Getting Hungry and Grumpy

LindaLee2015
LindaLee2015 Posts: 20
edited November 9 in Motivation and Support
OK, so I started officially logging onto MFP last Friday (5 days ago) and I'm measuring and planning my meals, etc... I had already begun walking and sort of watching what I eat.

Anyway....I noticed yesterday afternoon that I started feeling hungry and now I am EXTREMELY hungry and it's not going away. I'm not sure what's happening so I cannot decide how to deal with it. Is my body just adjusting? Should I maybe not exercise today and eat some calorie dense food? Maybe I'm not eating enough? I'm following the recommendations on MFP and feel good otherwise.

I'm in my 50s and weighed 199 on Friday. I'm drinking water.

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas or experience to share, please do. I appreciate it!

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Your diary is closed so I'm going to be guessing. Are you eating enough protein? How's your fat intake? Protein and fat help keep you full. Yes calorie dense food does make a big difference. Exercise will make you hungry if you are not eating right :)
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    You need to open your diary or give us all your stats including how many calories or no one can really know what is going on
  • eeelizabeth2012
    eeelizabeth2012 Posts: 132 Member
    Eat lots of protein. Eggs and plain greek yogurt are great. Also fish and chicken. Be sure to have snacks on hand and snack between meals. At first you probably will go through an adjustment period. Plus things like sugar and fats can be addictive and you may be craving them while you are adjusting. Also try drinking lots of water, especially before meals.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    im going to guess that mfp told you that 1200cals/day is your allowance.

    that seems to be the default setting.

    just for fun, calculate your TDEE and subtract 20-25% from it. how does that compare to what mfp told you?

    opening your diary may also give some insight.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    These are my really general tips for hunger, since we don't know anything about your diet or exercise routine:

    1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

    3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

    4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

    5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

    6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

    7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.
  • LindaLee2015
    LindaLee2015 Posts: 20
    Agh! People look at other people's diaries??? OK, let me go see if I can open it. I am a vegetarian and don't eat eggs just cuz I don't like them. I'll be right back. I honestly was not paying a lot of attention to the breakdown of carbs and such - just trying not to go over.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Open your diary. Probably trying to lose too fast and you're eating below your BMR. Been there.
  • LindaLee2015
    LindaLee2015 Posts: 20
    OK, opened my diary. Please be gentle with me!!!!! I'm not used to sharing this with people, eating in private and such.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    edited January 2015
    ok, so as expected, youre set at 1200.

    too low.

    i just ran a TDEE based on a female, 5' 6", 200lbs.

    the TDEE is 2098.

    75% of that is 1574.

    you can eat 1574 cals/day for loss at a safe rate. youre shorting yourself 374cals/day. i bet you could find 374 calories that would take the edge off that hunger.

    edited to add: IF you fit the profile i ran. i dont know how tall you are, so perhaps the number will change when you run it.

    another edit: it looks like youre also eating back your exercise calories. this can potentially be dangerous because any burn you add, whether it be from MFP, a machine, or a HMR is just an estimate and will vary from source to source. the TDEE method will have your intake consistent so you dont have to worry about eating back your (estimated) burns. you get 1574 whether you workout or not. easy peasy! :smiley:
  • JennJayBee
    JennJayBee Posts: 45 Member
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    These are my really general tips for hunger, since we don't know anything about your diet or exercise routine:

