I'm always hungry

becess96
becess96 Posts: 57 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 5'8 170 lbs trying to lose 20 lbs before 2015 and I'm trying to stick with 1400-1500 calories a day, and when I'll start Insanity I'll eat a little bit more. I tried eating 6 small meals and even 3 meals but still I'm always hungry. I ate a chicken salad at lunch about 20 minutes ago and I feel my stomach making all kind of noise lol. Do you have any advice ? Also, does it matter if you eat 3 or 6 meals a day in terms of fat loss ? I'm not sure if it's broscience but some people say they had better results with Intermittent Fasting, others with 6 meals during the day. I wish everyone a great saturday :)

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    This is just me, everyone is different, but I found if I eat earlier, I'm hungrier throughout the day. Now I wait until 9:30-10 ( I wake around 3-4) for my first meal and this works great for me.
  • ColossusCain
    ColossusCain Posts: 124 Member
    up your fiber and protein. Both digest slowly leaving you fuller longer, and drink lots of water
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    You're an 18 year old man with only 20 pounds to lose you should be eating far more probably nearer 2000 calories. All you're going to achieve by under eating is lose more muscle mass and not be able to work out to your best and many other doohickey's

    Have a look at the link it will help set more reasonable goals

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Not enough calories. I'm 23, female, same weight and height, and I NET 1850 for fat loss. closer to 1950-2000 with exercise.

    You're not eating enough.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Not enough calories. I'm 23, female, same weight and height, and I NET 1850 for fat loss. closer to 1950-2000 with exercise.

    You're not eating enough.

    Similar stats here, too. 5' 8", 31 years old, female, and 170-ish pounds and I lose on 1700 calories a day with no exercise. I was always hungry on anything less than 1500, too.
  • becess96
    becess96 Posts: 57 Member
    Thanks for the replies !Well, I might need some help. When I set my goals on MFP it says 1200 calories and I'll burn about 2,400 calories a week. So how much am I supposed to eat ?
  • ThePhoenixIsRising
    ThePhoenixIsRising Posts: 781 Member
    5'10" 150# female and I was losing on 2200-2300. You need more food!
  • becess96
    becess96 Posts: 57 Member
    5'10" 150# female and I was losing on 2200-2300. You need more food!

    How fast is your metabolism lol ?I gained those 20 pounds by eating about 2,500 calories a day while playing football and bulking because I needed to gain weight (which I eventually did, but most of those 20 pounds were fat haha)
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    You're an 18 year old man with only 20 pounds to lose you should be eating far more probably nearer 2000 calories. All you're going to achieve by under eating is lose more muscle mass and not be able to work out to your best and many other doohickey's

    Have a look at the link it will help set more reasonable goals

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594
    [/quote

    This!
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    Thanks for the replies !Well, I might need some help. When I set my goals on MFP it says 1200 calories and I'll burn about 2,400 calories a week. So how much am I supposed to eat ?

    If you set MFP to lose two pounds per week, it's going to give you a 1000 calorie daily deficit (often defaulting to 1200 because that's as low as MFP will automatically set itself). That's too much of a deficit given your current stats and goal. Adjust it to one pound per week, eat back some of your exercise calories, and see what happens.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    5'10" 150# female and I was losing on 2200-2300. You need more food!

    How fast is your metabolism lol ?I gained those 20 pounds by eating about 2,500 calories a day while playing football and bulking because I needed to gain weight (which I eventually did, but most of those 20 pounds were fat haha)

    Based on your stats and age, you were probably eating more than you think you were. Energy needs for kids and teens are also different than for adults.

    If you don't weigh or at least measure all food, you are not being remotely accurate in your intake estimates,

    The amount of calories you can eat to gain/lose/maintain depends entirely on your current weight and activity levels. So the person eating 2200 cals to lose at 150lbs is also probably using TDEE method and working out quite a bit. My estimated maintenance needs for my GW of 150-160 is around 24-2500 when I include my ideal body fat% and 5+ hours of moderate exercise a week.

    If you started out at 150lbs, let's say you were 18 still, about 3.5 hours of moderate exercise a week (based on football - which is probably more than moderate), 8 hours of sleep, then 2500 is actually likely a good amount for maintaining.

