Losing 'vanity pounds' - go hungry?

I totally understand. For a while in college I was still slim, but wanted to be a few pounds less to be happier with myself. I wasn't at a huge calorie deficit, but I felt like I was starving and would lie in bed and think about how badly I wanted to eat until I fell asleep or gave in. I was still eating a healthy amount of calories, so I wasn't actually starving, but I just felt hungry.

I've found that choosing the right foods lead to less hunger. I upped my protein intake and ate less carbs and it totally worked for me. Instead of a cereal for breakfast, I had a hardboiled egg or high protein yogurt with fruit or Turkey bacon. For dinner, I find that a lean cut of pork with broccoli or peas kept me full through the night.

Currently, I went through a weight gain from something very similar. I started a new job and treated my stress with the foods I craved and a few glasses of wine when I got home. I'm working on myself again and now that I know what to eat I almost never feel hungry, despite the fact that I'm at a serious calorie deficit.

I am in the same position as you. I generally come in around 1200-1500 a day, but I do not go hungry. If I ever have a craving I just eat fruit or a plain salad, it's barely any calories and you get some good vitamins.
I also eat a lot of dry fruit and nuts the calories are higher but they fill you up more and are long burners so you need less.
I still eat terrible foods like takeaways, cheese, bread and alcohol often. But I never go over 2000 a day. If I do, I exercise so I am back down to 2000 or preferably less.

Those last few pounds are going to come off VERY slowly, so starving yourself isn't the answer. It will just make you binge.

I'm older, shorter, and lighter than you are, and I can eat 2300 calories a day and create a deficit. 1500 sounds way too low--eat more. And as a pp said, lift some heavy weights. It will do more to get you the look you want than not eating.

Something you may want to consider is a bit of a revamp of your diet. I checked your macros for the last week or so and you're always going over carbs and under on fats and protein. The problem with this balance is that carby food tend to be processed quickly and leave you hungry while foods high in protein and healthy fats will keep you full much longer. Sure it seems there's an awful lot of calories in these foods but they're the kind of calories that should stick with you longer.

The great thing about logging is that you can take note of how certain foods affect you. Think about how you feel after certain meals - was it really filling and if not, how could you change it (add meat/legumes to salads, use full fat dressing or dairy, etc)

And although you're not necessarily looking to tone, weight training may be more beneficial to you than cardio alone. The more muscle you retain, the more calories you'll burn at rest and your body may develop the look you want because it'll be burning mostly fat. Something to consider.

ETA: Kettlebell work can help but a lot of that is more cardio/endurance work. The only class I know if that would be more strength training is Les Mills Body Pump but there could be others. Talk to the folks at the desk and see what they recommend.

Those last few pounds are going to come off VERY slowly, so starving yourself isn't the answer. It will just make you binge.

I'm older, shorter, and lighter than you are, and I can eat 2300 calories a day and create a deficit. 1500 sounds way too low--eat more. And as a pp said, lift some heavy weights. It will do more to get you the look you want than not eating.

^This. I'm trying to figure out why you are only eating 1500 calories per day. My base calories before exercise are more than that, and I'm also older, shorter, and lighter.

Have you calculated your TDEE? Are you weighing/measuring your food and liquids? Are you counting calories or looking at macros as well? I peeked at your diary and you are not getting enough protein and seem to be low on fat as well, which also contributes to being hungry.

Those last few pounds are going to come off VERY slowly, so starving yourself isn't the answer. It will just make you binge.

I'm older, shorter, and lighter than you are, and I can eat 2300 calories a day and create a deficit. 1500 sounds way too low--eat more. And as a pp said, lift some heavy weights. It will do more to get you the look you want than not eating.

^This. I'm trying to figure out why you are only eating 1500 calories per day. My base calories before exercise are more than that, and I'm also older, shorter, and lighter.

Have you calculated your TDEE? Are you weighing/measuring your food and liquids? Are you counting calories or looking at macros as well? I peeked at your diary and you are not getting enough protein and seem to be low on fat as well, which also contributes to being hungry.

Maybe she means netting 1500?

Try filling up on raw veggies.

I've never had to lose anything other than vanity pounds. But if you've been in a certain range all your life, a weight increase is very concerning. I need to be under 1200 to lose weight. Sometimes I am hungry. But more frequently and troublingly, I'll find myself eating when I'm not hungry. Granted, my caloric needs are low, so it doesn't take much for me to overeat.

I've found that choosing the right foods lead to less hunger. I upped my protein intake and ate less carbs and it totally worked for me.

