Can't eat the right amount of calories

Can you try to cut down gradually? its only because you are used to eating 3000 that you are hungry when you don't, especially if you try to jump down to 1200.

Mabey try to scale down to 2800 one week then 2600 the next etc. by cutting portion sizes and if you are worried about putting on weight, scale up the exercise at first till you've hit about 2000 or whatever your maintainance is.

Hi there.

So I make sure I'm hearing you right: You say your goal is to lose weight, yes, and you're having trouble staying around your recommended deficit because you're very hungry over 1200 cals?

I would probably have a few questions for you:

1. What type of exercises are you doing, and what are the frequencies of those exercises? You said an hour a day, every day, but can you be more specific on that?

2. What is your diet like? I know you said fiber, frutis, veggies, protein, but can you be a bit more specific?

3. Do you have a specific range of macronutrients you're trying to reach within your caloric goals (protein, fat, and carbs)... not necessarily "canned" ratios, but particular numbers chosen for a reason?

Also as the poster above mentioned... drink lots of water. I get a 64 oz jug and try to drain one before lunch, and one after. Helps with keeping that "full" feeling and making sure you're not mistaking thirst for hunger.

Strictly speaking... since you're doing some (light) weight training... I would say make sure you hit a good amount of protein. Based on your weight... I'd shoot for around 120 grams... this should keep you well satiated.

After that, I'd say play around with your carbs/fat however you want. You can eat more fat/less carbs as long as you stay within your calories adn vice-versa. Since you're doing quite a bit of cardio, it would probably be better to veer towards more carbs, but don't sell yourself short. It goes without saying that more fat means you get to eat "less" as fat is so calorie-dense by it's nature... but don't be afraid of eating fat .

Also, with as much cardio as you're doing...are you taking into aco**** of re-eating the amount of calories you're burning? You can probably get away with that (say if you burn 400 on the eliptical, you could probably reuptake a large portion of that without gimping yourself).

It /almost/ sounds like you're doing a leangains type of thing with your alternating the amount of calories you're eating. You might consider checking it out (www.leangains.com) as a lot of people have good results from it. Plus it allows you to "eat more" at one sitting as well as research suggesting it has some other positive benefiits. I'd advise to check out the site.

I try to veer away from broscience as much as possible, so take this with a grain of salt: But listen to your body. If you're eating wisely, getting enough protein... and you're still feeling hungry a bit after you're done eating, maybe you need to eat more.

Remember that this is a long-term thing. Make some changes, and maybe up the calories a bit to help your hunger... track your progress for a week or two and see if you don't still lose weight. If you don't maybe you'll start to recomp (lose fat, gain muscle) instead. You can always adjust back if the scale / mirror doesn't put you where you want.

In other words, don't be afraid to play around with your calories and what you eat and see how it goes. Keep your expectations in check... if it takes a little longer to reach your goals while you try some different things, don't sweat it. You'll still be making progress, right, and finding out better what works for your body. It does sound to me like maybe the amount of cardio you're doing is significantly increasing the amount of calories your body burns and that you should eat more to compensate.

TL/DR: It's a marathon, not a sprint. Try upping the calories / playing around with your calories and find out what works for you, then make other changes accordingly. Don't be in such a hurry that you don't take quality time to find out what really works for you.

Try to make sure you read the posts above... she's said several times that she does exercise, and what types.

A good thing to think about is whether you are physically hungry or psychologically hungry.
I have massive problems with thinking I'm hungry when I'm actually not, I'm just craving food. For what reason I have no idea.
I find when I'm keeping myself busy I don't feel hungry.
Try to do different things with your day, keep yourself occupied etc and see if it makes a difference.

Another factor is protein. Try to get lots of protein in your diet through things like eggs, lean meat etc. It's a natural appetite suppressant and really helps, especially for breakfast.

Lastly, if you are doing an hours cardio then 1200 cals isn't enough, which might be a reason why you are hungry! Make sure you eat those cals that you've earned on a nice high protein meal!

Good luck

Are you familiar with false hungers? They can happen when you are bored, dehydrated, or in deficiency.

I used to have those on a daily basis when I was in school. I took healty snacks, but it was too much calories anyway.

My solutions : keep a bottle of water on hand, take supplements and always ask myself "Am I really hungry" before I eat anything. It helps!

I think it sounds like you are experiencing hypoglycemic episodes. I gained most of my weight during the years when I had undiagnosed hypoglycemia because, when the blood sugar levels plummet, it makes you so hungry you could eat your car. You need to get tested. Or, if you are close to someone with a glucose monitor, check your blood sugar 1, 2 and 3 hours after a meal.

The best way to control it, at least what finally worked for me, was to eat 5-6 small meals a day and to limit carbohydrates. Particularly bread and sweets. Those would hit me the worst.

You're eating as an emotional fix. You need to learn to stop letting your emotions tell you when to eat and listen to your body. One thing you might try that I experimented with is intermittent fasting.

Before I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia and started eating right to stop the huge blood sugar crashes, I thought I was emotionally disturbed. The blood sugar roller-coasters definitely effect your moods and your cognitive thinking abilities. Once I was diagnosed and began to eat right for my condition, my emotions leveled out, my moods improved, and I no longer gorged.

And if she is hypoglycemic, IF is probably the worst way she should eat. Well, at least it was for me. I tried it and it brought back the blood sugar roller-coasters. I was hoping it would work as I really don't like to eat before about Noon but it really messed me up.

And if she is hypoglycemic, IF is probably the worst way she should eat.

That's probably true but I was just assuming since there were no stated physical issues that it was just a normal insulin crash response or a mental state of using food to kill boredom. If you get cranky and really shaky after the first few days then you could have a bigger underlying issue which is why I said to just try it out for a week or two. If it doesn't work then by all means don't stick with it. I just found that IF really makes it difficult to overeat if you're limiting yourself to healthy foods. Thought that it might help.

Of course! And she might not be hypoglycemic. But, gosh, her eating behavior sounds so much like mine prior to diagnosis and learning to eat right for it that I hope she is still reading this thread and at least gets checked out.

I would recommend to adjust your macros for more protein. I also have a very hearty appetite and when I switched to doing 40-30-30 which made me eat a lot more protein, (I never used to eat close to 30 percent protein) I found my appetite was very suppressed/satisfied. I Now am eating 35% protein and I can easily keep between like 1500-1700 calories a day without feeling hungry. And I am 5'10", not a light eater.