How hungry are you, most days? Are you comfortable being hungry?

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  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I've lost almost 60lbs 8 years ago, and kept most of it off, except for the 15 that snuck back due to menopause....But that is gone again.

    I was never hungry - peckish maybe, or had a craving for something....BUT...if I look at your diary, you are filling your meager 1200 calories with pasta, McDonalds and very little protein....

    No wonder you are always hungry...Except for the day you had biltong sticks (which as a South African, I can recommend as the best and yummiest protein there is :D ) you get only about 50g of protein a day, and 150 carbs.... I will starve and eat my own hands...
    Up your protein and fat, and the lack of hunger will surprise you.....
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited June 2015
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    On a scale of hunger out of 10 being starving, I'm never more than a 5 - usually its just lack of hydration or a notion. I eat 3 large meals per day and 2 snacks though so perhaps thats why I never feel hunger.

    I'm not sure any of us really know the meaning of real hunger.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    For those wondering and for those who suggest I relax my goals a little - here is where it is currently at :

    I eat 1200 pretty rigidly (my diary is open if anyone wants to take a look) and I weigh all my food and that which is not weighed arrives in measured packs. I do not drink my calories, but I also do not ban any foods and satisfy my junk food cravings when they strike while staying within calories (weekends often include Macdonalds - one quarter pounder with cheese is almost my whole days eating, with a couple of cups of coffee to round it off). I have only been over calories 4 times in 11 weeks and only one of those times was significant - the others were numbers less than maintenance.

    For anyone about to chide me for being too rigid, I have lost 6kgs in 11 weeks while being on MFP. That is 0.5kg a week. It is not dropping off me is what I am saying, so I would really hesitate to dial up the calories as I suspect I would stall completely. I am not one of you 25 year old gym bunnies - I would gain on 1600 - I am pretty sure, based on the numbers I am currently seeing. I want to get rid of this weight and the discomfort of hunger seems preferable to not making any progress or having to wait two years to lose 10kg.

    I don't add any calories when I exercise, which is not all that often (a stationary bike ride a couple of times a week at most). I am 40 years old and 1.7m tall.

    I don't feel the need to eliminate the hunger - as I said in my first post I feel it comes with the territory, but some days, like today it gets me down and I recognize that I might be able to make small changes to feel better.

    It is interesting to read the experience of others and to see I am not alone.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
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    brendak76 wrote: »
    I've had to do some medical testing for my insulin pump over the last few weeks to make sure my rates are set correctly. The testing involves eating a low fat meal and then not eating anything for 11 hours. No caffeine even. Water and diet sprite and sf jello only. I've had to do this multiple days and I've learned a lot about hunger. The "hunger" I experience on a daily, 3 hours post meal basis is real, but very very mild. The real hunger starts at about 7 hours after eating and it is so consuming by hour 9 that I can't function (dizzy, weak, shouldn't be driving kind of bad). Hats off to those who do regular fasting. I'm trying to learn to be ok with the mild hunger after experiencing the crazy hunger several times now.

    FINALLY! Someone understands how much of a pain in the butt basal testing is! I'm in the process of resolidifying my basal rates, and I'm really tempted to sell my basal testing diet as a new detox -the sugar free jello and diet coke/sparkling water detox.

    Unfortunately, I'm retesting the overnight segment tonight (and might also bang out the early morning segment if I don't experience another 2:30AM hypo), and I'm not looking forward to it what-so-ever. At this point, I don't care if my dinner is high in protein -if anything, the high-protein meal might cause my 12AM starting number to be slightly higher.

    From what I've noticed, I also tend to get super hungry if my BG is above 160-ish. It's gotten to the point where I need to test myself to see if I'm hungry because I'm high, I'm low, or if it's not related to my BG what-so-ever.
  • YolliB2014
    YolliB2014 Posts: 104 Member
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    YES... At times I do feel hungry and like I'm running on empty. I've been trying to plan my meals so I'm eating a little more frequently. I've been making sure to have washed, sliced and ready to go fruits available for those times when my mood makes it that much harder to resist. One thing I've also noticed is that on days when I have not come anywhere near my protein goal, is a definite contribution for hunger for me. So, after a workout, when I really get hungry, I have a small snack and I do add some protein powder to my water for no other reason than that it works to get rid of my hunger pangs and it helps me reach my protein requirements a little better.

    And as soon as I start cooking dinner, every night, the smell of food stirs my appetite up ferociously. In the past I would have munched on the easy stuff while cooking and never realized just how many calories I was consuming. Now I have stopped doing that completely and stick to my water. It can be uncomfortable at times but had it been an easy process, I'd have been able to do this years ago.

    It's still a huge learning process for me but I'm very happy to say that I have been losing the weight slowly and steadily and know that I can keep it up at this pace.





  • andylllI
    andylllI Posts: 379 Member
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    When I'm in a deficit I'm hungry. Except for about the first hour in the morning and for the first hour after a meal. I go to bed hungry. When I eat at maintenance I'm not hungry. When I was in adeficit I had a 30p30f40c ratio and ate a ton of fibre and I was still hungry. I don't get this insistence that you can be in a deficit without hunger. But I also think that hunger is like pain - how it is perceived is related to coping, thresholds and meanings placed on it. There are probably variabilities in people's hunger tolerances and certainly variabilities in ability/ tools to cope with discomfort. I suspect mine are poor!
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    @astrampe - I am sure you just randomly viewed a couple of days of my diary (understandable), but in this week (and any other week) I am much more likely to be over on protein and fat than over on carbs on the average day.

