STARVING---PLEASE HELP

Are you snacking? I eat about 6 or 7 times a day, even if it's just fruit or a low cal biscuit or something. Perhaps if you can find low cal or filling things to eat all during the day youll be eating every few hours and might not get so hungry?

Yes, I have found that it is important to have low calorie snacks around for when I am feeling hungry. My go-to snack when I am starving is air popped popcorn. 7 cups is only about 150 calories. So if you eat just a couple handfuls it will only be about 50 calories! It filled me up fast. Another great option that I like is pickles, a pickle is only about 4 calories, the small ones at least.

As a side note, I try not to oversalt my popcorn because too much salt isn't great, but it is still delish!

It is bloody hard when you first start, just hang on in there, soon you will find you don't feel like this anymore....honestly it's true, I never thought it would end but it does!

Are you eating enough calories?? You don't necessarily have to drop to 1200 cals to lose weight.
If you're finding it really hard to stick to your allocated calories and you are eating healthy, not too processed stuff then perhaps you need to start with less of a deficit which would allow you to eat a litle bit more but still lose weight.
You have to find something that is sustainable for you and if you are constantly hungry and focussed on food then it's going to be hard to keep it up.
Maybe start with "lose 1/2 pound a week" setting then change it as you get accustomed to new eating habits.

Seconded completely - you may need to decrease your calories slowly to get used to it. But could it also be a certain time of the month? Right now I'm soooo hungry and wanting tons of bad foods even though I already ate most of my calories.

Try experimenting with different foods that will keep you full. I read that oatmeal keeps you full but I found that I was hungry like 30 minutes later & couldn't figure out why??? So, I switched to another oatmeal that is only 100 calories with no added suger & I add in fresh berries.. this keeps me full longer. Turns out that the other oatmeal had too much sugar which triggered hunger. But, my no fail hunger buster in the morning is two whole scrambled eggs topped with a little bit of a lite cheese and slice of avocado & corn tortilla... this will hold me until a mid morning snack. I usually snack on things like almonds, peanut butter, slice of skinny cow cheese & tuna. And, I am always always drinking water.

I know what it feels like to feel like you are starving all the time... it's discouraging. But, don't give up. Just keep trying. Also, I truly excercise more some days.. just to add in more calories. Good luck!

It's hard to offer concrete suggestions without seeing your diary, but I have found that most people who are constantly hungry tend to eat a lot of processed foods and carbs. Make sure you are getting plenty of green veg, try to eat a good breakfast with a protein of some kind, drink plenty of water.processed foods tend to be high in sugar and they cause sweet cravings and don;t fill you up properly, hence the constantly hungry feeling.

Well it's not a diet, it is a big change in the way your living if you make it 90 days it should become a habit.
Do you have a Doctor on board to help?
I started at 400 LBS and I am down over 70 LBS and most of the work was when I quit adding sugar and salt when cooking and eating at the table. Then my exercise routine picked up 4 days then 5 days of AquaFit 1 hour classes, Then I started swimming a little bit and have built that up over the last 60 days to 2 hours of swimming after AquaFit about 5 days per week. The water consumption was also hard to get used to at first. After all that I learned from tracking those calories that most of my Fast Food likes were no longer going to be able to work within my calorie goals. Once I really got into finding CEAN and UNPROCESSED foods like VEGGIES and FRUIT then switching out some calories like instead of saute in butter I purchased a steamer. I found I love Almond Milk much more than 2% and Coconut milk WHO KNEW!per

Get the Doctor on board and see what they recommend.
My Doctor has helped me with a script for an appetite suppressant and a weekly MIC & B12 shot at his office and that has really helped me. The doctor has a lot of patients with various degrees of weight loss aspirations from something like my program to Lap Bands and he did say that I was in the very highest percentage of results. So you have to make the change there is no magic pill, diet, or book that can make the difference. The only other hint is that it does take a power greater than my obsession with food, eating, and trying to fill that void in my middle. For me God is the only real power that has made it all work.

Best of Luck and Keep at it every day, one day at a time, and maybe even five minutes at a time, the hours and days and the weight loss will add up.

One Love
JMH

The constant hunger may just be a reaction to your change in diet, but it could also be related to a health condition. I had the same problem about 4 years ago. I was starving ALL the time. I ate and ate and could not get full. Then I started losing weight for no particular reason. Turns out it was Grave's Disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes hyperthyroidism. I had lost 25 pounds by the time I was diagnosed.

Getting your appetite under control should only take a few weeks. If it goes on longer than that, or if you are having other symptoms like shortness of breath, nervousness, heart racing, or an overall "shaky" feeling; please see a doctor. It doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution.

Best of luck with your weight loss goal!

When I first began, I didn't change anything. I just logged in my food each day to see what I was used to eating. After 1-2 weeks I gradually started reducing it. I went from eating 2,800-3,000 calories a day to now eating 1,200-1,800 calories a day sometimes less.

I am also the type of person who eats huge meals few and far between. That may be the kind of person you are? I started out eating my usual 1-2 large meals a day. I made it to 2-3 meals a day and now I am working on 4-5 meals a day. Usually I eat a small breakfast (not a morning person) a snack a couple hours later, then a lunch (usually a good sized meal). After that I look at how many calories I have left and I figure out if I have room for a snack or if I want to save it for dinner. This might help you out. It's hard to change all at once and I HAD to do it gradually or I felt like I was starving just as you do.