HELP! I'm always STARVING!
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mamapeach910 wrote: »girlviernes wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »It seems to me that if you aren't hungry when you are dieting, you aren't doing it right. Ideally, your body will lead you to eat at a level that would maintain a healthy weight. When we lose weight, we are eating below that level.
I agree that we need to expect some hunger and hunger is a sign you are doing something right (if your goal is weight loss), but starving and having difficulty functioning is not necessary and probably counterproductive.
I'm in a good place with my diet when I notice some hunger about an hour before meals and for the couple hours before bed.
That. But I tend to think that this is what is normal. I think that most of us used to eat so much that we avoided hunger, and that probably wasn't a healthy behavior. I tend to think, on the balance, "naturally thin" people wait to feel hungry before eating, while people with weight problems eat before they're hungry. We learn to think of hunger as an emergency. I'm learning to embrace it.
Also agreed? Being over-hungry is not good and is either a sign that you're at too aggressive a deficit or that maybe you should play around with your macros a bit, or a combination of both.
OMG, I was 100 lbs overweight and always had to be carrying some form of food with me in case *gasp* I should ever be hungry!
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First thing I always do is drink 8-16 oz of water, then try to wait 10 minutes. If I still feel hungry after that, I'll eat some celery or a cheese stick.0
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1. Are you eating at least SOME of your exercise calories back?
2. I've found that eating more frequently throughout the day keeps me from feeling hungry.
3. Also, Are you getting enough water? Sometimes when you aren't getting enough water, you feel hungry.0 -
Thanks all! I've actually been drinking about 10 cups of water per day in an attempt to avoid the starving/hungry feeling, but it doesn't always work. I think mamapeach is probably right on when she said that we (overweight folks) tend to eat before we get hungry and find the hungry feeling as an emergency. I'll give it another week or two and then will definitely make some changes if I'm still finding myself in this same position.
I don't really have a deficit goal yet as I'm trying to adjust to the changes before making more.
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MsMargie1116 wrote: »1. Are you eating at least SOME of your exercise calories back?
2. I've found that eating more frequently throughout the day keeps me from feeling hungry.
3. Also, Are you getting enough water? Sometimes when you aren't getting enough water, you feel hungry.
I actually have been eating back almost all of them. It helps motivate me to do exercise - probably not the best way to motivate myself...0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »It seems to me that if you aren't hungry when you are dieting, you aren't doing it right. Ideally, your body will lead you to eat at a level that would maintain a healthy weight. When we lose weight, we are eating below that level.
wow we agree..nice.
I agree with this...I was only hungry when I was restricting to a too low of a calorie goal...once I got educated and realize I could still eat over 1200 I stopped being hungry and exercise became a way to eat my ice cream too...
Are you really agreeing?
Whilsy i might agree that hungr could be a sign of you eating a lower amount of calories I don't think you have to be hungry to be doing it right. You cna lose weight quite well and avoid hunger by untelligently using the calories you have available to find fod that will satiate you overall, it may be food type or it may be meal timings. Losing weight does not have to involve hunger, just eating burning more calories than you consume.0 -
Lots of nonstarchy vegetables to "fill the hole." That's the only way I kept from going mad during the weight loss phase.0
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Being hungry is natural. If you are never hungry then you are eating too much (or there is something else wrong). I prefer the larger less frequent meal approach, then I get the full feeling and a period of hunger. If I did little meals every 2-3 hours I would constantly be grumpy and slightly hungry. The skeptic in me always side eyes ads that claim that people are never hungry when losing weight.
Make sure that you are hydrated, getting some fiber, and sticking to your calorie goals. Find some things to distract you (exercise is great). Think about why you are hungry, are you emotionally eating?0 -
soapsandropes wrote: »Being hungry is natural. If you are never hungry then you are eating too much (or there is something else wrong). I prefer the larger less frequent meal approach, then I get the full feeling and a period of hunger. If I did little meals every 2-3 hours I would constantly be grumpy and slightly hungry. The skeptic in me always side eyes ads that claim that people are never hungry when losing weight.
Make sure that you are hydrated, getting some fiber, and sticking to your calorie goals. Find some things to distract you (exercise is great). Think about why you are hungry, are you emotionally eating?
