So hungry...Encouragement please?

LuciaLongIsland

:frown: I don't know why but its like my body isn't getting anything to eat...I'm constantly hungry even if I eat a huge salad or a say a buscuit...I just wanna eat! I'm 287 today, in 3 days I've lost 4 pounds...but I dont' wanna feel like i"m starving

I also have an eating disorder...its not psychologically labelled as a disorder yet but I am an over eater, any emotion I feel I want to eat..could this be whats goin on? like I just at a sausage buscuit and am drinking a cup of coffee but I feel like I havne't eatn all day..

I"m alreayd u to my limit for the day and need to excercise so I will be able to maintain my net cal of 1200. Please give me some words of encouragement.

If you know you have an eating disorder why not seek help. You need to get to the issue in order to lose. I am sure you are aware of this

seehawkmomma

My daughter says shes hungry all the time.

So there are tons of foods that are almost zero calories.....

Cucumbers, Celery, Carrorts, etc etc

Eat a whole cucumber....trust me you wont feel hungry anymore and you'll feel good about the choice you made (btw I think a whole Cucumber is only like 50 calories but is very fulling)

I eat when I'm hungry. If I feel like I am going to starve I wont stick with this. Just make sure you make the right choice.

I stopped buying things that I'd feel guilty if I ate so theres nothing in my house that I could eat and I'd feel bad about. If I over eat on grapes let me tell you they have sugar but I would never feel as bad if i ate grapes compared to cheetos.

Remember this is a life change. Not a diet. When i indulge and eat healthy things I usually stop myself from over eatting anyway.

Just my two cents

DopeItUp

I'm confused, you say you're already at your limit for the day but your diary says you have 530-something calories left. If you're hungry, eat those calories!

Preferably, get your calories via complex carbs (lots of fiber helps), protein and fat. Simple carbs like sugar and foods with fillers won't satiate your hunger nearly as well or for nearly as long.

sertcelik

I have to watch what I eat or I get the starvation effect. Everyone is different, but for me I cannot eat white flour, pastas, ANY fake or real sugar, basically anything that causes a great upset to my blood sugar levels. These cause a spike in blood sugar, prompting a spike in insulin which brings on a blood sugar low...and then HUNGER. Control for me has come with lean proteins, veggies and fruits.

sertcelik

I have to watch what I eat or I get the starvation effect. Everyone is different, but for me I cannot eat white flour, pastas, ANY fake or real sugar, basically anything that causes a great upset to my blood sugar levels. These cause a spike in blood sugar, prompting a spike in insulin which brings on a blood sugar low...and then HUNGER. Control of hunger for me has come with lean proteins, veggies and fruits.

dakitten2

I'm pretty much on track with you weight-wise. My starting weight was 290. The first thing i did was see my doctor who referred me to a nutrionist. At my weight, she set my goal at 1500. We may lower it later but for right now that's what I try to stick with. I see my dietician once a month and can always call her for help/assistance.

I think a lot of people have already suggested that you are not getting enough calories and I agree with that too. Also, when I started 9 weeks ago, I became pretty obsessed with ready food labels. It took me a while to get used to shopping this way but now I know what I can work in my daily intake and what I cant.

I started trading my regular salad dressing for a lo-cal or fat-free dressing. If I went out to eat, I made sure to check the menu online for the restaurant and having my meal planned out so I wouldnt even have to be tempted by other things on the menu. I even carry my dressing with me in case they dont have something I can use.

I traded a lot of beef/pork products for turkey. Turkey bacon, turkey sausage links, turkey burgers, turkey chili and on and on. I also checked out and use some Healthy Choice meals that are delicious. You dont want to totally rely on them but when I have a pizza urge I eat Lean Cuisine pizza for about 340 calories. They are about the size of a personal pan pizza.

Per my dietician, I should be eating at least one fruit per day (not juice as it is not as filling), a least one vegetable per day, and meat portions should be 3-4 ounces. According to my dietician portion size should not be larger than the palm of your hand.

I love salads too, but you have to be careful what is in them. Trade the crispy/fried chicken to grilled chicken.

For snacks I traded movie theater butter popcorn to light butter. I carry granola bars around. And I love dill pickle spears at 5 calories each. That gives me a great crunch and can take away my hunger by eating 2 or 3.

Become calorie conscious when shopping or looking for lo-cal recipes.

Laughing cow cheese is great at 35 calories a wedge and comes in several different flavors. I eat them with reduced fat Wheat Thins or fresh veggies like celery or carrots.