    1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

    3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

    4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

    5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

    6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

    7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

    All of this. Some good advice, here. The only thing I would change is the fat content in #2. I would go for high fiber and protein foods while looking for low fat ones and then adding in healthy fats elsewhere if you have a deficit. A lot of people go for things like nuts, olives, canola/olive oil, or fish for that. But that said, everyone is different.
  • LindaLee2015
    LindaLee2015 Posts: 20
    I had been walking before logging onto MFP, but had worked up to an hour walk. The last two days I started getting really tired 45 minutes into the walk, so I was wondering if maybe I wasn't eating enough or maybe not the right stuff. I increased my calories on the days I walked, but maybe I will up them a little more.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    edited January 2015
    I swagged your height, but I get a BMR of a bit below 1600 calories. I'd recommend shooting to be around there (certainly no less than 1500). Trust me, I started out eating below my BMR about a year ago, and it wasn't pretty. Tired, grumpy, ick. Not sure how active you were before, but if you've also started exercising along with the calorie restriction, the initial adjustment to that is going to make the tiredness worse. If so, maybe start out 1700 and dial down over the next few weeks as you adjust to exercise. It's not a sprint -- so take your time.
  • LindaLee2015
    LindaLee2015 Posts: 20
    SkullShank and JennyJay, (I don't know if I spelled the names correctly), thanks for the info. Maybe I WAS too aggressive when answering the questions in the beginning. I want to change my habits - I'm not just trying to lose weight for the sake of losing weight. This feels like full-on hunger. The good news is that I'm not scarfing on something to get rid of it. I'm really trying to get some input outside of myself!!!! But I also know that feeling this hunger will eventually wear on me... I want to make good decisions and not just react.
  • LindaLee2015
    LindaLee2015 Posts: 20
    Hill8570, thanks so much. That's excellent advice and probably the route I'm going to take. I honestly am ready to just change and quit being so impulsive with my health.
  • LindaLee2015
    LindaLee2015 Posts: 20
    OK, so I went back to the goals and saw that I had put I wanted to lose 2 lbs per week. I changed that to 1lb per week and the daily calories went up nicely! haha! And I'm going to pay more attention to the carbs and protein and learn how to adjust it if necessary.

    THANKS EVERYONE!!!!
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    edited January 2015
    LindaLee2015 wrote: »
    Hill8570, thanks so much. That's excellent advice and probably the route I'm going to take. I honestly am ready to just change and quit being so impulsive with my health.

    No problem. It wasn't all that long ago I was in your place. Eye on the prize.

    It also kind of looks like you're eating a bit carb-heavy. For a lot of people (I'm one of them), carbs don't really stick with them like fats or proteins. Proteins are a nice 1:1 swap, calorie-wise, for carbs, so you might try dialing up the protein a bit over time. It's always a bit of an experiment, so take your time and don't turn all the knobs at once.
  • JennJayBee
    JennJayBee Posts: 45 Member
    edited January 2015
    LindaLee2015 wrote: »
    SkullShank and JennyJay, (I don't know if I spelled the names correctly), thanks for the info. Maybe I WAS too aggressive when answering the questions in the beginning. I want to change my habits - I'm not just trying to lose weight for the sake of losing weight. This feels like full-on hunger. The good news is that I'm not scarfing on something to get rid of it. I'm really trying to get some input outside of myself!!!! But I also know that feeling this hunger will eventually wear on me... I want to make good decisions and not just react.

    I think once you evaluate your needs, you'll be fine. Figure out how much you need to eat and how often. Consider your exercise goals, too. Make sure you're not dehydrated. Just rehashing what's above, really.

    A quick note on calories... I eat between 1200-1500 calories on most days, and I do lose weight when I stay within that range, but it's also WAY above the limit of around 1350 that MFP recommended for me, so you still might find yourself adjusting.

    The best advice I can give you for not only losing weight but for keeping it off is to be realistic. It's a lifestyle change, really, whereas a diet is something you think of as temporary. If you can't live the rest of your life without something, then your diet might be more successful if you try to find a way to incorporate it. If you can't incorporated it in moderation, then find other things you love and look forward to and change your focus to that. Being miserable is a great way to kill your progress, and it took WAY too many failed diets for me to realize that myself.

    But also keep in mind that your body is adjusting. You might just be hungry for a few days. If it persists, however, then look at how much you're eating, WHAT you're eating (high enough in fiber and protein?), and how often you're eating.
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