Advice Please, I'm starved!

suz_ers

Hi all, I am new to the dieting thing and am hoping for some advice here. This is only day four of my new diet, I know not too far in, but gotta start somewhere, right? I have been eating about 1500 calories a day (1200 calorie diet, but burning 300 a day at the gym and allowing for the difference) and have been going to the gym every day, 30 mins on the elliptical. However I am constantly hungry. I mean to the point where I feel as though I have not eaten all day and am starved. My meals don't fill me, and I even woke up today so hungry that my stomach was in pain. Is this normal? I know I need to adjust to the change but feeling this way is driving me crazy, and I'm wondering if I'm doing too much at once. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

wjg28

I feel the same way.. I was on that HCG very low cal diet .. It was the worst everI changed to this today my friend on here said if I drink more water I'll feel more full..We will see. If you find anything else that helps. Let me know!

cramernh

It would be more helpful if you could open your diary....

If you are not feeling like you are eating enough... Im guaranteeing its because of the foods you are logging..

It is a good idea to review your logs in six week increments...

shine_

My problem is more like the opposite, I struggle to eat enough calories without constantly feeling too full but I think your body gets used to it all - both ways. Do you eat big meals, but less often, or smaller meals but more often? If you don't do the latter I'd try that. Also eat slowly, and always at a table. Don't do it in a hurry while running around doing something else sort of thing. Also drink lots and lots of water through out the day.

Diveryanfitness

questions that come into my mind are: What kinds of food are you eating, how much water are you drinking, and how many times a day do you eat? It's not a good thing that your stomach hurts. I try to eat at least 200 calories about every two hours, of good protein and something substantial like a big salad, or a shake and an apple, or an egg-white veggie and low fat cheese omelet for example. I also drink lots of water between meals. It's not unusual that I'll feel a bit of hunger, but that's usually about 1.5-2 hours after my last meal/snack. If you are feeling this way now, it may be more likely that you may go on a binge, especially since it sounds as if your body is craving something more than you are giving it.

*with salad I mean something like spinach and kale based, rather than iceburg or romaine lettuce which offer very little in the way of nutrition ~ and using a small amount of a light dressing and no crutons/cheese.

mos1971

i eat fruit and drink water in between meals this seems to help me im on my 6th day and the starving pains have gone i listen to my body if im hungry i eat and count it. I dont let my body get really hungry otherwise the body will go into stavation mode and store fat. but stick with it, it will get better. Good luck

kimborious

This has happened to me in the past. I know it sounds Hokey, but the other poster was right. I used to think a calorie was a calorie was a calorie, but it realllllly matters what you're eating. I eat mostly raw foods and since I made that transition I have found that I can eat a TON of food and still stay under my calorie goal. I think opening your diary is a great idea so you can get some feedback on what foods you might be able to exchange and enjoy MORE of. MORE FOOD!!! Can't go wrong there!

suz_ers

I am eating about three meals a day, with a snack in between, and drinking water constantly. I have also cut out bread which I'm thinking I may need to just cut down the intake and eat it in moderation. I think I will try the 200 calories about every two hours, that seems as though it may help. I know they also say that helps to keep up your metabolism. I am aiming for 2 pounds a week, I have about 90 to lose, but I am definitely afraid this will lead to a binge!

Gorger

Change from carbs to protein. Cinnamon helps, put it in your tea. Apples also help.

koosdel

Why is your goal 1,200 calories?

suz_ers

That is what the calorie tracker set it as on here. Is that too low?

IHeartNewMe

I am not an expert, can only go from what I've learned. I think you need to maybe increase your protein. I can tell you from my own experience that it works for me. When I lower the carb intake, the protein fills me up and keeps me satisfied longer. Then your body will look to the stored fat to burn for energy. If you eat more carbs vs. protein, you actually inhibit your body's ability to burn fat. You want your body to burn stored fat as fuel. The few carbs that you eat on your diet should come from unprocessed whole-grain sources. You can find more info. on this by looking at the New Atkins diet plan. Also, you might try and just walk for now as a source of exercise. If you belong to a gym, just do light cardio for awhile. Baby steps are important as I have learned it does take time for your body to adjust to things. I am going to focus on more advanced cardio and strength training later. It all makes sense to me and has helped me lose nearly 100 lbs. this year. But that is just my opinion. I hope I have helped. Good luck and welcome to MFP.

koosdel

That is what the calorie tracker set it as on here. Is that too low?

