So hungry!

What percentages are your fats, carbs and proteins set at? Have you cut any foods or food groups out?

More protein, more fat, more fiber, less refined carbs.

And if you're still hungry, decrease your deficit. You're also supposed to eat back your exercise calories.

How do you set your levels? I went to goals and set my protein, fat etc but it went back to the default. help??

Amanuebel wrote: »

I'm not eating back calories I exercise mostly because I know that my body fiercely holds on to the extra weight. And no 85cardinals, I don't have a spiritual hunger. It's just hunger hunger. I'm going with misses moon on this one. Just gotta have the will to get to a point of adjustment. Thanks all.

This is not how it works. If you're at a deficit, you will lose. Not eating your exercise calories back just makes your deficit bigger, which is why you're hungry...

But do whatever you want. It's your body. If you end up giving up altogether because you're too hungry, instead of just picking a reasonable goal so you're not hungry all the time (which is NOT supposed to happen, by the way), it's your decision.

I feel the same way. I'm 4 days into a 1500 calorie limit and it's been hard. Each day is a little easier. Drink lots of water, it will help you feel more full.

Nadoriel wrote: »

Amanuebel wrote: »

Doing 1500 Cal/day, eating healthy, trying to get all the nutrients. However, I am hungry ALL the TIME. I just want to eat a 20 inch steak and çheese sub. Anybody else going through this?

Hi Amanuebel. I know this might sound weird on this forum. I used to count calories not that long ago. It did give me results first until it stopped and it plateaued, and then I gained it back. While literally measuring every food even at restaurants (with a scale). I'd embarrass friends and family. I was bloody accurate.

Anyway.. for 1500 calories? I'd be starving. Anyone would. Counting calories is not really the way to go unless you really want to do that for life. There are other ways of losing weight in a healthy way out there. Once you get tired of this, try researching about health coaching or eating psychology coaching (I did this course). It was the best thing I've ever done to myself. It took a long time, but with journaling and exercises I learned to love myself, I learned what foods work for me and what doesn't (I'm intolerant to gluten), and I lost weight. No counting calories, no diet. I eat chocolate every day (my favorite sweet) and ice cream, and lots of butter.

This is just an idea ^^ it totally transformed my life. I'd never go back to this.

The best of luck to you

I never understand commenters who come onto a calorie counting site to diss calorie counting, making assumptions that people will get tired of this and won't be able to sustain their weight loss. Calorie counting may not be for everyone, but for someone fairly new to the process, telling them to ditch this process and try another one without trying basic changes to help with hunger isn't very helpful. You have to stick with something for enough time to assess if it works for you.

I'm not hungry on 1500 calories. I get enough protein (~100g for me), fiber ( at least 30g), and fat (~50g) to stay satiated, and I drink tea or water throughout the day. I eat all this and still have room for wine or ice cream. On 1500 calories, my deficit is 300-500 calories per day depending on my workouts. I lose 0.5-1lb a week.

Consider this: is your deficit too aggressive? A smaller deficit can help with adherence, as well as maintenance when you reach your goal. How much do you have to lose? Trying to lose 2 lbs a week (1000 cal/day deficit) isn't appropriate if you're not trying to shed a huge amount of weight. How long and intense are your workouts? You need to eat enough to fuel them. Is exercise new to you? Some people get extremely hungry when starting a new exercise program, and it takes time to adapt.

Amanuebel wrote: »

I'm mostly sedentary which is why I chose 1500 Cal/day predicting 1 lb loss/week. My physician also gave me a diet to follow about 4 years ago that was for 1500 Cal and told me I should always be a tiny bit hungry. I also hate to exercise but try to do different things during the week but don't know how many calories I burn. I also don't have a set schedule to exercise so im not going to count it. I got here in the first place by overeating so I'm going to stick with counting calories. Obviously, nutrients are also measured here so I know what I'm getting.

This sounds reasonable. Play with your macronutrients so you find a combination that's a little more satiating. Your doctor's advice makes me think of the Japanese idea of eating to 80% full - you could eat more, but you're satisfied without being stuffed. If you're still really, really hungry (especially on an exercise day), eat a little more, and go for foods high in protein or fiber. And, of course, weighing and measuring things to make sure you're not undereating (not likely, but possible) and actually getting your 1500 calories in is a good idea.

With the exercise, I don't think you're doing harm if you're not eating back calories from a random 30 minute pilates workout. If you do something more strenuous like running, you may want to throw that into MFP and eat back at least half of those. And if you get on a proper exercise schedule, you'll either want to eat back some of your calories or increase your daily base calories.