Day five: I'm feeling hungry at times, and a friend is being worried about it.
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antinomiancelestial
Posts: 36 Member
I'm taking my weight loss pretty slowly and only restricting down to around 1520 calories per day. It's only the fifth day, and so far I've run into two frustrating things.
The first is that I overdid carbs and underdid protein yesterday, ended up hungry late at night, and ended up really unhappy. Am I correct in believing that getting fewer calories from carbs and more from protein and vitamin-rich foods will help with the hunger?
The second is that I accidentally worried a friend who is into the fat-acceptance stuff. The friend told me the hunger means I'm starving myself rather than dieting in a healthy manner and that I'm behaving like I have an eating disorder. This was upsetting to me because I actually had an ED years ago, so I know what that feels like. Yesterday, I made a mistake and didn't balance my nutrients right to avoid hunger. There is very little comparison between that and the time when I was only getting a few hundred calories in a day and was engaging in distraction techniques to try to ignore my hunger.
I guess I'm wondering two things:
1. What do you do to avoid hunger while still eating fewer calories than your body is used to? What do you do if you get hungry after you've hit your daily calorie limit?
2. How do you avoid letting the critics/worried folks get to you?
The first is that I overdid carbs and underdid protein yesterday, ended up hungry late at night, and ended up really unhappy. Am I correct in believing that getting fewer calories from carbs and more from protein and vitamin-rich foods will help with the hunger?
The second is that I accidentally worried a friend who is into the fat-acceptance stuff. The friend told me the hunger means I'm starving myself rather than dieting in a healthy manner and that I'm behaving like I have an eating disorder. This was upsetting to me because I actually had an ED years ago, so I know what that feels like. Yesterday, I made a mistake and didn't balance my nutrients right to avoid hunger. There is very little comparison between that and the time when I was only getting a few hundred calories in a day and was engaging in distraction techniques to try to ignore my hunger.
I guess I'm wondering two things:
1. What do you do to avoid hunger while still eating fewer calories than your body is used to? What do you do if you get hungry after you've hit your daily calorie limit?
2. How do you avoid letting the critics/worried folks get to you?
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Replies
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Some people find lower carb, higher protein/fat helps with hunger. Others (like me) find carbs do the trick. You might need to experiment to find a ratio that works well for you. And also consider when you eat your meals.
Ignore the friend. Or at least politely reassure her that you're doing great and that you're following a safe and gradual weight loss plan. And then don't bring it up again.8 -
I eat every 4 hours. I do low carb but high protein. Eggs for breakfast, salads, Greek yogurt, things like that. I don't feel hungry during the day. Nothing wrong with snacking long as it's proportional and healthy. No worries. Do what works for your body, everyone is different.0
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Make sure you're getting enough fat, protein and fibre to keep you full.
What are your stats? Not sure why your friend would be concerned by one comment about being hungry?0 -
In his very good book The Diet Fix, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff suggests a small, high-protein snack between meals as a way to stave off hunger.
That works for many people. I prefer to follow Michael Pollan's advice, though, to eat only at meals, and to snack very rarely. What I found when I started losing weight is that I would find myself getting quite hungry between meals, but that if I concentrated on something and waited 20 minutes, the hunger usually passed. If it didn't, I'd have a big glass of water. If that didn't help, I would eat a dill pickle (filling but very few calories).
After about 3 weeks, the hunger became much less insistent. I think I was adapting to drawing more calories regularly from stored fat, and to having less food.
If you've had an ED, you do need to tread carefully, but it sounds like you are aware of that and balancing your macros. As long as you're not starving yourself and you are getting a good balance of macros, along with sufficient vitamins and minerals, you can tolerate a little occasional hunger. One thing that makes our society obesogenic is that we seem to have forgotten that it's normal to be a little hungry from time to time, and that hunger doesn't need to be sated immediately. When I was a little kid, snacks were a rare treat, and we adjusted to that. My adolescent weight gain really took off when I became a latchkey kid and had free access to snacks after school.4 -
Feeling hungry from time to time is normal and if you're meeting your nutritional needs on average, you have nothing to worry about.
You'll learn how to balance meals to be more satiating with practice. In time you'll see if you're more volume eater or if you prefer more heavy fat/protein diet. It also might change, for example in winter I prefer to eat more fats, in summer more volume and veggies. It comes with practise.7 -
dustedwithsugar wrote: »Feeling hungry from time to time is normal and if you're meeting your nutritional needs on average, you have nothing to worry about.
You'll learn how to balance meals to be more satiating with practice. In time you'll see if you're more volume eater or if you prefer more heavy fat/protein diet. It also might change, for example in winter I prefer to eat more fats, in summer more volume and veggies. It comes with practise.
