Any ideas for hunger?

lindalu74

....I know the obvious answer... EAT! lol I don't know why, but for the last few weeks, I've been so hungry. I'm eating my 1200 calories, and I've been actually adding more on some days. I eat a good amount of fiber. Any suggestions?

I was using my nutribullet to add to my mid morning snack of almonds. I started to have a weird allergic reaction on my lips so I temporarily stopped my juicing (to see if it was from all the veggies, etc.) replaced that with just a piece of fruit in addition to my almonds. I'm thinking that maybe I was getting so many nutrients from my juices that I was making? I can't wait to start again!

Any thoughts would be so appreciated!

cinfaro

How often do you eat? The reason I ask is I eat so frequent that I never get the hunger feeling. Like literally ever two hours or so.

jzammetti

In my experience and opinion, 1200 calories is never enough food for an adult. You answered your own question. Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE?

lindalu74

During the work week, I eat breakfast around 7:15, snack around 10:30, lunch at 1pm and dinner between 4:30 and 6. Sometimes I have a snack between lunch and dinner, but that's not my hungriest time. This has all been so new within the last 2 weeks or so. Before that, I was fine. I literally eat breakfast and I'm hungry 20 minutes later.

I just calculated my BMR and it's 1310. TDEE is 1572. I think I'm at my goal, so I'm definitely going to increase more calories. I just don't know why out of the blue I'm starving all the time.

Thanks for the input guys!

lebelly88

Hi Lindalu

I am unsure of your current weight and how much exercise you do to make a comment about how many calories you eat per day. However, based on my knowledge there may be a few reasons why you are feeling hungrier then previously. I am not sure what type of foods you eat as your 1200 cal per day; however, this could give you some clues.

Do you eat low GI items?
Are you exercising more?
Have you gained muscle?
How much water are you drinking?

I know these are quite simple questions; however, the science behind each is important.
P.S these are just some hypotheses as to what might be going on. There would be 1000 different explanations. But these are some of the most applicable to my health and training which I find helpful to keep in mind.

The higher the GI of a food the faster the glucose is released into your blood stream, hence giving you a quick fix, higher amounts of glucose in your blood promotes the realse of insulin which brings your glucose levels down equally as fast, leaving you hungry within 20-60 minutes. Thus, eating low GI items and spreading your 1200 calories throughout the day will minimize the likelihood of these glucose/insulin spikes. I’m interested to see what you eat for breakfast, as getting hungry within 20 mins of eating is a good indication your not eating a low GI item, and/or not eating a combination of carb, protein, and good fats.

In terms of exercise, it’s the simple science of - calories in to calories out- if you are burning higher amounts of calories then you are eating, your body is going to go into starvation mode, hence the increased hunger. This can also slow your metabolic rate, so it is important to consume the right about of calories to fuel your body.

In terms of muscle mass - muscle requires more energy/calories and oxygen to contract (in basic terms – move/work). If you have an increase in muscle mass, your muscles need more energy (ATP). The energy your muscles need comes from ATP – in order for ATP to form it needs sugars (carbs). Thus, the more muscle you have, the more ATP they need, the more ATP they need requires on your fueling up. Thus, It may be that you have lost fat and increased your muscle mass, which would be a perfect explanation as to why you may be feeling hungrier.

Last but not least - water. Often we misinterpret dehydration as hunger. I often experiment with increasing my water intake if I feel like grazing all day. Try increasing your water intake and see if this helps.

Just a few ideas

Take care.

AmyRhubarb

I'm eating my 1200 calories,

Bingo! Not sure of all your stats, but 1200 is too low for the majority of folks, and likely below your BMR. If your body needs BMR cals when comatose, it certainly deserves more when you're upright and walkin' & talkin' all day, and probably exercising on top of that.

