I feel like I am starving!

Open your diary. Let's figure this out.

ashcoll16 wrote: »

So I've recently (day 5) switched my eating habits completely. Like i swung from one end of the pendulum to the other. I have eaten my calories plus a couple more tonight. I feel like I am starving! Why?! I don't understand. I've eaten plenty of food and drank enough water.

Try not changing your eating habits too much to start off. You need to change little by little.
Otherwise it's hard.
That could be why you feel as if you're starving
Course I ain't a pro.

Actually I misread, if this is day 5 of eating at a calorie deficit its maybe more likely that you're so hungry because you're eating significantly less than you did 6 days ago. Consider reducing your deficit.

What i did when i started is changed things like tortillas and bread to wheat and started stking my food with some type of vegies lol like today i ate tacos with a bunch off meat but i also put a ton of pico the gallo same with my sanwiches but with letuce it fills you up and its super yummy Also it gives you a lot more calories to spare so you dont have to starve

These are my really general tips for hunger:

1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

This isn't exactly a healthy suggestion, but sometimes a cup of coffee with cream to make it brown bag brown, & just sipping it slowly will help me through a need to cheat time. I've also been keeping a large container of Publix fresh fruit (melons, strawberries, grapes, pineapple) in the frig at all times. A few bites of melon eaten slowly is a great mini-snack that I enjoy. Hey, if all else fails -- go to sleep. LOL