Help! The more I exercise the hungrier I get!

Twins2007

Hunger is part of dieting. Suck it up.

THIS is exactly WHY some people give up...Because of such useless advice...

If you are hungry, look at what you are eating and try to make better choices as far as filling foods...

10 pounds in 3 weeks is great and GREAT JOB on the working out

E

BobbyClerici

Hunger is part of dieting. Suck it up.

THIS is exactly WHY some people give up...Because of such useless advice...

If you are hungry, look at what you are eating and try to make better choices as far as filling foods...

10 pounds in 3 weeks is great and GREAT JOB on the working out

E

No, people give up, because they are weak.
We all need to take ownership of our health and stop sniveling about the pain or making endless excuses.

It's going to be hard. You are going to be hungry - period!
You must work through it and stay motivated and strong.

If I fail this, I die fat.
The good news is that the hunger cravings diminish in time. I would not wish what I went through on any of you, but it made me even more determined. I lost 65 lbs this way, so I know.

Losing weight is simple - yes, very simple but also very hard.

LJGmom

Hunger is part of dieting. Suck it up.

I'm actually never hungry. It's about filling up with the right food. I always make sure I save calories for a good snack at night. That helps me not over eat during the day. I need something to look forward to. One thing that helps me is low calorie bread. I love toast and sandwiches. Sara lee whole grain light bread is only 45 calories a slice. You can do it! Don't give up!

Pebble321

I dont agree that you have to be hungry all the time, to me it means that you either aren't eating enough, or you aren't making good food choices.

Have a look at your diary on the days when you feel really hungry - see if you can notice a pattern (for example, I find that I get hungrier if I don't have good breakfast, then I'm more tempted to snack later in they day. I also get hungry if I have a high calorie, low nutrition lunch, a bit of extra protein does seem to fill me up). And there are times during the month when I'm more hungry too, now I know to expect that, I plan my meals and snacks accordingly.

And remember, that if you are exercising then you can eat more, as long as you stick to your recommended net calorie goal you will almost certainly lose weight.

Just_Dot

You might also have your daily calories set too low. When I first started here, I had my cals set at the standard 1200 per day and I was miserable. I adjusted my calories to 1460 (so with exercise, I was eating between 1700-2000 cals per day) and I didn't feel like I was going to chew off my arm, but I lost weight as well.

Twins2007

Hunger is part of dieting. Suck it up.

THIS is exactly WHY some people give up...Because of such useless advice...

If you are hungry, look at what you are eating and try to make better choices as far as filling foods...

10 pounds in 3 weeks is great and GREAT JOB on the working out

E

No, people give up, because they are weak.
We all need to take ownership of our health and stop sniveling about the pain or making endless excuses.

It's going to be hard. You are going to be hungry - period!
You must work through it and stay motivated and strong.

If I fail this, I die fat.
The good news is that the hunger cravings diminish in time. I would not wish what I went through on any of you, but it made me even more determined. I lost 65 lbs this way, so I know.

Losing weight is simple - yes, very simple but also very hard.

DISAGREE, DISAGREE, DISAGREE...

Being hungry has NOTHING to do with being weak and has NOTHING to with wanting to die fat.
Great work on your 65 lbs loss..And happy what YOU are doing is working for YOU but everybody is different and one is HUNGRY (Which is NOT craving, just so you know!) then something in your body is telling you to...eat.

Losing weight is actually easy...keeping it OFF is the hard part...Unless of course you think 95% of all dieters (which I suspect is a lot of people on MFP) gain all their weight back...PLUS.

Do you know what the best predictor of weight gain is? Having lost and gained from a diet...

Lots of research out there...

anaranjo39

my suggestion, added to the ton of good and some "iffy" advice: hang in there. The weight will come off and you will see a big difference in your clothes. Stressing over your goal will also cause you to over eat so don't stress. I find that a small apple followed by a glass of water before I eat really helps curve the appetite. Also, be aware of when you feel extra hungry, our monthly cycles also play tricks on our eating behavior. Rememer, if you fail, get up and get back on the horse. Good luck!!

TXchris

Everyone is different, but I exercise EVERY day because it works for me. I like to eat more food than my calorie budget would allow if I did not. Initially I felt hungrier and got the munchies every time I had a hard workout because I was not eating enough throughout the day before I worked out. Now, I know in advance about how many calories my evening workout will burn and go ahead and eat a little extra through the day so my body is fueled up and ready to go before I work out. If I wait until after I exercise and try to catch up, I am absolutely miserable and predisposed to overeating.

Two specific foods that I have found particularly helpful in curbing hunger are Laughing Cow Light Mini Baybel cheese (50 calories per piece) and long grain brown rice (108 calories for a half cup). Brown rice takes quite a while to cook properly, so I cook what I need for the week on the weekend. I have some days that I burn up 700 calories in exercise. I try to have the brown rice at lunch on those days and a piece of cheese right before I work out. They seem to stick with me and I am not miserable afterwards.