A lot of the food you are eating are calorie empty foods and eliminates hunger only for a short time. You need to start trying to find ways to reduce the calories in food you love so you can actually have more food.

And one very important thing is surrounding yourself with a group of motivational friends here on MFP. You will learn so much and be inspired and motivated by their stories of success and how they are doing. I love reading my friends diaries, you get so many ideas.

If you are looking for new friends, please feel free to check out my profile/blogs and if you think I can help, please feel free to add me as a friend.

Bikini_Bound150

Fill up on things that are low calorie, high protein, filling and healthy. And drink LOTS AND LOTS of water! I find that apples and bananas are two things I can't finish eating because it makes me feel SO full. I also make a protein shake and make sure it's nice and thick so it's filling. I use peanut butter, banana, ice, a little bit of milk, cinnamon, whey protein and ice.

Exercise or keeping busy also make me less hungry. You could also be dehydrated making you feel hungry. There are a lot of reasons for this. Just keep at it and fill up on healthy items.

Good luck to you!! You CAN do it!! :flowerforyou:

TaraBeFree

I would have to concur with those that have posted that you should eat more. I started at 310lbs and have lost 15lbs in 5 weeks here on MFP. I eat around 1,500 calories / day, and that is with my weight loss goal set at 2lbs per week and having a completely sedentary lifestyle. I try to eat really filling foods like whole grains and protein, but don't like to prepare food much myself. I try to have protein with each meal/snack, but have not dropped carbs altogether. So for now I have some short-cuts and grab 'n go's that have been helping with the hunger. Eg. Instant brown rice, turkey/chicken everything, whole wheat pasta, cottage cheese, eggs, greek yogurt, frozen meals with mostly only whole grains, and fluids including flavoured teas.

I also try to fit in 100 calories or so for something sweet like a low-fat fudge bar or a 100 cal chocolate bar everyday. When I have these, I try to stop everything and be mindful while I am eating it - to really enjoy it.

I have not been exercising much yet as my knees hurt, but will get there. When I have done some walking, I have eaten some of my exercise calories as well, and sometimes I have eaten them all. During the holiday days, I allowed myself pre-planned extra calories for 3 days on top of the 1,500 / day and still lost weight.

If you are looking for a buddy to support you, please feel free to friend me. Good luck on your journey!

kellicruz1978

If you weight 287 you should probably be eating more than 1200 per day. Is that the goal MFP calculated for you or si you put it inmannually?

hey no they calculated 1718 cal a day I try to get a net of at least 1200...That my excercise calories included.

You definately need to eat more...even if you don't want to eat the full 1718, you HAVE to have more than 1200. It's no wonder why you feel like you are starving, because you ARE.

stanvoodoo

You can eat more if you really feel you need to. I was that weight and at 1200 calories a day per my nutritionist.

By the few days you have logged in, you do not drink enough water, 64 oz a day and low on your protein. Those alone will make you feel hungry.

Limit the processed food to keep the sodum down, add some water, lean protein along with veggie for fiber and you should see an improvement. Fruits are fine but they don't need to be a huge part of the diet.

Mix up the exercise so your body doesn't get bored and never go below the 1200 net, that means after exercise!

You can do it!!!

tam120

thank you all so much for the support...

I need to just start kicken up the veggies and fruits some more...its just hard to get adjusted to all of this bc all I have eatn is processed food for years...*which is why i look like a beached whale*

My step-kids are very picky eaters and I'm tryin to get my bio-son to alot of different foods but the only things my steps eat are processed and packaged foods so that really all I buy. I need pick my butt up and listen to u guys...thank you for being so awesome. I have the biggest supporting family ever

Looks like I"m going shopping tonight to get some healthy *and full-fillling* foods.. lol

If you get the kids involved in preparing the food they are much more likely to eat it. My kids loved make your own pizza night, a bunch of small pitas and a bunch of healthy veggies plus turkey pepperoni and part skim mozzarella... set out the stuff and let them put on it what they want. Bake for about 10 min at 400 or so. Also a baked potato bar works the same way... bake a bunch of regular and/or sweet potatoes, set out a bunch of healthy stuff like cooked broccoli, light sour cream, cheese shreds, salsa or whatever and let them go to town. Let them chop and stir and give each kid a choice once a week... these are the healthy meal choices for today, which one do you want to help me make?

Goldenbast

You are just like me! How tall are you? I'm 5'9 and I weigh 286 but not too long ago I weighed 297! I am always hungry. Right now I am doing 1600 calories a day, so yours may be waaaaay off! I started the eating 6 small meals throughout the day, roughly every 3 hours. This seemed to solve my problem and now not only do I feel energetic and happy, but I am not hungry! But you have to be careful and make sure they are smaller meals! Also, if you feel hungry go for some fruit or some veggies, you almost can't go wrong that way. You know the smaller meals may help you with the emotional eating too, though I am not sure.....

