Lowering calorie intake without being hungry all the time?
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I am 5'5". In January I weighed in at 212 lbs. I started eating natural whole foods only and cut out all unnatural sugar. No processed foods either. I eat 6 meals a day and drink about 130 oz of water a day. I eat roughly 1600-2000 calories a day and have lost 31 lbs since January 9th. It's all about the choices in your food.
Number one...ditch artificial sweeteners and sugars. That means also ditching all diet drinks, fruit juices, sweetened teas, etc. Empy calories right there.
Secondly, eat a protein at every meal. If you are eating fruits or veggies by themselves you will spike your blood sugar and you will be hungry shortly after. Throw in a handful of almonds and you're set.
Thirdly, add some resistance training to your workouts. It's a proven fact muscle burns fat. the more muscle you build, the more fat you burn.
Last but not least.....DO NOT CUT CALORIES below 1400 unless you are morbidly obese and can't walk.....your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to weight. Do some research on how Sumo Wrestlers gain their weight....they don't eat!!!
And give it at least 4 wks for your metabolism to kick in.
Totally agree about the first part of your post (diet soda may not have calories but those sweeteners are not good for you) except, can you post a medically or scientifically verified source that says your body will go into starvation mode? I've never been able to find one. I also couldn't find that sumo wrestler diet you mentioned, it sounds very interesting. Could you post a link?
http://www.kitchentablemedicine.com/are-you-on-the-sumo-wrestler-diet/
This shows how they skip meals to keep weight on.
http://women.webmd.com/features/boost-metabolism?page=2
This one from WebMD talks about starvation mode....if you want medical evidence....ask your Dr. I am sure they will tell you the same thing.
One thing I learned in this lifetime....and 20 years of dieting later.....keep doing the same thing and you will get the same results. All these folks cutting calories and skipping meals and guzzling down diet soda are still fat....period. I was that person 4 months ago...I changed my mind about this whole "diet" world and started feeding myself the proper fuel and poof....it works!0 -
First, I would use the BMR calculator to roughly determine the minimum you should be eating daily ( http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator ). This number (if you don't already know) is how many calories your body consumes if you are basically in a coma. Generally you are supposed to eat above that number but below your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure which is BMR + exercise) to lose weight.
Second, it is okay to be hungry every couple of hours, if you are that kind of person. I am. I usually eat every 2 to 3 hours. My big meals (3 times a day) I try to keep at 300 calories and my small meals (4 times a day) at 150 to 200 calories. That is 1500, my BMR. Just before bed I'll eat something light (peanut butter, handful of nuts, tuna, chicken breast) to eat back part of my exercise calories. Plus it gives me the added benefit of not waking up hungry (although there are a ton of people who will argue to not eat at night, before bed, after 6, or a half dozen other theories). Find what works for you.0 -
I'm not sure if you have a Kindle or like to read but there is a book out there by Tosca Reno called The Eat Clean Diet. It changed my life and helped me understand why all these diet mistakes I have made all these years did not work. Ok maybe they worked for a little bit...and yes I lost a little bit of weight but I always gained it back and then some.
She really helps you understand the difference between the quantity of calories and the quality of calories. I haven't counted calories in 4 months. I eat GREAT food AND I eat a ton of it.
If you are tired of doing the same old thing only to fail in the end...give something different a try
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Hi, I'm trying to lose weight by lowering my caloric intake and being more active. Before deciding to be more healthy, I counted my calories for just over a week, and I consume ~2,300 every day. (I'm a 5'7" girl). I would like to reduce that number, but I've found it quite difficult.
I've been eating pretty healthy (I eat either oatmeal or hard boiled eggs for breakfast, tons of fruits and veggies, no fried foods, etc), but I've found that even though my food choices are healthier, I'm still eating the same amount of calories. Whenever I try to get down to the 1,600-1,800 range, I feel deprived. I've tried drinking more water and eating more 'filling' foods, but no more than a couple of hours later, I'm hungry again.
Please help?
Eat lots of lean protein (chicken, fish, tofu, protein powder) - I make sure to have at least 30g with every mean, plus two snacks during the day of about 10g each.
Eat your daily reccomended intake of fiber - I think it's around 20-25g for women. It's easy to do if you're eating 2 or 3 servings of fruits and veggies.
