How to deal with ravenous hungry after upping calories?

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?
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Replies

  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Did you change your diet in any way when you upped calories? If so it might be a craving rather than hunger.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Nope. Same foods.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Nope. Same foods.

    Sorry, that's all I got then. Strange! You'd think you'd be fuller, not hungrier.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    I know right?

    I literally only raised it 50 calories at a time LOL.
    But this was my first time raising it at all.

    Unless its un-related, and more related to yesterdays meal?

    I ate one big meal at a restaurant, and that was it other than small insignificant snacks.
    ( But I do eat out every other week or so for dinner, so thats not new really either )

    But I was totally fine up until 30 minutes ago. It just suddenly hit me.

    Either way, Im afraid that it'll happen if I up my calories anyway, regardless of the reason, so just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this and if it went away.

    I dealt with this issue when I first started losing weight.
    Now almost a year later its back? :(
  • Amwhite1986
    Amwhite1986 Posts: 194 Member
    It should pass in a week or so. When it happened to me I just drank a lot more water to try and fend off the hunger till it eventually passed and my appetite got under control.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Okay. I'm glad it will pass.
    I really dislike the feeling!

    I need to buy lots more sparkling water ;)
    The fizzy stuff helps me feel full.

    Will it pass in about a week despite that I will be upping them for the next 3 weeks?
  • You increased calories equally. Increase your protein intake to suppress hunger. Try eating 1g of protein per pound of weight you have.

    If you weigh 130lbs eat 130g of protein.
  • Okay. I'm glad it will pass.
    I really dislike the feeling!

    I need to buy lots more sparkling water ;)
    The fizzy stuff helps me feel full.

    Will it pass in about a week despite that I will be upping them for the next 3 weeks?

    Thie fizz also expands your stomach, one of your indicators of how full you are is stomach expansion. The more you stretch your stomach, the more food you will eat to feel full.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    You increased calories equally. Increase your protein intake to suppress hunger. Try eating 1g of protein per pound of weight you have.

    If you weigh 130lbs eat 130g of protein.

    Been trying to up protein.
    Today was actually a high protein day for me, too
  • You increased calories equally. Increase your protein intake to suppress hunger. Try eating 1g of protein per pound of weight you have.

    If you weigh 130lbs eat 130g of protein.

    Been trying to up protein.
    Today was actually a high protein day for me, too

    Looks like you hit your calorie goal.

    I have noticed for me atleast, protein shakes digest quickler than solid protein food choices.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Yeah. I did. Thankfully. But Im still dying to eat, just trying to ignore it for now. :B
  • Yeah. I did. Thankfully. But Im still dying to eat, just trying to ignore it for now. :B

    How much do you weigh?
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    I currently weigh 111.
    My goal was 110 but one pound isnt going to make a difference.

    So, I started upping calories yesterday ( only by like 50 at a time to be very gradual ) and hope to make it to maintenance by like the 13th or something. Which I believe is like 1463 calories or something like that. ( Im short. )
  • I currently weigh 111.
    My goal was 110 but one pound isnt going to make a difference.

    So, I started upping calories yesterday ( only by like 50 at a time to be very gradual ) and hope to make it to maintenance by like the 13th or something. Which I believe is like 1463 calories or something like that. ( Im short. )
    It's to soon to tell anything. You only been at it one day. How many calories where you eating to lose weight?
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    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?
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
    I haven't read all the replies, so apologies if I repeat something... I find if my calories are low for a little while (due to stress or being busy and just not very hungry, etc.) my body then will become really hungry. So maybe it's your body's way of saying it wants more food? Or maybe it wants different foods? That might sound strange, but I went through a phase where nothing I ate would satiate me. Then I upped my healthy fat intake, but not my calories, and I felt much more satisfied. Don't forget, hunger is your body's way of sending you a message. You just need to figure out what that message is.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    I haven't read all the replies, so apologies if I repeat something... I find if my calories are low for a little while (due to stress or being busy and just not very hungry, etc.) my body then will become really hungry. So maybe it's your body's way of saying it wants more food? Or maybe it wants different foods? That might sound strange, but I went through a phase where nothing I ate would satiate me. Then I upped my healthy fat intake, but not my calories, and I felt much more satisfied. Don't forget, hunger is your body's way of sending you a message. You just need to figure out what that message is.

    Well. Ive been craving nothing but chocolate lately LOL.
    I keep eating the nature valley dark chocolate bars but they dont seem to satisfy.
  • 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.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    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
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    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!
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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.
  • 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
    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
    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.
  • 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
    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
    do you think when you ate less your stomach shrank? and then when you increased your food, that good benefit left you?