How to deal with ravenous hungry after upping calories?

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  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    I'm in a group of women who are bulking (so we've all increased out intake). What you've experienced seems pretty common; a bunch of us were RAVENOUS after increasing our intake above maintenance. Eventually it goes away, but it SUCKS in the meantime!

    At least it goes away. I can't stand it.
    It makes me want to start binging all over again, haha.

    I have been doing strength training, lately.
  • Armagan123
    Armagan123 Posts: 72 Member
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    Chocolate cravings can be a sign of some deficiencies such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, vitamin B and C. Are you taking any supplements?
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Chocolate cravings can be a sign of some deficiencies such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, vitamin B and C. Are you taking any supplements?

    Nope Im not currently on any supplements.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
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    Chocolate cravings can be a sign of some deficiencies such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, vitamin B and C. Are you taking any supplements?

    I've heard this too. You said you're eating Nature Valley bars. Have you tried just plain dark chocolate?

    For me, btw, it was more just an overall hungriness. Despite not changing what I was eating, I was suddenly ravenous, but not for anything in particular. It wasn't a craving per se - just plain hunger that I couldn't satiate. I added avocado to my salad and suddenly became satisfied again. (Plus my skin has never looked better...)

    I would take a look at what you're eating and what you might be missing in your diet. This might sound "out there," but think of other things going on in your body too - how you're feeling, etc.

    edited to add: I just noticed the part where you said you've only been at this for one day. Maybe your body is just saying that it needs more food today? Or if you're craving chocolate, eat that damn chocolate bar (or maybe just a square or two)! It's just one day... As long as it stays at one day, then I wouldn't worry.
  • BroSciencePhD
    BroSciencePhD Posts: 60
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    My goal was set at like 1230 - 1235.
    Was losing like 0.4 - 0.6 a week on that.

    I figured it was too soon to tell, but it was just a weird thing that I havent felt this hungry in months until I upped yesterday, you know?

    You should round to the hundreds. So you where eating 1,200 calories yesterday and you increased it to about 1400?

    You shouldn't be hungry, eat "good quality' food... to fill you up right now. See how it goes tomorrow.

    Nah, Ive been raising very slowly. Went up to about 1280, so if we're rounding, about 1300.
    Week after that ill be at 1400.

    But, the foods I eat now are the same as usual, very picky pallet, and usually kept me full

    those increments are very prone to error. How precise is your scale?(assuming you're using one). Food that sticks to a pan, the calorie errors on labels and so on. Tons of errors present. So increasing calories "a little bit" doesn't mean 80 calories a day or so.

    You have been at this one day, you haven't raised it slowly. You said you have been losing a bit more than 0.5lbs a week. That's 250 calories a day. I'd increase calories by that much and see how it goes.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    I use a food scale, and weight/measure everything.
    I usually over-esimate, too. Just to be sure.

    But sneaky labels have been scanned before and not seen.

    So yes, very much differentiation

    But okay, ill increase it more.
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
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    I've been feeling the same way since moving to maintenance. Just increase your workout & you can eat more food until the cravings start subsiding.
  • notmuchreally
    notmuchreally Posts: 13
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    edit: woops typo. ravenous hunger*

    Anyway,
    I was eating at 1235 - 1250 calories for a few months at the last few pounds.

    I am starting to raise my calories to maintenance ( very slowly, too ) but it appears that upping my calories, no matter how gradual, is kick starting my metabolism, or my leptine levels, or something.

    Literally all I want to do is consume food, when before I was quite content/not hungry rarely.

    It's a really hard feeling to ignore, as I was doing so good as a previous bringer not being bothered by hunger.

    As I keep raising them and eventually get to maintenance...will this feeling go away?

    I'm curious what happened since? Did you ever stop getting the intense hunger? I have increased from the same starting point and the same amount in increase, and am experiencing the same thing.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Oh! Sorry I didnt update you all!
    Ive had a huge dietary swap since the few months ago I posted this.

    I recently switched to "primal" eating, all the sugars/processed foods/processed carbs were causing huge insulin spikes and blood sugar crashes leaving me tired and ravenously hungry every few hours.
    And the cardio I was doing to eat more only made it worse.
    So now I strickly strength train and do some weekly sprints or hiking instead of blast away hours on the elliptical.

    Since changing my diet, I actually eat tons and sometimes barely reach my goal before Im too stuffed!
    I also do 16:8 fasting and it works great to keep my body in a eating window so I dont have all-day play.
  • Wtn_Gurl
    Wtn_Gurl Posts: 396 Member
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    do you think when you ate less your stomach shrank? and then when you increased your food, that good benefit left you?
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Could have been a possibility!
    Im not sure, Im glad that it's passed.

    I still do get a little over-hungry from time-to-time or even ravenous especially after big lift days, but I usually have leeway in my week to eat above my goal since I was low a few days prior in the week. So Im doing great in that respect. And it's usually something that a little macro-watching has been able to control.

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