When does the crazy hunger go away?

Options
2»

Replies

  • karamille
    karamille Posts: 79 Member
    Options
    Are you posting your activity and eating some of your burned calories? If you don't want to mess with that, click on tools and click on BMR, which is how many calories your body needs to exist if you did nothing all day long but sit in one place like a slug. Mine is 1500. If I eat 1500 and just go about my daily life of chasing my kids, cleaning, evening walks, I lose about 1.5 lbs a week. Using the BMR is a better way to go if you aren't logging calories burned and eating back some of your burned calories. .
  • skinnyrache
    skinnyrache Posts: 33 Member
    Options
    I just started a few days ago as well and am trying to stay within the 1200 calorie range. It's tough! I never considered myself to eat terribly before- I always ate lots of fruits and veggies and tried to avoid the obviously bad stuff, but I'm realizing now that I have a lot of changes to make, especially in my portion sizes. I find it has been a very mental thing for me, so I've had to relearn how I think about food.

    A couple things that seem to be helping (as others have said, too): lots of water, and avoid excess sugar! I've found that if I start indulging in sugary things my hunger spikes and then I start getting the hunger headaches and that awful shaky feeling. By choosing healthy protein options and staying away from the sugar I've managed to feel a little more normal. It's been great to hear what others have said too. Good luck!
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    Options
    For me, exercise. It gives me an hour where I'm no where near the pantry. LOL! Also, it gives you more wiggle room, and it is a natural appetite suppressant for an hour or so afterwards. Going and walking on the treadmill etc was always a recipe for failure. It wasn't until I started taking group exercise classes like Spinning that it really clicked. The rest was history. :-)
  • erisfreenici
    erisfreenici Posts: 277 Member
    Options
    What I did when I first started was log for 1 week eating at the same level I was to figure out what my "baseline" calories were and where I was wasting them. Then for the next 2 weeks, I cut out one thing that I had regularly that sabotaged my caloric intake. It resulted in me cutting between 250 calories at a time from my diet per day. The next week, I cut about 250 more calories until I got down to where MFP wanted me to be for 1 lb per week weight loss. Actually, I believe I was using the LoseIt app or maybe Daily Burn at the time. I stopped eating out, stopped drinking pop, stopped having cupcakes for my 3PM snack. I started going grocery shopping more frequently buying fruits and veggies. I slice strawberries, make watermelon balls, and have it all ready for the week so that I can snack on healthy foods rather than

    All the other times I've changed diet for weight loss, I would be ravenously hungry and it led to binging. The taper down method was much more effective.
  • moPOETRYtion
    moPOETRYtion Posts: 24
    Options
    Wow, thank you all so much for the great advice! I will stick to 1200 for another week or so, and bump it up if I still feel this way. I am planning on adding some exercise as well, which will buy me a few more calories.
  • perceptualobfuscator
    perceptualobfuscator Posts: 159 Member
    Options
    When I first started the site, I tried to do a one pound loss per week and went with 1200 calories. I couldn't hack it - I was grumpy and headachey all the time. All I could think about was food, and when I actually ate, I was so hungry I could barely taste it. I was shaking and lightheaded and couldn't concentrate on anything. It was horrible.

    I realized that even if I did lose a pound a week, it wasn't worth it to feel that way. So I cut back to half a pound per week. It's slow going, and sometimes I feel discouraged, but it's better than feeling that way. I still get hungry, but not nearly to the same degree.

    And that's how I dealt with crazy hunger. Most likely that isn't what you meant, but if it is, I recommend cutting back on your weight loss per week and adding more calories.

    And I second the suggestion to drink more water. Sometimes our bodies can mistake feeling thirsty for feeling hungry, especially if you're not getting enough water to begin with. Even if that's not the case, it helps you feel fuller.

    I would also recommend having several small snacks throughout the day if your hunger is distracting you. We all want to lose weight, but there's no point in letting your hunger monopolize your thoughts!! Everyone has a life outside of weight loss. Just having some baby carrots, an apple or a granola bar throughout the day can help you feel less hungry.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Options
    You might be surprised to learn that 1200 calories isn't enough food for your body. The extreme hunger ended within a week or so for me - because I was eating foods that kept me fuller, longer.

    I say - if you keep going another week VERY hungry - perhaps try raising your calories for a couple weeks. Sometimes extreme hunger is our body's way of saying "HEY! This isn't enough!".
  • sherrilcox
    sherrilcox Posts: 5
    Options
    I was crazy hungry for the first week or so. Start adding in greek yogurt or some other high protein/fiber snacks. It definitely helps keep you full! Good luck!
  • Rikki444
    Rikki444 Posts: 326 Member
    Options
    Well, that is a loaded question. There’s so many factors to consider. The first two weeks are the worst. It should get better after that. There’s a long list of scientific reason for that, but this is what I found:

    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm
  • moPOETRYtion
    moPOETRYtion Posts: 24
    Options
    Great advice! I will also make sure to up my water too!
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Options
    2 or 3 weeks. Then it comes back periodically, like if you are calorie cycling, and have eaten a lot one day, you feel starving the next.
  • ItsLessOfMe
    ItsLessOfMe Posts: 374 Member
    Options
    You can look at my journal if you want. High protien, nuts, eggs, lean meats, beans. WATER WATER WATER...And of course high fiber. You will be very satisfied if you have these things with all of you snacks/meals
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Options
    The things that help fill me up are tea and psyllium fibre. Also konjac, but that fills you up in a weird way where you think your stomach is going to burst from being so full, but you feel totally unfulfilled at the same time. Not a great combo.

Categories