Always hungry

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Boredmp
Boredmp Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sure this topic is not new to anyone but its still a struggle. I constantly feel hungry especially during that time of the month. I could blaze through 2000 calories in a day easily and still feel a strong need for more. My boyfriend, who is naturally thin, never feels hungry. For snacks and meals its always me asking, when can we eat next? I don't know how to make this endless hunger go away. I've tried waiting it out, I sat listening to music for an hour but eventually I always give in. I've tried going for a walk but that just leaves me with an excuse to indulge. I just wish o could have a "normal" appetite. My hunger is what prevents me from reaching my goals. I've already got the activity part of this equation completed. I am very active, I'm on a soccer team, volleyball team, I kayak, run 5ks regularly and go for walks just because.
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Replies

  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
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    I have a boyfriend who is exactly the same, which can be quite annoying; makes me feel like a fatty the amount i eat compared to him, even when i'm only hitting 1300 calories a day. But, i just have to tell myself that i am doing this for me, my body and schedule is totally different to his and not to judge my eating behaviours by his.

    So how many calories a day do you aim to eat, what is your height, current weight, goal weight, amount of pounds you want to lose a week, and what would you say your activity level is? How often do you do all these activities for per week, how do you measure calories burned?

    Sorry for all the questions, but we need more info to be able to help :)
  • Faithful_Chosen
    Faithful_Chosen Posts: 401 Member
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    Reach for the low-cal/healthy options. It's darn hard to blow through 2000 cal worth of carrot sticks, but super easy if you try to do the same with chips or sweets. Regular meal times might help to condition your brain. Lots of water. In the end it's mostly a waiting game...
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    Is it actual tummy-growling hunger? Or is it craving? It could be helpful to really think about it and see if you can tell the difference. I read somewhere that a good indicator of hunger is to wait until your stomach growls twice.

    Are you getting enough fluids? This may sound dumb, but it's actually really common for people to mistake thirst for hunger. Try drinking a big glass of water and see if this helps.

    Is your calorie deficit too high? Are you getting enough calories to sustain yourself? Honestly, 2000 calories isn't all that much. Most women probably can't lose weight on it without exercising, but it's not an extreme amount of calories. Also, if you exercise, make sure to eat at least some of them back. The calorie amount that MFP sets for you includes a deficit BEFORE you exercise, so when you exercise, you are creating an even greater deficit. Which sounds good, but if your deficit is too high, it can make adherence really tough. And you won't lose any weight if you fall off the wagon, will you?
  • jmd543
    jmd543 Posts: 174 Member
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    Drinking lots of water and eating vegetables with a high water content, e.g., cucumbers; avoiding sugar, including fruit, until the late afternoon; and making an exception one week a month for a bit more dark chocolate (worked into my calorie plan) has helped me a lot.
  • KHS86
    KHS86 Posts: 29 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Cook 1kg of broccoli, thats like 350 calories... Put 100gram of low fat greek yoghurt on top as dressing, that's like 400 calories... or do 2kg of brocolli. Just keep stuffing yourself with broccoli until you feel the fulness you're craving.

    I've done it a few times... Grab the low calorie foods when you feel like you need volume.
  • Boredmp
    Boredmp Posts: 12 Member
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    Faithful_Chosen wrote: »
    Reach for the low-cal/healthy options. It's darn hard to blow through 2000 cal worth of carrot sticks, but super easy if you try to do the same with chips or sweets. Regular meal times might help to condition your brain. Lots of water. In the end it's mostly a waiting game...

    I have tried to fill up veggies but they aren't satisfying. I always end going to the food I originally wanted anyway. I'd definitely consider myself a motivated eater. If I want something I will drive to the store and go get it. I can't keep junk food in the house ( ice cream, pretzels, cereal..) So I have a craving for it, I go get it.
  • Boredmp
    Boredmp Posts: 12 Member
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    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    Is it actual tummy-growling hunger? Or is it craving? It could be helpful to really think about it and see if you can tell the difference. I read somewhere that a good indicator of hunger is to wait until your stomach growls twice.

    Are you getting enough fluids? This may sound dumb, but it's actually really common for people to mistake thirst for hunger. Try drinking a big glass of water and see if this helps.

    Is your calorie deficit too high? Are you getting enough calories to sustain yourself? Honestly, 2000 calories isn't all that much. Most women probably can't lose weight on it without exercising, but it's not an extreme amount of calories. Also, if you exercise, make sure to eat at least some of them back. The calorie amount that MFP sets for you includes a deficit BEFORE you exercise, so when you exercise, you are creating an even greater deficit. Which sounds good, but if your deficit is too high, it can make adherence really tough. And you won't lose any weight if you fall off the wagon, will you?

    It's never tummy growling hunger, its usually always a craving that I can't shake off. I do stay well hydrated, drinking 8-12 glasses a day. Waiting for my stomach to growl twice is a good idea, I have to some how out stand the cravings.

    I do exercise a lot and I'm always scared to eat the calories I burn off because I never see any weight loss when I do that. I find that controlling hunger is easier when I take off from sports And exercising for a week. It's hard to maintain that though because I love being active. It's a catch 22 I guess. Thank you for your reply.
  • Boredmp
    Boredmp Posts: 12 Member
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    jmd543 wrote: »
    Drinking lots of water and eating vegetables with a high water content, e.g., cucumbers; avoiding sugar, including fruit, until the late afternoon; and making an exception one week a month for a bit more dark chocolate (worked into my calorie plan) has helped me a lot.