It's true. If I eliminate sugar, alcohol, and excessive fats and carbs I'm there. Right now, I'm focusing on avoiding sweets. I've had a lot of stress and I can't go on a flat-out diet at the moment. (For me to make significant progress it helps for me to go on a very streamlined eating plan for a limited period.)

Im doing the same and I faced the same issue... I solved it by completely eliminating wheat/obvious carbs from my meals and plugging in protein... Just think, when you eat 150 cals of bread.... of how much longer 150 more cals of protein would keep you stuffed...
I also started taking a water bottle with me full of water, those instant iced tea baggies, or lemon pieces, and- voila, I began to drink more water, and consequently eat less!
I then read somewhere that if you eat the protein last during your meal, it keeps your appetite down for longer.,.. (not sure if that's even close to accurate, but i've found it works!)

I don't know what the official definition of "vanity pounds" is. But I assume it is someone who wants to lose weight mostly to look better and who doesn't have a BMI that is overweight.

I am female, 23, 5"9 and 150 lbs / 68 kgs. I used to be as slim as 128 lbs and although I don't need to go quite as low, I am uncomfortable at my current weight. I don't just want to be more toned, I want to be slimmer. I was always healthy before, but after some bad months of depression and unhealthy eating/drinking, I gained, and am now struggling to lose it.

It feels as though my body desperately wants to reach maintenance every day. I eat about 1500 calories, but I walk to and frm work burning about 300 calories each way, and I eat back about half of them. But my body wants more. I don't eat when I'm having cravings, I eat when I'm hungry. Of course I allow myself some wine and cheese because I don't want to punish myself and then go nuts (which I did in the past).

Those of you losing so-called "vanity pounds", do you feel like you sometimes need to go hungry to bed to get results?

Although some put the number higher, to me vanity pounds are 10 lb over ideal weight for your height. However, when I started the weight loss portion of my fitness journey, many would have considered any weight to be lost as vanity because I was still within the healthy range for my age and height. I was right on the the high edge of the range, have gone just below ideal and heading quickly to the low end. I'm 54, 5'1", and currently 111.2 lb. Many claim that losing vanity pounds is difficult. I don't think it is anymore difficult other than not having extra weight to help boost the caloric burn. For example, a person who is 50 lb over ideal weight is going to burn a lot more calories than someone 5 lb over ideal weight doing the same exercise at the same intensity for the same amount of time. Unlike many, I have not experienced a weight loss plateau. Losing vanity weight means you really need to pay attention to your calorie deficit and reset your weight loss goal to 0.5 lb per week.

A 300 calorie burn for walking may be high. How far is it to work? Are you using a pedometer with calories burnt? If not, you may be overestimating your calorie burn so eating more than you should. Studies have shown that giving into your cravings can result in increased success at weight loss so portion control what you are craving, enjoy and factor it into your daily calories. If you are craving carbs, especially those with simple sugars, increasing your probiotics will help. You can do this by eating yogurt with active bacteria, fermented foods or taking a probiotic supplement. Both wine and cheese are calorie dense foods. If you want to include them in your diet while losing weight you will have to do so in moderation and definitely weigh the cheese. If you haven't started with weights, they are really the best way to go as far as toning and shaping. If you don't want to or can't go to a gym, buy dumbbells and a kettlebell then get free exercise videos on YouTube. I also recommend adding a resistance band to work on strength training. Both the weights and resistance will help maintain muscle while shaping and toning AND burning a few calories to boot.

You are so not alone! I go between 133 and 134 pounds, and I've been losing extremely slowly (like one pound a month) because I'm just so hungry (I had to increase my goal to 1800 but even then, I go over quite a bit, and still go to bed hungry half the time). And I've increased my activity by quite a bit too, but nope... not bulging.

I think one of the issues too is that as you get smaller, you get more active, and it's harder to judge exactly how many calories you are burning during the day... at least for me. I'm on my feet much more than I used to, I'm on the stationary bike over an hour a day, I walk, I lift weights (not heavy heavy, but 20 to 45 pounds dumbbells)... I just have no idea what my TDEE is anymore.

Im exactly the same, I feel like the more or longer I work out - The more I want to eat.

So some nights I have stopped myself going to the gym, had a nice chilled out evening & just eaten less??

I go over the gym burn loads of calories, Come home starving & just want to eat - Seems silly!

I think with our height we probably need to eat a little under our TDEE, and not eat back the calories burned/ maybe half??