1500 cal a day and starving

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  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
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    EbonyDahlia wrote: »
    Aftronthegreat wrote: »
    I'm short - 5'2, I'm overweight - 306 ( the highest and most terrifying weight I have ever been) and I'm trying to lose 100lbs safely.
    I am back to mfp after 2 years of ignoring my body and what it needs. I'm constantly tired and have moved from an extremely active job to a desk job. I'm trying to exercise but my motivation is lacking.

    My question here for people is how do you do it!?! I feel like I'm starving at 1500 cal, no mater what I eat or drink (water and black coffee) I don't feel full, and poof all my daily calls are gone. I've been trying to eat ever few hours but that makes the hunger worse. Any advice to filling foods with low cal?

    I tried for 20 years to lose weight. I could never stick to it because I was always hungry and would cave, and binge, and put it all back on again. 4 years ago, I went low carb. And I have stuck to it for 4 years. And I have lost 70lbs. The carbs/insulin cycle is what causes hunger. When you cut back your carbs and eat protein and fat your hunger is much more controllable. I eat 1400 cals a day now, and I'm never hungry. I can go til mid afternoon without needing to eat. I don't binge. I can easily resist the office cake. At the start it took a month or so to get to this point but I'll never go back.

    I used to be one of those people who ate to the point of being full, all day. I would go through the drive through on the way home from work and get a burger to eat in the car, and then go home and eat a big dinner. I had no control over my eating at all.

    If you're interested/serious have a look at https://www.dietdoctor.com/

    I'm the opposite of you when I cut carbs I'm always hungry, I gained 20lbs as a low carb vegetarian.

    OP try adjusting your macros. Figure out what makes you feel full is it fats, protein, or carbs? Knowing this can help you figure out how you can eat and feel satisfied without using all your calories and starving
  • powwlita
    powwlita Posts: 16 Member
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    Hi. I am 5'1 - 5,2" and was 375 lbs. I believe I am under 300 now (weigh in is tomorrow, but all unofficial weigh ins have been between 290 and 298). Give yourself some more calories. At 323, I ate 1800 calories. I lost about 10 lbs without exercise. Now I am down to 1500 and I am trying to get more exercise, I have a program on my computer called break taker. It's a timer that tells me to take a break at set intervals. Every 20 minutes, I get up and take a lap around the office. It's not much, but it adds up. I also take a 20 minute walk on my lunch break. I always walk before I eat so I don't feel stuffed or unmotivated.

    I also break down my cals to include 3, 100 cal snacks a day. I don't always eat them, they're like a buffer for my meals incase I go over those cal goals. Breakfast is 300, snack 100, lunch 400, snack 100, dinner 500, snack 100. it helps keep me sane that I can eat a little between meals. Also, I drink at least 64 ounces of water now.

    I had a problem with being tired. My anemia was killing me and I'd have to take naps during my lunch hour just to make it through work. If you can, check your iron, vit. d and b12 levels. I take an iron supplement and was just prescribed a vitamin d supplement as well. The slow addition of walking has helped me a lot with being tired. But take your naps. Do what you can to feel better.

    I felt like it was impossible, but I made sure to focus solely on food intake first. Got that right before i lowered my calorie goal. See what keeps you full. You can do it! Add me if you want!
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
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    Another shortie here at 5'2. You need to find out what types of food fills you up. Personally for me this is lots of protein and good fats. I eat vegetables, meat, eggs, full fat products, avocados, prawns, smoked salmon, meatballs etc creamy cauliflower mash, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, asparagus...

    But this is the type of food that keeps ME full. I suggest you keep notes for a week, log how different types of foods makes you feel, as in how long do they keep you full for, and start experimenting with similar types of foods that leaves you feeling fuller for longer.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
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    try2again wrote: »
    If you would miss carbs and start to crave them, it could lead to binges & be counter-productive.
    Interestingly, after the first little while you don't miss/crave carbs even if you used to be a carb junkie. It's almost unheard of for someone who's low carb and got past that insulin roller coaster to the point where their appetite is under control (a couple of weeks) to "crave carbs". It normally happens after a careless carb laden meal where they will crave more carbs.

    There are also so many options these days, you do not have to go without anything. For example I still have a sandwich now and then, there's a brand of bread here that has 2.5g of carbs for 2 slices. Not saying everyone should go super low, but a lot of people do struggle limiting their calories when they have a carb heavy diet because of the fluctuations in blood sugar and the hunger.

  • marelthu
    marelthu Posts: 184 Member
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    Hi, can I suggest you visit a nutritionist or dietitian? They can be very helpful.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    Sounds like you're on the right track already! For me to stay within my calories, I have to eat homemade food and pile on the veggies. I had Quizno's for lunch today (because it was free at a meeting) and it blew my calories out of the water (and on top of it wasn't that great). If I bring my lunch, it's 300-400 calories. I ate 1,000 calories at one meal and it didn't keep me full any longer than usual.

