Eating When Hungry vs. Sticking to a Calorie Plan

RickyCoogin · January 2017

The notion of eating when hungry sounds like it makes sense to me. However, I love to cook and eat, so I figured it would be better if I stuck to a calorie plan (1500-1800 day, for a start) and ate regularly even when not really that hungry. I figure the idea is to get yourself used to what you're going to do long-term.

Does this sound right?

MonkeyMel21 · January 2017

You can eat at any time of the day, it's the calorie deficit that matters.

bbell1985 · January 2017

If your goal is to lose weight you can still be in a deficit and eat just when you're hungry. Also, 1500-1800 sounds arbitrary. Put your stats in to figure out your calorie goal. 1500 is low for a male.

rileysowner · January 2017

It depends. I know, for me and many who have long term weight issues, our hunger sensation is majorly screwed up. This happens both in continuing to think I am hungry when more than enough has been eaten; and feeling full when I have not eaten nearly enough.

I didn't realize that the first time I lost weight, and I ate far below what would have provided for me nutritionally not to mention caloricly that I lost a lot of muscle mass. I didn't feel hungry, and would use that as justification for eating below what is the generally accepted minimum for men. Then that all changed. I was hungry all the time, and due to that and an injury I started putting on weight giving up calorie tracking for quite a while.

Coming back now, having to lose weight I put on through all that, I am looking at what I learned the last time. The big take away is that my hunger/satisfaction signals are completely messed up. I need to eat my calorie goal to train myself appropriate portions. I am taking a much slower approach to losing fat, and am working to maintain my muscle as well as I can. My goal is to see if doing this, eating an appropriate calorie level (which BTW for me is setting my goal calories manually to my maintenance calories at my goal weight) will help fix my hunger/satisfaction interpretation. However, after as many years as I have lived, I am not sure it will.

My thoughts are that for all people seeking to lose weight, they start out eating their calorie goal including at least half of their exercise calories. Don't trust you feelings of being full, instead trust the calories assuming you are measuring your food properly, but that is another topic.

GottaBurnEmAll · January 2017

The two posters above me both raised issues I wanted to raise.

Pick a calorie goal that's appropriate for your needs and that's realistic. Within the parameters of that goal, whether or not you can follow your appetite signals is something you're going to have to test with trial and error.

I have personally found meal scheduling with a little wiggle room for flexibility to be good for me, because my hunger signals are unreliable. I've also found the habit of eating slowly and mindfully to be helpful. In addition to this, evaluating whether I'm truly hungry vs. wanting to taste food is important every step of the way.

An example of how this works is today. I'm having a hungry day. I had an early snack before my normally scheduled meal time after deciding that yes, I was truly hungry. I'll skip one of my later planned snacks or exercise a bit more and have both snacks.

GottaBurnEmAll · January 2017

RickyCoogin wrote: »

I'm 6'3", 262 and it's telling me I should expect it to take at least a year to lose the 75 lbs I want to lose. It says I should be eating OVER 2000 calories a day, and that's assuming I do no exercise whatsoever (for example, I jogged 2.5 miles the other day and it told me to eat like 2800 calories that day). That seems like way too much for someone who has as much weight as I do to lose and I don't want to wait an entire year to look decent.

What Riley said is totally true with me. My hunger signals are all screwed up...I can't remember the last time I actually felt hungry. I might get some stomach growling, but hunger pangs don't follow them. I've often thought maybe for my first day, I should just not eat if I'm not hungry (figuring my stomach is probably full from the day before), but it also sets a bad precedent, especially if I eat when hungry and then think "Is that all I get for another five hours or so?"

It's tempting to want to lose weight quickly, but think of it this way... weight loss is a continuum of ongoing lifetime weight management. Losing is just the first phase.

Don't be in a rush. During the losing phase, you'll be learning a lot of things, like which foods most satiate you. The lack of hunger you feel now will change. Your fitness will improve. Ideally, if you're not already eating a nutrient rich diet, you will start to. You will try new recipes. You'll be forming habits that will see you through losing and into maintaining that loss. It's easier to do all of this with more calories. It's easier to keep running with more calories. I know, I've tried running on a severe cut and it was awful!

Trust. the. math.

TimothyFish · January 2017

Eating when hungry works great if you are trying to maintain your current weight. If you are trying to lose weight then counting calories works better because you need to eat less than your daily calorie expenditure.

I was your weight for a while. I was eating around 1600 calories to lose on days I didn't exercise, but I put in an hour or more of exercise, so it was actually over 2,000 calories on most days. Now, I'm 205 and a couple of inches taller than you. My typical calorie intake is over 3,000 calories per day.

