Is it normal to be hungry all the time?

mystikalbeanz

I know this might be a goofy question but im new to this and i hate feeling hungry all the time! I drink 10+ glasses a day of water and have been eating alot healthier then i ever did but im still hungry all the time! I mean my belly is growling hungry. I started at 1300 calories a day with 5 days of cardio and didnt lose any weight so i uped my calories to 1600 and started losing weight but im still hungry all the time and dont understand why! Ill eat a huge spinach salad with fruit and chicken in it and be hungry an hr later. Am i doing something wrong or is my body constantly hungry because im continuously not feeding it enough? Any advice is appreciated!

drmerc

It would be helpful if you opened up your diary so people could give better advice

BeantownSooner

Fiber, protein and good fats such as nuts, nut butters, and oils

libro55

My nutrition counselor has me eating 5x a day--roughly every 3 hours--and 20g of protein at every meal. This is so I don't get hungry and it really works. Things that have a lot of protein: peanut butter, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, protein bars (she recommended Pure Protein bars, and that's what I eat). Drink a lot of water, watch your sodium and sugar intake. I have lost 21.2 lbs. in 10 weeks eating this way. Good luck.

mystikalbeanz

Its open.. I know my sodium intake was high so ive been working on lowering that along with a few other things..

mywayroche

Carbs give you an appetite; other than that to excess, no it's not normal

lmarshel

I can't really see any details, so I'm not sure how much you weigh now or how long ago you started. Depending on what you were eating before and how long you've been doing this, it could be that your body just hasn't adjusted yet. It takes a few weeks for the appetite to get under control if you drastically changed the amount of food you were eating.

It could also be that you're not eating enough calories, and your body is complaining. But at 1600 a day, that doesn't seem too likely.

I would say if you're hungry, eat a small snack. Try to spread your calories out over a longer period of time. I eat usually every 2-4 hours during the day, and I rarely get hungry.

knowwhentoshutup

It is hard to know, without seeing your dairy and what you are eating. Protein keeps me full longer, though.

Are you sure 1600 is the right number for you? Is that net calories after exercise?

I would start here to learn more about the difference between your BMR and TDEE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

You should always net above your BMR (base metabolic rate), which is what your body needs to function if you were to do nothing but lay in bed. Again, net means calories consumed minus calories expended during exercise.

clobercow

Cravings and hunger are different things.

Hunger, and the feeling of satiety is controlled by hormones.

Cravings come from addiction and the intensity depends on some brain chemistry.

Basically, eat foods that support the right hormones, stay away from foods that suppress them, and hunger goes away.

t1dude

Hard to say. There are a lot of variables: height, weight, age, metabolism, exercise, etc. I am 5'11" and weigh 195 and workout for 30 min per day. My daily calorie count is 1810. I've noticed that if I eat smaller portions more frequently, I am still slightly hungry when I stop eating, but then no longer hunger about 15 min later. Then if I eat another small meal (200-300 cal) about 2 hrs later, that tides me over. I do tend to eat about 600 cal for dinner.

Josee76

Try less carbs and more protein, more fiber... WHOLE foods!

Try having a breakfast higher in protein to sustain you. Bagels and flat breads are simple carbs like white flour and white sugar and they contain very little fiber and minimal nutrients. Simple carbs are burned as soon as they are eaten, resulting in a large insulin spike, followed by a sugar crash. This will leave you hungry for a second breakfast every time so if you start your day off like this, it leads to being hungry!

Corexecution

Does anyone know how to change the settings on the carb/protein/fat from the pre-set %?

mystikalbeanz

It is hard to know, without seeing your dairy and what you are eating. Protein keeps me full longer, though.

Are you sure 1600 is the right number for you? Is that net calories after exercise?

I would start here to learn more about the difference between your BMR and TDEE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

You should always net above your BMR (base metabolic rate), which is what your body needs to function if you were to do nothing but lay in bed. Again, net means calories consumed minus calories expended during exercise.

I started at 1300 and didnt lose any weight so i uped my caloried to 1600 and started losing.. My TDEE is 2356 and 20% of that is 1886 but considering most people are eating 1200-1300 i thought that seemed too high so i stayed at 1600..

happyfeetrebel1

Protein really will help. I eat a ton of cottage cheese, greek yogurt and chicken

CoderGal

Some reasons why your body gets hungry:

Your thirsty (triggers the same hungry feeling)
You're missing some kind of nutrient in your diet (when I eat chips and bars all day I often feel hungry the whole day)
You're hungry (eat).

BeantownSooner

Does anyone know how to change the settings on the carb/protein/fat from the pre-set %?

Yes, hit My Home at the top on the Blue bar underneath you'll see Goals. Go into Goals but use Custom and change the percentages then save changes. Everything else remains the same.

raeleek

Alright I don't know how much weight you want to lose but for all those who say it's not normal, think about it. This is normal.

Honestly, I have a lot of weight to lose and when I first started and I was trying to eat better I felt hungry ALL THE TIME! I would load up on good fats, veggies, lean protein, so on and so forth and it still didn't matter. It was almost like my body was having a hissy fit over not getting the normal junk it was used to. I was paying attention to my calories and what I was eating. If you're trying to lose weight of course you're going to feel hungry. You are changing the amount of calories you're putting in your body. If you body is used to eating a lot more it's going to start the grumbling because you are cutting what it is used to.

For me, it took a couple of weeks for my body to adjust. As someone else said I am working on getting better at deciphering a craving from real hunger.

mystikalbeanz

Try less carbs and more protein, more fiber... WHOLE foods!

Try having a breakfast higher in protein to sustain you. Bagels and flat breads are simple carbs like white flour and white sugar and they contain very little fiber and minimal nutrients. Simple carbs are burned as soon as they are eaten, resulting in a large insulin spike, followed by a sugar crash. This will leave you hungry for a second breakfast every time so if you start your day off like this, it leads to being hungry!

Well that makes sense because im always hungry shortly after eating them. I think i have a hard time with this because i dont eat eggs, any seafood, and only eat certain veggies, i'm a very picky eater. Ive tried all these things but just dont like them. So alot of the foods people say to eat that are high protein or filling i dont like.

pixelsurgeon88

Does anyone know how to change the settings on the carb/protein/fat from the pre-set %?

Yes, hit My Home at the top on the Blue bar underneath you'll see Goals. Go into Goals but use Custom and change the percentages then save changes. Everything else remains the same.

Omg! I have wanted to do this for ages but couldn't find a way to do it....YOU ROCK!

raeleek

I started at 1300 and didnt lose any weight so i uped my caloried to 1600 and started losing.. My TDEE is 2356 and 20% of that is 1886 but considering most people are eating 1200-1300 i thought that seemed too high so i stayed at 1600..



EAT your 1886 and see what happens!

knowwhentoshutup

It is hard to know, without seeing your dairy and what you are eating. Protein keeps me full longer, though.

Are you sure 1600 is the right number for you? Is that net calories after exercise?

I would start here to learn more about the difference between your BMR and TDEE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

You should always net above your BMR (base metabolic rate), which is what your body needs to function if you were to do nothing but lay in bed. Again, net means calories consumed minus calories expended during exercise.

I started at 1300 and didnt lose any weight so i uped my caloried to 1600 and started losing.. My TDEE is 2356 and 20% of that is 1886 but considering most people are eating 1200-1300 i thought that seemed too high so i stayed at 1600..

I wouldn't worry about it being 'high' when compared to others. A 20% cut from TDEE is what your body needs, to still lose weight and not be starving. Think about it this way, if you consistently under fueled your car, would you wonder why it didn't run right? Food is fuel.