always hungry?

amyf2000
amyf2000 Posts: 44 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I've done the math a million times, and my TDEE should be not more than 1900 calories. I think this is low! But my Jawbone says I burn between 1450-1550 a day without exercise (just with whatever steps I get, which are averaging about 7200 a day or so), and my exercise according to MFP averages out to 333 calories a day. And people always say the MFP exercise calories you get are high!

I'm hungry ALL the time. ALL. I was losing at 1290 + exercise calories and am now, three weeks later, eating 1420 + exercise calories, but I have a couple of bingey days a week where I go WAY over. I'm the same weight I was when I decided to start maintaining. What should I do? Up my calories to 1670 + exercise calories and cut out the bingey days? Is there a better way to figure out how much I'm REALLY burning in my workouts? Or should I up my calories until I feel like I'm not hungry all the time but not gaining? Or should I change what I eat and eat more protein? Like, do I need to start drinking protein shakes???

Replies

  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    Change what you eat, try the 80/20 method with 80% of your calories coming from nutrient dense filling foods and the 20% from whatever you enjoy/crave. I find protein and fibre are the two that keep me feeling fullest. I find a berry/yoghurt combination fills me up at breakfast or fruit with a bran based cereal. Lots of veggies or salad with a slab of meat or fish for main meals works for me as well. I did cut back on bread and potatoes, not because there is anything wrong with them but I just didn't find them worth the calories, although I have added them back in to a degree as I get close to maintenance
  • Upstate_Dunadan
    Upstate_Dunadan Posts: 435 Member
    Your diary is all over the place. It doesn't look like you're consistently getting the same calories each day. On days where your calories are lower, I see a lot of it being taken up by stuff that has no chance of filling you up (cookies, candy bars, etc.). 400 calories in junk food when you're only eating 1,400 is a lot. Also, if I were you, I'd up your protein. Looks like most days you get around 70-80 grams? I'm not sure how much you weigh, but I personally shoot for no less than 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. I know others will say you don't need more than 0.8 (or less) but protein makes you feel full. I'm never hungry and never was while I was losing weight. As for protein shakes, it a valid way to get protein. I drink a shake every day after working out for recovery reasons. ON Gold Standard Whey Double Chocolate is my favorite (with 1% milk). Good protein with low calories and carbs.

    I wouldn't even both with calorie burns from exercise if I were you. Use a TDEE calculator to find a good starting point and then adjust as needed. Here is my favorite. If you know your body fat % click on the Advanced option and use that formula as you'll get a better estimate. Also read the information at the bottom of the page.

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    If you use this type of TDEE calculator, you don't have to added back in exercise calories because it's included in your estimate.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I wish I could help, I'm in the same boat. Been maintaining for over a year now and I'm still hungry most days.

    By looking at your diary, I'd say you should probably increase your protein, and you're using up too many calories on things like crackers, which won't fill you up at all.

    So.. increase your protein, decrease your carbs (I see a lot of rice and pasta), eat more veggies.
  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
    edited October 2015
    I find myself a lot less ravenous on days when I'm busy with school/hobbies and not thinking about food. If you drink lots of water and get enough fiber and you're not just bored you should be fine

    Edit: Looked at your diary and it's no wonder you're hungry. 330 calories from processed bars, 290 from peanut butter/mayo and 65 from milk. Peanut butter is healthy but when you're on low calories just imagine what you could do with those 680, or even 60% of them, calories in terms of a veggie stir-fry
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
    edited October 2015
    The best thing to do is track everything religiously for 2-4 weeks. The longer the better. Be as accurate as possible. Set if there was any weight change in that time. Calculate your own TDEE by adding up all the calories you ate. Add in 3500 for every pound you lost on that time period, subtract 3500 for every lb gained. Divide by the number of days. That is your TDEE. This really only works if you are consistent with your exercise, but that is true of any TDEE method.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    @mirrim52. Awesome post for figuring out our own TDEE. I'll give that a try and compare to the calculated one.
  • BikeTourer
    BikeTourer Posts: 191 Member
    Everyone has what works for the but I'm less hungry went I mostly eat high quality food and err on the side of protein. The more crap I eat the more crap I crave because it isn't meeting my body's needs.
  • amyf2000
    amyf2000 Posts: 44 Member
    Thanks everyone. I closed my diary again. I'm going to try to eat more protein and sub fruit for the sweets I've been eating, plus try to eat a more consistent calorie base instead of basing how much I eat each day on how much I exercise that day. I will say though that the uptick in junk food is because I've been quitting drinking. I didn't realize how much sugar and carbs I was getting from alcohol until I stopped drinking every day, and how much I would still crave them. I've cut my drinking by two thirds. Now I really have to buckle down and focus on improving my diet so those cravings go away. Thank you for inspiring me to work on that, Community!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    protein and fibre fill us up for longer, on the days my diary is carb heavy I go to bed hungry - I try to keep days like that to a minimum, I hate feeling hungry :/
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    My maintenance calories calculate low too - 1740, I think. Then I add in my exercise calories from used to be fitbit and now apple watch. I eat all those I am hungry for - usually around 350. I haven't been hungry and have maintained.

