Always hungry

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  • anybeary
    anybeary Posts: 188 Member
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    Honestly, all these folks who are lifting big and eating 1900 cal a day and say they're losing weight, and to eat more--you've got more muscle mass and therefore require more calories. Your resting metabolism requires a ton of calories. Not so for the original poster.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    annieberical wrote: »
    Honestly, all these folks who are lifting big and eating 1900 cal a day and say they're losing weight, and to eat more--you've got more muscle mass and therefore require more calories. Your resting metabolism requires a ton of calories. Not so for the original poster.

    A pound of muscle requires SIX more calories than a pound of fat. It's not a huge difference.
  • Jolenepiche
    Jolenepiche Posts: 33 Member
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    annieberical wrote: »
    1200 is fine for your weight/age/goals. I've been doing 1200 for 100 days now and have lost about 25 pounds doing very moderate exercise (I'm 5'6", 38 years old, starting weight of 178, goal of 134, currently at 153). The thing about 1200 calories is that you don't want to exercise too hard. Keep it moderate. Like a 45 minute walk and a half hour of something like dance fitness or tabata or a strength workout. Nothing super intense or crazy, or you will be ravenously hungry. Feel free to check out my diary and see what I've been eating. I'm never hungry. The key to it is getting your macros right. You want high protein so that you don't lose muscle mass during weight loss, and you want to get off the sugar carbs. Eating sugary stuff on 1200 is bound to lead to intense cravings and hunger. You want to shoot for 100-120 g of protein a day--and never less than 85 g. Then make sure you've got 25 g of fiber. Build your meals around making sure you get those things in. Don't worry too much about carb totals, but worry about your sugar totals. Stay under 50 g or thereabouts. Make sure that you supplement with a good multi-vitamin, fish oil capsules, and vitamin D while doing a 1200 calorie regime. Your hunger could be from not getting enough vitamins/minerals, and the fish oil will help your joints stay healthy and free of inflammation due to exercise. And drink water. Fill a 3-4 liter jug with water, keep it in your fridge, and make sure you drink it all every day.

    Thank you for your info! I just have a different workout regimen. I don't see myself doing dance fitness. I like to run and muay thai is my thing and I plan on keeping on :)
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    annieberical wrote: »
    Honestly, all these folks who are lifting big and eating 1900 cal a day and say they're losing weight, and to eat more--you've got more muscle mass and therefore require more calories. Your resting metabolism requires a ton of calories. Not so for the original poster.

    yeah- the difference is like- minimal.
    trust me- I don't get to eat that much more than most people- I'm trying to lose on 2K with a fair bit of cardio added in- and no eat back calories.

    it's minimal.

  • faramelee
    faramelee Posts: 163 Member
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    No-one has actually asked what you're eating.

    I could eat 2000 calories of generic fast food and it wouldn't keep me full. Are you eating a balanced and varied diet? Are you spreading it out over the day? Are the meals/snacks nutritious?It may be worth looking at this. When I started I stuck to 1200 calories and don't remember feeling so ravenous.

    Best of luck!
  • moonstroller
    moonstroller Posts: 210 Member
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    Jolenepiche wrote: »
    moonstroller wrote: »
    I would think the hunger pangs would have subsided some after a month. Have you tried eating more salads, greens, carrots, cukes, etc.? I'm thinking something filling but with low calories.

    Are you noticing you're getting stronger from the workouts? Are your clothes getting a little loose? Do you see a difference in how your body appears? One of the things that might be skewing the scale is you're gaining lean muscle which weighs more than fat. So although you don't see the change on the scale, you might see it in the mirror.

    To be honest I feel less bloated but that's about it. I feel better as a whole, more energy and I sleep better which, for me is amazing. I am happy about those results, however, this journey is about losing 30 pounds. I am patient and committed so I am open to trying new workouts or food.

    I do eat tons of veggies... and I do have fruits. Maybe I should swap some fruits with veggies, good idea

    Since you're feeling better you're seeing some positive results. I know I go through periods where for a solid week my weight won't change, or it'll go up, and I'm on a calorie restricted diet, which is frustrating. I can only imagine how I would feel if I went an entire month without seeing a change. I've found what sometimes helps me break through a plateau is to go for a long run or walk.
  • Jolenepiche
    Jolenepiche Posts: 33 Member
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    faramelee wrote: »
    No-one has actually asked what you're eating.

    I could eat 2000 calories of generic fast food and it wouldn't keep me full. Are you eating a balanced and varied diet? Are you spreading it out over the day? Are the meals/snacks nutritious?It may be worth looking at this. When I started I stuck to 1200 calories and don't remember feeling so ravenous.

    Best of luck!

    I do eat well. I don't eat junk food. I cook everything myself, veggies, fish and lean meat. I will start using a scale like suggested as opposed to measuring cups.

    Thanks for your comment :)
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Intermittent fasting really helps me with hunger.

    I eat 1300 cals a day, divided between 2 meals. My lunch is around 600 calories and my dinner is 700. Both meals are big enough to make me feel full for a long time. I don't really start getting hungry until 11am, so it's easy to hold out until noon to start eating.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    This is my fave TDEE calculator, it seems to be the most in-depth: http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

    I plugged in your stats and your sedentery TDEE looks to be about 1800 calories. So on a day where you sit at a desk all day and don't do anything aside from some light walking, that's how much your body burns. If you wanted to lose a pound a week, you'd subtract 500 calories, so you'd eat around 1300 net calories.

