STARVING - so when will it stop?

You may not be weighing your food and inadvertantly eating too little or you may have set your calorie goal too low.
Or, you may need to eat back some exercise calories.

What do you mean by following your cals ? Do you mean tracking? And what are your calories a day that you're aiming for? How much did you eat before you started tracking. How much did you cut? And your macros depend on how many cals you have to spread around so a little more information would help.

You could be completely under eating even if you think you're going over your macros. Or your tracking could be off or you might be on track and you just need time to adjust and the answer to that depends on what foods your eating and how satiating they are.

lenica wrote: »

I started following my calories about a week ago. I lost 6 and did not notice any real difficulty other than no eating out. This week I have felt like my stomach is eating itself. I am meeting or exceeding my carbs protein and fat;so why do I feel like I am starving? Is it my body thinking it is starving because it is not getting what it used to get daily? Will this stop soon? If it is happening to you did you find a way to make it stop?

I exercise almost daily so that I can eat more.

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lenica wrote: »

nancyjay__ wrote: »

What do you mean by following your cals ? Do you mean tracking? And what are your calories a day that you're aiming for? How much did you eat before you started tracking. How much did you cut? And your macros depend on how many cals you have to spread around so a little more information would help.

You could be completely under eating even if you think you're going over your macros. Or your tracking could be off or you might be on track and you just need time to adjust and the answer to that depends on what foods your eating and how satiating they are.

Thanks Nancy,

I am a complete newby so I do not know terms yet. Also, I think I learned to open my diary so it can be seen...I think. I just entered my weight and that I would like to lose 2 lbs. I am open to constructive education. As to what my calories are prior I do not even know because I did not track faithfully before last week and I ate out a lot.

When I started to track I was completely lost lol. The only thing that helped me was time. Time taught me that instead of having dressing with my salad I could have an extra 2oz of chicken breast.


You might be hungry because of the things you choose to eat. Example you had 520 cals meal in two taquitos you had a couple days ago. For me that meal would be 4oz of chicken breast cup of steamed rice and a cup of steamed broccoli. All at about 430 cals.


Believe me there are times I prefer to eat 3 oreos instead of the meal and am I starving after....yep. Its all about choices. Best practice is know how you can maximize the calories. I also input something into MFP before I eat it and most of the time I end up changing my mind and not eating it at all.

You might want to adjust your weight loss goal to 1 lb per week instead of 2 lbs. That's an aggressive goal and likely is adding to your hunger. Changing your goal will give you more calories each day and might make a difference in how you're feeling.

I'm glad to hear you'll be getting a scale. It's the best way to know exactly what you're eating. No guessing involved and far more accurate than relying on MFP entries that are "close enough."

You do a nice job with fruit and veggies in your diet but there are a lot of entries for pre-packaged or take-out entrees. If you can make recipes that have simple, healthy ingredients, you can get more quantity and quality in your diet. Which will go a long way toward keeping you feeling full I like to make soup, stew, wraps, loaded salads with meat, cheese, nuts and veggies, etc. When I opt for prepared foods, I usually go for fish and veggie burgers.

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MrM27 wrote: »

lenica wrote: »

amy8400 wrote: »

You might want to adjust your weight loss goal to 1 lb per week instead of 2 lbs. That's an aggressive goal and likely is adding to your hunger. Changing your goal will give you more calories each day and might make a difference in how you're feeling.

I'm glad to hear you'll be getting a scale. It's the best way to know exactly what you're eating. No guessing involved and far more accurate than relying on MFP entries that are "close enough."

You do a nice job with fruit and veggies in your diet but there are a lot of entries for pre-packaged or take-out entrees. If you can make recipes that have simple, healthy ingredients, you can get more quantity and quality in your diet. Which will go a long way toward keeping you feeling full I like to make soup, stew, wraps, loaded salads with meat, cheese, nuts and veggies, etc. When I opt for prepared foods, I usually go for fish and veggie burgers.

Thank you. I will adjust back and see if it helps with that feeling.

Before that you should start logging accurately.

I agree 2lbs a week doesn't seem an impossible feat. And who knows maybe once you log accurately you feel great! But if you already decide that its too hard and want to make it easy that might become a trend then you really won't go anywhere.


No matter what people tell you this journey will not be easy

nancyjay__ wrote: »

What do you mean by following your cals ? Do you mean tracking? And what are your calories a day that you're aiming for? How much did you eat before you started tracking. How much did you cut? And your macros depend on how many cals you have to spread around so a little more information would help.

You could be completely under eating even if you think you're going over your macros. Or your tracking could be off or you might be on track and you just need time to adjust and the answer to that depends on what foods your eating and how satiating they are.

^This

Had a quick look at your food diary. It looks like you are eating a good amount of calories, however things like protein bars might be an issue. Yes they have protein in them and that is good. However you can have a big salad with chicken with only a few more calories and that will fill your stomach. You need to physically eat more food but not more calories.
In addition, I take a thermos with me full of tea to tide me over. A full cup of milk in the thermos is 160 calories but keeps me going all afternoon and stops me from snacking.

1. First time I tried MFP I was super hungry but my husband pointed out it was because I wasn't exercising so that's what I do for extra calories per day.
2. Sometimes you can feel hungry when you're dehydrated. Have s glass of water and wait half an hour to see if you're still hungry.
3. Yesterday I was hungry in the day as I knew I was having a big tea. It's a pay off and it usually works as I lack control in the evenings!

OP, when are you expecting your period? You've gotten a lot of great advice in this thread, but it could be hormonal and you're just going to have to ride this wave.

How much fiber are you eating? I am ravenous if I neglect my fiber intake. Protein is filling, but then I get hungry again in a few hours. Fiber curbs my hunger throughout the day.

I have my calories set to 1350 calories per day. That is "net" calories - I do add in exercise calories but very conservatively.

I try to exercise for at least 45 minutes a day, but I usually end up with more than that, esp. when I go to spin class and work out at the gym. Since I do not trust most of the calorie burn estimations, I am restricting my "eat back" exercise calories to about 200 per day. Less if I workout less strenuously.

So I may eat about 1500 calories per day, but net about 1200 or 1300 - and I am rarely if ever hungry to the point of ravenous, with the exception of the obvious "Hey I haven't eaten in several hours, I'm hungry"

Sometimes I have hunger pangs that I think are just my stomach saying "Hey, I'm bored, why not munch on some chips or something and give me something to do?" That's when I have a drink of water or coffee, or if it's night time and I don't want to eat anything more because I've already gotten to my calorie goal, I go to bed.