This! When did letting yourself get a bit hungry become a big deal? (I mean tummy rumbling, super excited about your next meal hungry, not 'I'm eating 500 calories a day because I want to lose 5lbs a week' hungry).9 -
For me, I find that a good mix of protein and fiber really does help with overall satiety. Another thing that helps is, as a general rule, not keeping foods that I tend to lose control over in the house (for me, that's ice cream and cookies. For you it could be something else). If I don't have it in the house, I tend not to crave it (not to say I never eat ice cream and cookies, I just try to not keep a gallon of ice cream in the freezer). Thirdly, drinking lots of water throughout the day has definitely helped me with overall satiety. When I do feel hungry in between meals, I have found a nice mug of tea (I generally go for green or herbal teas) as it has flavor, it provides me something to drink (thus removing the boredom factor of eating), and if it is hot enough then it takes me awhile to drink it. Frequently by the time I am done, my next meal is probably not that far off and I am not craving food as much.2
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You're making a major change in your diet. Hunger, especially in the beginning, is normal. Like @TavistockToad said, you can try adjusting and meeting macro goals to help you feel more satisfied, but you're not starving yourself. You can try and help your friend understand this, but in the end, you might just have to avoid the topic altogether. It's tough for people let go of what they think they know.1
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antinomiancelestial wrote: »I guess I'm wondering two things:
1. What do you do to avoid hunger while still eating fewer calories than your body is used to? What do you do if you get hungry after you've hit your daily calorie limit?
2. How do you avoid letting the critics/worried folks get to you?
1. I plan and prelog my food for the whole day every morning. I can see I am getting enough calories and protein. It helps me make better choices. If I were really still hungry I might have a maintenance calorie day and eat a bit more. It isn't horrible to eat a bit more one day. I typically have a hungry day at the beginning of my period.
2. I don't talk about my weight loss efforts. I eat pretty much the same foods as I always did so no one really thinks I am dieting. I eat a smaller breakfast. My lunch and dinner are a bit bigger/normal which are the only times I eat with someone else.
3. I know I am not doing unsafe or unhealthy things. There is no reason for concern. I'm old enough not to care what people think or to tell people to drop a topic.
Being a little hungry occasionally is normal and not an eating disorder. Being hungry every day and losing more than 2 lbs a week is unhealthy weight loss and calories should be corrected.
Your friend may look at all weight loss effort as unhealthy or unnecessary because of her pet issue. She may always be ready to criticize if you talk to her about it.
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Thanks, all.
I think I've decided to make today a maintenance calorie day because I'm ravenous after having eaten almost the whole 1520 to lose 1 pound per week. My current stats are 189.4 lbs and 5 foot 6. I've lost 1 pound so far, in the past 5 days. I think part of why I'm so hungry is that I ate less than 1520 on the first few days and was leaving like 200 available calories uneaten. Today, I want to make up for that and then return to the diet because I'm wanting to gnaw on my bed sheets right now.
I think the friend is worried because the friend used to have an ED and recalls ignoring hunger as one of the warning signs that tipped off the problem. Also, the friend is part of the fat-positivity movement, and I think some people in that movement have negative perceptions about weight loss in general.2 -
antinomiancelestial wrote: »Thanks, all.
I think I've decided to make today a maintenance calorie day because I'm ravenous after having eaten almost the whole 1520 to lose 1 pound per week. My current stats are 189.4 lbs and 5 foot 6. I've lost 1 pound so far, in the past 5 days. I think part of why I'm so hungry is that I ate less than 1520 on the first few days and was leaving like 200 available calories uneaten. Today, I want to make up for that and then return to the diet because I'm wanting to gnaw on my bed sheets right now.
I think the friend is worried because the friend used to have an ED and recalls ignoring hunger as one of the warning signs that tipped off the problem. Also, the friend is part of the fat-positivity movement, and I think some people in that movement have negative perceptions about weight loss in general.
So you know not to speak to that particular friend about weight loss from now on!
Hit your calorie goal for the next couple of weeks and see how you feel3 -
Just a comment that might be helpful...
A couple of years ago, when I was in my weight loss phase, someone on MPF wrote this about feeling hungry: "On a scale of 1-10, never get hungrier than a 3 or fuller than a 7." This concept helped me to accept that a little hunger is completely survivable. Conversely, overeating is perceived as an unpleasant rather than comforting sensation. Good luck!8 -
Are you set at sedentary? Do you exercise?0
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antinomiancelestial wrote: »Thanks, all.
I think I've decided to make today a maintenance calorie day because I'm ravenous after having eaten almost the whole 1520 to lose 1 pound per week. My current stats are 189.4 lbs and 5 foot 6. I've lost 1 pound so far, in the past 5 days. I think part of why I'm so hungry is that I ate less than 1520 on the first few days and was leaving like 200 available calories uneaten. Today, I want to make up for that and then return to the diet because I'm wanting to gnaw on my bed sheets right now.
I think the friend is worried because the friend used to have an ED and recalls ignoring hunger as one of the warning signs that tipped off the problem. Also, the friend is part of the fat-positivity movement, and I think some people in that movement have negative perceptions about weight loss in general.
