hunger during first few weeks normal?

I don't know about normal. Can only speak for myself. I wasn't hungry at all really and still am not. I do try to have regular snacks between my bigger meals and I try to add a lot of volume foods, so I think that helps. By volume I mean I can eat a lot of veggies for few calories which helps me feel I'm getting more and keeping my tummy more full. I also try to avoid empty calories...I want to go for value/satiation from my calories....aside from my weakness of creamer in my morning coffee (lose 60-90 cals per day to that), I try to get some substance from my calories.

Yes, you are used to a calorie surplus (or you would not need to lose weight)... Essentially, your body is consuming itself for the energy it needs. Hunger is not unusual. It will get better. You can try eating a higher quantity of low calorie foods (vegetables in particular) which means you can eat more with less caloric intake... That may help. Best wishes. It does get better. Stick with it. The end is worth the journey.

I'm not sure if the gym is a new thing or something you were doing before you started using MFP, but starting to exercise will certainly stimulate the appetite. Lowering calories from where they were before does, naturally but even the act of counting them and thus thinking about food more stimulates the appetite for me. If I am eating few calories accidentally, but not logging it, I feel a lot less hungry, generally, than when I am being very mindful and aware. That might become less pronounced an effect over time.

From a small glance at your diary, it looks like on just one or two days, your carbs were maybe a little on the low side? Not dangerously so, and it might be what you're going for with your specific plan but that of course could be having an impact. Also, you seem to be eating a relatively small proportion of your calories for breakfast, usually? I found that eating a large portion of my calories at breakfast helped a lot with having energy throughout the day. I would usually eat about 450-500 at breakfast when I was eating about 1300. Overall, you seem like you're doing the right things, eating snacks and eating back your exercise calories. I echo the sentiment of being kind to yourself and take things slowly. Eating little and often can help some people with the hunger pangs, but other people find that having three larger meals and not snacking fills them up longer. Experiment within your calorie budget and see what feels best.

Yes, part of it is that it takes a two or three weeks to adjust to eating differently. Try eating more food while still staying below your deficit. Also keep in mind that the scale and body do not always work together. You might have some weeks with no loss and two weeks in a row with a happy loss. Be patient. And treat yourself with kindness.

I agree with all of this. Make sure you are eating all of the calories you are allotted and also make sure you don't have MFP set too aggressively. I made that mistake in the beginning and had it set as a 2 lb/week loss when I was planning to lose 30 lbs. I should have set it for 1 lb/week off the bat, but hindsight is 20/20 and all of that.. Also, in the beginning it helped me to fill up on really low calorie stuff while I got used to eating less, like having a big salad with dinner loaded with lettuce, broccoli, peppers, tomato and other low calorie veg. You end up eating a ton of volume for few calories.

It took me a good few weeks to stop feeling the hunger pains. When you're used to overeating (like the majority of us probably did), its bound to take time to get used to eating actual 'proper' servings. Keep up with it and it will all be worth it in the long run.

I found (and still do) that if I'm hungry...I'll have a glass of water and it will keep me going for a bit longer.
xx

Me too. Took about 2 weeks to adjust, and then it went away. I rarely get really hungry now.

To distract myself I drank lots of tea, read a lot. Pretty much anything to take my mind off the fact that I was just about ready to eat my notebook at my desk while I worked. And I work from home next to the kitchen so the temptation was extreme.