Day five: I'm feeling hungry at times, and a friend is being worried about it.

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  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    Some people end up hungry after exercising, some don't. Bodies, seesh. Exercise is important to overall health, but is unnecessary for weight loss. I was on dr ordered no exercise, still lost weight, I just watched my food intake like a hawk. :smiley:
  • antinomiancelestial
    antinomiancelestial Posts: 36 Member
    @Afura , that's good to know! The amount of exercise that makes me feel healthy is significantly less than what it would take to lose a pound a week, so I guess my takeaway is that I should focus on food intake rather than exercise at least where weight loss is concerned.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    antinomiancelestial wrote: »
    @Afura , that's good to know! The amount of exercise that makes me feel healthy is significantly less than what it would take to lose a pound a week, so I guess my takeaway is that I should focus on food intake rather than exercise at least where weight loss is concerned.

    Correct. And again-exercise is not a bad thing and is good for overall health, but it's best to not rely on it too heavily for weight loss :)
  • antinomiancelestial
    antinomiancelestial Posts: 36 Member
    That's interesting. I feel like I've always been told the opposite, that a sedentary lifestyle was the main culprit when people were overweight, but then again I recently heard that soda/unhealthy food companies have sort of pushed that as a dominant cultural message so that people won't stop eating and drinking unhealthy things and making a profit for those companies.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    edited March 2017
    Hungry where you will eat a bowl of plain broccoli because you are so hungry - not so good. Eat more often or play around with what you are eating so you get a good volume/calorie/satiety breakdown.

    Hungry where you want that snickers bar in the top drawer, but would ignore the bowl of broccoli - this is fine and is usually a psychological hunger.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    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.

    My take on that was maybe her friend was concerned since the OP had an ED in the past, that the disordered thinking was coming back? Otherwise I don't know why anyone would be that concerned that someone was hungry once (although the OP indicates her friend buys into the fat acceptance movement so who knows)
  • antinomiancelestial
    antinomiancelestial Posts: 36 Member
    @KateTii - Well put. I scarfed down plain, raw snow peas this morning because I was so hungry. I'm not just craving candy bars and junk; I'm seriously hungry. It's confusing to me because I thought eating 1520 calories a week was supposed to be okay at my weight and activity level.

    @karahm78 - My friend didn't know I had an ED in the past. I think the friend believes that if a person is hungry while on a diet, that person automatically has an eating disorder. I know the friend is into fat acceptance/HAES, so I think a lot of people in that movement see dieting as inherently unhealthy and unnecessary.

    That said, this diet is getting unhealthy. I'm only trying to lose a pound a week, but I've been absolutely ravenous/willing to eat raw produce out of the fridge just from desperation. I'm going off a med that's known to warp appetite a lot, though, so I might need to finish doing that before I start giving this diet my all.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    It's good that you recognize that the diet is feeling unhealthy to you.... maybe dial it back to trying to lose a 1/2lb per week? Make sure you are hitting protein/fiber/fat goals to help keep you satiated, if I don't get close to those I am ravenous but if I plan to hit those numbers or come close it is a huge difference.
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 843 Member
    OP, You may have dropped your calories too much too fast. I know 1520 still seems like a lot, but if you were eating significantly more, you are going to be hungry. Unless you did say a week of logging/measuring of your regular food (no dietary changes) you were likely consuming more than you thought. When I started at 240 lb, I first had tried to 1300-1400 calories and was ravenous and frustrated because I went way over and didn't keep it up. A few weeks later I set the calories to like 3500, did my best to log my regular food for a week. I was eating closer to 2100-2200 calories a day. Without realizing it I had cut my caloric intake by 1/3, which also explained why I couldn't continue at 1300-1400. I lost 40ish lbs at 1700-1800 with some extra exercise. (Of course trying to restart is a whole other issue currently ,but that is a work in progress).

    Also dehydration, and TOM/ hormonal changes all play a factor. As to your first question, like others have posted different macro ratios can affect satiety levels (how long do you stay full). You'll have to experiment.
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
    Good fats (coconut oil, avocado, natural nut butters), protein, and fiber will definitely help with controlling hunger. My snacks are generally raw veggies with a fat/protein (cucumbers and an ounce or so of cheese, carrots and hummus, you could also do an apple or celery dipped in peanut or almond butter) and I can eat a ton of the veggies plain for very few calories.
    Also - drink lots of water
  • antinomiancelestial
    antinomiancelestial Posts: 36 Member
    @karahm78 - Thanks; I think lowering it to 1/2 pound a week to start might be a really good idea.

    @aerochic42 - I think you've probably identified the problem. I only logged my diet from "before" once, and I think I might've underestimated how much I was eating prior to dieting. Now, I'm thinking about trying to go for a week at 2,000, then drop it by 100 every week until I get to 1500. I'm not sure if I'll do that, but it's an idea.

    @TheCupcakeCounter - Thanks for the suggestions. Water is always what I forget.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    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?
    I eat most of my calories at night so this is not a problem for me. But I am usually pretty hungry by the time I eat. Hunger isn't your body telling you that you are starving. It's usually your body telling you that it's time to eat. Sometimes certain foods, or too little sleep or hormones (looking at you PMS!!) can send hunger signals when we aren't really hungry, but it's not a bad thing to be hungry on occasion. You shouldn't be overly hungry too often, but hunger isn't usually a danger signal.

    2. How do you avoid letting the critics/worried folks get to you?
    I smile and say "Thank you for caring. It's nice to know you care." and move on. If they really push it I'll either tell them to get lost or that I'll consider what they said. ( depending on who it is )"
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