HUNGRYYYY :(

ashleigh2311

The last couple of weeks i have been getting up at 7am (latest) every day and not going to bed till 1am at least because i have SO MUCH uni work to do

It is leaving a lot of hours between meals. Even if i do the 'little and often' approach to stop it being 8 hour gaps, my small meals have to be very small to stay under 1200 cals daily I am fitting in exercise to give me extra allowance where i can, but i dont have time to be doing loads right now, plus gymming it makes me eeeeeven more hungry.

so basically, i am just hungry all of the time.

I am miserable because of how much work i am doing and being hungry makes concentration and essay writing harder

Any suggestions on good foods to keep me full? Or good brain food?

LOVES xx

obaker

I know this is kind of gross, but when I am doing 12 hr night shifts I make sure I have those metamucil capsules handy and a huge bottle of water. They're just psyllium husk, so when I'm hungry I have 3 capsules (5 cals) and big glass of water. They expand in your stomach, making you feel slightly less hungry. Plus they are full of fibre, which is sometimes hard to get enough of when you're watching your calories. They're obviously not a meal replacement, but I find that if I have them before a snack I will feel more satisfied with less food.

catcrazy

Firstly if thats a current pic of yourself you need to be on more calories than 1200...the closer you are to goal the smaller the deficit should be.

That aside why not up your calories to get you over this period...you are awake longer so there a damn good chance that you actually need more calories anyway.

Keep a selection of low cal foods on hand to nibble on if you get the boredom munchies...carrot batons etc. i know theyre not the most exciting but they do satisfy the hand to mouth part of it.

Fill up on protein or complex carbs...both will leave you fuller for longer. Boiled eggs are perfect, just use the whites if you are low on calories, the pack a protein punch at only 16 calories per egg white

momof3and3

I would say, if you are hungry, eat. Part of being here on MFP to to learn to listen to our bodies...eat when hungry and stop when full...not to binge or starve ourselves.

Eat snacks that are high in protein...apple with string cheese, hard boiled egg, greek yougurt...even protein shakes, like the atkins....

If you are that hungry that it is distracting you, than definately eat something.

I agree with CATCRAZY...you are up a lot longer than normal, so you will need more calories. Change your lifestyle setting to a higher one (if you are sedentary, change it to active...etc...).

Good luck! Being hungry is the worst feeling!

raige123

Protein! It helps provide satiety ... you should have a protein with every meal.

marilyngrant18

I attended a nutrition class once at a local hospital and the nutritionist recommended consuming things that are low in calorie but fill you up. Two things I remember her mentioning right off the bat are lettuce, which is mostly water, and air popped popcorn--natural without the butter. Imagine a head of lettuce in your stomach filling up all that empty space with very few calories. If your salad consists mainly of lettuce with a few other low calorie items like cukes and tomato and even 1 or 2 not so low calorie but essential -- like a little feta cheese -- and some low calorie dressing you could consume enough to satisfy without consuming your total calorie allotment. I like the popcorn too, but remember it has to be natural. I pop kernels in my microwave in a bowl designed for popping popcorn. It's not as tasty but it fills a void.

Also plain rice cakes (40 cal. each) with some green tea or water or greek yogurt (~150 cal) are good too. Good luck Ashleigh!

AdAstra47

I would say, if you are hungry, eat. Part of being here on MFP to to learn to listen to our bodies...eat when hungry and stop when full...not to binge or starve ourselves.

Eat snacks that are high in protein...apple with string cheese, hard boiled egg, greek yougurt...even protein shakes, like the atkins....

If you are that hungry that it is distracting you, than definately eat something.

I agree with CATCRAZY...you are up a lot longer than normal, so you will need more calories. Change your lifestyle setting to a higher one (if you are sedentary, change it to active...etc...).

Good luck! Being hungry is the worst feeling!

Yes. This, exactly. The calorie recommendation is based on the amount of calories MFP thinks you need in order to simply sustain all your bodily functions while resting. But this is just a rough guess, there's no way the computer can take all variables into account, like your genetics and hormone levels and how much sleep you're getting... all of those things can affect the number of calories you need. If you're hungry all the time, your body is telling you that you need more nutrition than you're getting.

And not all calories are created equal. Carbohydrates & sugar are designed to provide quick bursts of energy, which is useful for completing a workout in the gym or for hunting down your dinner, but not that useful if you're trying to feel full for a long time. For that, as other people have noted, you need to eat protein. Protein digests more slowly in the first place, and the chemical reaction that turns it into energy also burns more slowly and steadily.

My doc told me to try & eat my weight in protein every day. So when I began, I was 300 lb, so I would eat 300g protein per day. That sounds like a lot, I know, but split into three meals and three snacks at 50g each, it was do-able. Now I'm down to 250g per day. And I'm *never* hungry; in fact, I have to set the alarm on my phone to remind myself to eat every 3 hours.