Another thing I've found is that some days I just have the munchies. It isn't hunger so much as just wanting to eat. I have found that pomegranate is great for me those days. It takes FOREVER to eat an entire pomegranate. I can pick on it all day long if I'm having one of those days and it keeps me away from sweets.

I ate none of these foods before but have found that they are healthy foods that I actually enjoy. You may find different foods that work for you, but the bottom line is it may be helpful to explore new options. Really look at the nutrition profile of foods and plug them in where your body needs them (slow burning whole grains in the hours before a work out, very low calorie foods that you can munch on in quantity when you just need to chew, etc.). It is amazing how much it helps.

Good luck and keep up the hard work! You are doing great!

leoS8190

Here is my opinion! When you are eating, especially since you are cooking for yourself, USE A SMALLER PLATE!! They say these stories ALL the time! You will trick your brain into thinking you have more food on your plate if you have a smaller plate that is full! And obviously, you will have less food! You should have LOTS of colors!! I think its 75% of your plate should be colors? Don't quote me on that because i'm not positive!

When I have salads, I don't use dressing. What I use instead is the seasoning called Perfect Pinch Salad Supreme Seasoning, by McCormick. I love it! Don't put to much on because it is a little salty, but it makes the salad SOO GOOD without dressing!! I also like to put it on celery too.

I know you mentioned drinking water. Im very very bad when it comes to drinking water! For some reason, I just cant drink as much water as I need! I could go all day without drinking any water. Its horrible. So I have been using the Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Lights. Very Good!:)

Hmm, I cant think of anything else! I know one lady said to eat your calories you burn when you exercise, but I try not to! EX: I burned 968 calories today, and I think I only ate about 200 of those. Whatever works for you! But I understand about the calorie count! I am having a hard time with that too! I biked 14 miles today and added DOUBLE my allowed calories!! I was shocked!

Good Luck!!:)

tabarrett0261

Well today is a new day and I'm feeling very positive. I packed enough food for the entire day and also brought something for after work before I go to the Y. I have my snacks as well and I already filled up my water cup. After reading all the replies I feel I have a lot of support and that really helps my attitude. I'm going to try to increase my fiber and protein and see if that helps me through the tough times. Usually after 2pm is when I start getting weak so my plans are to save some healthy snacks for the afternoon. I have a banana and apple and I'm going out to buy a small package of raw almonds. at around 6:30pm I'm going to have some multigrain bread and cheese. That should help me out this afternoon.

Have a great day everyone!

d2footballJRC

Water and protein, I find protein shakes do a great job if you slam one after working out to curb that appetite. Remember your body is hungry because you just burnt up a lot of fuel and it wants more..

I also agree with what someone said, only it should be said a bit more tactful. You are dieting, you will feel hungry sometimes. You just have to power through it. Slam a glass of water down and push through it. No Hunger Pains, no NSV gains! :-D

CharityEaton

Make sure that you have Healthy choices ready for you to grab when you are getting hungry...it is really hard to go over on calories if you are munching veggies like carrot sticks and grape tomatoes. I keep a big bowl front and center in my fridge. It is full of pre-washed and ready to go fruits and veggies! While I'm cooking dinner etc....as I open the fridge to get stuff out I will munch on grapes or carrot sticks to keep me from getting too hungry(especially on nights that I am running late).
Also, keep a ziploc baggie of almonds on hand...sooo yummy to grab a few as a snack. I like to mix a small handful of almonds with several dark chocolate chips as a little snack!

kag1526

I definitely eat more then I did when I wasn't dieting. Today I brought lunch (7 oz of chicken with veggies I cooked last night) a 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1/4 of nuts for breakfast, a cheese stick and yogurt for snacks. This is just for until the end of the work day. However the calories for all of this aren't that high.

before I started having the oatmeal I was starving during the day and very tempted to head to the vending machine. Now I'm doing MUCH better.

rjt1000

balancing your blood sugar is first step to breaking the cravings which are part of the problem. Once she gets that better under control other things are easier. As far as potatoes, cooked potatoes are a strange breed of vegetable. Any form of cooked potatoe is processed by the body almost exactly like straight glucose. You get a massive spike in blood sugar immediately, not a slow increase such as you'd get eating same number of calories of sweet potatoe or other veggies.

Carbs aren't bad but again, bang the blood sugar out of whack and the up and down of blood sugar leads to cravings. Get rid of the cravings and eating less is a lot easier.

Twins2007

balancing your blood sugar is first step to breaking the cravings which are part of the problem. Once she gets that better under control other things are easier. As far as potatoes, cooked potatoes are a strange breed of vegetable. Any form of cooked potatoe is processed by the body almost exactly like straight glucose. You get a massive spike in blood sugar immediately, not a slow increase such as you'd get eating same number of calories of sweet potatoe or other veggies.

Carbs aren't bad but again, bang the blood sugar out of whack and the up and down of blood sugar leads to cravings. Get rid of the cravings and eating less is a lot easier.

So true! It's like treating the symptoms but NOT the cause...