Just Starting/ Hunger

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Is it normal to think that your calorie goal is impossible the 1st few days every time i think about how many calories i have left i feel like i'm going to starve and just want more food.
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  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Need more info.

    What is your height, weight and did you select to lose .5, 1, 1.5 or 2 pounds a week? What is your calorie goal per day?

    If you put in 2 pounds and your calorie goal is stressing you out, change it to 1 pound for now. For right now, getting started at a slower rate that you can live with my be better than something extreme that you feel you cannot manage.
  • mharnden92
    mharnden92 Posts: 16 Member
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    i selected to loose 2 a week so i will switch to one. with all my stressing i didn't think to do that. I am just so anxious and want to loose the excess weight. but im afraid that I may just let it slip away.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    The key is to make changes that are sustainable for you. This won't work in the long run if you flame out after a few weeks. I agree with dropping your weekly weight loss goal to 1 lb. You can always eat a little less than you're 'allowed' on the days you feel like it (but not less than 1200) and you'll have a few more calories to play with as you get the hang of things. You can do this!
  • kmariet7
    kmariet7 Posts: 229 Member
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    After a week or 2 you won't be nearly as hungry. Probably still hungry but not nearly as bad:)
  • fupthesides
    fupthesides Posts: 71 Member
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    I was hungry all the time for the first 3 weeks. For me I stuck with it because I needed to retrain myself what was an acceptable portion. I am only almost 7 weeks into this and I still get really hungry in the morning but that is about it. I am actually get that full feeling after meals now. I agree with others that maybe choosing 1 lb per week may be better for now. It's not easy so far but it has been worth it.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    Also small changed helped me alot, Something like instead of eating 1 bagel for a meal ill split that bagel over 2 smaller meals and spread them out a few hours, Kept me satisfied over a longer period and mentally i got 2 little delicious meals to look forward to. Its possible something like this may help you with the mental aspect
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    First you need to build willpower. It helps if you increase water intake. Eat healthy foods that are not super calorie dense and avoid the ones that are like bread, potatoes and pasta. Try snacking between meals. My favorite is a handful of almonds or an apple.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited February 2017
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    rsclause wrote: »
    First you need to build willpower. It helps if you increase water intake. Eat healthy foods that are not super calorie dense and avoid the ones that are like bread, potatoes and pasta. Try snacking between meals. My favorite is a handful of almonds or an apple.

    Why avoid bread and potatoes maybe they are like me the vast majority of my foods are potatoes and bread. Iv lost plenty of weight. Even when my nutritionist told me low carb to lose weight because i have PCOS (not recomending going against a nutritionist its just what worked for me )

    Carbs are my fuel. Their not evil. Maybe itl be those foods that will make them satisfied
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.

    For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.

    You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.

  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.

    For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.

    You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.

    This is a good point i never brought up. For me personally second i begin to eat i get starving for the rest of the day so i now eat as late into the day as possible, Save all my calories for the late afternoon/evening That way i can eat what i want more ...not have to fire my appetite up as early and worry about spreading my calories out thinly. If your anything like me and dont like breakfast that much it might be worth a shot to try. Wont work for everyone but i know many people who dotn bother eating until later and it definatly helps with satisfaction/hunger
  • mharnden92
    mharnden92 Posts: 16 Member
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    I was hungry all the time for the first 3 weeks. For me I stuck with it because I needed to retrain myself what was an acceptable portion. I am only almost 7 weeks into this and I still get really hungry in the morning but that is about it. I am actually get that full feeling after meals now. I agree with others that maybe choosing 1 lb per week may be better for now. It's not easy so far but it has been worth it.

