Lots of Questions in One: Activity Level and Hunger

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poseyj88
poseyj88 Posts: 140 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!

I'm new to MFP (about 2 weeks) and I'm really enjoying it. I've really enjoyed being accountable for what I eat. I don't have a lot to lose (just those last darn 10 pounds!) But here are my questions.


One: Activity level. I consider myself to have an overall active lifestyle. I walk to the grocery store, work, etc (I live in an urban area). I am training for a 10k race. I picked sedentary lifestyle because I work as a counselor, so I'm sitting a lot. But I'm also walking to/from exam rooms, to get charts, etc, etc.

Which leads to my next problem...

I am AlWAYS hungry. I know any change is going to make my body process things different. I've been eating high quality foods (lots of veggies, good proteins, etc), but I'm always hungry. Especially on days I don't have exercise calories to eat back. It can't be healthy to be ravenous for a good portion of the day. I upped my activity level to light. Was that wise? Should I just suck it up and accept that hunger is part of the game? I understand it's normal to feel hungry, and then eat, but I'm talking about the kind of hungry that makes you a little crazy and want to eat everything in sight.

Any suggestions? I looked up my BMR and it's 1485ish, so it seems like I should be eating around there (because I do a bit of moving around in the day). On sedentary my net cals were 1380. Now they're 1510.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
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    I think it makes sense for you to be lightly active. Also, if you are set to lose 1 lb/week, you can change it to .5 lb/week, if things get hairy for you later.

    Good luck!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    I think you did the right thing. For some people, including myself, the calorie estimate came out way too low. I manually increased mine because it was still a bit low even at "very active". I have a desk job, so technically I'm sedentary, other than my workouts.

    You'll have to do a little trial and error to get it all dialed in, which it sounds like you're already doing. Good luck!
  • xafricanqueen07x
    xafricanqueen07x Posts: 98 Member
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    Hi!
    If you are hungry, you probably need to eat more!! Have you tried eating greek yogurt or packing hard boiled eggs? Those always help me. I wouldnt' say change your activity, rather I'd tell you to keep working out and add maybe an extra 200-300 calories..try some greek yogurt..they work wonders. Today I went on 5 mile jog, 7milke bike ride and boxing, and came home had some greek yougurt and I feel stuffed!
  • 15off
    15off Posts: 48 Member
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    Sometimes that kind of hunger is due to either a food plan that is not nutritionally sound..or a constant state of either dehydration and or fatigue...I could EASILY eat 3000 calories a day without feeling stuffed..I have a huge appetite..just have to get used to feeling hungry and not eating as a reaction to that feeling every time it comes up. Easier said than done...the last 10..I feel your pain..I've lost that same 10 at least 10 times...thats 100 pounds lost and gained over the past 14 years..maddening!

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