Almost Always Hungry

duckiec
duckiec Posts: 241 Member
in Motivation and Support
Ok, so I'm over a year into this updated lifestyle. I've done eveything from 1200 to not counting, full on breaks to stay right on track. I've lost over 50lbs, am a heck of a lot fitter, but every day, I'm (almost) always hungry!

I'm getting 100g of protein, minimum and eating 1600-2500+ calories/day - less during the week, more on weekends, but I work out more on weekends, too. According to FitBit, my TDEE is 2000-2600, so it's not a ridiculous deficit. I work out almost every day, mixture of strength and cardio (running, Zumba). And more importantly, the days I DO eat more, I don't feel any more satisified.

Doesn't matter though, I finish some food, I'm already looking for some more. I can usually hold off, but that feeling doesn't go away. On days where I decide not to track, or to be fairly free, I still eat reasonable portions (I wouldn't consider it binging) but could eat constantly and still never be satisfied. I finished a huge meal Sat nite, and on the walk home was like "ooh I want chocolate!"

I do, sort-of, get full, and usually stop then. But it doesn't last long- I'm constantly thinking about, planning for, and figuring out what's to eat next.

I was hoping that about now, with only 10lbs or so left to go, I could start to work toward more intuitive eating... when I'm hungry, within reason what I want (though keeping an eye on that protein macro), and stop when done. But I feel more focused on food than ever before, especially because I can't seem to not feel hungry.

Any tips?

Replies

  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    drink lots of water, often times your body confuses thirst with hunger, this has made a pretty big difference for me

    This is a strange method that I have come up with for me, not sure if it would work for you, but once I start eating for the day I want to keep eating, therefore I push breakfast back as far as I can, most days I don't eat it until 5 hours after I have gotten out of bed, for some reason hunger does not bother me in the morning
  • pianolover2012
    pianolover2012 Posts: 168 Member
    As a person with Celiac, I understand your problem. I have been diagnosed now for about 12 months and my body is still trying to heal. I have cravings and sometimes have to add additional nutrients to my menu. I say that to explain that your body may be missing certain nutrients and therefore often "feels hungry". I am not a doctor, but I know that even after eating naturally and avoiding the processed things that I used to eat, I still feel hungry due to my deficiencies. Make sure your are taking a good multi-vitamin along with plenty of water and healthy foods. You may want to switch up what you are tracking on MFP to ensure that you are getting the recommended doses. Add extra protein and be sure to drink plenty of fluids (water). Keep plugging along- you can do it!
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    You may want to increase your fat a bit and lower the carbs to compensate. I found when I went on a low fat diet I was always hungry.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    So here's my take on this. You're over a year into your "updated lifestyle". I assume that before this update, you didn't really think about what/how much you were eating and just ate, yes? If you think about it, that's a whole lifetime of eating a certain way which of course we do multiple times a day. Even though it's been more than a year, those old habits and relationships with food are still there and we still need to work on them, probably forever. I am about 2.5 years into my lifestyle change and I still need to work on things daily. My 28 years of having a certain relationship with food will not just go away, and I quickly learned the true meaning of this when I went into maintenance and thought I could chill out on watching what I ate.

    Just my 2 cents!
  • duckiec
    duckiec Posts: 241 Member
    Thanks! And funny you should mention, 4legsRbettert - I do that with my breakfast, too! I get up at 4am, workout, get the kids ready and commute, and don't eat anything until I'm sitting at my desk- usually around 9:30-10. I sort of figure if I'm gonna be hungry anyway, might as well draw it out a bit, so my next snack is that much closer.

    I do drink water constantly, too- 64oz is the absolute minimum (I fill up and empty my Naglene 2x a day, plus decaf tea, protein shakes etc) so I've got that covered... maybe I need to take a look at fat. I only really pay attention to my protein macro, and make sure I get 100-120g/daily. but I don't specifically go after macros for fat, and carbs add themselves up quickly enough. My fat is usually fairly low, since a lot of my protein is fat-free or low-fat greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and turkey/chicken. Now, to figure out how to add fat w/o too many calories, hmmmm.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    First off, congratulations on the incredible job you are doing!

    I agree with trying changing up your fats/carbs ratio. Fats are satiating, so getting more of them will likely help.

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