Drink as much water as you can stand.
Eat often. I have breakfast, a snack, lunch, another snack, then supper (and sometimes another small snack if i'm working out). I find if I stick to my eating routine even if I'm not hungry yet, I never do get hungry.
This is what I do, along with about 20 min of excersize a day (at the very least), and I've lost 10 pounds in 12 weeks.0 -
Thank you. This has been the most helpful post I have seen!0
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I think maybe lowering it gradually would benefit you. Maybe decrease 50-100 calories every few days or so, so you have more than one day to adjust. You could even go week by week. 50 calories down for one week, another 50 the next, and so on. Take your time. Suddenly decreasing hasn't been working for you, so don't make it a sprint to the intake you're aiming for. It's okay to experiment with an intake range. I'm doing that. I was at 1210 calories, it was fine for a few weeks, then I started feeling deprived and I was simultaneously worried that I was starting too low (where can I go from 1200 calories when I need to decrease my intake in the future?), so I increased my intake to 1400 and now I'm seeing how 1300-1400 works for me. It used to be my perfect calorie range when I wanted to change my lifestyle a few years ago, and I also have room to bring the calories down if I ever need to (for a plateau, perhaps).
Edited for grammar error and ETA: I see someone suggested going low-carb and there's nothing wrong with that FOR THEM. A lot of people feel great after making the switch to low-carb diets, but if you're feeling deprived with 1600-1800 calories of diverse foods, I can't see how severely reducing your carb intake would benefit you as far as concerns over feelings of deprivation are concerned. You may feel you're getting enough food, but you may feel deprived of certain foods, and that's just as bad as having too low of an intake for your body.0 -
I am 5'5". In January I weighed in at 212 lbs. I started eating natural whole foods only and cut out all unnatural sugar. No processed foods either. I eat 6 meals a day and drink about 130 oz of water a day. I eat roughly 1600-2000 calories a day and have lost 31 lbs since January 9th. It's all about the choices in your food.
Number one...ditch artificial sweeteners and sugars. That means also ditching all diet drinks, fruit juices, sweetened teas, etc. Empy calories right there.
Secondly, eat a protein at every meal. If you are eating fruits or veggies by themselves you will spike your blood sugar and you will be hungry shortly after. Throw in a handful of almonds and you're set.
Thirdly, add some resistance training to your workouts. It's a proven fact muscle burns fat. the more muscle you build, the more fat you burn.
Last but not least.....DO NOT CUT CALORIES below 1400 unless you are morbidly obese and can't walk.....your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to weight. Do some research on how Sumo Wrestlers gain their weight....they don't eat!!!
And give it at least 4 wks for your metabolism to kick in.
Totally agree about the first part of your post (diet soda may not have calories but those sweeteners are not good for you) except, can you post a medically or scientifically verified source that says your body will go into starvation mode? I've never been able to find one. I also couldn't find that sumo wrestler diet you mentioned, it sounds very interesting. Could you post a link?
Don't bother looking up any sumo wrestler diet. NOBODY gains weight by not eating. To gain weight (fat, not water weight, obviously), you have to eat more calories than you burn. Period.0 -
To address the original question, gradually bringing down your calories as already suggested may help.
You might also want to play with meal timing and amounts, which don't matter as far as actual weight loss, but can make a difference to how hungry you feel. Some people like to eat small meals frequently. Others do better skipping meals and then having more to eat later on (me - I skip breakfast and like having a bigger dinner). Try both methods for a couple of days each, see which works better for you.0 -
Try gradually lowering your calorie goals.
Try spreading your meals throughout the day. It won't do anything to your metabolism, but it may help with your satiety. If you normally have a bowl of cereal and an orange for breakfast, maybe eat the cereal at the normal time and have the orange halfway between breakfast and lunch.
Try eating more fats and especially proteins. They may make you feel full longer.
Try drinking water when you first get hungry. Sometimes thirst feels like hunger. Drink a cup of water and if you're still hungry ten or fifteen minutes later, have a snack.
Don't worry, I got used to eating less after a week. It may take longer for you but you do adapt.0 -
Increase Protein, protein, protein - the miracle ingredient for not getting hungry. Make sure you eat some at every meal.
