Hungry!
walterls
Posts: 8 Member
hi- I just started a week ago and I am hungry. I have around 90 lbs to lose- how long before your stomach adjusted to the new calorie counts? I am eating around 1470 a day and trying to eat nutrient dense as much as possible.
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Replies
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It would be helpful if you listed some of your stats so people can give you some input. Without knowing your weight I can't comment on if your calories are enough.0
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How much fat, protein and fibre are you getting?0
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Your diary is closed- I tried to take a peek at what you are eating on a daily basis just to get some ideas. You say your eating 1470 calories a day, are you eating back your exercise calories? How much fat and protein are you getting regularly?0
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1470 calories a day if you are 90 pounds overweight seems like a pretty low number of calories. Honestly its possible you are just being overly aggressive and you should eat more so that weight loss is comfortable and not a constant struggle.
That said it is hard to know for sure without knowing more about you (weight/height/age/activity level/goal weight etc)2 -
What are you eating?0
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Make sure you are getting 7-8 hrs of sleep too. It keeps your stress hormone from going up causing you to be hungrier.1
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Just opened up my diary- new to this app. I am currently 266lbs, mother of 2 small kiddos, pescetarian/veggie. I usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, or eggs and fruit, fruit/raw veggies for snacks, salad or wrap for lunch, veggie burger/veggies for dinner.0
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For me, it wasn't so much a timespan, as some helpful experiments.
When I was hungry at first, I experimented with the timing and composition of my eating, until I found the routine that was most satiating for me.
By timing, I mean things like whether you have 3 main meals only, or 3 + snacks, or 5-6 small meals, or one or two big daily meals only, etc. It also includes variables like whether you feel better with a big breakfast then smaller meals later in the day, or even-sized meals, or saving up calories for a big dinner. Some people find themselves more satisfied if they save some calories for evening snacking, too.
By composition, I mean varying your macros & fiber - within a healthy range, of course - to see what you find filling. Some people feel fuller when they get plenty of protein, some need a bit more healthy fat to feel best, some need at least some carbs for satiation while others find that eating carbs make them crave even more carbs! Also, some people find that eating high-volume/low-calorie foods (usually fibrous veggies) is important to keep them feeling full.
You may find that you adjust in a couple of weeks to eating less, but you might also want to experiment with some of these things. Try a new approach for a couple of days; if it helps, keep it; if it doesn't, try something else.
Another option may be to "phase in" your calorie deficit. Even if you have quite a lot you want to lose, you can start by setting MFP to lose half a pound a week, figure that out, then a couple or few weeks later increase your deficit (reduce your calorie goal) to 1 pound a week, etc. For some, that's easier than an abrupt switch to a huge calorie deficit.
A good part of the likelihood of succeeding is finding an approach that's sustainable over the long haul. There is no really healthy method of super-fast weight loss, so 90 pounds will take a while in any case. A slower, but do-able, consistent approach may get you to your goal faster than an aggressive approach that leads to slips & restarts.4 -
Just opened up my diary- new to this app. I am currently 266lbs, mother of 2 small kiddos, pescetarian/veggie. I usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, or eggs and fruit, fruit/raw veggies for snacks, salad or wrap for lunch, veggie burger/veggies for dinner.
What is your activity level? With two little ones I assume your busy lol. It could be you aren't eating enough calories. How aggressive of weight loss did you set MFP to?0 -
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.2 -
Awolturtle wrote: »Just opened up my diary- new to this app. I am currently 266lbs, mother of 2 small kiddos, pescetarian/veggie. I usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, or eggs and fruit, fruit/raw veggies for snacks, salad or wrap for lunch, veggie burger/veggies for dinner.
What is your activity level? With two little ones I assume your busy lol. It could be you aren't eating enough calories. How aggressive of weight loss did you set MFP to?
I have been swimming a few times per week for around 6 months, and lifting once a week. I have increased my cardio in the last couple of weeks to include 30+ minutes early in the am before the kiddos get up around 4 days per week. -Yes, the kiddos keep me busy.
I set the MFP weight loss to 2lbs per week. I realize it may be aggressive, but I also feel like I need to get some "wins" on the scale/clothing fit to keep me going. 0 -
At 266 pounds 1470 calories a day seems very low to me.
