How hungry do you need to feel?

Since you have a medical issue, seek your doctor's help. He or she can point you to a solution that's appropriate for you. Sure, I get hungry sometimes, but not to the extent of feeling faint or ill.

I would appreciate any advice.

You could open your diary and make it public if you'd like more specific advice. But here goes:

(1) TELL YOUR DOCTOR THAT YOU FELT THAT SICK
(2) You may need to be more stingy on what you "spend" your calories on. 1800 is a lot of calories. If you spread it out throughout the day on nutrient dense food, that should be enough to prevent hunger pains that are so bad you have a headache.

Just for instance, maybe you need to make sure you're not drinking any of your calories (as in, don't drink fruit juice, eat some actual fruit. And definitely don't drink sodas with calories).

Edit to add: I lost 100 lbs without ever being hungry for one minute. I was never, ever hungry. If I was indeed hungry, I ate something. I just chose WHAT I ate very, very carefully.

Sounds like a blood sugar issue to me too. Doctor first.

In general, I have found that an occasional rush of light-headed-ness with some minor hunger pangs here and there is the "zone" I need to be in to see progress. 97.5% of the time I feel just fine.

Sounds like a blood sugar issue to me too. Doctor first.

In general, I have found that an occasional rush of light-headed-ness with some minor hunger pangs here and there is the "zone" I need to be in to see progress. 97.5% of the time I feel just fine.

Pretty much this. None of what the OP described sounded 'normal' or familiar to me which makes me think it is indeed a health concern related to the issues OP has.

I've been eating between 1300-1400 calories for most of the last year, I am a 5'8" woman and for me this hasn't been a problem. I did have a few experiences with feeling "hangry" (hungry/angry/out of sorts) by 5:30 PM when I was eating a smaller 300-cal lunch so I started upping it to 400-500 and I'm good. Like others mentioned, don't drink calories and if you really do need to spread out your meals more to avoid nighttime hunger, give it a shot.

Good luck, OP!

Yeah.. that seems more of a medical question than a general weight loss and healthy lifestyle question but... for me... I get little twinges.... where I feel like I might be sort of hungry... but I typically eat every 3 hours or so... so generally if its not time to eat... or its after dinner... I'll drink some water or hot tea and it'll go away. I also notice after eating something sugary... it makes it worse... like say after my mid-morning snack which is usually fruit... so I definately know to ignore those "twinges" and drink some water... and I'm fine.

I just looked at your diary. You are diabetic? You need to cut out the sugary sodas. Coke Zero or Diet Coke if you need soda. I do Coke Zero. No calories and no sugar. You also seem to eat a lot of sugary sweets like ice cream and candy bars. They too are loaded with sugar that you should not be eating as a diabetic. You should really consider tracking your sugar if you are trying to beat diabetes.

I feel your pain. I am trying to lose weight and get healthy at the same time. I have been gone from here for too long. Had a very rough year last year but I am picking up the pieces and moving on. I too am pre-diabetic. I also have high blood pressure. When you have health issues you really have to just take a moment, step back and think. Do you want to eat sweets? Or do you want to get rid of diabetes? An occasional sweet treat is not bad. Occasional means special occasions like holidays, birthdays, or anniversaries. Not every day. Not once a week. Diabetes is reversible if you are willing to do the work. There are some foods that I love but I am not willing to live off of medications for the rest of my life. I am taking back control of my life. I will lose the weight. I will get off the medications. And I will be healthy again. You just have to get your mind right about where you are and where you want to be.

I opened up my diary.

There's no judgement here. This is a judgement free zone.

I know you enjoy the regular coke. But instead of the regular coke, you could for now try to drink something with fewer calories. You're doing a good job, and everyone is proud of you. But that 250 calories could have gone to food that would nourish you could have eaten a big healthy snack closer to bedtime. And you probably wouldn't have felt so sick. This is an obvious choice, in my opinion:

Drink coke, feel like *kitten* at the end of the day. vs. Not drink coke, have 250 calories left at the end of the day for a snack that will fill my belly.

I know what choice I personally would make. I love Mountain Dew. Drank a 2L every day for a year. Went from 180 to 240 lbs. I wonder why?

Also, walking every day is a great way to start getting healthy, so keep it up! Great job so far taking control of your health!

Love this, love an extra 250 calories in my belly more!!!! :-)

A couple of possibly easy changes (?):

Eat leaner meats and more vegetables. For example, 6 ounces of grilled/roasted chicken breast with a BIG side of a non-starchy vegetable (spinach, broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, romaine) and 1/2 cup of brown rice would probably be more volume and more sustaining for the same amount of calories. This meal would be about 300-350 calories.