    I eat very regular meals. If I'm hungry I eat immediately, but not a lot. So I'll eat 5 cashews or 1/4 cup of ice cream, or have some kefir. Note all are protein.

    If I eat too much unrefined carbs I am STARVING. Oatmeal and an hour later I'm starving. Waffles and I'm hungry. Pasta without meat and I'm hungry. Basically, I'm getting a blood sugar rush, insulin peak, then a crash. So I don't do that. Unrefined carbs or smaller quantity with protein or fat and I'm fine.
  • carliekitty
    carliekitty Posts: 303 Member
    I'm an avid runner and I'm trying to loose a few pounds before I go on vacation. I get rungry from all the running so this is what I do. I get some potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, green beans, or whatever I am in the mood for. I roast them in the oven w seasoning. I like 21 salute from trader joes but you can use what you like. Anyways I put them in Containers and for breakfast I put in potatoes, carrots, squash, peppers, onion, spinach, and crisp it in a pan then I cook a couple over easy eggs, and maybe some ham steak cubed or some bacon. Huge amount of food very little calories! Also broccoli and cauliflower, Brussels sprouts to! Oh if you like beets you could add those for a "red flannel hash". For dinner I can do that again and add green beans or just eat the veggies w lean protein.
  • LastingChanges
    LastingChanges Posts: 390 Member
    edited October 2015
    nxd10 wrote: »
    My maintenance calories calculate low too - 1740, I think. Then I add in my exercise calories from used to be fitbit and now apple watch. I eat all those I am hungry for - usually around 350. I haven't been hungry and have maintained.

    I eat very regular meals. If I'm hungry I eat immediately, but not a lot. So I'll eat 5 cashews or 1/4 cup of ice cream, or have some kefir. Note all are protein.

    If I eat too much unrefined carbs I am STARVING. Oatmeal and an hour later I'm starving. Waffles and I'm hungry. Pasta without meat and I'm hungry. Basically, I'm getting a blood sugar rush, insulin peak, then a crash. So I don't do that. Unrefined carbs or smaller quantity with protein or fat and I'm fine.

    This is good advice. I was also feeling hungry often and realized it had something to do with sugar. The sugar went up high and then crashed too low. I think the key to staying at your goal weight is to keep your sugar stable, no ups and downs. So eating small portions often helps.
    Eating too much carbs and sugar will make your sugar go much higher then it needs to be and then you body will lower it causing a crash. Also eating too many calories in 1 meal makes the sugar go up very high and then crash. Since realizing this I have lowered my calories and feel like the hunger cravings are gone and my energy is more stable. This is my theory on it and hopefully it continues to work.
    Before I was also trying to eat according to TDEE and lose weight based on all those charts and whatever but I now keep my calories to 1600 (-/+ 100) but I make sure to eat every 3 hours. When I was trying to eat at TDEE I think all those calories were making my blood sugar go on a roller coaster.
  • BettyBoles
    BettyBoles Posts: 68 Member
    Calorie intake should be more than we burning in the gym, so we need to eat carbs and sugar in the balanced amount. I eat low crab and low calorie diet also take Regenon pills to control my hunger, its a wonderful appetite suppressant and nice slimming pills.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    My maintenance calories are very low.

    I'm 5ft2, 125lbs and I work out 4 times a week (purely lifting now). I have a very sedentary full time job so I am sitting for around 8 hours all day every day (apart from when I lift). According to MFP - my maintenance calories are 1590 without exercise added on. According to my fitbit, my maintenance is somewhere around 1650. I'm kind of stuck with that as I have a very sedentary job and I'm cutting the cardio so I can concentrate on recomping - so 1650 is my lot really! I just have to make sure I'm making good food choices that will fill me up!
  • tjeroue
    tjeroue Posts: 1 Member
    BikeTourer wrote: »
    Everyone has what works for the but I'm less hungry went I mostly eat high quality food and err on the side of protein. The more crap I eat the more crap I crave because it isn't meeting my body's needs.

    ^^ Exactly!
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Less carbs and more fat.

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