Find a few online BMR calculators for a second opinion. My guess is you would need 1,400-1,800.
You shouldn't have to suffer.

pdworkman

I was really hungry for the first week or two as well. I don't know whether my body has adjusted more to the diet, or whether I have made the adjustments needed to not be as hungry, but I'm doing better now. I still have some points now when I am starving, but it isn't constant. Eat small snacks/mini meals more often. I now often break a meal into a meal now and a snack later. Include higher-protein foods throughout the day. Find low-calorie higher-volume foods that you enjoy (celery, cucumber, berries, grapefruit, oranges, etc.) and add them to your meals/snacks to bulk them up and make them more satisfying. Eat something small when you are starving and there isn't a meal coming in the next hour.

Pam

melaniecheeks

A drop to 1200 in one go might be too drastic for your body - you could try 1800 for a week or 2, then down to 1700, then 1600 etc.

Agree with the recommendation to get more protein, and also make sure you're drinking enough water.

Nibble on low-calorie snacks like celery sticks, radishes, cucumber slices.

PJilly

That is what the calorie tracker set it as on here. Is that too low?

Find a few online BMR calculators for a second opinion. My guess is you would need 1,400-1,800.
You shouldn't have to suffer.

If you set your goal at losing 2 pounds a week, try changing it to 1 pound. I know it's tempting to be as aggressive as possible, but you'll probably be better off losing it a little slower, and it's a lot easier to stick to if you're getting more calories. I'd be starving on 1500 calories too. :flowerforyou:

jimmyp1953

I doubt if you are getting the greatest benefit with your exercise routine. What you do at the gym everyday is your "core routine", your daily minimum. You should add periodic challenges that stretch your limits, like a 5-10 mile hike, summit hikes, Bikram yoga. These challenges get you to focus on goals that diffuse the misery of monotony. They also highlight the 'feel good" aspects of getting the weight down. Challenges also help make the daily routine easier by taking you beyond what you thought was your limit. Also the daily routing needs to change to work and stretch different muscle groups and to avoid monotony.

Get a buddy to do the challenges with you. At least three weekend each month should have a challenge.

melaniecheeks

Right you've opened your diary - well done!

1. You're not eating your exercise calories. This is a huge debate on here, but if you're hungry, I'd eat them!
2. One day you were well under the 1200 calories. This really is a minimum, and I'm not surprised you were hungry on only 700 cals.

But your diary looks pretty good, nicely balanced, good variety. Try for a bit more protein - cheese and nuts for snacks, say.

Calvinsgrl1

That is what the calorie tracker set it as on here. Is that too low?

Find a few online BMR calculators for a second opinion. My guess is you would need 1,400-1,800.
You shouldn't have to suffer.

If you set your goal at losing 2 pounds a week, try changing it to 1 pound. I know it's tempting to be as aggressive as possible, but you'll probably be better off losing it a little slower, and it's a lot easier to stick to if you're getting more calories. I'd be starving on 1500 calories too. :flowerforyou:

Calvinsgrl1

I definitly agree!

PJilly

One other thing to consider in setting your goals besides how much you are trying to lose each week is your activity level. I have a desk job, so I initially set my activity level at sedentary. I was so hungry that I changed it to lightly active just to give myself more calories. I lost an average of a pound a week for seven months, so that obviously wasn't too many calories. My philosophy was that I wanted to eat as many calories as possible and still lose the weight. Why make it harder than it has to be?

cnflet2

Right you've opened your diary - well done!

1. You're not eating your exercise calories. This is a huge debate on here, but if you're hungry, I'd eat them!
2. One day you were well under the 1200 calories. This really is a minimum, and I'm not surprised you were hungry on only 700 cals.

But your diary looks pretty good, nicely balanced, good variety. Try for a bit more protein - cheese and nuts for snacks, say.

I agree with this- I always eat almost all my work out calories back which from the looks of your diary you're not doing. Also try having healthy snacks laying around that you can pick at whenever you're hungry. I have a bunch of grapes in my living room that i munch on if something doesnt fill me up and it does good/makes me not hungry/is low cal. try this or almonds, or crackers, etc.

StrengthIsBeautiful

Hi suz-ers!
Here is a link for a group here on MFP:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/457-unofficial-mfp-faq

You can also find it by going to Community, then Groups, and type in Unoffial MFP frequently asked questions.
It's a very helpful site, especially if you are new to MFP.

