Struggling a bit with Maintenance
NinaSharp
Posts: 101 Member
I recently reached my goal weight and switched over to maintenance. I made a conscious choice to stop my weight loss and so had some time to explore the forums ahead of time to pick up some tips on making it stick. I refuse to be overweight again. One of the really great tips I got, was to listen to my body. The poster encouraged eating when hungry and stopping when full and seeing food as fuel and not indulging feelings in food.
When I started this past weekend, I began doing this, listening to my body when it's hungry. But I'm struggling to eat all my calories. I did 1200 calories a day to lose my weight, and now I find that it's a struggle to even get to that. Yesterday I ended with 1053 calories. My original plan was to have an additional bag of popcorn which would have gotten me 1200 at least, but after eating a corn dog (my weakness) I found I wasn't hungry at all and wound up going to bed. Since entering maintenance, I've lost 3 more lbs. I realize the simple answer here is eat more, but my question is, does this feeling of never being hungry pass eventually? Will I will actually be able to eat and actually get hungry or did I do something wrong here and break myself?
When I started this past weekend, I began doing this, listening to my body when it's hungry. But I'm struggling to eat all my calories. I did 1200 calories a day to lose my weight, and now I find that it's a struggle to even get to that. Yesterday I ended with 1053 calories. My original plan was to have an additional bag of popcorn which would have gotten me 1200 at least, but after eating a corn dog (my weakness) I found I wasn't hungry at all and wound up going to bed. Since entering maintenance, I've lost 3 more lbs. I realize the simple answer here is eat more, but my question is, does this feeling of never being hungry pass eventually? Will I will actually be able to eat and actually get hungry or did I do something wrong here and break myself?
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Since entering maintenance, I've lost 3 more lbs. I realize the simple answer here is eat more, but my question is, does this feeling of never being hungry pass eventually? Will I will actually be able to eat and actually get hungry or did I do something wrong here and break myself?
I imagine your appetite will perk up - if it doesn't then it's important to see your medical provider. In the meantime, make some small adjustments - add more fresh fruit, go for full-fat items over their fat-free counterparts, grab a handful of nuts from time to time, have more avocado (your skin will love you for that), etc.
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when you start eating more, your appetite will increase...right now your appetite is depressed due to the hormonal changes that happen when you diet and eat few calories...these hormonal changes are how anorexics and the like can eat so little and truly claim not to be hungry...
when you start eating more, these same hormones will change again and increase appetite. add in a little at a time...a little something extra with breakfast...an extra snack...a little extra something at lunch...another snack...desert after dinner, etc.0 -
As someone who has lost a lot of weight, LOVES food but rarely actually "feels hungry," and is easing into maintenance, I have some thoughts.
*It's possible that your appetite MAY NOT come back. Not everyone has the same appetite drive. And hormonal changes in your body (driven by exercise, dietary changes, or just straight up aging. You're only 28 lol but actually you may not realize you're only now coming into your full physical maturity and your hormones may actually be a bit different than they were say 5 years ago.) can definitely mess with your hunger cues. This is not necessarily a sign that anything is wrong with you or that you need to see a doctor, either. It can be perfectly normal.
*Hunger takes different forms in different people, and for any one person this too can change over time due to hormones. If you're used to hunger feeling one way, you may have difficulty recognizing it when it changes. Mine has changed a lot as I've gotten older and as my exercise regimen has changed. There's the crampy growly stomach hunger feels. There's the weakness in the limbs hunger feels. There's the dizzy / lightheaded hunger feels. There's the shakey hunger feels. There's the "oh, food sounds good!" social / emotional hunger feels. In my experience, I can feel any one or combination of these based on different things that are going on with my body (exercise routine changes, being short on protein, being low on carbs, being just flat-out tired or sick, etc.). Or -- I can feel NONE of them but still know that I am underfuelled.
*Bottom line, for anyone who has potentially abnormal (temporary or permanent) hunger cues, I'm not a fan of relying too much on intuitive eating or "listening to your body" to decide when and what to eat, especially as regards minimums.
And I'm sure I'm not saying anything that you haven't already been told, but for the record if you're eating 1200 cal / day, it's probably super, super, SUPER important that you pay really good attention to nutrition with those limited cals.
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I was in the same boat as you...
Then, when I finally forced myself to eat at maintenance, I wound up being super hungry even after eating all my calories, LOL!
I even started a thread about it...
You may just need to force your self to "up" your calories gradually... not to the point where you "stuff" yourself obviously, but enough to start to get your body used to wanting and eating the calories.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »when you start eating more, your appetite will increase...right now your appetite is depressed due to the hormonal changes that happen when you diet and eat few calories...these hormonal changes are how anorexics and the like can eat so little and truly claim not to be hungry...
when you start eating more, these same hormones will change again and increase appetite. add in a little at a time...a little something extra with breakfast...an extra snack...a little extra something at lunch...another snack...desert after dinner, etc.
THIS^^ When I was on 1200 I was never hungry (once I got used to it) and sometimes had to force myself to eat 1,000 calories a day so MFP wouldn't "yell" at me. When I started maintenance I had trouble, but eventually was able to work up to the calories I was supposed to eat. Then (as I stated earlier) I was always hungry. Now I feel like I'm used to the calories again. Our bodies adapt amazingly!0 -
As someone who's always had a big appetite, struggling to eat is very alien to me. Lol
But as others have said, it may just be hormonal changes and maybe a bit mental too (i.e the fear of eating more).
