I'm hungry all the time, and gaining.

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grassette
grassette Posts: 976 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Last June I had lost 30+ lbs, going from obese to overweight. But since then, I have fallen off the wagon, and gained 12 lbs back. I am hungry all the time. Like a bottomless pit that is impossible to satiate.

To lose, I had to keep my intake at between 1200 to 1400 calories, and it took about 10 months to lose that weight. Now I'm eating close to 2000. I know that I have to cut back again, but I feel famished all the time. I eat well. Breakfast is oatmeal, with Greek yogurt, flax seed, and blueberries. My other meals are good, substantial food cooked from scratch.

I need help! Please give me some strategies that will pull me out of this.
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Replies

  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
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    r u in a happy state of mind becuz often eating is emotional.
  • orapronobis
    orapronobis Posts: 460 Member
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    How long have you been back to this routine? It generally takes 5 days for the "hungry" feeling to go away when you reduce your caloric intake. If it's been more than 5 days, maybe you should aim for an intermediate calorie limit, get used to that, and then reduce further. If you have time to add more exercise, you could add back those calories. Another thing that I've noticed is that I am less hungry when I keep myself busy.
  • jasonheyd
    jasonheyd Posts: 524 Member
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    In addition to what the other folks have mentioned, you might want to adjust your target macro (carbs/protein/fat) ratio.

    I found that increasing protein relative to carbs made a huge difference in my hunger levels.

    I usually go for a 40/30/30 (carb/protein/fat) percentage breakdown, while I think MFP's default has 50+ for carbs.
  • gothicfires
    gothicfires Posts: 240 Member
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    I would suggest consulting a nutritionist. It's all great and grand to say you do it right and don't know what's going on. Talk to someone who has been certified and can help you balance what you need so you don't have these issues.
  • EatClenTrenHard
    EatClenTrenHard Posts: 339 Member
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    Ignore all broscience

    use http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

    use MFP to count calories PRECISELY. buy yourself scale. and never ever use imperial units. only use metric units
    do not use "cups" "handfuls" or any subjective measuring units.

    eat 20% less calories than your TDEE. You will lose your weight over time.

    There is no easy or fast way for weight loss.

    Also human body doesn't know what is "clean" diet.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    How long have you been back to this routine? It generally takes 5 days for the "hungry" feeling to go away when you reduce your caloric intake. If it's been more than 5 days, maybe you should aim for an intermediate calorie limit, get used to that, and then reduce further. If you have time to add more exercise, you could add back those calories. Another thing that I've noticed is that I am less hungry when I keep myself busy.

    I would say since June, because I was traveling, and was eating out in restaurants daily for 6 weeks, approx. Since then, I've been struggling to reduce. I am increasing my activity level. I do tai chi twice a week, acquafit twice a week. I try to treadmill every day for an hour, back troubles permitting. I want to swim twice per week, but have been laid up with swimmer's shoulder since last May, so I am grabbing the flutterboard and kicking for 30 min per day twice per week until I heal. Otherwise I am pretty sedentary. I'm a student, so much of my day is spent sitting and reading, or writing at my computer.

    Thanks for the tip about the five day adjustment. Maybe that will help my self control if I think that 5 days will do it.
  • AmandaTWaH
    AmandaTWaH Posts: 181 Member
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    Generally if I eat a lot of carbs it makes me more hungry. Especially with breakfast you want something with a good amount of protein and fiber. You should also make sure you are getting plenty of water. Going to the doctor and asking to be checked for vitamin deficiencies is also a good option. If you are lacking in vitamins the food cravings could be your body trying to get what it's lacking.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    In addition to what the other folks have mentioned, you might want to adjust your target macro (carbs/protein/fat) ratio.

    I found that increasing protein relative to carbs made a huge difference in my hunger levels.

    I usually go for a 40/30/30 (carb/protein/fat) percentage breakdown, while I think MFP's default has 50+ for carbs.

    That is an interesting suggestion. Presently, I have no idea what my ratios are.
  • skygoddess86
    skygoddess86 Posts: 487 Member
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    Personally I like to have more healthy fats in my diet. I never buy fat free food. I drink whole milk. I have to sacrifice calories somewhere else but I feel better if I'm eating grapeseed oil and avacodoes and other foods with more fat. We are all different though, to some extent.
  • funfactoryfacepainting
    funfactoryfacepainting Posts: 35 Member
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    What they said.

    Your hunger could be emotional, boredom, or even hormonal or many other things ?? I have days that my hunger is just there all day long - I try to keep myself busy , drink more water, and up my protein. One other thing that helps A LOT is to eat small meals or snacks every 2.5 or 3 hours.