Good luck on your goals!

suz_ers

Thank you all so much! I checked a few sites and I am definitely eating too few calories a day. I am going for 1800 a day now and will gradually decrease from there, and will add more protein. I appreciate all the support, and good luck to all with your progress!

bakerrat

What are you eating? If you're not getting enough fiber and healthy fats and/or protein with each meal, you will digest your meal quickly, have a blood sugar spike, and then be tired and hungry just hours after eating.

Part of it too for me is timing things so that your body can adjust. I typically adjust my calories down and maintain whatever my current exercise levels were. Then, after I'm used to eating that much and feeling full, I'll adjust my exercise up if I feel I need to. So if you're starting from no diet, no regular excercise program, try just eating within your calories first and then start adding in the exercise. Getting in the mentality that I'm going to exercise so I can eat those calories has never benefitted me (gained weight).

As far as tricks to feeling full (1) watch the composition of your food, too much sugar or simple starches means you'll be hungry more quickly, (2) drink water, tea (unsweetened or sweetened with stevia), or coffee (unsweetened or sweetened with stevia + unsweetened almond milk if you normally take creamer) if you feel a little hungry. I've read a couple health articles that many people who are overweight have confused thirst and hunger signals and often overeat when they're really thirsty. These drinks are low or calorie free. If after you've had them you are still hungry, then you can have a healthy snack. (3) Be wary of artificial sweeteners. They can alter your internal chemistry and metabolism and natural feelings of feeling sated after eating. (4) Get a kitchen scale and a set of measuring cups and spoons. While a lot of people underestimate what they eat, I find that when I'm hopping back on the bandwagon that I often overestimate more portions since my focus is on eating less. If you are measuring what you eat, you will be getting the exact calories right AND get better at "eyeballing" what amount of a food goes with the calories so you are better at guessing in situations where you can't measure (restaurants).

I'm not sure if you did a food tracking log before you started your diet, but part of the issue may be that in your "cold turkey" approach that your calorie intake is VERY drastically different. I understand wanting to jump in and do things 100% right to get the best results, but keeping the proper motivation is key to long term success. You might return to your normal eating for 3-4 days and log everything. See what that calorie total averages to be and then gradually reduce your calories by ~300 on the daily total each week till you're at what MFP says you should be at. That way you can feel successful on your diet because you're keeping to your calorie goal as your body adjusts to your reduced calorie consumption. Once you've done this intro phase, the normal MFP suggested calories should work out fine without you feeling hungry all the time. One thing to also consider is starting to take vitamins. If you've reduced your calories a lot, you may no longer be getting all the vitamins you need from your new calorie intake. I'd take a women's multi-vitamin and talk to your doctor at your next visit about anything else in particular you might want to add.

One final suggestion unrelated to your question, I noticed you do cardio every day. While important to weight loss, I would suggest doing light weight lifting as an equsl exercise priority. While cardio burns a lot of calories, it only increases the metabolism for ~30 minutes post work out. Strength training gives you a longer metabolic rate boost post workout, increases muscle content (the same volume of muscle weighs 3x as much as fat, so you'll look slimmer even if your not losing weight, muscle definition also look metabolic boost for up to 24 hours post workout. If you only have 30 minutes each day to work out, I'd split it 3 and 4 whichever way you want. Or if you can eek out 40 minutes a day, I'd do 20/20 each day (cardio isn't really time effective if you're not going to do at least 20 minutes) or 30 + 10 and alternate through the major muscle groups. You don't have to do anything super strenuous. I've been doing Body Electric with Margaret Richard for years. Many public broadcasting stations carry her and there are also DVDs at her site and a book if you can't get it on your local station. http://www.bodyelectrictv.com/


Here's some article links to topics I mentioned.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/244704-does-exercise-increase-the-appetite/ - exercise and effect on appetite
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/9-ways-to-deal-with-hunger-on-a-diet.html - diet composition and hunger (sections 1-4 of this article, the rest don't specifically address food content but are interesting to read though I don't agree with them all)
http://www.pureandhealthy.com/blog/2010/08/hungry-you-could-be-confusing-it-for-thirst/ - confusing thirst for hunger
http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/artificial-sweeteners/ - hunger and artificial sweeteners


Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.