    Anyway, definitely amend your goals to allow a few more calories, eat back any exercise calories, and make sure to stock your fridge full of fruit and veggies you enjoy.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
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    Fiber, fat, and protein make one feel fuller. Eat plenty of filling and low calorie vegetables. So dip your veggies in hummus or guacamole. Watch your refined grains and sugars.
  • zheeduh
    zheeduh Posts: 25 Member
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    If you've already changed your diet to include a lot of high-fiber, whole foods and cut out all sugar, then I would consider actually upping your calories by around 200 and doing a couple miles of walking/jogging each day instead. You'll get to eat 1700 calories this way, and you'll get some benefits for your heart as well. This post is pretty helpful to determine how much cardio you can do each day.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    A lot of good advice here. it takes time to adjust.. it is just part of the deal. i agree.. lower the amount you want to lose per week so you can at least keep to your calorie limit. i find certain foods make me hungry..even though i love them, Go back and look at what you're eating and see if there is a pattern of hunger connected to a certain food. for me, when i eat noodles.. in soup or pad thai ... i get so hungry all the next day.

    you can figure it out..no reason to suffer.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    Aftronthegreat wrote: »
    Thanks everone! I honestly never considered lowering my goal loss, which is currently at 2lbs a week. I am for sure going to try more fiber and low carb. I am off pop (have been for months) but really need to work on drinking more water! I think for now I may need to adjust the goal to get my body use to less!

    According to this website http://www.healthsomeness.com/calories-lose-weight-fast/ you can lose weight a bit slower while consuming 1978 calories.
  • JobasIsaacs
    JobasIsaacs Posts: 26 Member
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    You talked about focusing on drinking more water. This was key for me! It took a while for me, when I first started, to adjust to satiating my THIRST which I mistook for hunger (as I had obviously been getting a lot of water from over indulging in food).
  • mrsksepulveda
    mrsksepulveda Posts: 15 Member
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    Hi, dont feel bad. We all deny our bodies at dome point. I am trying to get back on the wagon.
  • CurvyPrincess66
    CurvyPrincess66 Posts: 84 Member
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    Im the same weight with a 2lb a week goal and i get 1700 wonder why yours is lower. I went threw the starving thing to tho it took about a week to feel like i was satisfied. Im afraid i don't have much advice I sort of just fought threw it. I found things to keep my mind off of it and eventually realized i was hungry because eating had become a habit i was sort of a walking example of the saying eat to live not live to eat.. and i didn't even think it was that bad until MFP
  • runawaysockppt
    runawaysockppt Posts: 4 Member
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    A few things that might also be contributing: something specific in your diet is making your blood sugar fluctuate (those feelings like you are ravenously hungry an hour or two after you eat are usually blood sugar related), you aren't drinking enough water, or you aren't sleeping enough. If it's still happening after you limit sugar and high GI carbs it could be a specific food that's triggering it. I went on a very low carb diet for a while, and while it wasn't really sustainable for me, it was great for figuring out which foods made my blood sugar freak out and which didn't.
  • SeikoMonster
    SeikoMonster Posts: 105 Member
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    Going to scheduled meal times really helped me with hunger.
    I'm doing the 16/8 fasting daily, so setting 11am for breakfast, 2-3pm for lunch and 6-7 for dinner. Knowing that its x amount of time till a meal helped reset my thinking.

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I can understand that your motivation for exercise is low. Start with nutrition - you need to feel somewhat energetic and not hungry. Your TDEE seems to be around 2900; a 1000 calorie deficit to lose 2 pounds per week leaves you with 1900 calories to eat. Just upping your calories to that level, will probably make you feel a lot better.

    Then you can look into the overall quality of your diet. This means that you have to look at your diet as a whole. Forget about superfoods! Almost all foods can be part of a healthy and balanced diet, and that's what you're really looking for. Different foods contribute with different amounts of different nutrients, and variety is important to get all you need - when you feel starving, you are either short on calories, or certain nutrients, or both - and not get bored. You want all the nutrients you need each day, to allow your body to work as it's supposed to, and at the same time food you want to eat because you like to eat them. This can be done with a bit of reading and planning and some trial and error. Because there are some general guidelines, and a lot of individual differences, and important to know what's what.

    Can you cook? Have you heard about food groups? Compose meals to consist of foods from several food groups, and get in some from every group every day. Eat different foods for each meal, and from day to day, week to week. Then portion out amounts so that you hit your calorie goal every day. If you do it right, you will lose weight.

    You will have to reduce your calorie intake later to continue to lose, but that's a story for a later day.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    Concurring with those who say to up your calories. Even to 1.5lbs per week, it gives you another 250 calories a day which make all the difference.

    As to food choices, experiment. Most people make a primary focus on protein, then fat, then the rest can be carbs. This is how I manage any hunger. I do need starchy carbs with my feels to feel satisfied physically and psychologically but I only need a little, the rest can be lower calorie veg along with my protein.

    Some people do better eating higher carb and find that keeps them full.

    Then there's meal timing. It makes absolutely no difference to weight loss, calories take care of that, but it can be make or break for you getting through the day. For me personally, I sort of intermittent fast when not exercising. So I don't eat until late lunch, that will just be something light. I then save the bulk of my calories for an early dinner and have a large, satisfying meal. And I'll still have calories for a good snack later in the evening. Other people prefer their biggest meal to be breakfast, or lunch, others prefer the several small meals a day. it all comes down to finding what works to make this manageable and sustainable for you.

    Once you're committed you'll realise you have a lot of time to experiment with foods and meal timing, potentially finding some physical activity you enjoy, working out how to manage holidays and social events. It's all a massive learning experience. But you basically have a lifetime to perfect it, taking time at the start to get into a groove to find what is sustainable in the long term for you can only be of benefit to your long term success.
  • razzapool
    razzapool Posts: 89 Member
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    i put it at 2lb a week to begin with but the calories just werent enough to work with for me so i lowered it to 1lb and it has been great i easily keep to my macros and i have enough energy to keep working as hard as i can at gym
  • Hello_its_Dan
    Hello_its_Dan Posts: 406 Member
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    Your body will fight you to maintain weight by increasing ghrelin.
    My question is, hungry? Or bored?

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