Hungry No Matter What

Options
stay_rad_xx
stay_rad_xx Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Recently, I've been struggling a lot with trying to eat within my calorie goal. I eat the recommended 1200 calories each day, yet lately I have been hungry constantly. I have been on this 1200 calorie plan for little bit over a year now. It seems like nothing is ever making me feel full. I make sure to drink water and eat protein and fiber, but nothing seems to help. And being hungry all the time causes me to graze on food a lot, (and what I mean is I snack on cereal or grab a handful of nuts basically every hour, so it definitely adds up) so I'm afraid if I eat more I'll go over a bit too much. Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone know ways to help? My guess is 1200 is too low and is slowing down my metabolism too much, as I am relatively young and I excercise at least three times a week, but I also want to hear opinions from the community and people with some more experience with this. Thanks! :)

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    What are your stats?
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    Options
    You've been eating 1200 calories for a bit over a YEAR?! Please tell us your starting and current stats because so far you being hungry makes a lot of sense.
  • slaywendy
    slaywendy Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    Try adding more fat to your diet. Like avocado, healthy oils, coconut oil. It will help with satiety levels.
  • stay_rad_xx
    stay_rad_xx Posts: 11 Member
    edited May 2016
    Options
    synacious wrote: »
    You've been eating 1200 calories for a bit over a YEAR?! Please tell us your starting and current stats because so far you being hungry makes a lot of sense.

    my starting weight was 132 pounds (since I joined MFP, starting weight ultimately was 135) and I am 121 currently. I workout 2-4 times a week. (I hope that's what stats mean, haha)
  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
    Options
    stay_rad_xx wrote: »
    Recently, I've been struggling a lot with trying to eat within my calorie goal. I eat the recommended 1200 calories each day, yet lately I have been hungry constantly. I have been on this 1200 calorie plan for little bit over a year now. It seems like nothing is ever making me feel full. I make sure to drink water and eat protein and fiber, but nothing seems to help. And being hungry all the time causes me to graze on food a lot, (and what I mean is I snack on cereal or grab a handful of nuts basically every hour, so it definitely adds up) so I'm afraid if I eat more I'll go over a bit too much. Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone know ways to help? My guess is 1200 is too low and is slowing down my metabolism too much, as I am relatively young and I excercise at least three times a week, but I also want to hear opinions from the community and people with some more experience with this. Thanks! :)

    How do you know you are eating 1200? You didn't mention weighing your food and grabbing 'handful' of nuts really does add up...If I would snack on nuts every hour I'd eat way over 1200. That being said... How is your weight loss going? If you are losing weight like MFP projects then don't mind this first part. Since you've been doing this for a year non stop maybe it's a mental block... eating at maintenance for a while might help you get back on track.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    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.
  • ziggy2006
    ziggy2006 Posts: 255 Member
    Options
    It sounds like you haven't been sticking to 1,200 calories if you are munching on cereal and handfuls of nuts every hour.

    Assuming your 1,200 calorie goal is appropriate for you (and that is a huge assumption), you may need to experiment a bit to find out what satisfies you. For me, it is volume, so I gravitate toward foods/meals with a lower caloric density so that I can eat a large portion. Other people find particular macros (carbs, protein, fats) to be satiating. For some people, getting sufficient fiber is key. Some people find doing exercise and eating back part of those calories allows them to achieve their goals.

    One source of healthy ideas for sticking to a lower daily calorie allotment is reddit's 1,200 is plenty.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    edited May 2016
    Options
    stay_rad_xx wrote: »
    synacious wrote: »
    You've been eating 1200 calories for a bit over a YEAR?! Please tell us your starting and current stats because so far you being hungry makes a lot of sense.

    my starting weight was 132 pounds (since I joined MFP, starting weight ultimately was 135) and I am 121 currently. I workout 2-4 times a week. (I hope that's what stats mean, haha)

    Your height would also be helpful. However, like @TavistockToad stated, if you've only lost a total of 14 pounds for the bit over a year that you've been on MFP then you're definitely not eating 1200 calories per day most of your days. If you were aiming to lose half a pound per week it would have taken you, under optimal conditions, 154 days at a 250 calorie deficit per day; that's not even half of a year. So unless you took a number of diet breaks, took months off, have a serious metabolic issue (which is not only extremely rare but highly doubtful) or your TDEE is 1450 and you get zero movement at all, you definitely have not been on a 1200 calorie diet for over a year.

    I initially missed the part where you said you're grabbing a handful of nuts every hour; you'd be shocked at how many calories a handful of nuts is (180+). So all of this aside, since this is more about your hunger and less about your calorie intake for the past year, is the exercising three times per week a new thing or have you been more consistent with that aspect lately? If so, that would explain the hunger. If it's not a new thing, you may want to look at your macro breakdown as the source of your constant hunger.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Options
    Fat promotes satiety and also stops cravings for sweets.
  • stay_rad_xx
    stay_rad_xx Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    synacious wrote: »
    stay_rad_xx wrote: »
    synacious wrote: »
    You've been eating 1200 calories for a bit over a YEAR?! Please tell us your starting and current stats because so far you being hungry makes a lot of sense.

    my starting weight was 132 pounds (since I joined MFP, starting weight ultimately was 135) and I am 121 currently. I workout 2-4 times a week. (I hope that's what stats mean, haha)

    Your height would also be helpful. However, like @TavistockToad stated, if you've only lost a total of 14 pounds for the bit over a year that you've been on MFP then you're definitely not eating 1200 calories per day most of your days. If you were aiming to lose half a pound per week it would have taken you, under optimal conditions, 154 days at a 250 calorie deficit per day; that's not even half of a year. So unless you took a number of diet breaks, took months off, have a serious metabolic issue (which is not only extremely rare but highly doubtful) or your TDEE is 1450 and you get zero movement at all, you definitely have not been on a 1200 calorie diet for over a year.

    I initially missed the part where you said you're grabbing a handful of nuts every hour; you'd be shocked at how many calories a handful of nuts is (180+). So all of this aside, since this is more about your hunger and less about your calorie intake for the past year, is the exercising three times per week a new thing or have you been more consistent with that aspect lately? If so, that would explain the hunger. If it's not a new thing, you may want to look at your macro breakdown as the source of your constant hunger.
    Sorry, I had forgot to mention I had gained a lot at one point. I went back to 135 in October and had gotten back to 121 in early March. I probably should have mentioned!

Categories