I get hungry- really just can't eat less

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Hi,

I am having a problem with planning to eat less, but then getting hungry and eating so that I don't actually end up eating less. I think part of the problem might be I run/swim everyday and that makes me hungry? But the main thing is just I want this to work overall but in the moment it doesn't matter to me when I feel hungry so I eat. I eat most of my calories between 8 AM and 3 PM.

Today I ran 10 miles, did not swim, and ate 2175 calories. According to MFP I burn 780 ish calories running 10 miles, and so 1200 + 780 = 1980. But I just get hungry and can't do it!!

Any brilliant ideas? Thanks.

- Rach
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Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    What's your age/height/weight? Did you set your goal to lose 2 pounds per week? That might be too aggressive and 1200 would not be a proper goal for you.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited December 2014
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    With that amount of running little wonder you're hungry...
    - and as above said, perhaps change settings to lose 1lb a week and eat more.
    - protein and fibre will keep you feeling fuller for longer.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    You want to take in fewer calories, right? So, either eat less (which it seems you're saying is difficult) or eat better.

    Eat more low-cal, filling foods. Fruits, veggies, Nature Valley crunchy granola bars, that sort of thing. You'll stay full and not exceed your calorie goals. :)
  • slimandsmiling
    slimandsmiling Posts: 85 Member
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    one of my friends has told me to eat carbs the night before a run and then something before running (assuming it is the next day).. and I have been told that it is then best to eat straight after you finish running as apparently your body is still in calorie burning mode and so the food burns up quicker. I would play around with eating back your calories.
  • rachellll98
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    Mallbu that is what is annoying. I tried to set it to 1 pound per week, but it wouldn't let me and defaulted to 350 kcal deficit/day, or 0.7 pounds/week. That's what the 1200 is for. And also why I need to be able to stick to the correct limit each day because it's barely a deficit in any case.

    Run, again, I tried to set it at 1 lb, but it defaulted to 0.7 and will not budge. I definitely think eating more protein is a good suggestion. I already eat a lot of eggs/turkey/tuna/grilled chicken/chobani but I'll try going crazy on the protein tomorrow and see if that helps! Thanks!

    Kallkel, that also is a good suggestion. I don't do the grocery shopping and the only fruits we have now are bananas, the only vegetables are potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, but I will try eating more of those tomorrow and see if that helps!

    Allmand, that makes sense to eat carbs the night before, but I never have any calories left by nighttime. I'm always at or generally a couple hundred calories over my limit by 6 PM and then I can't eat after that. But that makes sense if I can make it work!

    So I guess overall I should try to eat more fruits and vegetables and lower calories foods, and more protein and fiber, eat something with carbs the night before I run or swim, and try to figure out how to make MFP let me fix my pounds/week setting. THanks all.

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Can you open your diary?
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Open your diary.
  • rachellll98
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    Lifting, I didn't fill it out correctly. I just put all my calories under one meal as quick add. But here is a summary: It's mostly pasta/breads/cereal/hot chocolate/a lot of lean protein/a little fruit/not a lot of vegetables. I'm not sure how much fiber I eat. I wasn't really aware of that. But anyways, at least for dinner I have to eat whatever my family is eating and it's mostly pasta/meat.

    And for exercise I mostly burn about 500 to 1000 calories in a day. So my goal is 1700 to 2200 depending on the day, but I can't eat that amount without ending up feeling hungry and going past it by several hundred calories.
  • rachellll98
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    But I think what some of you are getting at is that if I eat better quality foods, I'll be able to eat fewer calories and feel less hungry.

    I think that's what you're getting at.

    I'll try and see what happens.

