Who else is hungry ALL THE TIME?
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leanjogreen18 wrote: »Eating more often during the day was a disaster for me personally.
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Me too! I was even more hungry because I was never satisfied by actually having a meal. Probably a mental thing but tiny snacks all day was so unfulfilling it just made everything worse.
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Eat better quality fats. I am doing Keto..carbs under 50g at the most. Was hungry all the time until I got my good fats up..now never hungry2
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My problem is I also do not calorie count over the weekend, so I feel like I need a huge deficit in order to lose the weight. I know it would be more realistic to just not eat as much on the weekends and only have one cheat day
I was hungry much of the time for the first three weeks I was losing weight. I dealt with it with three D's:
(1) Distraction: often focusing on something for 10-15 minutes would take care of the hunger.
(2) Drinking water: hydration helps.
(3) Dill pickles: a couple of baby dills are filling and have 10 calories or so.
However, I was running a moderate deficit (500-600 calories) and eating all my exercise calories. And while I aimed for a weekly calorie goal, not a daily one, I didn't have any "cheat" days; days I went over my average calorie goal were over by a couple hundred at most.
It's clear that you know your problem; the solution is not to go overboard on the weekends, so you can eat more on weekdays. Good luck implementing it!0 -
marijaa1996 wrote: »Now to deal with numbers. To lose weight 0.5 kg should consume about 3,500 calories - without having to make up for them. You force your body to use the energy of a pound of fat. Five kilos in a month corresponds to 1.25 kg per week. So that in a week you need to create a deficit of 8,750 calories - or 1,250 calories a day.
say what?? 1250 per day deficit. no1 -
I started at 1200 a day and it went well for about a month. Then I started having days when I was starving. A little research encouraged me to bump my calorie count up. I eat around 1400-1500 a day now. I'm losing weight at a slower rate, but I'm okay with that. I'm glad I can still lose weight without going hungry.2
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I don't feel hungry all the time per say, but definitely at night. If I stay up too late I get hunger pangs. Still trying to figure out the best way to deal with it. It's not terribly bothersome but it can prevent me from going to sleep right away.0
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I disagree with those who say you "should" be hungry while losing weight - at least not if we're talking major-league life-altering hungry, as you seem to be. I grant that the first couple of weeks can involve adaptation, but after that things ought to become pretty manageable.
Mid-thread here, you sound like you have a good plan: Eat more home-cooked foods - more nutritious, higher volume, lower calorie - and manage the weekends more in line with your goals. Good stuff!
I'd also like to suggest you step back (conceptually) from the "many small meals" idea. It may be a good idea for you, and it's definitely worth a try.
Here's the thing: Calories in < Calories Out works for pretty much everyone, to lose weight. But satiation - avoiding hunger - seems to be very individualized. There are lots of variations that work for at least some people, but no one solution works for everyone. Think of it as involving two major variables: Timing, and composition of eating.
Timing: Multiple small meals works for some. At the other extreme, one-big-meal-daily intermittent fasting works best for others. There are innumerable variations in between. Some people need a big breakfast; others skip breakfast. Some do better with even-calorie meals through the day; some eat lightly at breakfast/lunch but have a heavy dinner and/or a bedtime snack. There are lots of other possible variations in number, size, and time of day for meals/snacks. You can even vary your calories on different days of the week (bigger deficit weekdays, smaller weekends; 5:2 intermittent fasting - lots of variation possible there, too).
Composition: While always working within a healthy range, what you eat also matters for satiation, but again there are huge individual differences. Some people find protein filling, some find fat filling. Some need complex carbs (whole grains, whole potatoes, and the like) to feel full, while others find that eating carbs makes them crave more carbs. Some people need high volume low-cal foods to feel full (these are usually high-fiber veggies). Some people need combinations of the above.
Obviously, you need certain minimums of protein, fat, fiber, and fruit/veggies (for micronutrients) to be eating most healthfully, but you have some wiggle room, possibly even at a calorie deficit, that lets you emphasize some more than others and still keep things nutritious.
So: It sounds like you're considering trying the "many small meals/snacks" option. That's great. Try it for a few days, and if it works for you, stick with it. But if you find it isn't effective, try another variation (in timing or composition) for a few days, and see if it's better. Rinse'n'repeat, until you find what works best for you.
Through this, diary review is a powerful tool, assuming you log your food. At first, look at your diary every couple of days. Look for foods that "cost" a lot of calories, but didn't give you enough satiation, nutrition or tastiness for those calories. Reduce/eliminate those foods, and replace them with something else you enjoy, that better meets your goals. Over time, this will evolve your eating in a more satisfying, nutritious direction.
Look for patterns in what precedes bouts of hunger. Are there trigger foods? Lesser amounts of some nutrient or food before bouts of hunger? Etc.
During diary review, also consider other factors that affect hunger/satiation: Did you get enough restful sleep? Did you experience an unusually high amount of stress? Were you bored? Did your exercise type or volume differ? How much water or equivalent did you drink? Etc. Either eating changes, or other behavior strategies (hobbies, bedtimes, exercise, etc.) can help manage these.