    MFP does NET, meaning it doesn't take into account any exercise you do. So either set your activity level to lightly active (or sedentary if you lay in bed all day) and log exercise cals (eat back 50-100% of them), OR calculate your TDEE and subtract 20% from that and eat the same amount daily, OR calculate your net needs on an external calculator like health-calc.com or exrx.net and subtract 20% from that and then log + eat back exercise cals. I do the last approach.
  • becess96
    becess96 Posts: 57 Member
    Thanks so much for the answers everyone ! :)
    Ana, what do you mean by "Energy needs for kids and teens are also different than for adults. " ?Also, no, I wasn't counting my calories and I also think it was more than 2,500 but they just gave me a meal plan and by searching on the internet it was about 2,500 calories, but I had to eat peanut butter and a lot of dairy and carbs which have a lot of calories, plus my cheat days were the worst in the universe, since I can eat as much as 10 people without being full lol
  • Penelope416
    Penelope416 Posts: 14 Member
    I tried doing the 6 small meals a day but I was still hungry. I try to eat 3 bigger meals and have snacks in between and that has help a lot. I increased my complex carbs intake and protein and fiber and that has helped dramatically. I don't believe in fasting because that can destroy your metabolism.

    Eat when you get hungry. That's it. Just eat clean foods. Snack on fruit and nuts in between meals and include complex carbs in your bigger meals for lunch and dinner like potatoes and beans and banananas. You will feel satisfied.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Thanks so much for the answers everyone ! :)
    Ana, what do you mean by "Energy needs for kids and teens are also different than for adults. " ?Also, no, I wasn't counting my calories and I also think it was more than 2,500 but they just gave me a meal plan and by searching on the internet it was about 2,500 calories, but I had to eat peanut butter and a lot of dairy and carbs which have a lot of calories, plus my cheat days were the worst in the universe, since I can eat as much as 10 people without being full lol

    You were not eating 2500 calories.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I'm 5'8 170 lbs trying to lose 20 lbs before 2015 and I'm trying to stick with 1400-1500 calories a day, and when I'll start Insanity I'll eat a little bit more. I tried eating 6 small meals and even 3 meals but still I'm always hungry. I ate a chicken salad at lunch about 20 minutes ago and I feel my stomach making all kind of noise lol. Do you have any advice ? Also, does it matter if you eat 3 or 6 meals a day in terms of fat loss ? I'm not sure if it's broscience but some people say they had better results with Intermittent Fasting, others with 6 meals during the day. I wish everyone a great saturday :)
    I think it varies for everyone, so you need to find the way that works best for you. Listen to your body and give it what it wants - a bunch of tiny meals, one huge one with snacks, whatever.

    I like to include fiber when I first eat. I have found it helps fill me, which is nice because once I start eating, I sometimes want a lot and I like to spread the calories out. So, fruit and fiber for the first meal. That works for me. Doesn't mean it'll work for anyone else.

    Good luck! :)
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    The only way you will know for sure how much you are eating is to weigh and measure everything you intake... Until then you are only guessing.....
  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
    I had this same problem. Believe it or not, hunger comes from your body craving nutrition (not craving food.) All the processed foods have little nutrition. As a result, your body will crave nutrition, forcing you to eat more. As you shift to healthy foods, you will be less and less hungry. If you can, try to go full vegetarian (yes, milk and eggs are allowed!) Fruits and vegetables have so few calories, you can eat as much as you want and you WILL feel full before you run out of calories. Friend me for inspiration!
  • sarahmorris32
    sarahmorris32 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks so much for the answers everyone ! :)
    Ana, what do you mean by "Energy needs for kids and teens are also different than for adults. " ?Also, no, I wasn't counting my calories and I also think it was more than 2,500 but they just gave me a meal plan and by searching on the internet it was about 2,500 calories, but I had to eat peanut butter and a lot of dairy and carbs which have a lot of calories, plus my cheat days were the worst in the universe, since I can eat as much as 10 people without being full lol

    A calorie is just the unit of measurement used to quantify energy. So you can read it as "Calorie needs for kids and teens are also different from adults." This is true because kids and teens are still literally growing and developing. The body has to expend energy in order to develop, so they need more energy (or calories). As an example donating blood burns 600 calories because your body has to literally make replacement blood. Anyway technically a person isn't fully grown until their early 20s. After 18, it's mostly internal development though, bone density increases, reproductive systems mature, it's all that kind of stuff. Some people also fill out a bit. Men tend to put on muscle and women might fill out in their hips or breasts. Also as people age they tend to lose muscle mass. This effectively lowers a person's metabolism and energy needs, since muscle requires more energy to maintain than fat. You really should consider eating more. Most people don't recommend less than 1800 calorie for a male. Especially if your only 18 and don't have a ton to lose. Strong bones for life and not being hungry all the time are totally worth the slower weight loss pace.

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