Does anyone else feel like they constantly lose/gain weight?

nickyfm

This week I have been REALLY struggling to stay under my caloric goal. I have been basically starving for the past 8 days, and the past 1 or 2 days I sort of gave in to the carb temptations, but managed to stay under. Right until today. Today being Halloween there was candy EVERYWHERE. I tried to have a few pieces, but of course it turned into a full blown binge.

I should feel proud that I stayed in track for 21 days, but I just feel like this is my life. I am either strong enough to cope with the hunger pangs and cravings, and get to my goal weight, or I eventually I get tired of being hungry and having to be strict, so I give in and gain it all back, and have to start all over.

Does anyone else feel like this? Or maybe have a solution to stop feeling so hungry while dieting? I have PCOS, but bloods showed normal insulin. Probably doesn't help with the cravings, though

mareeee1234

Shouldn't be starving!

Do you exercise?

Exercise + eating well + eating back half or most of exercise calories = success!

nickyfm

I exercise 6 days a week, just always worried about eating back exercise cals. Probably should try eating back half of them and see how I go

leesehm

word on the street: you already have a deficit built into mfp, so if you do exercise you are earning more to eat. but mfp overestimates how many calories you've burnt so some people recommend eating half to 3/4's rather than all of them back.

if you dont eat back some exercise calories then essentially you're running on the same energy for a hard day as an easy day!

chubbygirl253

I don't even eat half of my exercise calories back but I certainly eat enough to take away hunger. Most days I work out hard enough that I can eat mostly whatever I want within reason.

mareeee1234

6 days a week is great! I do the same, and find that it makes me sooo hungry !!
Exercising does make us hungry and means we need more.

But I am obviously trying to lose weight, so I eat back around half of my exercise calories - just enough so I am not hungry, and just enough to be losing weight !

You should do the same - you can't just run on the same amount of calories that you would on a non-exercising day!

nickyfm

You should do the same - you can't just run on the same amount of calories that you would on a non-exercising day!

Very true. I knew this already, but for some reason it makes much more sense hearing it from a third party. I wear an HRM, so I feel like my caloric estimations would be a bit more on par than MFP's estimations anyways. Will definitely eat back half of my exercise calories from now on.

Thanks all

Kaiukas

For me it is paramount that this whole process feels as natural and sustainable as possible. My calorie goal is 1200 kcal, but with exercise I can eat up to 2000 kcal and still stay within my net kcal. So I hardly ever feel like I am on a diet, yet I have been losing nicely. I have been here for just over 50 days and there have been just 2-3 days (around my period) when I have had to summon all my will power to not go over, both on the days of no exercise at all, so this is not that surprising. I would hate to feel like that every day. Grrrrr!

I am 5'9'' and 136 lb so I have all the time in the world to lose a couple of more pounds, my main aim is to shape up and get fitter.

What I am trying to say is if you are feeling it is a battle, modify your goals. Opt for a slower weight loss to make this lifestyle sustainable and enjoyable. Instead of gritting your teeth and risking falling off the wagon and starting again and descending into a yo-yo, try to make this process as organic and fitting to your lifestyle as possible. Plan some candy or even cake (or whatever you fancy) into your diet every now and then. I for example have a piece of dark chocolate almost daily. Exercise has been my absolutely number one saviour.

Think long term, not short term and it will make the world of difference. Good luck! :flowerforyou:

Kaiukas

I am really bemused by those who don't eat their exercise calories back, yet find this process challenging because they are starving and feeling miserable. That kind of punishing approach is bound to end up in a 'sod it, I give up' and a major binge.

nickyfm

I am really bemused by those who don't eat their exercise calories back, yet find this process challenging because they are starving and feeling miserable. That kind of punishing approach is bound to end up in a 'sod it, I give up' and a major binge.

YEP!!! The only reason I thought I didn't need to eat back exercise cals, was because I didn't for the first 2 months of losing weight last time, and I seemed to be fine with it. I spose my body wasn't gonna go through that again!!

feistymoon

Is your target weight realistic? I have a comfortable weight at which I can eat, maintain, be happy, exercise, and not have to have strict control on every little thing. Push your weight too low and your body will struggle. What weight are you aiming for? I'm 5.4 and my comfort zone is 8 stone 7 lbs (119). Any less than that and it just becomes a battle. Find a weight you are comfortable with and stick at that one!

TavistockToad

your calorie goal is 1600, yet most days, even when you exercise, you only reach 1300, so you net about 1000....

EAT MORE!

positivepineapple

you could try eating at maintenance level one or two days per week, so you won't gain or lose, but you'll prevent yourself from binging!

positivepineapple

you could try eating at maintenance level one or two days per week, so you won't gain or lose, but you'll prevent yourself from binging!

geekyjock76

If your parameters are too restrictive - ie calorie intake, food choices, etc, - you're increasing your failure rate. Find out what your actual TDEE is and deduct a deficit according to how much fat mass you have vs fat mass you want to lose. When I cut again after I'm done with my bulk cycle, I will likely have about 30 lbs of total fat, and would want to lose about 15 of that to hit my body fat percentage goal of 7.5%. Since I have very little body fat, I need to assume a weekly weight loss goal no higher than 0.75 lbs, which is a 375 calorie deficit below actual TDEE. Once I get down to about 8 lbs left to lose, I will up calories to 250 below TDEE, which is a 0.5 lb weekly loss. Also, nothing is off limits for me: I allocate 80% of calories to healthy foods and fill in the remaining 20% with whatever I want, whether it be cookies or ice cream.