Starving

If you've only been logging for a week then you definitely need to give it more time. I don't know your current stats so I don't know if 1000 cals. is safe and/or sustainable for you. No, your stomach doesn't actually "stretch". We get into bad habits of overeating, but that can be corrected with consistency and patience.

Drink water or a low calorie beverage (glass of soy milk or almond milk or whatever fits into your current diet) if you get hungry. Wait 10 or 15 min. If it passes, then it's probably not true hunger. If you are truly hungry, eat a small, healthy snack.

Have you put on muscle since college? Increased activity level/cardio? In my humble opinion, the healthiest way to proceed is to aim for mildly hungry. Peckish. Never starving. I suspect your goal is too low for your activity level/metabolism.

Eat more. I'm eating over 1600 calories a day and losing weight.

These are my really general tips for hunger:

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.

i had a similiar problem. i was always hungry no matter how many calories i consumed. it was annoying. It took me about a week to not feel like that anymore, I have been using the 16:8 plan. My calorie intake is set at 1300, and, I really have to work on hitting that goal everyday. I eat in an 8 hour window. I drink tons of water & 4 cups of green tea before I have my first meal around 1pm. I feel so much better that i don't feel like i constantly have to feed myself. I am so much more alert in the morning. I am making better food choices. And, I am not starving before my lunch hour nor am I sluggish around 3pm.

ValentineNicole wrote: »

Thank you all so much for the advice. I'm definitely not aiming for 1000 calories - just shocked I'm that high before dinner :-) my goal is set at 1440, and I'm aiming for 1400-1600. I am struggling to save calories for dinner, lol. I'm taking everything mentioned here to heart and I so appreciate it

I find it helpful to log my whole day in advance the night before or in the morning. I usually put in my dinner entry, then lunch, breakfast and a snack. I don't run out of calories, am not starving and I can see how exercise will impact my day. If something changes I make adjustments but usually don't have to change much.
You might find it helpful to pre-log your whole day too.

+1 for pre-logging your day. That way you don't end up using up all your calories before dinner.

Oh I totally agree! There's nothing wrong with treats, I love chips, chocolate and especially wine! But all I was trying to say is that if you feel like you're starving, including these higher calorie foods that don't have much staying power might not be the best route, at least in the beginning if you're adjusting to a lower overall calorie allotment. Fiber i have found to be best for filling me up. Please forgive if it came across harshly or much to strict.