    I think it has a lot to do with my stomach needing to shrink down i hope that it does go away i think its mind over matter. And lately i haven't had the right mind set witch is a lot to do with why im overweight now i think. I hope i can stay on the straight and narrow
  • mharnden92
    mharnden92 Posts: 16 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Also small changed helped me alot, Something like instead of eating 1 bagel for a meal ill split that bagel over 2 smaller meals and spread them out a few hours, Kept me satisfied over a longer period and mentally i got 2 little delicious meals to look forward to. Its possible something like this may help you with the mental aspect

    thank you i differently will start to play with my diet and see what works. Its nice to here i dont have to drop everything i love to get my weight down. I think that helps a lot with the mind going crazy. I think a lot of my problems with this diet thing are in my head at this point. Hopefully in a week or so things will calm down a little. My problem is i overthink.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    mharnden92 wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Also small changed helped me alot, Something like instead of eating 1 bagel for a meal ill split that bagel over 2 smaller meals and spread them out a few hours, Kept me satisfied over a longer period and mentally i got 2 little delicious meals to look forward to. Its possible something like this may help you with the mental aspect

    thank you i differently will start to play with my diet and see what works. Its nice to here i dont have to drop everything i love to get my weight down. I think that helps a lot with the mind going crazy. I think a lot of my problems with this diet thing are in my head at this point. Hopefully in a week or so things will calm down a little. My problem is i overthink.

    I eat what i want i just make sure i work for it, If i want a chocolate bar ill have it but ill walk my booty to the store an hour away and back and then sit down and enjoy every last little bite. Dont cut off foods its horrible to crave constantly, Just work them in
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
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    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.

    For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.

    You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.

    This is a good point i never brought up. For me personally second i begin to eat i get starving for the rest of the day so i now eat as late into the day as possible, Save all my calories for the late afternoon/evening That way i can eat what i want more ...not have to fire my appetite up as early and worry about spreading my calories out thinly. If your anything like me and dont like breakfast that much it might be worth a shot to try. Wont work for everyone but i know many people who dotn bother eating until later and it definatly helps with satisfaction/hunger

    This is what I do by using the 16:8 IF method. I delay eating as long as possible. Sometimes longer than 16 hours. You're right. Once I eat my first thing for the day, my brain says game on. It's feeding time. So, I try to push that back as long as possible. In fact, I'm already past the 16 hour mark. I'll try to hold off a bit longer since I'm not hungry anyway.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    leejoyce31 wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Also play with your macros to see what helps satiate you.

    For me a carb/protein/fat with every meal helps. Drinking at least 48oz water, getting 7-8hrs of sleep also helps me. I also only eat brunch and dinner as frequent smaller meals made me hungrier.

    You'll need to tweak things as you go to find your sweet spot.

    This is a good point i never brought up. For me personally second i begin to eat i get starving for the rest of the day so i now eat as late into the day as possible, Save all my calories for the late afternoon/evening That way i can eat what i want more ...not have to fire my appetite up as early and worry about spreading my calories out thinly. If your anything like me and dont like breakfast that much it might be worth a shot to try. Wont work for everyone but i know many people who dotn bother eating until later and it definatly helps with satisfaction/hunger

    This is what I do by using the 16:8 IF method. I delay eating as long as possible. Sometimes longer than 16 hours. You're right. Once I eat my first thing for the day, my brain says game on. It's feeding time. So, I try to push that back as long as possible. In fact, I'm already past the 16 hour mark. I'll try to hold off a bit longer since I'm not hungry anyway.

    yeah i generally start with something small. ill get hungry say okay i can eat in 30-1 hour. eat a small piece of kolbassa to hold me off 45mins-1 more hour before my first meal. By time thats done its nearly dinner time its wonderful.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    I've had to retrain my hunger - and the first week or two is hard. I used to eat a snack every day at 10. I have stopped, but I was super hungry at 10 for a while. Definitely drink lots of no-calorie beverages (tea, coffee, water, even diet pop if it makes it easier), focus on big volume foods for at least part of your diet (lots of veggies, fruit, and things like popcorn that can *feel* like a lot of food).

