Close to goals but all of a sudden hunger has increased

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auntstephie321
auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been losing and gaining over the last couple years. Always stayed between 10-15 lbs of goal. I started working out at a gym 4-5 days a week, trx and weight lifting. Recently I've been working one on one focusing on squats, and deadlifts. I also added in one day of running 3 miles a week. I increased my calories and have averaged 1800-2000 a day. I was doing great but in the last week or so I feel like I'm constantly starving so I've been eating more. But I'm getting nervous I will start gaining again and I want to avoid that. I haven't gained so far but I know it doesn't always reflect right away. Should I not eat even though I'm hungry or does my body actually just need more fuel and that's why I've felt so hungry?

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  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
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    Are you overweight? If not, your goal weight may just be too low for you get to / maintain.
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    everher wrote: »
    Are you overweight? If not, your goal weight may just be too low for you get to / maintain.

    No I'm not anymore. 147 5'6" my goal was 140 but I'm not concerned with that anymore I do however want to get my bf% lower. I went from 29.6% to 24.3% which I'm pleased with but would like it to keep going down. I guess I'm just not used to having a goal like that, and eating more or being so hungry in the past would lead to gaining fat.
  • runningjen74
    runningjen74 Posts: 312 Member
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    Are you gaining/losing/ staying the same weight? This gives you your real answer.

    Cardio gives me the hungries, there are also certain days not necessarily tied to hormones that you just can't feed me enough. I read on here about someone finding dead lifting made them hungry.

    Track it, it may be you body looking for more protein or another macro/ nutrient. Play with your macros, if I don't eat enough fat or protein I'm starving, but if I do a lot of endurance stuff I need to up my carbs. It's all quite finely balanced for me not to end up feeling hungry.
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    runningjen74 wrote: »
    Are you gaining/losing/ staying the same weight? This gives you your real answer.

    Cardio gives me the hungries, there are also certain days not necessarily tied to hormones that you just can't feed me enough. I read on here about someone finding dead lifting made them hungry.

    Track it, it may be you body looking for more protein or another macro/ nutrient. Play with your macros, if I don't eat enough fat or protein I'm starving, but if I do a lot of endurance stuff I need to up my carbs. It's all quite finely balanced for me not to end up feeling hungry.

    It's only been this week that I've had the increased hunger, I don't worry about weight fluctuations in that short a time period so I don't know if I'm eating over maintenance yet. I assume I'm not, at least not over a long stretch of time. I just don't really like feeling so hungry. I used to always feel like that and that's what got me to near 200 lbs. I'm hoping it's just the increase in lifting and running, I'll talk to my trainer on Monday and see what he thinks.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Could be PMS maybe? I'm always hungrier before my period, but it really started once I left the 'overweight' category.

    But yeah. Much hungrier now that I'm closer to my goal weight (which I've been for the last 3 years because I'd have to seriously deprive myself to lose more).
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    I'm a little hungrier when I ovulate and a lot hungrier a few days before my period starts.

    I try to exercise more at these times, so I have more exercise calories to eat back.
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    Thank you all maybe it is hormonal my cycle is due to start end of this week. The scale hasn't changed at all so that's good. Will see how this week goes. Hopefully my muscles are loving these extra calories lately.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
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    auntstephie321 wrote: »
    Thank you all maybe it is hormonal my cycle is due to start end of this week. The scale hasn't changed at all so that's good. Will see how this week goes. Hopefully my muscles are loving these extra calories lately.

    Oddly enough, I had the same problem this week.

    I usually get super hungry during ovaluation and never during/right before my period, but this week I did.
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    everher wrote: »
    auntstephie321 wrote: »
    Thank you all maybe it is hormonal my cycle is due to start end of this week. The scale hasn't changed at all so that's good. Will see how this week goes. Hopefully my muscles are loving these extra calories lately.

    Oddly enough, I had the same problem this week.

    I usually get super hungry during ovaluation and never during/right before my period, but this week I did.

    Oh no I hope I didn't jinx you lol
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
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    op I think it's normal. i lost 130lbs no problem and now that Im only 15ish lbs away from my final goal my hunger has been BONKERS. Most people recommend losing the last bit slower. I increased my calories by 300 a day and it seems to help quite a bit.
  • hungrywombat
    hungrywombat Posts: 47 Member
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    Good chance it's hormonal. My cycle is due to start at the end of the week as well and I have been a ravenous beast the last couple of days.
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    I bet this has always happened but I didn't notice because I was always over eating
  • RoseyandReady
    RoseyandReady Posts: 256 Member
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    I just came on to MFP to see if other women has the same issue. Friday, Saturday and now Sunday I can't eat enough
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
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    RoseyandReady wrote: »
    I just came on to MFP to see if other women has the same issue. Friday, Saturday and now Sunday I can't eat enough

    You're not alone
  • LifeinReboot2018
    LifeinReboot2018 Posts: 28 Member
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    My trainer told me and it make sense we are working and growing muscle. That muscle uses food quickly! Sedentary fat doesn't burn quickly or efficiently. Feed your muscles ladies!!
  • jvarmy731
    jvarmy731 Posts: 1 Member
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    Honestly if you are lifting weights and training and you start to feel week during that time, then I would be concerned. If you are just feeling hungry but eating the amount of calories you are supposed to be, but your workouts are taking negative drops, I wouldn't think too much about it. Nothing is wrong with being a bit hungry after getting the calories you need.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    I think that's common. Fill up on clear broth and nonstarchy veggies if most of your allotted calories are gone but you still feel hungry.
  • Froggyh
    Froggyh Posts: 81 Member
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    If this happens every month in last week of your cycle, then perhaps try eating at maintenance or at a lower deficit for that week?

    For YEARS I tried all those tricks to ignore my PMS hunger: drinking lots of tea, filling up on non-starchy veg, etc. I thought it was just my hormones playing tricks on me and didn't want to give in to phantom hunger. Then I read something about how ovulation and menstruation require a lot of energy, so you're more hungry at certain times in your cycle for a *reason*, and that makes total sense to me. Now I don't worry about it so much. I don't totally binge or anything, and I try to keep my macros to appropriate ratios so I can help myself feel full, but I also just accept that for one week a month my body needs more energy. It's impossible to tell if I've lost weight in that week anyway due to things like water retention, so I just don't worry about it.
  • Underdog_Strength
    Underdog_Strength Posts: 3 Member
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    This is very common. That's one of the reasons why losing weight is easier when you're very overweight or are just starting out. As you get leaner, hormones such as Leptin decrease and hormones such as Ghrelin increase.

    Leptin is a hormone, made by fat cells, that decreases your appetite. Ghrelin is a hormone that increases appetite.

    When your body fat levels decrease, your fat cells will produce less leptin, which will signal your body that it is starving.

    I would focus on eating more protein and fiber rich foods to stay fuller longer.
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    I normally increase for a few days of my cycle but it balances back out because I'll have a 'correction' where my appetite decreases when that phase is over.

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