    Thanks.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    Fewer carbs, more nonstarchy vegetables. Carbs seem to burn up so fast and then you are hungry agan.
  • princessnarmor
    princessnarmor Posts: 67 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I have difficulty with hunger. I'm not nearly as active as you are. I notice for myself, if I eat a lot of protein, ie., chicken, it helps the most with hunger. If I have a day when I haven't eaten chicken or some form of dense protein, I'm hungry all day long. I also use a low carb diet, but if I were running like you are, I would have some form of carb, (not sugar and not wheat). I'm actually a pretty big fan of the potato, although most dieters would tell you they suck! In my case, they are far better than pasta or any wheat based food. And they are comforting if you are a comfort eater.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    If you're running 10 miles a day and you crank down the carbs, you're probably going to hit a wall.

    Nobody can give you meaningful advice without first seeing what you're actually eating. And from your posts, it doesn't sound like you are logging accurately.

    Figure out where you are, before launching into a new direction....
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Open your diary and give your stats please.
    Age, height, ccurrent weight, target weight
    Are you weighing your food?
    What % of calories are youe ating back and based on what MFP estimates?
  • rachellll98
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    That definitely makes sense, goth and princess, seeing as I eat probably majority carbs now. I felt like I was eating a lot of protein, but I most likely was not. So I will definitely try for more protein and more vegetables.

    And also princess, I feel hungry all day long too, so maybe if I switch to more protein like you it'll help me get rid of that too. Thanks.
  • rachellll98
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    Knight, I know! I feel like it's a lose-lose with how many carbs I'm eating. Also I do not run 10 miles everyday, if I said that I was exaggerating. Sorry. A lot of days I actually run less than 10 miles plus there is alternative exercise I do too.

    Yes, I'm definitely not logging correctly. Basically what I do is keep a running total of calories, and then enter it at the end of the day. I should probably start logging correctly. You are right.

    No, I do not weigh my food. I either look at the package or look it up online. Also I know that people overestimate their calories, so if it's not directly from the package and I'm taking it from online, I take the highest one I can find to make sure. Ex. for a random bagel it is counted as 450, not 250. Or something like that. So that at least is good.

    I am eating back all of my exercise calories. MFP wants me to eat 1200 + exercise and I am eating about 1400 + exercise and still feel hungry!

    I guess the conclusion is I need to do a better job of figuring out what I'm doing now before I can determine what I'm doing wrong and what I need to change. I will start working on this. I can't ever weigh my food because I live at home and it would look suspicious, but I can definitely log exactly what foods I'm eating instead of just the day's total. Anyways, thanks all.


  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I am eating back all of my exercise calories. MFP wants me to eat 1200 + exercise and I am eating about 1400 + exercise and still feel hungry!

    MFP doesn't back out BMR/RMR calories from its exercise burn numbers. Here's your net running burn...

    0.65 * weight in pounds * miles run

  • rachellll98
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    :( That actually is worse then... that means I should actually be trying to eat even less. So basically, instead of for today (10 miles) 1200 + 780 = 1980 target, I instead have 1200 + 670 = 1870 target. That's awful.

    So now I'm even further off. Or rather, I was that far off before but failed to realize it.

    I just don't understand why this is making me hungry if I'm not even at a deficit (ex. if 1200 is -350, and 1870 is the equivalent if you count in exercise, and I ate +305 over that, then I'm at -45 for the day which pretty much approaches 0...). Maybe it is a psychological thing because I thought I was under-eating even though in reality I was not.

    I don't think my questions have good answers for the record. Feel free to not answer if this is something I need to work on figuring out for myself (I think it is). I'm going to try to up my food quality using all the suggestions and then see how it goes. I suppose I can also fix my exercise to calories conversion (grudgingly).
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Hunger is a weird thing. The vast majority of us have never actually experienced real hunger - but we all (and I include myself in this) think we feel it all the time.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    If you give people your stats, we could help you calculate your numbers using the TDEE method and help you figure out a calorie goal.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    kgeyser wrote: »
    If you give people your stats, we could help you calculate your numbers using the TDEE method and help you figure out a calorie goal.

    You can figure it out from the above post - 103 pounds.