On a 1,200 calorie diet I eat 6 times a day. Two "bigger" meals that use up about 50% of my calories. The other 50% is divided equally between the other 4 "meals". I'm eating every 2.5-3.5 hours and I'm usually not hungry. This helps to keep sugar levels even rather than having spikes around big meals.

My mom is diabetic and completely controls her sugar levels my reducing carbs/sugars and when eating a carb it needs to be natural and nutrient rich (sweet potato, long-grain rice, oatmeal). ALWAYS pair protein and carbs together. Your body will process carbs "better" if it is paired with a protein.

I do a lower carb/higher protein diet and some days I struggle to eat my calories because vegetables have TONS of nutrients, take up a lot of space, and when paired with a protein the fiber will keep you full for a long time. I'm not talking a NO carb diet. Just lower carbs and those carbs from nutrient rich sources.

Following this approach, I'm 60 pounds lighter than my heaviest weight.

I agree with most of the posts here. I think you are on a low/high blood glucose level roller coaster. I have been through them, because I am a diabetic, and did not know how to manage it.

I know you said you are diagnosed as insulin resistant, and MOST PROBABLY you were diagnosed as such because your morning/fasting blood glucose level was higher than 6.5, which then would also follow with Metformin medication. If you just google that, you will see that it has to do with your liver (as in most cases).

The easiest thing to do, as I do now, is to reduce the amount of foods that are high in sugar like COKE, Ice Cream etc. This is just to help you manager your glucose (sugar) levels. Please try sugar free drinks instead.

Also, you don't need to be on a 1200 cal diet. You can follow MFP guidelines, and just make sure you balance your food with protein, Carbs (more veggies like greens, squash, eggplant etc), you can of course have rice or pasta or whatever, but you will have to learn by trial and error, as to what is good amount for you to avoid sugar spikes. And also, fat is not bad if its in balance.

Finally, make sure you keep in mind that if you work out even a walk, it will bring your sugar levels DOWN. and which results in those shakings, headaches and an intense feeling to EAT. So again, have something ready to eat that is balanced to avoid that.

You can send a friend request, and I can certainly try to offer suggestions to help you. Also, you can join the Type 2 group on MFP. Lots of good information there.

Good luck, and please do not Give up. Reducing your weight will be the MOST effective tool against insulin resistance.

Lots of fair advice. one trick that i use to trick my stomach is to drink a lot of water, it really helps you feel like your not hungry and helps with weight loss to boot! water and snap peas(10-15) are generally enough to stave off hunger for me (snap peas are bitter and do well to put you off an appetite when combined with a 2-4 cups of water.)

that works for hunger pains, but not shaky hands blurred vision and general exhaustion. those just come with the territory of a caloric deficit and hard workouts, as your body acclimates these symptoms seem less sever.

At least that's the way I experience it.

Best of luck to you stay strong.

You are taking metformin, so clearly you have blood sugar issues, yet you are eating tons of carbs and drinking soda. My first guess is that you feel poorly because your diet is spiking your blood sugar, causing your body to produce a ton of insulin to compensate, which then rapidly depletes your blood glucose leading to low blood sugar.

You may be able to lose weight by eating 1800 calories of garbage, but if you want to feel good and improve overall health, what you put in your body matters. Has your doctor referred you to a dietician for counseling? If not, I would request a consult with one if possible, or start reading on how to eat to control your blood sugar.

As others have said, please check with your Dr. first. That said, here's what I would want in your food log - WATER - you need approx. 122 ounces of water a day. Not that bad if you break it down hourly. About 8 an hour for a 16 hour day. PROTEIN - I calculate you need about 147 ounces of lean protein a day. This will help with the hunger pains. It will keep you feeling fuller longer than sugar or carbs. Spread this out over the day (5 or 6 smaller meals) and include some high protein snacks. Your estimated Resting Metabolic rate is 2032. Shoot for eating about 200 under that (~1800) for a gradual, sustained weight loss. Again, see your Dr. first and make sure they approve of any changes - small or large!

Good luck!

I do not know what to do i am afraid to feel that ill again. so how hungry is normal when dieting?

I would appreciate any advice.

There really isn't any reason to feel hungry except right before meal time. With insulin resistant (which is usually what is meant by "pre-diabetic") you should strive for low net carb diet. Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber. So, they higher the fiber content of carbs, the more you can eat. Try to avoid foods or meals high in sugar and low in protein and fiber. This prevents a sharp rise and fall in blood sugar.

I agree that you really should discuss this with your doctor and perhaps ask for a referal to a nutritionist.

The American Diabetes Association site might also be helpful for you. Even though you don't have diabetes, the diet suggestions work well for insulin resistance.

http://www.diabetes.org/