Just pulling up two different TDEE calculators and using your weight and age from your profile and guessing on height at 5'6'' since you didn't give that info. Setting your activity as very low to sedentary:
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html gives your TDEE at 2438 with no exercise
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ gives your TDEE at about 2350 with no exercise
so eating 1450 a day is close to a 1000 calorie deficit if you don't exercise at all and higher deficit if you do. That is about a 2 pound loss per week.
So what you are doing is pretty aggressive. If you are exercising its is likely overly aggressive which explains the hunger.
From a few entries in your diary you are getting not very much protein, most of your calories coming from carbs. If you are hungry a lot you would probably benefit from lowering carbs and upping the amount of protein you eat. Protein is a lot more satiating than carbs for most people. Thats not to say go extreme, but getting 120 grams of protein instead of like 50 would probably help you with hunger. Do that and perhaps eat a bit more especially if you are exercising and that should help.
In comparison I am lighter than you at 175 pounds and I lose weight at about a pound a week eating 2200 calories a day. Yes, I know, I'm a guy...but honestly the weight difference between us makes up for that and then some. I'm not trying to say that in an offensive way but if you are carrying around 266 pounds you do require more calories than someone carrying around 175.1 -
Awolturtle wrote: »Just opened up my diary- new to this app. I am currently 266lbs, mother of 2 small kiddos, pescetarian/veggie. I usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, or eggs and fruit, fruit/raw veggies for snacks, salad or wrap for lunch, veggie burger/veggies for dinner.
What is your activity level? With two little ones I assume your busy lol. It could be you aren't eating enough calories. How aggressive of weight loss did you set MFP to?
I have been swimming a few times per week for around 6 months, and lifting once a week. I have increased my cardio in the last couple of weeks to include 30+ minutes early in the am before the kiddos get up around 4 days per week. -Yes, the kiddos keep me busy. I set the MFP weight loss to 2lbs per week. I realize it may be aggressive, but I also feel like I need to get some "wins" on the scale/clothing fit to keep me going.
Just be aware that a weight loss goal that is too aggressive can lead to excessive muscle loss. Ever since I realized the less muscle = lower metabolism connection that goes along with aging I've been working hard to preserve as much muscle as I can and even spent some time gaining weight to gain muscle.
Losing weight quickly is simply not worth the flabbier body and greater difficulty maintaining my weight I was struggling with after simply doing cardio and starving myself.1 -
Awolturtle wrote: »Just opened up my diary- new to this app. I am currently 266lbs, mother of 2 small kiddos, pescetarian/veggie. I usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, or eggs and fruit, fruit/raw veggies for snacks, salad or wrap for lunch, veggie burger/veggies for dinner.
What is your activity level? With two little ones I assume your busy lol. It could be you aren't eating enough calories. How aggressive of weight loss did you set MFP to?
I have been swimming a few times per week for around 6 months, and lifting once a week. I have increased my cardio in the last couple of weeks to include 30+ minutes early in the am before the kiddos get up around 4 days per week. -Yes, the kiddos keep me busy. I set the MFP weight loss to 2lbs per week. I realize it may be aggressive, but I also feel like I need to get some "wins" on the scale/clothing fit to keep me going.
Are you eating back your calories from your cardiovascular exercises? (Calorie burns from strength training tends to be very inaccurate) with the activity you do, I suggest changing your settings to lose 1 pound a week. That way you can have more calories during the day and water back half your exercise calories. Give it a few weeks and if you aren't losing, readjust.
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"Just be aware that a weight loss goal that is too aggressive can lead to excessive muscle loss. Ever since I realized the less muscle = lower metabolism connection that goes along with aging I've been working hard to preserve as much muscle as I can and even spent some time gaining weight to gain muscle"
This is super important so I am just quoting it for emphasis.
If you are too aggressive with your diet muscle loss will be inevitable. If you lose muscle your BMR will drop significantly and your weight loss in lb/wk will slow. With the muscle loss will come poorer health and fitness long term and the longer it goes on the lower your BMR will go and the harder and harder it will be to prevent putting the weight back on in the form of fat.
The real problem is that although it is easy to put fat on it is extremely hard to put on muscle, so once you lose it it is very hard to get it back.
Bottom line, don't try to rush to the finish line...ease back on this, have patience. I think the hunger is just a warning sign you might be pushing things a bit far.