Also you can look at your weekly calories if you were under a few days you have extra calories. The body doesn't reset at midnight so you can eat those 200 calories from earlier in the week.1 -
I have some sort of hunger sensation every day, and what I mean by that is I'm rarely ravenous but usually ready for my next meal about half an hour to an hour before hand. If its just before bed time I have a drink of water or tea and ignore it simply because I have medication to take on an empty stomach before bed.
There is nothing wrong with feeling hunger and ignoring it when trying to lose weight as long as you know you are eating a decent amount of calories in a day. There is a fine balance though not to get too hungry as you will be more likely to make the wrong food choices (I do if I'm ravenous).1 -
1. What do you do to avoid hunger while still eating fewer calories than your body is used to? What do you do if you get hungry after you've hit your daily calorie limit?
If I've eaten my calories for the day and I'm still hungry, I drink some water, tea or black coffee. I ignore the hunger pangs. OR I might go for a walk or other exercise and then eat something when I've burned off some calories.
3. How do you avoid letting the critics/worried folks get to you?
I laugh them off. I say I'm fine, thanks, or my doctor says what I'm doing is fine.
No matter who you are or what you do in life, somebody somewhere won't like it -- so you might as well do what you want.
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1. I drink more water. I'm normally not good at drinking water, I just forget about it. Hunger when I shouldn't be hungry (or I'm not sure) may be dehydration so I drink water, then try and not think about it (or 'hungry' sticks in my head). If I get more hunger signals, then I know I'm hungry. I may have a piece of bread with some peanut butter on it if I am hungry, or a stick of cheese, piece of fruit, etc. Especially when starting out, you have to sometimes relearn what your hunger signals really are.
It's not about your macros unless you have some medical reason, it's about your calorie deficit. You have to not worry about those numbers.
I'd also think about making your goal .5lb a week if you're just consistently hungry. There's no reason to beat yourself up just for a bigger loss, because as you get closer to goal the weight loss does go slower and if you can do it reasonably then you should.
2. Knowing you're right. Read all the sticky post, read the forums (the debate section is great for seeing peer review studies), educate yourself, I do tech support and we always tell people "never believe the user". Never believe the random people unless they can back it up with the science of why. Weight loss is simply about CICO - Calorie In, Calorie Out. How much do you eat vs how much your body expends.
If you find yourself constantly worried about how many calories a grape has in it, then you might want to re-evaluate your situation. A long time ago I was in the throes of "I must eat 1200 calories" (having well over 100pd to lose) I almost had a breakdown trying to decide between two frozen dinners because one had 30 calories more. That's when I realized I'd lost my mind, and had to stop and rethink things, get on proper calories and the like. It also allows me to shoot back at someone who asks if I can have a donut by telling them yes, it fits into my calories for today.8 -
I eat the same way most every day. I have a cup of coffee, when I get to work or on my way about 7 30 or 8 I eat almost a 200 cal breakfast, maybe fruit smoothie or english muffin or protein bar. At 10 everyday I eat a boiled egg. I might also have a handful of cucumbers or grape tomatoes if I still want something. I eat lunch at 12, usually a protein/meat 5 oz and a veggie, usually 5 oz of cabbage, green beans, sugar snap peas, cauliflower or something like that. At supper I eat weighed portions of whatever I cook for my family, I might add a veggie for myself instead of mac and cheese sometimes. I really do not get hungry if I stick to this. Everyone is different but it works for me. If I dont do this, I WILL get hungry and make bad choices.3
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I'm sedentary, yes. I have a gym membership, but my daily life doesn't involve a lot of movement. I'm primarily doing this through dieting, but I have worked some exercise into the mix.
I definitely don't think I'm dealing with emotional hunger. I've never really had the huge craving for a specific food to make me feel emotionally better thing, honestly. I actually only gained weight because of a couple rounds of medication. The first made me feel very excessive "below the neck" hunger, and the second just slowed my metabolism or something. I've come off both sets of medication, and the pill I was given that was supposed to "reset everything" didn't do a thing. Now, I basically have to work hard to correct a doctor's mistake (I specifically told both doctors not to put me on meds that would make me gain weight, and they both claimed the pills wouldn't and later admitted they knew the pills would and didn't say anything). Since there are/were lots of other medications out there, I'm pretty peeved.
Even though I wouldn't be this size if those pills hadn't happened, I recognize from using the app that I've been eating portions that are simply too big. I'm not a compulsive snacker or anything, so I was confused in the beginning about how this is happening, but my portions could use improvement. I also need(ed) more protein and fewer empty carbs.
Finding some dieting resources has helped my mood a little bit. It's nice to think that I'm not stuck 40+ pounds overweight forever and that this isn't "just the way I am" like the second lousy doctor suggested (I've been thin all my life and then gained weight from those darned meds). I'm trying not to let the friend who thinks I have an ED get to me, but it is pretty upsetting to me since I know what one feels like and know this is a lot different from that.
But yeah...I know better than to say anything about weight loss now.2 -
Feeling hungry occasionally is normal, especially when losing weight. I honestly find it an alarming comment on our culture that someone was genuinely worried about you just because you felt hungry once.7
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