    When asked for opinions before, many people assume that I am trying to go high protein (I am not, I just like meat some days and pasta others.. but meat MUCH more often).

    I appreciate you taking the time though.

  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    @andylllI - yep - that all resonates.

    Some people feel that intuitive eating is the ultimate healthy state - if I was to intuitively eat, I would know I was staying in a deficit if I was hungry every day (as I currently am), know that I was maintaining if I was never full and never hungry either and know that I was gaining weight if I was full more often than anything else.

    I am not going to be doing that any time soon though. I hate guesswork (even guessing based on hunger as moods and hormones come into it far too often too) and I love solid information and data.

  • afat12
    afat12 Posts: 178 Member
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    So, I was a longtime MFP member (I think I logged every day straight for 2 years then was gone for a year or two and then came back and logged for 1.5 years straight) but then I moved to a new city and got a new job (I ended up losing a lot of weight due to stress and just the physical act of moving and packing) so I fell off the bandwagon. I tried starting back up and it just seemed overwhelming- how did I do this with such ease in the past?

    Every time I've started and stopped I slowly drop my calories. People may disagree with me but this is what works best for me.

    First two or three days I eat normally and log what I eat. Then for a week I'll lower it 200 calories, then 200 more, and then to whatever my caloric goal should be.

    I guess like other people have said it is uncomfortable and maybe I just slowly move into the full uncomfortableness and it is less of a shock.

    I drink A LOT of water and coffee and it helps. I also take a good vitamin, fish oil, and calcium.

    Good luck, you can do it :smile:
  • tcosenza
    tcosenza Posts: 10 Member
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    I feel the same way .. the worst for me is around 2 pm.... I have stocked my fridge with carrots and other veggies I do not mind snacking on. I used to be really bad and have muffin around then but trying not to anymore.
    I have been looking into doing a protein shake with a banana as well .. that could help; Also look to eat several small meals through out the day.
  • Karen_DisneyFan
    Karen_DisneyFan Posts: 130 Member
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    @Soopatt , have you tried drinking more water? A lot of the time when we "think" we're hungry, it's actually thirst. If I get hungry, I'll have a glass of water and wait for 15 minutes or so. If I'm still hungry, I'll eat something - usually the hunger goes away. I drink at least 8 cups of water during the day (zero calories) along with a few cups of tea (about 50 calories total from milk and a little sugar). Good luck to you & congratulations on your loss so far (and not giving in to your hunger)! :)
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
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    I'm often moderately hungry. I'm on 1200 calories a day, so I try not to eat the second I feel hunger. If it's 11 am and I'm hungry I try to wait until noon to have lunch, for example. The trick is to not get TOO hungry and then eat everything in sight. I always have a snack on hand just in case, and also if my blood sugar plummets and I start feeling jittery.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    I could certainly do with drinking more water @Karen_DisneyFan

    I get about 5 down a day currently and I have to admit to including my coffee and tea in that. It is a winter thing. Water is cold and wet! hehe
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    I try not to be hungry because I get hangry and nauseated and headachy when I am.
  • discretekim
    discretekim Posts: 314 Member
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    Well I am sometimes hungry. But I usually eat about 1600 cals so my deficit is pretty low. I've found at night time it is often a fake hunger. I just want something more for some reason. But during the day if I'm hungry it's usually because I am. Still in my experience it isn't too bad if you stick to modest goals. On old diets when I had my eating disorder I only considered the day a success if I was hungry when I went to bed. I don't really like that feeling though.
  • Shreshy
    Shreshy Posts: 1,263 Member
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    I'm always hungry :( i used to be able to control my unhealthy cravings until I lost my discipline. Now its just so hard. I keep telling myself I'll work it off but I always procrastinate
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    LOL, no problem....I did not read every day in your diary, you are right....But my overall impression of what you eat is (after scanning a few more random days) is that I will starve to death if I have to live on digestive biscuits and coffee for breakfast, and just the general low protein that is on every day....

    I am in my late 40's, pre-menopousal, lift heavy or play with kettlebells a minimum of 3 times a week, have a seriously low metabolism (BMR is only 1300 and I am 5'8 and 82kg) and I lose weight on 1300-1500 cals a day....

    BUT....I try to never eat less than 100g of protein per day - and fill up on lots of veggies... An omelet made with 1 whole egg, half a cup of egg whites and a tablespoon of coconut oil, filled with a load of shredded and sauteed spinach, bean sprouts, onions and mushrooms, has about 300 cals, but fills me up from 7am till noon....

    Whereas 2 digestive biscuits and coffee for breakfast, or a cup of low fat yogurt and fruit will have me chewing off my fingers by 10am.... Maybe try replacing the low fat yogurt with a low fat Greek yogurt? Have 50g of biltong on a slice of toast and some cheese for breakfast instead of cookies, or grab a protein shake if you are travelling....
    Good luck with your program!
  • Shreshy
    Shreshy Posts: 1,263 Member
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    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    When I run, I'm tired.

    When I lift, I'm weak (lift to muscle failure) and sore

    When I eat for health, diet fatigue (where's my donuts and pizza!?)

    When I eat for weight loss, I'm hungry.


    These are the facts of my life... and yet I do all four simultaneously.

    If it were comfortable, everyone would be doing it, right?

    The more, uncomfortable you can be, the farther ahead of the Average Schmo you will be. In everything. Everything.

    This was like a motivational speech for me lol
  • belinda_73
    belinda_73 Posts: 149 Member
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    drink lots of water, have black olives, avocado, almonds handy. when I am dying i'll pick one of the 3, either 1/3 an avocado, 6 olives, or 15 almonds.

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