Also up your protein, eating low amounts of protein is just going to accelerate that muscle loss.3 -
Awolturtle wrote: »Awolturtle wrote: »Just opened up my diary- new to this app. I am currently 266lbs, mother of 2 small kiddos, pescetarian/veggie. I usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, or eggs and fruit, fruit/raw veggies for snacks, salad or wrap for lunch, veggie burger/veggies for dinner.
What is your activity level? With two little ones I assume your busy lol. It could be you aren't eating enough calories. How aggressive of weight loss did you set MFP to?
I have been swimming a few times per week for around 6 months, and lifting once a week. I have increased my cardio in the last couple of weeks to include 30+ minutes early in the am before the kiddos get up around 4 days per week. -Yes, the kiddos keep me busy. I set the MFP weight loss to 2lbs per week. I realize it may be aggressive, but I also feel like I need to get some "wins" on the scale/clothing fit to keep me going.
Are you eating back your calories from your cardiovascular exercises? (Calorie burns from strength training tends to be very inaccurate) with the activity you do, I suggest changing your settings to lose 1 pound a week. That way you can have more calories during the day and water back half your exercise calories. Give it a few weeks and if you aren't losing, readjust.
I have been eating back the calories. Thank you for the advice, I think I will have to readjust to 1lb per week, I have been getting a bit too hangry1 -
Awolturtle wrote: »Awolturtle wrote: »Just opened up my diary- new to this app. I am currently 266lbs, mother of 2 small kiddos, pescetarian/veggie. I usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, or eggs and fruit, fruit/raw veggies for snacks, salad or wrap for lunch, veggie burger/veggies for dinner.
What is your activity level? With two little ones I assume your busy lol. It could be you aren't eating enough calories. How aggressive of weight loss did you set MFP to?
I have been swimming a few times per week for around 6 months, and lifting once a week. I have increased my cardio in the last couple of weeks to include 30+ minutes early in the am before the kiddos get up around 4 days per week. -Yes, the kiddos keep me busy. I set the MFP weight loss to 2lbs per week. I realize it may be aggressive, but I also feel like I need to get some "wins" on the scale/clothing fit to keep me going.
Are you eating back your calories from your cardiovascular exercises? (Calorie burns from strength training tends to be very inaccurate) with the activity you do, I suggest changing your settings to lose 1 pound a week. That way you can have more calories during the day and water back half your exercise calories. Give it a few weeks and if you aren't losing, readjust.
I have been eating back the calories. Thank you for the advice, I think I will have to readjust to 1lb per week, I have been getting a bit too hangry
You're welcome:) but I want to echo what a few other posters have said and increase your protein. Protein, fat and fiber tend to make people feel more satiated and will hold off hunger potentially a little longer.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »At 266 pounds 1470 calories a day seems very low to me.
Just pulling up two different TDEE calculators and using your weight and age from your profile and guessing on height at 5'6'' since you didn't give that info. Setting your activity as very low to sedentary:
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html gives your TDEE at 2438 with no exercise
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ gives your TDEE at about 2350 with no exercise
so eating 1450 a day is close to a 1000 calorie deficit if you don't exercise at all and higher deficit if you do. That is about a 2 pound loss per week.
So what you are doing is pretty aggressive. If you are exercising its is likely overly aggressive which explains the hunger.
From a few entries in your diary you are getting not very much protein, most of your calories coming from carbs. If you are hungry a lot you would probably benefit from lowering carbs and upping the amount of protein you eat. Protein is a lot more satiating than carbs for most people. Thats not to say go extreme, but getting 120 grams of protein instead of like 50 would probably help you with hunger. Do that and perhaps eat a bit more especially if you are exercising and that should help.
In comparison I am lighter than you at 175 pounds and I lose weight at about a pound a week eating 2200 calories a day. Yes, I know, I'm a guy...but honestly the weight difference between us makes up for that and then some. I'm not trying to say that in an offensive way but if you are carrying around 266 pounds you do require more calories than someone carrying around 175.
No offense taken Thank you for the advice and the resource, I plan to re-calibrate my MFP goals, I had just been using the defaults. 1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »At 266 pounds 1470 calories a day seems very low to me.