    And of course, there's just the fact that getting hungry before I eat needs to be my new normal. Not that I'm hungry all the time, but that I allow that discomfort in my life. If you're used to eating a lot, you don't really ever get to "hungry". It's a new feeling and you'll learn how to manage it.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    rsclause wrote: »
    First you need to build willpower. It helps if you increase water intake. Eat healthy foods that are not super calorie dense and avoid the ones that are like bread, potatoes and pasta. Try snacking between meals. My favorite is a handful of almonds or an apple.

    Avoiding bread, potatoes and pasta works for some.

    I personally have some form of bread almost daily and am losing weight steadily. I modified by getting bagel thins, killer Dave 60 cal bread and sandwich thins. These are staples for me.

    I have potatos maybe 4-5 times a month and I rarely eat pasta as I'm not a big fan, although in my 6 months of counting calories I have had lasagna a couple of times.

    I think the thing is one needs to figure out if they can adhere to their calorie goal while eating certain foods or not. Adherence is most important to be successful at not only losing but maintaining.

    I personally could not stick to a way of eating that restricts my favorite foods.
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    edited February 2017
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    annacole94 wrote: »
    I've had to retrain my hunger - and the first week or two is hard. I used to eat a snack every day at 10. I have stopped, but I was super hungry at 10 for a while. Definitely drink lots of no-calorie beverages (tea, coffee, water, even diet pop if it makes it easier), focus on big volume foods for at least part of your diet (lots of veggies, fruit, and things like popcorn that can *feel* like a lot of food).

    And of course, there's just the fact that getting hungry before I eat needs to be my new normal. Not that I'm hungry all the time, but that I allow that discomfort in my life. If you're used to eating a lot, you don't really ever get to "hungry". It's a new feeling and you'll learn how to manage it.

    It's interesting that you use the words retrain your hunger. I feel that's what I have done with IF 16:8. Before I started IF in October, I felt the need to eat as soon as I became hungry. But IF taught me that if I ride it out for a bit, the hunger actually goes away. It was so amazing because after all these years, I didn't know that. I guess because as soon as the hunger urge hit, I would react to it. Now, I get a little hungry in the mornings some days. But after a while, it passes and I'm not hungry again for hours.

    I love IF. It has really taught me a lot about hunger cues. Oh by the way, I'm not advocating IF for everyone. I know that it's just a method of eating and not everyone can or wants to do it.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited February 2017
    Options
    leejoyce31 wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    I've had to retrain my hunger - and the first week or two is hard. I used to eat a snack every day at 10. I have stopped, but I was super hungry at 10 for a while. Definitely drink lots of no-calorie beverages (tea, coffee, water, even diet pop if it makes it easier), focus on big volume foods for at least part of your diet (lots of veggies, fruit, and things like popcorn that can *feel* like a lot of food).

    And of course, there's just the fact that getting hungry before I eat needs to be my new normal. Not that I'm hungry all the time, but that I allow that discomfort in my life. If you're used to eating a lot, you don't really ever get to "hungry". It's a new feeling and you'll learn how to manage it.

    It's interesting that you use the words retrain your hunger. I feel that's what I have done with IF 16:8. Before I started IF in October, I felt the need to eat as soon as I became hungry. But IF taught me that if I ride it out for a bit, the hunger actually goes away. It was so amazing because after all these years, I didn't know that. I guess because as soon as the hunger urge hit, I would react to it. Now, I get a little hungry in the mornings some days. But after a while, it passes and I'm not hungry again for hours.

    I love IF. It has really taught me a lot about hunger cues. Oh by the way, I'm not advocating IF for everyone. I know that it's just a method of eating and not everyone can or wants to do it.

    Looking back i did something super similar...

    I hadnt decided to lose weight but i got really angry that when i didnt eat every few hours id get shakey and starving and feel weak. One day out of nowhere i just refused it i was like no im not going to eat see what truely happens. After a few hours it stopped fully so i rode it out to see when i got hunger see if i could recognize true hunger, 3 days later i hadnt felt it and was like i need to eat now but what the actual hell. And i had lost weight so i was like....this is a thing i can do...Set up my calories and stuck to them and now im down 82 pounds XD

    Its very empowering to learn what hunger really is