2 months later starving

spcopps
spcopps Posts: 283
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been doing this for 2 months now on the 1200 calorie setting. I eat back my exercise calories (or most of them) everyday. For the last 2 days I have been starving even eating every 2 hours. Does this mean I need to increase calories by 100 per day to try to get over the hunger? I am also drinking water everyday and my urine is close to clear throughout the day. Here is a little info for those of you serious about commenting...I am 5ft 5 inches and started at 174 now I am down to 160. I work out 5-6 days a week but todays exercise was light because I still have pain in my left tricep from Thursday workout..not just a little pain but pain where it is preventing me from sleeping well. I have NEVER been hungry before and always struggled to eat my calories. Thanks for any serious input.

Replies

  • Aeriel
    Aeriel Posts: 864 Member
    How fast are you trying to lose weight? If you are still set at 2 pounds a week, then try dropping it back by 0.5 pounds a week. It will give you 100-200 more calories to fuel your metabolism. Usually if you are that hungry, your body is wanting more fuel. Try it for a few weeks and see what happens. You may see a gain of a pound or two while your body adjusts, but then you should see it drop again.
  • b_alanna
    b_alanna Posts: 15
    medications? mine make me starving! other then that i would just work out more once you feel better. And eat more filling foods.
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    I would definitely listen to your body and give yourself more calories. Don't go overindulge or anything, but if you're hungry, eat something healthy to curb the hunger. Don't starve for sure. Just listen to your body, it will let you know :)
  • I go through some days here and there where I am so hungry. Then the next week I get my period and I am like oh yeah that is why. And sometimes I am just hungry and I don't know why. What I am trying to say is it is normal. If you are starving eat but eat something good for you. Maybe you need a cheat meal or a cheat treat. I have upped my calories by 200. I am never hungry and I am always eating.
  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
    I am 5'6 & 148 calories. I started at 160 lbs. I set myself at 1400 calories. It also depends on what you are eating. Are you getting enough protein? Are you eating too many carbs? Protein will sustain you longer, carbs burn out.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    I have been doing this for 2 months now on the 1200 calorie setting. I eat back my exercise calories (or most of them) everyday. For the last 2 days I have been starving even eating every 2 hours. Does this mean I need to increase calories by 100 per day to try to get over the hunger? I am also drinking water everyday and my urine is close to clear throughout the day. Here is a little info for those of you serious about commenting...I am 5ft 5 inches and started at 174 now I am down to 160. I work out 5-6 days a week but todays exercise was light because I still have pain in my left tricep from Thursday workout..not just a little pain but pain where it is preventing me from sleeping well. I have NEVER been hungry before and always struggled to eat my calories. Thanks for any serious input.

    More than likely, you need to raise your calories more than 100 calories per day. Right now you are working on a huge deficiet. By your weight and height alone, you probably burn 1500 calories a day doing nothing. Lets say you burn another 400 working out. That is 1900 calories burned per day. If you only take in 1200, you have a 700 calories deficiet which in turn is accuately, slowing your weight loss (even though it might seem it initially). Your deficiet shouldn't be more than 500 calories and your body will benefit more from additional calories. I would suggest another 300 calories at least depending on what type or workouts you are doing. If you do something like p90x, I would suggest 1800-2000 calories since it's an extreme workout. Also, make sure you set up a custom ratio (under goals) to have 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fats). This is generally a fat cutting stage where you work to increase your metabolism. After 30-45 days or as you feel lightheaded, then you bump up your carb intake by 5-10% and reduce the proteins. Also, to prevent a plateau effect, change your workout routine every 30 days. It is how long it takes your body to get used to something.
  • My suggestion would be to try to cut down on your carbs and eat some more protein. That should make you feel full longer.
  • tmdugger
    tmdugger Posts: 132 Member
    Try adjusting your weight loss goal...If you have it set at 2lbs per week (which it sounds like) cut back to 1.5....you will probably still lose two (i do)

    Also it sounds like you have injured yourself. You will need to eat more to recover as well as increased protien to rebuild muscles.

    It is a good rule of thumb when an injury is affecting your daily life, especially sleep to get it checked out. DO NOT utilize the muscle group until you do so. You may have a tear or seperation from the bone that will only get worse through repeated use. If you are starving it means your body is exactly that starving. You are not feeding it enough for it to feel satisfied. 1500-1600 calories will still result in significant weight loss. As you get closer to your goal you need to eat more, not less.