My kids are like that with the processed foods and I finally put my foot down. I stopped buying the processed junk...but I felt sorry for them and so compromised. My kids LOVE those frozen burritos...so..I bought a big bag o beans and cooked them in my crock pot....added a quartered onion, some chopped up peppers and some cumin. I added NO salt or anything else and the beans were absolutely delicious...then I wrapped up a bunch of burritos (to control how much cheese I used) and then individually froze them and put them all in a gallon ziploc. The kids loved them and they were healthy. I started changing it up and now usually have a variety of chicken and rice, beef and bean (ohh you can cook a big pan of 73% ground beef, you know the cheap stuff) and then rinse it in very hot water and then freeze the ground beef...you wash away a huge amount of the fat.

You can do this with taquitos, just about anything you buy premade you can make big portions of homemade and freeze...and you know what? It is cheaper :):)

Hoppymom

thank you all so much for the support...

I need to just start kicken up the veggies and fruits some more...its just hard to get adjusted to all of this bc all I have eatn is processed food for years...*which is why i look like a beached whale*

My step-kids are very picky eaters and I'm tryin to get my bio-son to alot of different foods but the only things my steps eat are processed and packaged foods so that really all I buy. I need pick my butt up and listen to u guys...thank you for being so awesome. I have the biggest supporting family ever

Looks like I"m going shopping tonight to get some healthy *and full-fillling* foods.. lol

They will eat what you buy eventually. They may complain at first but if you talk about healthy choices and "once in a while" foods they wiil begin to understand. Wean them off processed foods. If it's what you've been eating and fixing for them they are simply accustomed to them. Habits can be changed. Try "if you eat this then you can have this as a treat." Have them help you buy and fix the food. Talk about how unhappy you are that the processed foods helped you become obese and how you want to be part of a healthy, happy family. Let them know that kids can become overweight from poor food choiices too. This will take some time but you are in charge of what is put in front of them in your house. Trust me kids won't starve. ( Mother of four, did childcare of 11+ years, grandma to two (7 and 9) and Early Childhood Special Education teacher). You need to get your husband on board too. If you can have them go through cook books or web sites with healthy foods they can help choose things that look tasty to them. Diabetic cookbooks and magazines are a great place to start. Many health oriented websites have good recipies too. Good luck.

As to being hungry, I think many of the posters have the right idea. More fruits, veggies and whole grains. Eat them as close to raw as you can. No sauces or cheese. Light olive oil is ok and then roast them. I too ate a ton of processed foods and now when I eat them or restaurant foods I notice how salty they are. The change is very quick to accepting healthier foods. tam120 had great ideas. My kids and childcare kids always cooked with me. Now all of my kids are good cooks.
If you are really hungry try Kiwis, lots of fiber and vitamins and low in calories. Try quinoa, bulger, and whole grain couscous for healthy, filling additions. Oatmeal with 1 Tblsp of peanut butter stirred in and a tiny bit of low sugar coaco mix is delicious. (like a cookie). Hungry with no calories left? Try water or brush your teeth or eat a breath mint to give your mouth the oral sensation it needs. Good luck.

japruzze

I find that protein is the key to feeling full for me. I make sure that I have protein every time I eat and I eat often. I was a compulsive eater. I have lost 170 lbs in the last 2.5 years. Try increasing your protein and eating every three hours. Works for me.

shydaisi

Eat more.
Eat more fruits.
Eat more vegetables.
Eat at least the number MFP gives you, if not your BMR.

TXchris

You are likely not eating enough. Eat the amount MFP recommends including about half of your exercise calories and you will lose without suffering through so much hunger and without dropping your metabolism. I have fallen off the wagon more times than I can count. I thought it was because I was eating too much. On the contrary I was not eating enough. I've found I am consistently dropping now that I'm eating 1500-1700 per day end exercising daily to keep my net between 1200 and 1350 (1200 is what MFP recommended for 2 lbs and 1350 is 1.5 lbs per week). I have it set for thex1.5 so I know that's my cap. After 30 days of consistently doing this I'm down 9.7 lbs and almost 2 full pant sizes. I find that my loss stalls with just 4 or 5 days of falling short on calories. It is like my metabolism locks up becauae I've. Starved so many times before.

Hang in there and seriously consider switching things up so you are eating aclittle more so you avoid a binge. Good luck'