Not hungry anymore - what's up with that?

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fantm
fantm Posts: 87 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve been exercising much more aggressively since I started a bootcamp at the end of October 2010. I started really watching my calorie intake and eating healthier foods in January with MFP’s help. This past week or two, I’ve been making even better food choices, cutting out a lot more of the sugar. Since doing that, I haven’t been nearly as hungry as I was a month or two ago. After my workout, I’m hungry, so I eat a protein-rich breakfast around 7:15am, and have a small snack when I’m hungry, around 9:30am. I used to be ravenous by 11:30 for lunch, but lately I haven’t been that hungry. I will still eat, but find that lunch keeps me full until close to 5pm. I used to be hungry ALL the time.

I don’t get it. I haven’t been able to eat all my calories (with or without the exercise cals) for the past few days, whereas a month ago, I was having real trouble staying within the cal range each day. What’s the deal? Am I getting used to eating less? Or… ? Weight loss is happening but it's pretty slow.

Replies

  • foxxybrown
    foxxybrown Posts: 838 Member
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    I've always heard/read that sugar makes you hungry.
  • Jarmotion
    Jarmotion Posts: 3
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    If you are eating way too little, your body can go into starvation mode, and you won't be hungry. You just kind of get used to that empty stomach feeling. But this will actually hurt your weight loss because you will hold onto food longer since your body thinks that you won't be eating again soon. It is good if you set a proper goal for a steady weight loss that you meet it, and not try to beat your goal by eating less.
  • vanessav82
    vanessav82 Posts: 10
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    Yeah I have heard the same, but you know what? Whatever it is that is a good thing not to be hungry as long as stay close to your daily calories you should be fine, I would take that any day.
  • denitraross
    denitraross Posts: 325 Member
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    You are probably not hungry - because your not hungry!! You are eating more calorie rich foods with protein and fiber now and this will keep you satisfied much longer than fat/sugar high foods.....I found the same thing, once I bumped up my fiber and got my sodium down (really just more fruits and veggies and whole grains) my hunger went down and I could stay within my calorie intake more easily....

    The post about starvation mode are correct though - try to reach at least your minimum caloire intake per day - a handful of almonds have a good amount of calories and healthy fat in them to boost your calories up!!
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    It generally happens when you increase the intensity of workouts, at least from what I noticed with myself anyway. So using myself as the only example I know, it's temporary. It may last for a little while or for a long period of time. But it happens with every intensity increase, I assume because it's like telling my body that it needs to use up more [stored] energy to prepare for massive burns. Once my body readjusts itself to the intensity, hunger comes back just as voraciously as I put out, telling me that it's done using up stored energy and it now needs a higher intake to accommodate for it.

    Right now, I'm currently eating WAY more than what I originally set myself up for because I've included extreme strength training from calisthenic type of upper and lower body workout routines. I generally follow my body as it feels the need to eat. But I make sure I put those calories to use.
  • fantm
    fantm Posts: 87 Member
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    Thanks all! I agree that eating too little is not good; pretty sure I'm not in any danger of starving myself. :-) I don't even have that empty stomach feeling - except when I'm hungry, and then I eat. In the afternoons especially, I am feeling overly full, stuffed, so I wait for that to subside before having a snack.

    Anubis609, that's interesting about the increased intensity of workouts. I bet that's what's happening. I'm pushing myself harder at bootcamp so maybe I'm about to see a weight drop from stored fat being burned, and then I'll get hungry again.
  • 1FITmamaofTWINS
    1FITmamaofTWINS Posts: 185
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    looks like your body has adjusted to your new lifestyle!!! congrats!!!

    you mentioned that weight loss is slow though, how so?

    As long as you are loosing a LB a week, whatever you're doing is working.... weight loss tends to slow down as you get closer to your goal and the more athletic you become
  • fantm
    fantm Posts: 87 Member
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    looks like your body has adjusted to your new lifestyle!!! congrats!!!

    you mentioned that weight loss is slow though, how so?

    As long as you are loosing a LB a week, whatever you're doing is working.... weight loss tends to slow down as you get closer to your goal and the more athletic you become

    I've been losing maybe .5 lb a week and I've got MFP set to 1lb a week. I'm down 12 lbs total since October, and have about 20 to go. So maybe 20 is considered "close to goal"? I've always been athletic but I'm a lot stronger now and I'm getting some serious arm muscle definition (yay!).
  • 1FITmamaofTWINS
    1FITmamaofTWINS Posts: 185
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    Do you have acess to your body fat % number? such as a fat loss monitor? (you can pick one up at GNC for 40 bucks)

    it can tell you more about your progress than a scale can considering it measures your body fat to muscle ratio. Perhaps you are gaining muscle? That would make sence for the 1/2 lb you are loosing
  • chuckanderson
    chuckanderson Posts: 97
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    Most likely you're overestimating the calories you burn, have your activity level set too high, or don't weigh / measure your food properly. It only takes 250 cals a day to go from 1 lb to .5 lb.

    On the plus side, it's incredibly common so don't feel bad. There was a study on nutritionists who counted their calories or estimated their calorie usage and 85% were wrong on the bad side :p
  • fantm
    fantm Posts: 87 Member
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    Do you have acess to your body fat % number? such as a fat loss monitor? (you can pick one up at GNC for 40 bucks)

    it can tell you more about your progress than a scale can considering it measures your body fat to muscle ratio. Perhaps you are gaining muscle? That would make sence for the 1/2 lb you are loosing

    Before and after each bootcamp session, we weigh and measure, including body fat. As of 2/5, I was 33.5%. Down from 36% on 1/9. So I am making progress, and inches show it too... could be muscle, you're right.
  • 90poundsoflard
    90poundsoflard Posts: 81
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    I used to have problems with feeling hungry a couple hours after eating. I found out I have a problem with low blood sugar. I went off sugar and carbs (did the Atkins diet) for several months. When I went back to eating a balanced diet, I didn't have cravings for sugar and carbs anymore, and I didn't feel like eating ALL the time. If I do eat too many carbs, I do feel hungry, but it's a different kind of hunger - I don't know how to explain it - and now I know it's just time to lay off the carbs.

    I looked at your food diary, and I doubt it's "starvation mode." That term gets thrown around too freely IMO

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