    So, there are 2 ways to calculate your calorie goals with exercise.

    1. Use your sedentary TDEE, then input exercise manually into MFP to determine how many calories to eat back. So set your calorie goal to 1300, but if you burn 300 calories through exercise, you can eat 1600 calories total (or 1300 net).

    2. You can fiddle with your TDEE calculator to change it from Sedentary to your preferred Activity Level. You sound quite active, so I would choose: "Moderately Active, Physical Work, Exercise, or Sports 4 to 5 Days a Week, Construction Laborer (1.55)". That bumps your TDEE up to 2300. So to lose a pound a week, subtract 500 again, and you'll get 1800 calories.

    So choose whatever method works best for you. Eat net 1300 calories, inputting your exercise as you go. Or eat 1800 total calories and don't bother inputting any exercise.

    Hope that helps.
  • Jolenepiche
    Jolenepiche Posts: 33 Member
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    toxikon wrote: »
    This is my fave TDEE calculator, it seems to be the most in-depth: http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

    I plugged in your stats and your sedentery TDEE looks to be about 1800 calories. So on a day where you sit at a desk all day and don't do anything aside from some light walking, that's how much your body burns. If you wanted to lose a pound a week, you'd subtract 500 calories, so you'd eat around 1300 net calories.

    So, there are 2 ways to calculate your calorie goals with exercise.

    1. Use your sedentary TDEE, then input exercise manually into MFP to determine how many calories to eat back. So set your calorie goal to 1300, but if you burn 300 calories through exercise, you can eat 1600 calories total (or 1300 net).

    2. You can fiddle with your TDEE calculator to change it from Sedentary to your preferred Activity Level. You sound quite active, so I would choose: "Moderately Active, Physical Work, Exercise, or Sports 4 to 5 Days a Week, Construction Laborer (1.55)". That bumps your TDEE up to 2300. So to lose a pound a week, subtract 500 again, and you'll get 1800 calories.

    So choose whatever method works best for you. Eat net 1300 calories, inputting your exercise as you go. Or eat 1800 total calories and don't bother inputting any exercise.

    Hope that helps.

    Thank you so much!
  • ksz1104
    ksz1104 Posts: 260 Member
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    yeah working out like that and only 1200 calories a day, I'm not surprised you are hangry!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    annieberical wrote: »
    Honestly, all these folks who are lifting big and eating 1900 cal a day and say they're losing weight, and to eat more--you've got more muscle mass and therefore require more calories. Your resting metabolism requires a ton of calories. Not so for the original poster.

    I am at 150lbs...and maintain on 2400 calories with my regular exercise...which is lifting for 15-20mins a day, 3 runs a week and 4 walks...

    I don't have a whole lot more muscle than the average female who is 44...so yah no.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Jolenepiche wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    sure do if I am not eating enough food.

    Just because you are trying to lose weight doesn't mean hunger has to be an ever present thing.

    couple questions...

    weekly weight loss goal?
    total weight loss goal?

    Well, if I lost 1-2 pounds a week I would be satisfied. In total I want to lose 30 pounds.

    Yah if you set MFP to 1lb a week and eat that number and then eat back 1/2 exercise calories you will find you aren't as hungry if at all.

    Also make sure you are getting in enough protein (at least hit MFP goal) to help keep you feeling fuller longer and enough fat to get that nice ah feeling of satisfaction.

    Even when I was losing 1lb a week I got to eat about 1600 calories a day...and I don't remember feeling hungry except at meal time.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I don't understand why people would rather be hungry than lose at a slower rate. Baffles me.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    edited May 2017
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I don't understand why people would rather be hungry than lose at a slower rate. Baffles me.

    self punishment for gaining weight maybe?

    ETA: actually it probably has more to do with lack of knowledge because a lot of women and now men feel that the 1200 is a magic number because that's what is out there. As well I imagine people have an inner dialogue that goes something like this...

    "well I ate when I wasn't hungry to gain weight so I have to be hungry to lose"...
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I don't understand why people would rather be hungry than lose at a slower rate. Baffles me.

    If you don't have much weight to lose, the window between "losing weight" and "maintaining/gaining" is pretty tight. I'm a healthy BMI but I'd like to lose 20-30lbs. My TDEE is only 1700, so I need to be pretty diligent about staying under that value and sometimes hunger is unavoidable.
  • Jolenepiche
    Jolenepiche Posts: 33 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I don't understand why people would rather be hungry than lose at a slower rate. Baffles me.


    That's mot my plan ! I want to lose but i'm not down with being hungry all the time. I'm going to up my calories:)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,993 Member
    edited May 2017
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    Yay. Now - when you do so, you will *maybe* show a slight gain on the scale (1-3 pounds) - Hold your course! It will drop off in a week. It's just your body replenishing depleted glycogen storage. Not fat. It will let go of it. Hold steady.

    How much are you going to raise your calories?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    toxikon wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I don't understand why people would rather be hungry than lose at a slower rate. Baffles me.

    If you don't have much weight to lose, the window between "losing weight" and "maintaining/gaining" is pretty tight. I'm a healthy BMI but I'd like to lose 20-30lbs. My TDEE is only 1700, so I need to be pretty diligent about staying under that value and sometimes hunger is unavoidable.

    I hear you on that. I'd rather stay active than starve myself though!

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