For me, I learned that I needed a very solid breakfast with plenty of protein, then protein through the day, plus a decent volume of high-volume low-calorie foods (one of my faves is whole plates of raw veggies like cucumber, jicama, kohlrabi, carrots, celery, celeriac, and others). Lack of sleep, for me, is a craving/over-eating trigger.
Your specifics will differ. But - I predict - once you figure things out, you can manage to be rarely very hungry, unless it's almost time for the next meal. And, in the rare case where hunger strikes at a different time, you'll know what snack works best to tide you over, and keep your calorie deficit reasonably intact.
Good luck!7 -
Thank you all for your input!
@tomteboda I am 5 3. And I have decided to eat back most of the calories I burn exercising.1 -
If your "diet" (what you are eating) leaves you hungry then you are not going to want to stick with it for the duration of the weight loss or even after you lose the weight so then you will have a hard time maintaining the wt. loss.
I started eating low carb high fat (keto) and will never have to "diet" again. I am never hungry. Went from having to eat 6 times a day, and after several weeks could go all day without eating and felt great. I am in maintenance now and eat 3 meals a day just so I don't keep losing weight. I do not snack nor feel the need to. I also don't want to go back to my previous way of eating, because my "diet" foods taste good and are extremely filling.
I hope you find what works for you!1 -
I disagree with those who say you "should" be hungry while losing weight - at least not if we're talking major-league life-altering hungry, as you seem to be. I grant that the first couple of weeks can involve adaptation, but after that things ought to become pretty manageable. ...
Agreed. Because I'm not crash-dieting, I'm only hungry right before meals.
Weight loss does not have to involve suffering or self-punishment.2 -
Everyone is different on what they find keeps them filling fuller, I upped my protein and lowered my carbs and found I don't get starving hungry anymore.0
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It's ridiculous to talk about "life-altering hungry", especially in an overweight, obese group. Overwhelming majority in the US do not face this kind of hunger either. The worst hunger an overweight person in the US likely faces probably comes from not eating for ...half a day!!! LOL.
Anyway, back to the "diet" hungry, OP, initially you may feel more hungry than you are used to. Perhaps some dizziness. It's normal for most healthy people. I wouldn't drive or perform critical activities. Your body will soon get used to having less food -- deficit is a must for weight loss.
As far as feeling hungry everyday, healthy people feel hungry. It doesn't have to be before meal time -- life isn't that neat. The difference between a good hunger and a bad one, to me, is that you don't crash (eg diabetic) and you can delay that hunger for several hours until food becomes available.
If you are not hungry, you are not getting the most out of your food.0 -
I'm not sure that I understand the concept that you have to be hungry to get the most of out of your food. I'm not hungry often. I may get a twinge here and there. I do 16:8 IF. If I were hungry often, it would be hard for me to abstain from eating.
I hope you find a way to deal with your hunger. Good luck!0 -
leejoyce31 wrote: »I'm not sure that I understand the concept that you have to be hungry to get the most of out of your food. I'm not hungry often. I may get a twinge here and there. I do 16:8 IF. If I were hungry often, it would be hard for me to abstain from eating.
I hope you find a way to deal with your hunger. Good luck!
Well, they don't say hunger is the best ingredient (sauce) for nothing, when it come to food taste.
Performance wise (I play sport) I can feel a (positive) difference when my body can process a large amount of food which is only possible when I'm hungry/healthy. Likewise I am sick , hunger is virtually non existent and food isn't helping.0 -
Thank you very much!0
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I hear ya. I used to be able to eat 5,000 calories a day. A 3,000 calorie meal. And still be hungry. I've literally still felt hungry even after drinking a half gallon of water during my meal (so I would feel full); In the past I've eaten so much my stomach distended and my chest hurt, but I still felt hungry. Once I mused to myself that I was still hungry after eating a huge meal, not realizing my stomach was about to toss that whole meal back up because it was too damn big.
It's really mind over matter. I just imagine all that food in my stomach and it all turning into energy, and that helps make me feel satisfied with what I've eaten- it's also satisfying in another way to know you aren't going to gain weight from overeating.0 -
I also get very hungry. I tracked my usual diet first, consuming around 3000 calories a day. Cutting down to 1200 was too much of an initial deficit. I decided to take 750 from 3000 and thats a pound and a half per week, i will recalclate every few weeks. Im not aa hungry anymore. Also, i have 3 meals and 3 snacks.0
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I have started combatting this by saying "Listen, I know you are hungry. If you wait till this time you can eat a little bit of this treat food you wanted."0
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I was having this problem a couple of days ago.
I see some people saying you don't have to eat many small meals and that may be true, but I would suggest that from your first meal to your last you should eat an even amount of calories in your meals. I was getting dizzy, hungry, and cranky and all I needed to do was even out the calories per meal. I still leave about 600-500 for dinner, but I eat a bit more for breakfast and lunch. I guess my answer is, try balancing your meals (how ever many you eat). It doesn't have to be perfect, but going from a 100 calorie meal to 500 might be messing you up.
Also, if you're a girl, I didn't realize women get hungry around their ovulation. I knew we had cravings, but not full-on hunger and an increased metabolism!
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