Just try eating more calorific foods like Nuts for example......they'll feel like more like a snack but are pretty high calorie.
A couple of handfuls can easily tot up 300 or so calories.0 -
I think your appetite will perk up. I don't worry about being under unless I'm 700 calories or so under. Mostly I find I'm hungry, look at my log, and realize yes, I should eat. My body is right. You'll adjust.0
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As someone who has lost a lot of weight, LOVES food but rarely actually "feels hungry," and is easing into maintenance, I have some thoughts.
*It's possible that your appetite MAY NOT come back. Not everyone has the same appetite drive. And hormonal changes in your body (driven by exercise, dietary changes, or just straight up aging. You're only 28 lol but actually you may not realize you're only now coming into your full physical maturity and your hormones may actually be a bit different than they were say 5 years ago.) can definitely mess with your hunger cues. This is not necessarily a sign that anything is wrong with you or that you need to see a doctor, either. It can be perfectly normal.
*Hunger takes different forms in different people, and for any one person this too can change over time due to hormones. If you're used to hunger feeling one way, you may have difficulty recognizing it when it changes. Mine has changed a lot as I've gotten older and as my exercise regimen has changed. There's the crampy growly stomach hunger feels. There's the weakness in the limbs hunger feels. There's the dizzy / lightheaded hunger feels. There's the shakey hunger feels. There's the "oh, food sounds good!" social / emotional hunger feels. In my experience, I can feel any one or combination of these based on different things that are going on with my body (exercise routine changes, being short on protein, being low on carbs, being just flat-out tired or sick, etc.). Or -- I can feel NONE of them but still know that I am underfuelled.
*Bottom line, for anyone who has potentially abnormal (temporary or permanent) hunger cues, I'm not a fan of relying too much on intuitive eating or "listening to your body" to decide when and what to eat, especially as regards minimums.
And I'm sure I'm not saying anything that you haven't already been told, but for the record if you're eating 1200 cal / day, it's probably super, super, SUPER important that you pay really good attention to nutrition with those limited cals.
I couldn't agree more and this is my experience too. I think every person will have to find their own balance. Just keep paying attention :-)
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I found when I got closer to, and finally switched to maintenance that I began taking higher protein and calorie packed snacks between meals more seriously. It was beneficial for me especially when paired with adding more activity and exercise to work on muscle building/toning.
I did initially lose a couple more pounds when I began maintenance because I was not interested in "stuffing my face". However, my want for maintaining my weight forced me to see the value in the math...I addded calories and spent them on wine and a nice dinner out every week or so. Meal planning is a valuable resource that shouldn't be ignored now that you're maintaining- it will cut your stress and help you stay nutritionally responsible- plus now you get wine/cheesecake if you want Best of luck to you!! 0 -
Add some more nuts on the days when you haven't hit your calorie maintenance target. They are nutritious, healthy, and are high in calories for their size, so not very filling (in case you're too full from your other foods). If you're still hungry then a small side of grains to hit your target should work.
Good luck! Keep it up, doing great0 -
A big glass of milk or oj and some toast will get you up to target. And yes, anything they base a cuisine on: nut, figs, dates, rice, beans, will bring you up to your calories really fast in a fairly nutritious way.0
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One of the really great tips I got, was to listen to my body. The poster encouraged eating when hungry and stopping when full ...
Quite frankly, I cant and dont trust my body with this task at this time - that's why I'm here. I'm hoping that my current behaviour and logging will eventually re-train my senses for proper "manners" about food
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cwolfman13 wrote: »when you start eating more, your appetite will increase...right now your appetite is depressed due to the hormonal changes that happen when you diet and eat few calories...these hormonal changes are how anorexics and the like can eat so little and truly claim not to be hungry...
when you start eating more, these same hormones will change again and increase appetite. add in a little at a time...a little something extra with breakfast...an extra snack...a little extra something at lunch...another snack...desert after dinner, etc.
This is good advice. Adding in a little bit at a time will help you get used to eating more and you'll find your appetite coming back gradually.0 -
One of the really great tips I got, was to listen to my body. The poster encouraged eating when hungry and stopping when full ...
Yeah that's pretty much horrible advice for most of the people who were overweight and had to restrict calories at one point or another, because it's proof right there that they suck at listening to their body, and eating at a deficit too long WILL affect your hunger hormones (obviously, as you can see yourself).
Once you start eating more, your appetite will come back, guaranteed, and you might have the opposite problem, which I think is one of the reason a lot of people gain weight back (for example, since I started eating close to maintenance, my body has been a lying PoS that wants me to believe that I need 4000 calories a day before my period).
Bottom line, NEVER EVER 'trust your body'. And that's why I keep logging.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »when you start eating more, your appetite will increase...right now your appetite is depressed due to the hormonal changes that happen when you diet and eat few calories...these hormonal changes are how anorexics and the like can eat so little and truly claim not to be hungry...
when you start eating more, these same hormones will change again and increase appetite. add in a little at a time...a little something extra with breakfast...an extra snack...a little extra something at lunch...another snack...desert after dinner, etc.
^^ this cos the wolfman knows 0
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