GottaBurnEmAll · January 2017

RickyCoogin wrote: »

I am in a rush. I feel like my life is on hold, mainly my dating life. There is no way I'd be able to date someone at my current size; it would actually make me feel horrible if someone said I looked great the way I am now. Even at my goal weight, it's still going to be a struggle for me because of how I feel about my stature.

2000 calories a day seems like a lot for someone with a lot of weight to lose.

You're looking at it upside down though.

You need to start by looking at how many calories it takes to maintain your current weight and then see how many less calories those 2000 calories represent.

Since you weigh so much, that likely represents 1000 calories a day less than it takes to maintain your current weight. That's 1/3 less! That's a lot!!!

CafeRacer808 · January 2017

RickyCoogin wrote: »

I am in a rush. I feel like my life is on hold, mainly my dating life. There is no way I'd be able to date someone at my current size; it would actually make me feel horrible if someone said I looked great the way I am now. Even at my goal weight, it's still going to be a struggle for me because of how I feel about my stature.

2000 calories a day seems like a lot for someone with a lot of weight to lose.

This is entirely relative based on the person's height and current weight. It'll be more useful for you think about it in terms of the number of lbs you'd like to lose per week. If MFP is telling you it'll take you ~12 months to lose 75 lbs, that puts you at a 1.5lb/week loss rate. For your size and and weight, that's pretty much spot on.

Many dieters fail because they try to lose too much weight too quickly. Constant hunger can lead to bingeing, which will likely lead to gaining back any weight you lost and then some. It's also worth remembering that while maintaining a deficit, you'll likely be losing lean muscle mass as well. Taking a less aggressive approach, along with incorporating strength training into your weight loss plan, will help mitigate this. The cliche of "weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint" is absolutely true. Slow and steady wins the race. It's also a healthier and much more sustainable approach.

TimothyFish · January 2017

At 2,000 calories, you would be losing a pound a week even if you do no exercise. You are burning around 2,600 calories just by doing normal stuff every day.

snickerscharlie · January 2017

Ricky, keep in mind that the more weight you lose, the less calories you'll be able to consume in a day and still keep losing.

And since it's getting a dating bod that seems to be your priority, too rapid of a weight loss can also result in more dramatic loose, flabby skin folds which might raise a new concern for you.

You didn't get overweight overnight. Please don't try to lose it overnight, either. I honestly don't think you'll be happy with the results.

CafeRacer808 · January 2017

OP, I just noticed your other post about compulsive eating and body dysmorphia disorder. I figured I'd mention it here because it adds some useful context to the discussion.

doittoitgirl · January 2017

Don't rush it. Generally the faster it comes off, the easier it comes back on. You don't want to work really hard to lose the weight in six months only to gain it back a year later. I did that before my wedding and dropped 45lbs in 3 months. A year later I gained 38 of it back. This time is slow and steady wins the race.

sarko15 · January 2017

Why can't you count calories AND eat when you're hungry? They aren't mutually exclusive or even remotely contradictory.

What I found when I began counting calories and weighing my food is how little food it actually took to satiate me. I just ate bigger portion sizes because it made me feel good. I still love to cook and eat, and I ALWAYS eat when I'm hungry, but now I just know what portions I actually need.

sarko15 · January 2017

RickyCoogin wrote: »

Based on TDEECalculator.net, my maintenance calories (not BMR) would be just over 3,200.

A year is too long for me to wait. Six months is bad enough.

Well, you're setting yourself up for disappointment then. Either you'll lose weight too fast, stall, and then gain. Or you can lose it slowly, consistently, and maintain it long term. Choose your own adventure.

CafeRacer808 · January 2017

With regard to dating yes, physical appearance is a component of dating life. But, any woman (or man, depending on your preference) who summarily discounts you simply because of your weight probably isn't worth dating to begin with. If you're using online dating, why not make your weight loss journey part of your bio? That you've decided to take control of your life and eating habits will probably be very attractive to people.

snickerscharlie · January 2017

CafeRacer808 wrote: »

With regard to dating yes, physical appearance is a component in dating life. But, any woman (or man, depending on your preference) who summarily discounts you simply because of your weight probably isn't worth dating to begin with. If you're using online dating, why not make your weight loss journey part of your bio? That you've decided to take control of your life and eating habits will probably be very attractive to people.

Eating When Hungry vs. Sticking to a Calorie Plan

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