I'm always left hungry.

I feel like that isn't a lot of calories at all, what are your stats like weight height etc.? I snack all day rather than 3 meals because even though I eat the same amount it just makes me feel better to graze as the day goes by.

A 6lb loss is still 6lbs that you didn't gain. It is still great progress. 3lbs a month is nothing to scoff that.

Also are you weighing your foods?

VintageFeline wrote: »

You don't have to split your calories evenly across your meals.

Play around with your macros. Play around with meal timings. Play around with meal sizes. Just experiment. There's nothing rigid about weight loss other than eating fewer calories than you burn.

6lbs in two months is just fine! That's just shy of 1lb per week which for most is a perfect rate of loss.

This. Some find that they don't want much in the morning, which gives them more calories later (I am like this). Others are the opposite, and like to get most of their calories earlier. Some like multiple meals while others prefer fewer but larger meals. You just need to experiment a little more to see what works for you.

VintageFeline wrote: »

As has been said, you don't have to eat 5-6 or even 3 meals a day. You could just eat one huge one if that worked for you.

And again, play around with your macros. Some people find protein keeps them fuller. Some fat. Some starchy carbs. Some fibre. For me it's a need for all three macros at each meal but fibre is no big deal. I don't eat breakfast until very late in the day if at all if I'm not exercising that day. I don't get hungry and I can have two pretty hearty meals instead.

A protein shake for a meal? Would never work for me. It wouldn't even stave off hunger for 5 minutes let alone a few hours.

Experiment. Not everyone is the same.

Endorsed!

Everyone can lose weight if they find the right calorie level, but satiation is very individual. Experiment to find yours.

Also look at other factors that can increase hunger: Inadequate sleep, stress, social triggers, time-of-day or other habitual factors, trigger foods, sub-ideal hydration, boredom, etc.

CMNVA wrote: »

1350 is pretty low. You will feel hungry at this level and that probably won't go away. Do you need to eat that low to lose?

I did that last year but it's not sustainable. So, I'm at 1650 calories. Guess what? I am fairly hungry all day. Well, I do eat a smaller breakfast and I do okay between breakfast and lunch.

Try changing things up. I scramble two XL eggs in a little butter with Jimmy Dean Turkey Crumbles and I am coming in at around 210 calories. I don't feel "full" when I'm finished but I can make it too lunch without feeling like I'm going to starting chewing my arm off.

Also, I have to say, some people just have a stronger appetite, hunger cue than others. According to my mother, I've always had a large appetite, even as a child. Fortunately, I had a fantastic metabolism until I hit my 40s. No way I can eat like that now.

She's losing 3lbs per month, there isn't a lot of room for a large calorie increase unless activity is increased in line.

try2again wrote: »

You didn't mention your stats (height, weight, goal weight), but it sounds like you have set your weekly weight loss goal to 2 lbs/week, which is generally only for those with more than 75 lbs to lose. You would likely benefit from lowering your goal to 1.5 or even 1, because if you are more comfortable with the process, you will be more likely to stick with it long term. That being said, you *are* losing about 1.5 lbs/week, so that would point to some logging error, if you are supposed to be losing 2 at 1350 calories. That's great you're weighing everything, but also be sure to choose correct database entries and if you exercise, you may not want to eat back all of the calories, because the database entries tend to be pretty inflated.

As to the hunger, many cut out most of the foods they find most satiating when trying to lose weight in favor of all "clean" foods. That's not necessary, as long as you hit a good balance that allows you to stay within your calorie goal. Wish you well

Again, 3lbs per month losses. What she has input is irrelevant, she has her own data.

I'm sorry to hear about your pain issues. I've known people who've had great success with pool therapy. If you're on any medications for that, do they cause hunger?

I have a few ideas to share with you. Each one assumes you are eating enough calories. Take what you like and leave the rest:)

First, maybe it's not really physical hunger, but something else. At the end of a meal, maybe you just feel like you need a little something more (that's really common.) Sometimes, I feel like I just need to leave a meal with a sweet taste in my mouth, so tea with stevia really helps me. Since it's hot, I have to drink it slowly, and by the time I've finished, my meal has "kicked in" and my brain stops telling me to eat.

Second maybe you aren't eating enough protein. Protein keeps you full for a long time, but if you're heavy on carbs, that could be causing hunger if your blood sugar is spiking and then plummeting.

