Starving! How do I get over it?

My body did last time I did this. I'm going through the starving phase again now and it's not fun.

I believe I was so used to feeling overfull that I needed to retrain my body what it was like to be full. It happened slowly but I distinctly remember one day eating out and I couldn't finish something that in the past I would have finished and gotten more without a second thought. So you will get there!

In the mean time (and to continue) try to pack your intake with as many veggies and fruits as possible. They will help you stay full for longer. Cut out "empty calories" like soda, juice, etc--things that cost you calories but don't help you feel full.

Sometimes I feel really starved if I don't get a good enough quantity of food. Like if I were to eat a meal replacement bar, it would taste good but I'd be hungry again within an hour. To help prevent that I try to make sure to eat 1/2 my plate full of veggies or other low calorie, bulky foods. I also try to eat every 3-4 fours, and make sure to save calories for a snack before bed (or else I sleep walk and eat food while I'm 100% asleep).

nonstarchy vegetables out the wazoo.

One thing doing the 5:2 diet taught me that I am grateful for is the difference between the feeling of an empty stomach even though you've had all necessary calories and nutrients for the day, and actual 'need to eat' hunger. Nowadays I follow 16:8 for some of the benefits of fasting and find it super easy. I got to bed with the empty stomach feeling, sleep way better than i ever have before, wake up with energy and the empty feeling has gone. Then I have breakfast when I've been up 2/3 hours.

If I feel really really empty and it's bugging me, (rare)I have a hot herbal tea - no different to soup IMHO

If i know I've had what my body needs for the day, that's it I'm done. It feels great.

I will add the first few days getting used to my new practices were harder but it soon all adjusted brilliantly

I'd also recommend having a higher fat and protein content in your diet. days when I have higher carbs, I have way higher hunger. Fat is your friend, use your macros to your advantage

I eat LOTS of veggies, protein and a good amount of fat,
Also weigh your food to make sure you're eating enough!!!
Do you eat back your exercise calories?
Oh and a sweet potato is amazing for feeling full and full of nutrients!

rabbitjb wrote: »

Make your diary public ...1600 calories shouldn't make you starving if you eat the right foods

What kind of food do you like? Have you learned to adapt them to lower calorie filling version, do you allow yourself to snack

Starving is a different signal from hungry and yes you have to learn to accept not feeling over full, but not starving hungry every night ...sounds like you aren't eating enough

I just wanted to point out one thing about eating more.... Sure yeah if you're eating 1600 empty calories of sugar and high calorie junk you'll be hungrier because the quantity of food is a lot less. That part is true. But I think that should be qualified as "eat more food" but not necessarily "eat more calories.

Whether 1600 is "enough" really depends on how tall the OP is, her age and activity level and how much she weighs now. I am only 5'1 and I'm an older lady with a sedentary job so 1600 is a bit too much for me. It sucks but at this point I need to keep my calories around 1400 on an active day and around 1200 or less on a recovery or rest day. It's a huge adjustment to go from overeating a lot to eating the proper amount.

I'm hungry on this number of calories sometimes, btw. But if I want to lose weight, I'm just going to have to be slightly hungry every once in a while. I am not ravenous or starving on these numbers though. But I think it's ok and normal to be a little hungry sometimes.

Not to nitpick at the person who posted that, but MFP forums like to sometimes throw around the advice to eat more without really explaining. It tends to be weigh lifters/really fit people, taller people or young people who recommend this, and those people tend to be able to get away with that. But it's not appropriate advice for everyone. I'm not trying to rip your post at all rabbitjb, but I feel like it's important to make the distinction because I bought into the starvation mode thing for a while and it really derailed my weight loss. I got fat eating like I did in my 20s, so it doesn't really follow that eating like that again is going to make me successful at losing weight.

As far as the OP, you should adjust soon enough. People above have given some great advice (eating for bulk with veggies, making sure you get enough protein and fat) but one more thing. I also used to eat really fast when I was a lot heavier, which meant I ate well past my body's satiety signals. Adding food to your plate that you have to slow down and chew well (my go to additions are celery or a couple oz. of baby carrots) really helped a lot to get used feeling those stop eating signals. Make sure you're drinking enough water, too. Sometimes "starving" is really "thirsty".

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

I find, if I eat more protein and fats, I feel sated longer.

Same here.

What are you eating? No one can give any meaningful specific advice without knowing what you eat now.

If you eat calorie dense processed foods you have to eat much less quantity than if you eat whole foods that have less calories per volume.

My downfall is snacking for whatever reason
Some good ideas above, and how about distraction techniques - e.g when you feel hungry do something energetic - climb the stairs, run round the block, chase kids round garden.

I remind myself of the phrase "Hunger is not an emergency". I also tell myself I can eat tomorrow. Sometimes this works, sometimes it does not. Try brushing your teeth.

I find whenver i eat about a 200-300g serving of Brussels sprouts cooked with about 15-30g of shredded cheese that tends to fill me up nicely! Maybe try eating lower calorie things that you can eat in more volume??

It would help if you made your diary public so we can see what you are eating. Sometimes people eat a lot of high calorie food and that is why they are hungry and have a hard time sticking to their goals. Can't really help if we don't know what you are eating that is making you so hungry.

For many people, hunger and reduced metabolism is just part of weight loss. It is part of your body's defense mechanism to defend body fat stores.

There is increasing evidence that once you are obese for some period of time this causes a permanent physiological change. Your body will from then on fight to maintain that weight.

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(15)00009-1/abstract

I have always found that when I am losing weight I can tell it because I am cold (reduced metabolism) and hungry. I can tell it without ever getting on a scale. This is true regardless of what I eat - it is about whether my body is burning body fat not the composition of my diet.

You can mitigate hunger to some extent by eating more protein but for me appetite suppressants are the only sure-fire way to stay on track.

Lots of veggies, and water helps a lot! One of my favorite I'm hungry, like my belly button is going to eat my back bone hungry times, I'd eat some baby carrots, and peanut butter! I'm getting back on track myself, as I try to quit smoking, and deal with TONS of stress. Feel free to friend me, we all face our own battles, and we are all here to help, good luck!