STARVING!!! HELP!!!

jenilla1

hey kate .. im new to this and i had no idea u needd to replace the cals u burn with work outs .. but is nighttime a good time to eat u think cuz i dont work out till late sometimes and its seems like i wouldnt be good to eat so late ... what u all think?

I workout in the evenings too. I always feel free to eat right up until bed time if I have the calories and I've never had a problem with it. Eating before bed is an individual thing, though. Some people find that it gives them indigestion and interferes with their sleep. Others, like me, find that it's easier to settle down and fall asleep with a light snack before bed. If I go to bed with an empty stomach I usually feel really crappy the next morning. :drinker:

tabi26

You and I are the same height and I started here at 151 lbs. my diary is set at 1700/day. If I follow that I lose. And I'm a lazy person, I didn't work out for my whole first month, only followed the 1700/day and I lost a little over seven pounds in that month without working out. Lately, I too am hungry, so I've started working out just to eat more.

neverstray

You probably need to eat more tan 1200. I would guess around 1800 would be closer to your needs. There is good info here in ths thread. Mull it over, check it out, and think about. It.

mkanak

of course you are starving you should only be around 300 Kcal below your maintainance calories.

prokomds

I started out at 150 pounds, and I'm 5'6". I've lost about 6-7 pounds over the past couple months eating 1600 calories on days when I'm not exercising, more calories when I do. Maybe you're starving because you need to eat more

My typical advice is to add about 200 calories, give it a few weeks, see how you feel. Maybe add another 200. Those 200 calories are not going to make you gain weight, but they might be the difference between you being miserable and not. Good luck!

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Your diary is closed so it's harder to help you

skinnyforhi

Try eating good quality carbs + good quality protein + lots of fruits and/or veggies at each and every meal.
There are really only 2 possibilities, your body needs more calories, or the calories you are eating aren't substantial enough to keep you satisfied,
its like this - if you aren't eating good quality REAL food, your done for.

Would you feel full if you drank only pepsi all day long?
sure you'd hit your calorie mark, but you sure would be starvin' like marvin' ...

hope this puts things into perspective:)

This is similar to my point. Do you feel satisfied with the healthy foods you are eating that are within your calorie range? Are you enjoying them? For example, I like pasta so I use whole grain pasta and add steamed veggies and a low-calorie pesto or healthy sauce, but I still get my pasta. I could eat the same number of calories in a salad with protein and still not feel satisfied. Not to say that I don't like protein and veggies--I do and when I want that, I make a meal of it. But I personally can't low-carb it all day and feel satisfied. Everyone is different though, and some people have great success on that plan. Just food for thought (sorry, I couldn't help it).

ChantelleFowler

I'm doing Insanity as well and I don't go under 1500, although I try to stick to 1700-1900. The Insanity Elite Nutrition Guide has a calorie estimator that tells you how many calories you should be ingesting. I'd suggest following that. 1200 is too low for a program like Insanity.

LoraF83

I am on the 1200cal diet and doing Insanity which I add about 400cal per 40minute workout. I am 5'5" and 155lbs right now. My main issue is (and always has been) that I always feel hungry. Any suggestions, tips, foods or helpful hints as to ways to feel full. I constantly drink water as well so forget that tip.

Eat more.

Take a 20% cut from your TDEE.

How many days a week are you exercising?

deksgrl

Are you eating 1200 PLUS the 400 you burned in exercise? You need to eat 1600 total for the day to make it net 1200.

I also recommend the Road Map that someone posted a link to. I eat one higher calorie goal every day and not the lower number plus exercise.

Colleen118

more protein, fewer carbs

I say this having not looked at your food diary. This is my personal experience. I eat higher protein, lower carbs and consume and average 1300-1500 per day and am fine. Some days I don't reach the norm and I'm still fine. I rarely feel like I'm starving and many times have to remember to eat because I don't think about eating if I'm not hungry...

schondell

Add more protein to your diet, like plain hardboiled eggs

Mrsb709

I think the turkey jerky is a great idea - all protein! The sodium is probably not too much of a concern for someone who drinks a lot of water AND works out (sweats). :happy:

_Wits_

Try upping your calories.
Eat back your exercise calories.
Get more protein in.

SabrinaLily

Hello! I am 5'5 - 5'6' and currently at 170.5 pounds eating 1200 calories (idealy) a day. I actually have found a way to stay full on such few calories and that's without eating some of the off-the-wall things that other people do. I've been kinda crappy about logging but if you want to check out my diary, feel free. You can see on the days that I DID eat 1,200 calories, I still ate plenty. Generally though, I think the trick for me is my snacks. I have a bowl of cereal for breakfast but at about 10:30, I'm getting hungry to I have an egg white patty and a slice or two of real bacon. For lunch I'll get a footlong from Subway but tear off half the bread, making it an open-faced sandwich. I'll eat 6 inches for lunch and the other 6 inch around 3:00 cause I'll never make it otherwise till dinner! My nighttime snack is a 100-calorie bag of mini popcorn with calorie free butter spray (and salt) sold in the popcorn aisle. You can always do the WW Jello cups too which only have 10 calories, but they're more for taste than for filling up. Best wishes! Jenn

SabrinaLily

PS: If this is your first couple of days dieting though, that may not be unusual no matter what you're eating. I threw my body into shock when I went from a likely 3,500 calories + to 1,200. I got CRAZY headaches and hunger pains for three days but after the withdrawl, I was doing just fine. Also keep in mind, if you're eating a lot of sugar, it's going to make you crave more sugar. A wicked little thing that is. Sugar makes your blood insulin spike and then drop suddenly = physical and mental crashing and a craving for more goodies! It's best to stay away from eating treats on a regular basis.

thistimeismytime

If you feel like you're starving you probably are.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

^^Another vote for this^^ You don't have to feel like you're starving to lose weight. I didn't, and I wouldn't.

an8e

A breakfast with protein helps me.

MelissaPhippsFeagins

hey kate .. im new to this and i had no idea u needd to replace the cals u burn with work outs .. but is nighttime a good time to eat u think cuz i dont work out till late sometimes and its seems like i wouldnt be good to eat so late ... what u all think?

When you eat is entirely up to what works for you and your body. I can't eat or exercise too close to bed time or I don't sleep well. If you know your workout is going to be later in the day, it's okay to eat the calories before you do the exercise. Good luck on your journey.

OP - if you are really hungry, as opposed to unsatisfied, then eat more. If you are unsatisfied, add a small amount of something you love. One of my MFP friends allows herself a Lindor truffle every day. I eat whatever I want to eat, just in smaller portions. Most of what I want is good for me, some of it is potato chips or French Toast. If I don't satisfy those cravings, I'm setting myself up for a binge so I eat just a little and move on.