Increase your vegetable intake - lots - again the fibre helps with satiety - and you can eat heaps...
Less carbs than you would normally eat.....
And try and eliminate any sodas etc....
Fruit is great - in moderation - not more than 3 portions a day at the most
Starting the day with protein rather than carbs really turned things around for me - my goto is an omelette - 1 egg and a quarter cup egg whites (about 6 egg whites)0 -
I think it takes time to get used to it. Maybe you're going to low too fast. Your body will get used to it. But I do know what you mean, if I just try to jump into my lowest calorie level after not dieting I feel super hungry. But now I eat 1200 and feel fine. Just keep logging those calories, logging actually really does help.
This is my experience; I'm 5'2" and when I started tracking I did the same thing -- just looked at how much I was consuming. I could pack away ~3000 - 4000 calories on an average day, it was nuts.
Eventually I worked down to 2500, and then gradually from there to 1800, with an eye on avoiding foods that I know leave me hungry/wanting. I also used to drink a lot of coffee/tea when I wanted to snack. For a couple weeks it was pretty rough, but you do adapt and stop feeling hungry so often.0 -
Protein intake is too low. Eat a high protein diet and I guarantee you won't be hungry. I am cutting right now, active male, and eat 1350 cals on rest days and have trouble finishing... that's 10 egg whites, 12 ounces of steak, ~1 lb of mashed potatoes. Workout day is still lower than your calorie intake and consists of 10 egg whites, 2 turkey burgers (1 with 2 patties, total of 1 1/4 lb turkey meat), ~1 lb of rice. It is nearly impossible to finish all of that without feeling completely stuffed. Hope that helps.0
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Make a big pot of vegetable soup and keep it in your fridge. It's great to add it to meals to round them out or to grab as a snack when you are extra hungry. Minimal calorie damage!0
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Hi, I'm trying to lose weight by lowering my caloric intake and being more active. Before deciding to be more healthy, I counted my calories for just over a week, and I consume ~2,300 every day. (I'm a 5'7" girl). I would like to reduce that number, but I've found it quite difficult.
I've been eating pretty healthy (I eat either oatmeal or hard boiled eggs for breakfast, tons of fruits and veggies, no fried foods, etc), but I've found that even though my food choices are healthier, I'm still eating the same amount of calories. Whenever I try to get down to the 1,600-1,800 range, I feel deprived. I've tried drinking more water and eating more 'filling' foods, but no more than a couple of hours later, I'm hungry again.
Please help?
Did you set MFP to lose 1 pound a week? How much does it tell you to eat? Remember with MFP you eat the set amount of calories plus more when you exercise.0 -
Some amount of hunger is normal when deficit eating, too. I agree with all the advice but I think even if you load up on veggies and water and protein and all else, if you're used to 2300 calories and drop to 1600, you're going to experience some hunger, at least at first. And that's ok. Being famished all day is not. Being anxious for dinner is.0
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I eat a LOT of vegetables. You can eat a huge volume of them without consuming that many calories. Half a kilo of broccoli is only around 150 calories, 6 cups of baby lettuce blend is 60 calories, etc. Use that to your advantage.0
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Last but not least.....DO NOT CUT CALORIES below 1400 unless you are morbidly obese and can't walk.....your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to weight. Do some research on how Sumo Wrestlers gain their weight....they don't eat!!!
And give it at least 4 wks for your metabolism to kick in.
I have not found this to be the case for me. I exercise and I am typically doing 1200-1300 calorie days and I have been losing nearly 4 pounds per week. (I also was sick for four days, so that helped)0 -
Last but not least.....DO NOT CUT CALORIES below 1400 unless you are morbidly obese and can't walk.....your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to weight. Do some research on how Sumo Wrestlers gain their weight....they don't eat!!!
And give it at least 4 wks for your metabolism to kick in.http://www.kitchentablemedicine.com/are-you-on-the-sumo-wrestler-diet/
This shows how they skip meals to keep weight on.
I certainly don't advocate under-eating, and think very few people need to eat 1200 calories/day, but I think the article in the link forgot to mention that they eat 15-20,000 calories a DAY as well. I don't think delaying breakfast until 11am is what made them fat.0
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