Any ideas for hunger?

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?

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.

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.

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

. I think I'm at my goal,

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