New to MFP, Is this what skinny people feel like all the tim

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pdub1985
pdub1985 Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone,

My fiance and I started MFP about two weeks ago in hopes to get "skinny" by our wedding day (about 5 months away). Neither one of us are obese by any means, but we certainly aren't in great shape either. I used to be a brick mason where I pretty much worked out for 8 hours a day, and ate everything in site.

About three years ago I left the construction scene and started my new job as an IT tech, where my eatting habbits didn't change, actually it got worse. So several years later of sitting on my butt fixing computers and 60 pounds heavier, ive lost alot of muscle, and put on some unwanted pounds. I've started excersizing three times a week, stopped smoking, and improved the meals I eat during the day. The one BIG problem i've noticed since the change in eatting habits is im ALWAYS hungery. I replaced my breakfast (7am) with a slimfast, which keeps me pretty full till about 10am, where I have a snack of yogurt /w an orange or banana. I then have lunch around 11:30am which consists of 1-cup raw broccoli, 1-cup cauliflower, 1-cup carrots and maybe a can of tuna. That will keep me moderately satisfied till about 1pm when I get EXTREMELY hungery. I usually wait till about 2pm and have a slimfast which keeps me even more full than the vegetables till about 3pm where I eat a protein bar for fuel while working out from 3-4:45pm. I then have dinner around 6:30pm which usually consists of a chicken breast and a cup of rice, and steamed vegetable. Oh and don't forget the 8-10 cups of water I drink everyday. This is usually around 1200-1600 calories a day, which is in line with my goal.

The hardest thing for me is I am trying to keep to my 1600 calorie goal and not eat to much. Am I the only one that is ALWAYS hungery? Is this how it feels to be skinny? Geez, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I could eat a horse right now! I was however pleasantly surprised at how well the slimfast shakes work, they honestly keep you pretty satisfied till your next meal. If you haven't tried one, I would suggest the french vanilla, yum!

Any thoughts, comments on keeping full while eatting less would be a great help :D. I have even started taking Hydroxycut /w Hoodia to try and curve my appetite - but those things seem to do nothing >.>

Thanks!

Paul

Replies

  • bjmk19047
    bjmk19047 Posts: 123
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    Hi Paul -- Drink water to fill you up some. Healthy snacks. I keep 100 calorie snack packs of stuff at my desk.
  • MrsBrosco
    MrsBrosco Posts: 295
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    Your hungry because your hardly eating anything! You need to quit with the slimfast shakes, your mind is screaming at you to eat. When you only drink your calories your brain is always going to tell you your hungry because you are never chewing on anything. I would totaly replace the morning shake with a high protein/fiber cereal with skim milk in the morning.

    Good luck!
  • MrsBrosco
    MrsBrosco Posts: 295
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    P.S.
    typically men need more calories than a woman in a day as they have a higher metabolism to begin with (most times).
  • kendradl
    kendradl Posts: 595 Member
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    Your 1600 calories, does that include your exercise?
  • cflorkie
    cflorkie Posts: 92 Member
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    no, I'm not hungry all the time. Sometimes I only eat 600 cals on the "slow" (bad) days, most days I hover between 1000-1200. I'm here to try and get the enough cals, It's hard for me sometimes.

    I think your stomach gets used to having less food. Try making choices that fill you up more. Like instead of having chips or cookies for a snack have peanut butter and toast.

    good luck reaching your goal, and congrats on the wedding! that's so exciting!! :flowerforyou:
  • Jbonar
    Jbonar Posts: 29 Member
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    If you are truly hungry - EAT! Not all calories are created equal. Make sure you are getting a balance of protein and carbs. Higher fiber foods will also make you feel fuller as well. Remember MFP calculates your deficit so the you should be eating all the calories it suggests. Exercise for extra calories and try eating those too.
  • usmcpatience
    usmcpatience Posts: 168
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    Use the "earned" calories from exercise!

    Not only is it incentive to exercise more, but it is also NEEDED!

    You see, the "earned" calories you get from exercise are not EXTRA calories.
    They help make up the deficit.

    For instance, say you are supposed to eat 1200 calories a day according to MFP. That is 1200 calories if you sit on your butt all day long. If you work out, say you burn of 600 calories in a day...if you don't EAT those earned 600 calories from exercise, you're only running on 600 calories a day. That's not healthy and will make you VERY hungry! So, if you earn calories from exercise...EAT them!

    I'm not gonna lie. I get hungry a lot too. I've found that if I don't let myself snack in between lunch and dinner I'm starving, grumpy, and ready to throw this whole diet out the window! So, find some awesome healthy snacks. Yogurt, cottage cheese, 90 calorie granola bars, wheat thins, etc.

    Also, I've recently comed to accept the fact that it is okay to have a bad day every once in a while. Not to say I go eat a cheeseburger every day, but if you go over your caloric goal one day out of the month...Don't beat yourself up about it. Just pick up and start over the next day. It's taken me a little while to accept this, but once I did...I found it much easier to make it through the day. That being said, I've not gone over my calorie goal yet! Just the pure knowledge that if I did, I could pick back up tomorrow, was motivation enough for me to keep going.

