Always hungry! I think I might have hollow legs...

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acaylia
acaylia Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I just ate a decent size lunch was 492 cal, 26.7g fat, 40.4g carbs, 30.3g protein... and 20 mins later my tummy growls. I feel I'm always like this after any meal. Ill feel full then 20-60 mins later I feel hungry. And I drink 2 cups of coffee plus about 3-4L of water a day. I'm feeling a little frustrated why I'm always hungry but scared to eat more cause Im trying to lose fat!

Here's a little background about me. I'm female 23, 5'9", weigh 140 despite my profile... I gained a pretty good amount of muscle from a year of my work outs focusing on heavy lifting 5-6 times a week plus 20 mins HIIT 3 times a week. I eat anywhere from 1700-2100 calories a day. Which is below my TDEE which I calculated to be about 2300. My Macros I'm aiming for are fat 58g, carbs 131g, protein 174g & fiber 30g. Trying to lose my last bit of fat... I figure my metabolism is pretty good. But seriously never feel completely full! Anyone else like this, just can't feel completely satiated! I eat all whole foods, rarely anything processed/packaged. So it would look like to any normal person I'm eating a whole lot of food! It's frustrating, anyone have any suggestions as to why? Or anyone else in the same boat?

Replies

  • silverthreads1
    silverthreads1 Posts: 11 Member
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    Hi, strange I ran across this post just now. I just said that on my status now. I am always hungry as well, but I am a lot different than you are. Much older and have not lost much weight. I eat about 1500 calories a day and I am always hungry. No matter how much I eat. It is frustrating. Since I am not that active anymore, I know that I can't up my calories so hopefully we will both get some helpful suggestions here. Good Luck to both of us!
  • natmadc
    natmadc Posts: 116 Member
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    I am the same way, I can eat all day if you let me. But I always have to ask myself, if I am eating because of boredom or habit. Or if I am truly hungry
  • lorenzovonmatterhorn7549
    lorenzovonmatterhorn7549 Posts: 495 Member
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    I eat healthy snacks like almonds and various fruit throughout the day. Lots of water also helps.
  • acaylia
    acaylia Posts: 5 Member
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    Ya its so weird.

    I used to be like that, didn't know whether I was bored, just a habit or truly hungry. But I've gotten pretty good at telling if I'm just bored by now. Also considering a lot of the time after eating my tummy is literally growling...Which I don't think happens if you're bored, does it? Lol just a bottomless pit I think.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    - Carbs are the least filling of them all, so when you reduce them you automatically increase the volume of food you eat, which translates to feeling more full.

    - Eating smaller meals more frequently helps manage my hunger.

    - You don't have to have a preset time to eat. If I don't feel hungry in the morning I skip breakfast, so I bank the calories for later when I actually do.
  • acaylia
    acaylia Posts: 5 Member
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    Me as well, I'm eating plenty of fruit and veggies and nuts and nut butters and protein rich snacks throughout the day. And like I said 3-4 L a day, not including what I drink at the gym either!
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I am always hungry, so I pretty much eat all day. I just make it work. Sometimes...like today I feel like I am going a little off the deep end. My schedule got all messed up and I ate lunch early and now I want dinner, but it's too early so I've been snacking. UGH!
  • acaylia
    acaylia Posts: 5 Member
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    Those are good suggestions.. but for me personally I have my set amount of carbs to fuel my workouts and aid in muscle growth so i dont really want to go lower on that. And like you said I did recently change how I eat. I used to eat first thing then snack a couple hours later and then have lunch. I found I was really hungry then. So now I just have water and coffee till lunch when I take in a good amount of calories. Have a pre workout snack and then a large dinner post workout and bedtime snack. Eating this way has helped. Maybe ill have an even bigger lunch. But 400-500 seems a decent size full of proteins and fat. Guess ill keep chugging water and drinking tea.
  • itsscottwilder
    itsscottwilder Posts: 317
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    Stomach growling is not synonymous with hunger:

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-does-your-stomach-gro
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
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    It's a tapeworm. My condolences.

    :wink:
  • whatjesseats
    whatjesseats Posts: 228 Member
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    I would consider decreasing carbs and increasing fat for better satiety.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    Maybe it's time to experiment. Add a couple hundred calories to your daily goal, then see if your weight loss stalls. If it doesn't, then great, you're losing weight without feeling too hungry. If it does, then scale back a hundred cals at a time.

    Another thing to try is to set your goal at slightly below sedentary TDEE then eat back most of your exercise calories. This method should be more accurate and prevents you from underestimating exercise calories that leads to hunger.
  • acaylia
    acaylia Posts: 5 Member
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    I think ill try that. ill add 200 calories to my day, not in carbs but in good fats and protein. See where that takes me! Thanks

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