you not be hungry?

You are not supposed to eat less than 1200. If I was you, I'd eat the exercise calories back. Mfp has the 500 cal. deficit already built in.

ncgingerich

If I were you I would try eating back at least half your exercise calories. I think this might even boost your weight loss. Just avoid stalling your metabolism which is what you could do if you continue eating so little. If this happens you also stall or reverse weight loss. Good luck!