    Best of luck in stomping that hunger monster:explode:

    Kerrie
  • anifani4
    anifani4 Posts: 457 Member
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    You can eat a LOT of vegetables that have low calories but are full of filling fiber...plus you get the "chewing satisfaction". I find that I often just want to "EAT" that is, the physical sensation of chewing and swallowing.

    Often frequent hunger is about blood sugar. Meals high in carbohydrate with no accompanying fat and protein to slow down their absorption, cause a blood sugar spike and when it hits bottom again, your brain says, EAT MORE. For myself, I know my meal was too high in carbs if I am stomach hungry 2 hours later.

    You maybe want to talk to someone about your specific situation. A dietician or a nutritionist or a personal trainer with knowledge of nutrition. Otherwise, Pick a starting point and be willing to adjust each week until you get to where you have a balance of satisfying your hunger while burning some body fat through a modest calorie deficit.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    What they said.

    Your hunger could be emotional, boredom, or even hormonal or many other things ?? I have days that my hunger is just there all day long - I try to keep myself busy , drink more water, and up my protein. One other thing that helps A LOT is to eat small meals or snacks every 2.5 or 3 hours.

    Best of luck in stomping that hunger monster:explode:

    Kerrie
    I'm not depressed, just hungry. And given my age, I don't think it's hormonal. I'm just hungry. But you are right about keeping busy as a distraction strategy. Maybe it's because of all the reading I have to do. I'll try studying to some classical music (Mozart or Vivaldi) to see if that helps.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
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    At least give some thought to what you might be hungry for other than food.

    I notice if I'm tired, I usually experience it as hunger, or at least the urge to eat. What I'm really hungry for is rest, but sometimes I just can't get it.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Do you really know hungry? A lot of people assume wanting to eat is hungry. Try not eating for at least 8 hours while you are awake and really feel hungry. Stomach growling, gnawing pain hungry.

    One way to help not be truly hungry is to lose the starchy carbs that digest quickly and replace them with proteins, good fats and lots of fiber.
  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
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    Do you really know hungry? A lot of people assume wanting to eat is hungry.
    I love this line
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    Do you really know hungry? A lot of people assume wanting to eat is hungry. Try not eating for at least 8 hours while you are awake and really feel hungry. Stomach growling, gnawing pain hungry.

    One way to help not be truly hungry is to lose the starchy carbs that digest quickly and replace them with proteins, good fats and lots of fiber.

    I've done fasting before, and I usually don't last because my mind starts to go. Then I get headaches and nausea. And it takes me at least 3 days to get back to feeling normal again. It's a joke around the house. When my eyes start to glaze, and I can't make a decision, everybody twigs onto to it, and says: "Gotta feed mom!"

    So, I'm sensitive to the blood sugar thing. Good advice on carbs (from everybody). I'll have to look on cutting out the bread.
  • QueenofScott
    QueenofScott Posts: 305 Member
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    Have you tried breaking your food up I to smaller meals and eating more often. That helps me. Hope you find.somehting that works for you!
  • sjwright66
    sjwright66 Posts: 41
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    Eat less carbs. Have a big breakfast, smaller lunch, and a smaller dinner. Snack some, but only on healthy stuff like fruits and nuts. Hot tea can help too... If you have an urge to eat something just make a cup of tea. :) You can also try weight loss shakes, instead of a snack, drink one of those. And if you get the urge to snack just because you feel like eating, just don't eat! Chew gum, drink water and try to focus on something else.
  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 784 Member
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    A friend once told me to eat more veggies. ;)
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    I agree with the consensus above.

    eat your deficit (1400?), eat more protein and fibre and less carbs and drink as much water as you can, at least 1 to 2 per meal.

    yesderday i did a test of sorts. I didn't really have anything for dinner that was quick and it was late, so instead of reaching for crap, I thought I'd make up the cals with healthy snackish food.

    KQXgdl.jpg
    starting with a salad of short leaf lettuce, sprouts and some nuts and dried fruit + mustard dressing - 150 cals

    after that I felt a bit full, but thought I should keep going.

    awnkal.jpg

    so then I ate the carrot, followed by the strawberries, and then really tried and pushed on with the crackers with peppered tomatoes. - around 250cals

    at this point I could not go on. I didn't even try to eat the dark chocolate and homestyle cereal bar for desert.

    so with 400 cals of fruit, vegetables, a few nuts and some crackers got full to the point where I couldn't eat my favourite snacks and I can eat a lot, my usual dinner meal is 600-800 like last night of pasta with vegetables, but this doesn't come close to how full I was from this 400cal slightly odd meal.

    if you are hungry all the time but cant satisfy it, either you are eating non filling foods, or you're not eating out of hunger.

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