When to increase daily calorie intake?

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Hello -

I have been eating 1200-1300 calories a day since December. I have lost 20 pounds so far. In the past two weeks, i have increased strength training to 50% of my workouts
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Now, i'm starting to realize i'm having problems with hunger control. Before, i would never feel my stomach grumble during the day. Is this a sign that i need to up my calories? When do you know to do that?

I eat 100g of protein a day also.

Thanks!

Replies

  • emirandah
    emirandah Posts: 23 Member
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    I started at 1200 calories a day, and I was going crazy trying not to "cheat". In the past month, I've raised my calories to between 1350-1400, and I feel a lot better. Try raising by a small increment for a week or two, and see how you feel. Especially if you are weight training, you should continue to lose weight.
  • Hansonian
    Hansonian Posts: 78 Member
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    I basically agree with emirandah. If I were you, I would raise my calories by about 200, track all of my calories really closely for a month and then weigh yourself to see if you need to adjust that number. However, if you do raise your calories, I personally like to only eat those additional calories in raw fruits and veggies (so 2 extra bananas a day or X amount of carrots, etc). That way you know that you're getting the right kind of nutrition for your body and you won't be tempted to eat a piece of cake to fill in that extra 200 cal.

    One last thing, I used to be really hungry on a 1200 cal diet but I've found that when I space out my eating into 6 small meals (each 200 cal) a day, I am rarely hungry anymore. I'm not sure if you already do that, but it might be worth a try! :)

    Good luck!