    Hope you get better soon.
  • Your excessive hunger is in response to SOMETHING. My guess is that your intake may be a little too low and the long term deprivation is catching up with you. Another possibility is that the lack of sleep from your triceps injury is causing your appetite to jump up -- your body has to keep going somehow, right? I've read a least a few studies that suggest people who don't get enough sleep overeat to compensate. I would say try increasing your calories a little and maybe a otc pain reliever before bed so you can sleep.
  • cfmusgrove
    cfmusgrove Posts: 46 Member
    I don't really know the answer to your question, but here is a tip that I use to not feel hungry. I put a little Benefiber in my coffee or other non-carbonated drinks. That helps me feel full and it has no taste, so it doesn't impact the flavor.

    Guess the good news is that you lost 14 pounds! Congrats! That is awesome!
  • spcopps
    spcopps Posts: 283
    I know it not TOM already been there this month :). The weird thing is for the past 2 months I have been literally stuffed eating then all of a sudden yesterday and today I am really hungry before 2 hours is up. My food diary is open if anybody wants to take a look and give ideas or wants to look at my past foods and see if they can see a change I have made that would cause this :) I am set at 1.5 lbs per week. I planned on changing to 1 lb a week when I hit 150 so I can work more on tone than loss at that point.
  • Sigra
    Sigra Posts: 374 Member
    Look into eating more food that has less calories. A lot of things that get me through the day are:

    Grapes(x20)
    Apple
    Orange
    Strawberries (large 1-3)
    Peach
    BIG SALAD! (Spinach, Tomatoes, Edamame beans, B. Olves, and more. For a big bowl it's about 100~cal)

    And those are just my snacks. So far Oatmeal kicks my butt, and almost makes my skip my snacks sometime!
    I eat at least 6x a day, and always hit my 1200~cal mark without even hitting my exercise cal.

    Best of luck!
  • tmdugger
    tmdugger Posts: 132 Member
    And to add I have broken a bone and worked through it because it didn't hurt that bad....

    A week later the pain from them rebreaking it to set it was excruciating..So take it from me a dummy and get it checked out.
  • Levedi
    Levedi Posts: 290 Member
    I agree with the other posters on here about adjusting your rate of loss and trying a small upward adjustment in your calories. But don't add processed foods. Try upping your protein and fruits and vegetables, even if that takes you over your calorie goal.

    Also, I find that I do better when I eat three moderate meals and one or two snacks rather than trying to get all my calories in at three meals. If I do that I feel stuffed and then I feel starved before the next meal or before bed. Try spreading your calories out over the day and see if that helps.
  • spcopps
    spcopps Posts: 283
    And to add I have broken a bone and worked through it because it didn't hurt that bad....

    A week later the pain from them rebreaking it to set it was excruciating..So take it from me a dummy and get it checked out.

    Thanks for the advise...It is a little better today (I don't think it is going to keep me from sleeping tonight). I don't think it is a break because I did it doing weights but I did think it may be a tear or seperation so I worked out today but didn't use weights just went through the movements to try and loosen it up a bit. It was so bad yesterday that it would hurt in the initial area and my lower arm would feel "tired and weak" even laying it on a pillow to sleep. Not sure if this makes since but it's the best way for me to describe the feeling.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    I know it not TOM already been there this month :). The weird thing is for the past 2 months I have been literally stuffed eating then all of a sudden yesterday and today I am really hungry before 2 hours is up. My food diary is open if anybody wants to take a look and give ideas or wants to look at my past foods and see if they can see a change I have made that would cause this :) I am set at 1.5 lbs per week. I planned on changing to 1 lb a week when I hit 150 so I can work more on tone than loss at that point.


    From what I can tell, you are top heavy in carbs, light on healthy fats and not enough protein. I would also look into trying to stay with a 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fats) ratio to help aid weightloss. Also, try to keep away from sugar's (too much fruit, drinks, etc) as it's a lot of carbs. This method has worked for me. I eat 2200-2400 calories a day and I wonder if it's enough. Before I did this, I ate a lot of fruit (low calories) and found out it hurt my weight loss.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Also keep in mind, protein is the key to rebuilding muscle. You are hurting because you aren't getting enough calories or the right type of calories. If you are working out (especially a lot of weight lifting), you need your protein. Protein shakes are great. EAS has high protein, low carb, low fat.. Whey protein and it works great! And I still say bump up your calories, lol.
  • spcopps
    spcopps Posts: 283
    From what I can tell, you are top heavy in carbs, light on healthy fats and not enough protein. I would also look into trying to stay with a 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fats) ratio to help aid weightloss. Also, try to keep away from sugar's (too much fruit, drinks, etc) as it's a lot of carbs. This method has worked for me. I eat 2200-2400 calories a day and I wonder if it's enough. Before I did this, I ate a lot of fruit (low calories) and found out it hurt my weight loss.

    Thanks guys..I just changed my goals to the 40/40/20. I am going to try this about a week and see if the hunger stops. If not I will gradually add about 100 calories per day to my diet and see where that takes the hunger!
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