DEFINATLEY an emotional eater, but obviously trying to get a handle on it by paying more attention to the how's and when's of eating.0 -
Drink plenty water, increase your protein rich foods and dietary fibre (so you poop good), try green tea or herbal teas (they give me the feeling that I have taken some big dessert because of the taste). Give your body time to adjust. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you are REALLY hungry. Most times its you that tells your body you are hungry and not the other way around. Take each day as it comes and don't give up.0
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I suggest adding in more protein, a little healthy fat, i.e. olive oil, mayonnaise, butter, more fiber, more water, and a little less carbs. You won't get as hungry.0
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I had to get to the three week point before I lost the starving feeling. Hang in there!
I was the same way, it took me quite a while to gradually lower my portions and eventually I swapped the not so great foods for healthy foods.
I have tried to lose weight so many times and I would always eat too little, binge because I was too hungry, and then give up.
This time around I decided to be more patient and at first ate close to my maintenance calories for a few weeks, then I lowered it to about 1600, a month later to 1400. All along I was exercising and still losing some weight.
Some people are really good at adjusting to new habits, others just take a little bit longer. Don't compare yourself to others too much, you will only be discontent.
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TimothyFish wrote: »It seems to me that if you aren't hungry when you are dieting, you aren't doing it right. Ideally, your body will lead you to eat at a level that would maintain a healthy weight. When we lose weight, we are eating below that level.
I don't really agree with the bolded part. I found that after a month or so of eating at a moderate deficit, as long as my food choices were higher in fat and protein I was very rarely hungry as I lost my weight.0 -
Green vegetables. Carrots, too. But not potatoes, legumes, etc.
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DemoraFairy wrote: »
#youredoingitright0 -
soapsandropes wrote: »Being hungry is natural. If you are never hungry then you are eating too much (or there is something else wrong). I prefer the larger less frequent meal approach, then I get the full feeling and a period of hunger. If I did little meals every 2-3 hours I would constantly be grumpy and slightly hungry. The skeptic in me always side eyes ads that claim that people are never hungry when losing weight.
Make sure that you are hydrated, getting some fiber, and sticking to your calorie goals. Find some things to distract you (exercise is great). Think about why you are hungry, are you emotionally eating?
DEFINATLEY an emotional eater, but obviously trying to get a handle on it by paying more attention to the how's and when's of eating.
I agree with the posters who find that less frequent, higher calorie meals work better. I've always been an emotional eater, too, and have periods when I binge even. WHen I was eating 6 times a day or more, I had worse binge problems because I never felt satisfied with my food (mentally and physically). I tried a CBT exercise for overeating where you purposely skip a meal(s) so that you learn what true hunger feels like. After that, I learned that I can go 8 hours without food during the day if I have to and hunger is not an emergency. The sensation usually goes away after a while, too. I currently practice 16:8 IF and do not eat until after noon. Then, I usually have a biggish lunch, maybe a snack, a biggish dinner and then an evening snack. I'm usually good for at least 4 hours between these meals/snacks and if I have a snack between lunch/dinner, it's usually to satisfy a want, not a need.0 -
soapsandropes wrote: »Being hungry is natural. If you are never hungry then you are eating too much (or there is something else wrong). I prefer the larger less frequent meal approach, then I get the full feeling and a period of hunger. If I did little meals every 2-3 hours I would constantly be grumpy and slightly hungry. The skeptic in me always side eyes ads that claim that people are never hungry when losing weight.
Make sure that you are hydrated, getting some fiber, and sticking to your calorie goals. Find some things to distract you (exercise is great). Think about why you are hungry, are you emotionally eating?
Jumps up and down and waves frantically!!!!
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I hate the "hungry" feeling too. However, are you REALLY hungry? I realized when I started that I wasn't necessarily hungry, I just wasn't stuffed. For me, I was so used to always feeling super full, that when I was satisfied, but not grumbly hungry, I equated that with being "hungry." Food for thought (haha puns).
Some other tricks that have worked for me so far:- I DO eat about every two hours, it works for me.
- I also have protein and healthy fat with every snack and meal. It's also a little trial and error....for instance, I found I feel fuller longer when I snack on a hard boiled egg, so I keep that in my snack rotation quite a bit.
- I also believe in and love volumetrics...I will have a big *kitten* salad for lunch that I've loaded with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, onions, etc etc..and a reasonable portion of grilled chicken. I feel like I've eaten a TON, but I've kept the calorie count reasonable. Same with stir-fry meals...I'll do my 4oz of chicken or beef and dump two bags of frozen stirfry veg in the wok...yum!
- I'm probably mirroring a lot of people when I say...stay patient, figure out what works for you, being grumbly hungry won't kill you while you're figuring it out.
- Oh..and I totally exercise so I can eat more.
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