Great info in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I used the tools there to find my BMR & TDEE & eat in between the two numbers. This bumped me up from 1200 calories to 1800 - and I have steadily lost weight and inches and fat while NOT being hungry! We don't have to starve to lose weight, in fact I've stuck with consistent eating, exercise and logging for almost 600 days now, and I attribute it to eating the right amount of cals - it's made the whole process so much easier.

Give that thread a read - it's a lot of info, kinda like drinking from a fire hose the first time through, but read it again and again, use the tools and go through it step by step - it's worth it.

CMGoodie

I would get a physical first off to make sure something isn't going a little caddiewompus....have them check your mineral and hormone levels.

ripemango

try smoothies (vs juicing) or just eating the things you were juicing. juicing removes much of the fiber/pulp that contributes to feelings of satiety. also, psychologically drinking something isn't the same as eating.

just a couple option to consider

lindalu74

Thank you so much, everyone! What awesome feedback! So much to consider and research. I've gotten so much into a routine, that I've forgotten that it is possible to make changes!

I've recently had my annual physical and tons of blood work (more than normal to check for some things I may have inherited from my parents). I'm super healthy - healthier than I've ever been. I've decided that I'm going to change my lunch time, add another snack between lunch and dinner, and add more calories to each of my meals. I'm hoping that will do it.

I never had a goal weight, just more of a healthy and "feel good about myself" goal, and I definitely think I'm there.

Thank you all again! :happy:

JessHealthKick

I think the best thing for me with hunger has been protein But as you said you're going to increase calories, so I'll leave you to it. Nice work with the loss!

lindalu74

Lebelly,

Can you be my personal nutritionist? Awesome suggestions! So much that I've never considered. I definitely feel like I've added muscle mass. I don't work out with weights anymore, as I have herniated discs that I'm in the midst of taking care of. At this point, I'm only able to do cardio, with which I use resistance to build lower body muscle. For me, upper body muscle mass comes very quickly, so once I'm able to work upper body again, I'll be able to do so.

For breakfast, I eat a serving of steel cut oats with a teaspoon of coconut oil, teaspoon of cinnamon, and a chopped apple (this has worked wonders for my cholesterol). Of course, I have my coffee as well. Maybe I need to add a few egg whites to eat along with it?

lindalu74

Thank you Jessica

lindalu74

Thanks for the link! Definitely gonna use it!

I'm eating my 1200 calories,

Bingo! Not sure of all your stats, but 1200 is too low for the majority of folks, and likely below your BMR. If your body needs BMR cals when comatose, it certainly deserves more when you're upright and walkin' & talkin' all day, and probably exercising on top of that.

Great info in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I used the tools there to find my BMR & TDEE & eat in between the two numbers. This bumped me up from 1200 calories to 1800 - and I have steadily lost weight and inches and fat while NOT being hungry! We don't have to starve to lose weight, in fact I've stuck with consistent eating, exercise and logging for almost 600 days now, and I attribute it to eating the right amount of cals - it's made the whole process so much easier.

Give that thread a read - it's a lot of info, kinda like drinking from a fire hose the first time through, but read it again and again, use the tools and go through it step by step - it's worth it.

cityjaneLondon

Yes always eat back your exercise calories. The only time I feel hungry is late afternoon, so I have a 100 - 150 cal snack. Otherwise I am eating around 1600. - 1700 cals a day including my exercise cals. I have lost 40 lbs and have 9 lbs to go so it is getting harder to lose the lbs, but I'd rather do it slowly but surely and keep it off.

lyndsayspoolio

I usually drink diet coke or something when i feel hungry, seems to fill me up.

lindalu74

That is awesome! Congrats!

Yes always eat back your exercise calories. The only time I feel hungry is late afternoon, so I have a 100 - 150 cal snack. Otherwise I am eating around 1600. - 1700 cals a day including my exercise cals. I have lost 40 lbs and have 9 lbs to go so it is getting harder to lose the lbs, but I'd rather do it slowly but surely and keep it off.

concordancia

. I think I'm at my goal,

You were probably just ignoring the hunger pains when you were in the dieting mindset!