Good high-protein snacks I've found are Greek yogurt, cheese slices / cubes / wedges, hard-boiled eggs, almonds or other nuts, beef jerky, grilled chicken strips, and protein powder drinks. For someone who's very busy, I highly recommend buying a big jar of flavored protein powder and mixing up a drink (two scoops of my fave provides 42-48g protein) when you get hungry. It's very convenient.

Hope this helps. Good luck to you!

veganbaum

If that's your current pic, you probably need to change your goal. I assume that on 1200 cals you have your goal set to a 2lb loss per week. If you're that small you should change that to 1 pound or even .5 lb loss a week. Then you'll be given more calories, which is what your body needs. Keeping it at 2lbs when you only have 10-25 lbs or so to lose isn't going to keep the weight coming off very quickly for most people. The less weight you have to come off the longer it takes to come off, so you might as well up you calories and give your body the fuel it needs. I'm a student as well and if I'm hungry my mood suffers and my work definitely suffers. You need to fuel your body!

lornathewizzard

My only thing to suggest would be to eat. Up your calories for this period, as long as your still under maintenance calories, then you should still lose weight. You might even find that upping your calories increases your weight loss, by 'suprising; your body, keeping it guessing. But most importantly, you need to concentrate on your uni work. Being distracted and miserable is not going to allow you to do this. I'm not saying go on a crazy binge fest, far from it, but your uni work is more important. As much as I love MFP, it cannot account for every single person to be the same, as we are all different. Listen to your body! And good luck.

LivLovLrn

I can't see your food diary, so don't know what it is you are eating. Perhaps more low calorie foods will be helpful? I know when I eat a lot of fruits and veggies I have a hard time getting my numbers. I had some homemade stew the other day, it was very filling and very low calorie. Soups also are good fillers for fewer calories. You don't have to be hungry!

chubiD

First of all... why on earth would you want to be UNDER 1200 cals a day? That seems quite unhealthy, regardless of your weight.

Also, if your days are so long, it's ok to eat more, because you need the extra energy to stay awake and do all the extra work you need to do. Just don't be too hard on yourself, you won't be pleased with the results.

Good luck!

engineman312

what she ^^^^ said. 1200 calories is way to low. and you should be listening to your body. try upping your "loss per week" calories to 1lb per week, which hopefully is closer to 1400 cals.

romashkinai1

I'm reading your post and see myself! I wake up very early, and stay at university from 7.30am till 7pm...i'm taking vigorous dance classes that take away all my energy...but on weekdays I can't normally sleep because i've adjusted to such an early schedule...all these days i'm literally starving, thinking about the food all the time, even if i just ate something...that drives me crazy! what i did is that i've increased my calorie intake by 200-300, and set up my weight loss goals from 2lbs per week to 1lbs...i started eating more proteins...i buy cups of Breakstone's lowfat cottage cheese (90 calories), drink nonfat Kefir which is rich in protein and has only 90 calories, eat lots of smoked turkey breast (it's only 100 calories per 4oz), fry the raw chicken breast using cooking spray, drink almond milk instead of regular, and usually drink coffee after i eat something that doesn't look filling...that really helps me to fight my hunger...i even thought that i gained weight because i started eating more, but actually i lost 1 pound this week! that feels cool because i know that i can eat more and won't gain weight

jetscreaminagain

Your brain isn't that big by weight or volume compared to the rest of your body (nor is mine no insult here) and on a regular day uses more than its share of calories. Now its working constantly. It needs more energy. Foggy thinking is a sign you need more food. So is being hungry. Fuel your body and your brain for optimum performance -- physical AND mental performance!

kristielouisa

Fish is a really good brain food, and not big on calories if cooked right. It's great for memory and concentration. When I was at Uni, I used to always make sure I had fish for dinner when I was studying for exams or writing essays. It really worked for me, I swore by it!

ashleigh2311

I'm going to be brave and reduce my weekly loss to 1lb per week and hopefully that will make a difference.

I've not tried proper protein shakes before but i am definitely going to invest in some.
cheese is one of the things i associate with my anorexia years ago as a bit of a fear food, but as a high protein, low carb food i should probably just be brave and start getting over it.

Veggies, grilled chicken, turkey and fish are the staple items in my diet, so there is definitely room for cheese and protein shakes to up my protein even more.

THANKS GUYS.
ahhhh the support on here is great

deadmittens

Water water water! Also, orange juice will fill you up. Yeah yeah, there's a lot of sugar, but if you drink a small glass of oj it should fill you up pretty well. That's a cheat of mine... Or coffee!!