    I hope you lose the weight you want. Congrats on your engagement, and I'm sure you'll look great on your wedding day!
  • breezydowell
    breezydowell Posts: 7
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    I would try to include protein with every meal. It has helped me tremendously! Try unroasted peanut butter, walnuts and other unroasted nuts those are also good fats. You might want to change your slimfast to a different protein shake because it has a lot of sugar in it, if you look at the ingredients sugar is up there. That could be causing you to be soo hungry because of the sugar.
    Try changing some of those things and see how it goes. Keep up the good work!
  • laurenbausch
    laurenbausch Posts: 146
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    My wedding is in 1 month exactly! I've lost a pretty good amount so far. He proposed back in October, and the wedding is Feb. 19. My advice to you is too avoid junk food. . .Keep it out of your house at all costs. If you like to go out to eat, like I do, guess-timate calories. You know that queso at the mexican restaurant is bad! Eat salsa instead. . .Or with chinese food, go for chicken with brocolli instead of sesame chicken. Avoid fried rice, and eat lots of veggies. You can do this! If you both do this together, it will be much easier. My fiance' lost 13 lbs.!
  • usmcpatience
    usmcpatience Posts: 168
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    Your hungry because your hardly eating anything! You need to quit with the slimfast shakes, your mind is screaming at you to eat. When you only drink your calories your brain is always going to tell you your hungry because you are never chewing on anything. I would totaly replace the morning shake with a high protein/fiber cereal with skim milk in the morning.

    Good luck!

    She's right. Not to mention the fact that slimfast shakes really aren't good for you at all. The minute you STOP drinking those shakes, almost everyone gains EVERYTHING back. Cop-out shakes, bars, etc, are actually a pretty bad habit to get into. They don't teach you how to eat right. They make you hungry, inhibit the learning process, and drain your body of energy!
  • Teemo
    Teemo Posts: 338
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    When I'm eating 1,400-1,600 calories per day I'm not hungry all the time. I just got used to it after a while. At the same time, when I'm eating 3,000 calories per day I'm not full all the time. I just got used to it.

    Transitioning from 3,000 --> 1,600, or vice-versa, was tough. That's why it pays to be consistent; if I ate 1,600 calories 6 days a week but then had a 3,000 calorie meal on Sunday I would be STARVING on Monday.
  • CMcBryer
    CMcBryer Posts: 139 Member
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    Eat food not slimfast shakes, don't forget to eat some or all of your exercise calories back, and never eat less than 1200 calories. I eat all day long and sometimes I have a hard time hitting 1500 calories. Eat things that are calorically sparse.
  • sairanasir
    sairanasir Posts: 54 Member
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    Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

    i would suggest you eat three egg white omelette with veggies for breakfast and 2 slices of whole wheat 45 calories toast with a cup of tea. it keeps you pretty full. Good Luck:smile::smile:
  • DiamondRubyMom
    DiamondRubyMom Posts: 147 Member
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    Paul,
    I applaud your efforts to eat so many veggies but maybe your over doing it. Try incorporating more protein and fats in your diet. Maybe a egg or something. Proteins are important to gain back any of the muscle you said you lost. I know fat is a dirty word but they are also important. There are some nutrients you can only get through fats. Protein and fat also take longer for your body to digest so they make you feel fuller longer. Unfortunately early on some hunger is expect as your stomach (the organ not your belly) literally needs to shrink to get use to eat less at one time. Overeating stretches out our stomaches. Then when we diet they feel empty. As your stomach shrinks less food will be needed to help you feel full. God's blessings for you as you attempt to return to a healthy weight.
  • pdub1985
    pdub1985 Posts: 3
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    My 1600 calories does not include my workouts. I usually excersize for 45 min doing intervals - Run for 3 min @ 6mph, Walk for 3 min @ 3.8 mph /w incline @ 1. I was told that you burn more calories raising and lowering your heart rate throughout your workout by a trainer at my work. I actually just found out today that while the calorie "meter" on the treadmills at our work are set for a 150lb person, so ive been putting in burned 400calories when Im about 90lbs heavier.. so I have a feeling im burning close to 600-700 calories! :sick:
  • Alegria79
    Alegria79 Posts: 133 Member
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    Paul, when I was looking at your "average day food" I noticed that it's very low in complex carbohydrates and reasonably low in protein. The dinner looks good (chicken, brown rice and vegetables), but lunch is just veggies and maybe tuna.

    Perhaps the reason you find the slim fast shake filling is that they contain 13 g of protein and 39 g of carbs, which you aren't necessarily getting at lunch. That may be contributing to the reason you're very hungry in the early afternoon (lack of complex carbs and protein at lunch).

    Slimfast shakes are also very high in sugar (33g), which may cause a bit of a spike/drop issue.

    I know some people are "anti carbohydrates" when trying to lose weight, but our bodies need them, and especially if you're working out, you might want to think about adding more brown rice, whole grain breads or crackers, etc, to lunch. You may also want to add almonds or other protein to your yogurt snack.

    These are just some ideas based on my own experiences with a lack of complex carbohydrates - when I'm lacking them I get starving within a couple of hours of eating a meal!

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