    Why do you think the no sugar until the afternoon helped? Did it help you with cravings?
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    2000 calories is really quite abit of food, if your eating clean anyway. I'm a male, 5'10" and weigh in at about 209lbs and I am living on 1500 calories. I eat a lot of leafy greens, like for lunch I ate 2oz of turkey on wheat bread and a whole bunch of spinach, yesterday for lunch I had a taco salad, it had 4oz of seasoned ground turkey salsa, and a giant bowl full of lettuce. The leafy greens really fill me up, and avoiding the chips(my family ate those) and cheese left me with plenty of calories for a good dinner. Sometimes it seems to help cravings if you build in some crap food into your daily intake, allow 300-500 calories say for a good dessert, or it may simply be suckign on a jolly rancher or two throughout the day could quell your sugar craving...
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Eat more healthy foods. It's very easy to stay full on fruits and veggies. Whole grain breads are more filling than white.

    Periods...I always ate more before them and less after. It wasn't until I was paying attention to my hunger that I realized there were a couple days after my period that I really didn't much food at all. So, that worked out well. :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I know exactly what you're talking about. The week before my period, I eat like a 15yo boy. But if I don't eat, I get the shakes. It's that bad.

    What do you crave especially? For me it's never sweets, but carbs like pasta, pizza or bread. And honestly, I've found that it's easier for me if I just go ahead and have a 800 calories plate of pasta or 800 calories worth of pizza at lunch. It's the only thing that will satisfy me for a while... I've tried lean meats and veggies and it doesn't do anything (like I'll be bloated from all the veggies but still have the shakes). And yeah, if I eat sweets early those days, it's going to be worse.

    Try magnesium supplements, I hear that they help too (not me though).

    2000 calories is totally fine though if you're active... Probably still under your maintenance, so it's probably not what stops you from reaching your goals.

    And yeah, just make sure to really stick to it the days when you don't feel that hungry. That's when you want to go for lean meats, lots of veggies, whole grains in moderation etc.
  • andylllI
    andylllI Posts: 379 Member
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    I'm always hungry in a deficit. Even a small deficit. I've had to learn how to be ok with embeing hungry. Tummy growling hungry. I plan my day so that I am the most hungry in the am when I have more willpower (saving breakfast calories for mid morning or lunch) and in the evening (going to bed hungry because appetite resets overnight). If I am not hungry I am not in a deficit but I don't gain either.

    I've never understood the premise often touted here that you don't have to be hungry in a deficit. It just doesn't work for me (and I weigh everything and have a 10%-15% TDEE deficit so not large...still hungry. 40 g fibre a day still hungry. 10 glasses of water, 3 cups of coffee, carbonated noncaloric beverages...yep...still hungry. Weight loss about 1-2 lb a month). I suspect non-hungry dieting doesn't work for everyone...but you can do some things to make hunger more tolerable.

    TOM is a total *kitten* tho.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,704 Member
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    I find limiting carbs helps control my appetite. If I have more than say, 50g of simple carbs at a single sitting it makes my blood glucose spike, causing an insulin spike that leaves my blood glucose too low 2-3 hours later. The low blood sugar always makes me ravenous and crave more carbs. If I want something sweet or otherwise high carb, I will wait until evening so that my blood sugar won't yoyo all day.
  • marvelgirl82
    marvelgirl82 Posts: 1 Member
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    Have you tried mug cakes? You can find recipes on Pinterest that are low calorie and should help satisfy the craving. I feel your pain. My hunger explodes during that time too. If I give in I just try to make sure I get back on track as soon as possible. If I beat myself up about it or obsess about the calories, etc. it just isn't good for my mental health issues.
  • cld111
    cld111 Posts: 300 Member
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    I feel you. I am STARVING the week before TOM. I usually eat at maintenance. I feel much less hungry the week after TOM and can usually have some good deficits. It tends to even out like Kalikel mentioned. I tend to think listening to our bodies here might make the most sense. Also, eat at least some of your exercise calories back. To me, the point of exercising is so I can eat more. Take advantage!
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
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    OP, I have the same issues. I have fallen off the wagon many times because of it. I try to fill up on protein - it helps a little bit with fullness and fighting off cravings. I fit in treats that I crave when I have the calories for it. When having a treat, I have a smaller portion and eat it very slowly - savoring it. It still takes a lot of will power, and I have failed many times. When I have a bad day, I don't beat myself up - I just move on to the next day and try to do better.
  • AlciaMode
    AlciaMode Posts: 421 Member
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    Change your relationship with food.
  • kaileyfry
    kaileyfry Posts: 56 Member
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    Drink Hot tea and coffee. Or heartburn pills. It makes you feel full.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    acpgee wrote: »
    I find limiting carbs helps control my appetite. If I have more than say, 50g of simple carbs at a single sitting it makes my blood glucose spike, causing an insulin spike that leaves my blood glucose too low 2-3 hours later. The low blood sugar always makes me ravenous and crave more carbs. If I want something sweet or otherwise high carb, I will wait until evening so that my blood sugar won't yoyo all day.

    Something similar happens to me and I also find that limiting high glycemic load foods helps control my appetite. I save carbs for a bed time snack.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    @Boredmp - would you change your diary setting to Public so we can take a look? http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Also, how tall are you, how much do you weigh, what's your goal weight, how much are you trying to lose per week, and how many calories are you shooting for on the days you are hungry?

    Sometimes people have over-aggressive goals which inevitably leave them hungry, sometimes their eating patterns leave them hungry, etc.

    Re TOM, I eat at maintenance for two days.

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