Just pulling up two different TDEE calculators and using your weight and age from your profile and guessing on height at 5'6'' since you didn't give that info. Setting your activity as very low to sedentary:
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html gives your TDEE at 2438 with no exercise
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ gives your TDEE at about 2350 with no exercise
so eating 1450 a day is close to a 1000 calorie deficit if you don't exercise at all and higher deficit if you do. That is about a 2 pound loss per week.
So what you are doing is pretty aggressive. If you are exercising its is likely overly aggressive which explains the hunger.
From a few entries in your diary you are getting not very much protein, most of your calories coming from carbs. If you are hungry a lot you would probably benefit from lowering carbs and upping the amount of protein you eat. Protein is a lot more satiating than carbs for most people. Thats not to say go extreme, but getting 120 grams of protein instead of like 50 would probably help you with hunger. Do that and perhaps eat a bit more especially if you are exercising and that should help.
In comparison I am lighter than you at 175 pounds and I lose weight at about a pound a week eating 2200 calories a day. Yes, I know, I'm a guy...but honestly the weight difference between us makes up for that and then some. I'm not trying to say that in an offensive way but if you are carrying around 266 pounds you do require more calories than someone carrying around 175.
Exactly this that he said here. Never use the MFP calculator - use the TDEE ones - MUCH more realistic. You shouldn't be feeling like you're hungry all the time. A bit peckish yes, ok - but not HUNGRY.1 -
Hunger seems to be cumulative as well. If you are hungry now and you try to ignore it day after day week after week that feeling of hunger is just going to grow and grow and gnaw at you until it is all consuming and you go on some binge and feel horrible about it. Just recognize you should probably eat more and accept that losing 90 pounds is going to take more than a year and come to peace with that and you'll be a lot happier with your diet.
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First time I tried to "diet" myself just to give you a story I tried to eat 1500 calories a day. I went with the "well I'm not hungry today and I've eaten 1300 so I guess I'll stop because now I'll lose weight even faster!" sort of attitude. Seemed fine for a few months but it did catch up to me and I started feeling hungry all the time as well as tired. Weights in weightlifting routinues just seemed so much heavier and I was lethargic in my movement and slow in my thinking. I felt weak, was listless and irritable. Sprinting or doing a quick burst of actvity left me feeling dizzy.
I've learned a better way now and am losing comfortably probably averaging 2200 calories a day and eating really whatever I feel like eating just watching my calories and adjusting as needed. Pointing this out to you is not trying to scoff, many of us have been there and in our experience those who try to stick with those aggressive plans eventually fail and those who lose the weight and keep it off approached dieting as a lifechange not a diet and did a moderate calorie deficit with foods they would enjoy eating for the rest of their life rather than "only for 6 more months" like it was a cross to bear.4 -
What are your macros and what foods are you eating? How much fiber are you getting? From personal experience, I lift weights, do cardio, eat under 1400 calories (by chance), and rarely feel hungry. I eat a vegan diet by the way and usually get over 60 grams of fiber a day without really trying. Maybe its something you can consider as well? Not trying to pressure you. This eating lifestyle just happens, by chance, to be a good formula for satiety and weight loss. I've lost over 50 pounds and am down to a size 0-2. Over half of my calories come from carbs by the way (just saying), and my lifts have progressed.0
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VividVegan wrote: »What are your macros and what foods are you eating? How much fiber are you getting? From personal experience, I lift weights, do cardio, eat under 1400 calories (by chance), and rarely feel hungry. I eat a vegan diet by the way and usually get over 60 grams of fiber a day without really trying. Maybe its something you can consider as well? Not trying to pressure you. This eating lifestyle just happens, by chance, to be a good formula for satiety and weight loss. I've lost over 50 pounds and am down to a size 0-2. Over half of my calories come from carbs by the way (just saying), and my lifts have progressed.
I was vegan for around 2 years so no pressure felt I found it really difficult to eat well (not living on carbs and french fries) after the birth of my second child. I work around 50-60 hours a week so I went back to veggie with occasional fish. I prepare only vegan food at home, however.
I will try and up the fiber, I had been concentrating on the protein aspect, but should look at the "bulk" part of it. I think it may also be retraining my brain to not expect to eat at given times of the day.1 -
Thank you all for the advice- I upped my protein and fiber intake and also my daily calories to 1800- I feel much better and have lost 7+ lbs so far.4
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