Third, my doctor, who also practices functional medicine, just told me that even people who aren't sensitive to gluten can experience decreased nutrient absorption due to gluten, which acts like a barrier in the digestive system. If your body isn't fully getting the micro nutrients from the food you're eating, I suppose that might cause hunger.

Fourth, I know this is rare, but if your micro-biome is out of whack, due to antibiotics or other meds, toxins, too much sugar, or just obesity, the "bad bacteria" in your gut send messages via the vagus nerve connecting the stomach to the brain. The message to your brain is "eat sugar" because that's what the unhealthy bacteria live on. (sorry for the layman's science!) It's well documented that obese and slender people have different micro-biome profiles, but it's unknown why or how/whether to address it. Not everyone agrees on whether probiotics are helpful, but most doctors will recommend pre-biotic supplements to support the billions of good beasties in your system - all 4 to 7 pounds of them! Bottom line, if your micro-biome is healthy you stand a better chance of not being inappropriately hungry.

Fifth, my nutritionist recommended several minutes of mindfulness meditation to get hunger under control (if hunger doesn't seem appropriate.) I use the Calm app on my phone and found it's super helpful for hunger. It really surprised me. She actually asked me to do the meditation before each meal, but I usually only do it if I get that old nervous-snacky feeling. Meditation calms the vagus nerve so it stops sending the message to your brain to eat.

I think the only thing you can do is play around with the size and timing and composition of your meals.

I won't ask you to tell us what you eat or give you lists of filling foods. Satiety is an individual thing, and you'll need to find out through trial and error which foods are most filling for you. Don't think that just because all low carbers say fat is filling that you'll find it's filling or because all the young kids are telling you starch is where it's at that a bowl of cold potatoes will necessarily do the trick for you.

I will say this much - sometimes it's a combination of things. It took me a while to find out, for example, that I need protein and starch to feel satiated. For other people it's protein and fat. For others it's protein and fiber. I saw someone else once say it was starch and fat. See how much it varies?

The bottom line is that you have mentioned what you think is an ideal type of diet you have in mind for yourself, but it's not working - so - just don't keep trying to eat that way! Experiment with different foods within your calorie budget that have different macro mixes, and see what that does to help with the hunger pains.

jennyf55 wrote: »

Wow, I'm so inspired. You guys have given me so many new ideas. A lot of stuff to consider and figure out about what I'm doing. Need to do some menu revamping. May sound stupid, but what are MACROS? I'm not in that loop I guess. I have found so many things in these posts that I have a list of things to start looking up tomorrow to replan what I am doing and try to make things work a bit better. Sounds like I have just been doing it wrong and that's the biggest reason I've been hungry. You guys have the solutions I think, I just didn't know about them.

Thank you all so much. Give a week or so to try some of this stuff out.

The three macros are Fat, Carbohydrates and Protein. Fat is 9 calories per gram, carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram each.

While macros don't have a direct effect on weight loss (that's calories all the way), different levels of macros can have an effect on how satisfied you feel and how long you stay full.

There are also other reasons to ensure you get enough of particular macros, like the body needing a certain amount of fat to function properly and take in fat-soluble vitamins, and protein being used by the body for building and repairing muscles and other tissues.

jennyf55 wrote: »

Ok, I get it. Now Macros makes sense to me. I understand what you're all talking about now.

That was a big help to me too, figuring out what macros were and how they fit into what makes me satisfied. (FYI "macro" is short for macronutrient. You will also read people refer to "micros" which are micronutrients and range from subsets of macros like fiber and sugar being subsets of carbs to all the vitamins and minerals).

Some things to think about as you figure this out:
Is there a particular time of day you feel most hungry?
Are you staying hydrated?
Are you on a medication that can affect hunger signals?
Does you stomach feel really empty and growling or is it more your brain desiring more food?

You can figure this out, but it DOES require really being aware of what is happening in both your body and your brain.

Panda8ach wrote: »

If you're body gets hungry and it's not sure when it's getting fed again, it will hold on to the fat

This is completely not true.

JennyF - you were used to eating more than you should have. Whether you were used to it mentally, physically, or both, it will take some time to adjust to eating less, and some of that adjustment may come in the form of hunger (which may be partially mental as well).
One thing I've done is save some of my calories for a small snack before bed (like an apple). It's hard to sleep when you're hungry and knowing I can have a snack after dinner helps.
You're doing really good though!