Counting calories is giving me terrible mood swings because I'm always hungry
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Unless you want to have a very brief weight loss journey that results in you crashing out and giving up, I would suggest you take a more realistic view of the process. If you are hungry and moody, you are not going to last the amount of time required to reach your goal weight. Pull back your expectations and set an appropriate calorie goal for yourself...it is not a contest to eat as little as you can - if anything you should be finding the maximum number of calories you can eat whilst still losing a respectable amount of weight so that you have somewhere to drop down to as your caloric needs change.
You have had some good suggestions here, and if I were you, I would change your goal to 1 Ib per week, or set your daily goal at 1900 and do your best to fill that with a combination of nutrient dense foods and the less nutrient dense foods that you enjoy ( ie - no need to cut out things like chocolate, cookies and ice cream if you enjoy them and want them to be a part of your future life)1 -
Are you really trying to lose 105 pounds?0
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Sorry, so basic.
I log everything. I eat 1370 a day (that's what MFP came up with when I put everything in). I weigh 214 pounds and am 5 foot 5. Female. I'm 25.
I don't really exercise. I just walk a lot. I'm too hungry, I have hardly any energy to be doing stuff.
I can deal with cravings, it's the actual hunger that is getting to me. I'm on medication that increases my appetite but it normally just gives me cravings rather than stomach growling hunger.
Protein, fiber, and fat are filling....BUT it's different combinations for everyone. Look your meals over, tweak your choices a bit. It will take time to find the right mix.
It also takes time to find the right timing. There are people who have read "don't skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day." That has been debunked. Breakfast skippers often do better by putting off their first meal of the day until later.
That said, you could lose weight (albeit more slowly) while eating more calories. It's better to find something you can stick with over the long haul.
If you walk a lot you might bump up your activity level (if you are set to sedentary). Active people need more calories.3 -
You mentioned you log everything, and I wanted to suggest (if you're not already) that in order to determine what amount you log, that you weigh all solids on a food scale (including packaged foods like frozen dinners and protein bars, as well as things like eggs, slices of bread and whole fruit) and measure all liquids with measuring cups and spoons.
Knowing you're accurately logging makes a real difference!0 -
I stopped counting calories a long time ago. It's stressful and rarely works long term. I switched to a plant based diet and now I'm eating all day everyday and losing pounds all the while. Granted, if you eat junk food or like 5000 calories a day, you probs stay over weight. But it's hard to over eat on a plant based diet because the food isn't addictive, it's filling, and it makes you feel satisfied and energetic.
And I don't just eat lettuce, lol.
I'm eating pastas, rice, potatoes, bean burgers with all the fixings, French fries, pizza, smoothies, burritos... ugh, so much delicious food. I'm hungry now, haha.
I'd suggest everyone at least try it out. It's very liberating to no longer be addicted to food and to eat as much as makes me happy.
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Sorry, so basic.
I log everything. I eat 1370 a day (that's what MFP came up with when I put everything in). I weigh 214 pounds and am 5 foot 5. Female. I'm 25.
I don't really exercise. I just walk a lot. I'm too hungry, I have hardly any energy to be doing stuff.
I can deal with cravings, it's the actual hunger that is getting to me. I'm on medication that increases my appetite but it normally just gives me cravings rather than stomach growling hunger.
How many lbs per week are you set up on MFP to lose? 2?0 -
SecularVegan wrote: »I stopped counting calories a long time ago.
You realize you're on a calorie-counting website, right...?
That's great that you found something that works for you. but most people here struggle with eating intuitively, plant-based or not. That's kind of the point of MFP.11 -
Ignore the trolls.1
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SecularVegan wrote: »I stopped counting calories a long time ago. It's stressful and rarely works long term. I switched to a plant based diet and now I'm eating all day everyday and losing pounds all the while. Granted, if you eat junk food or like 5000 calories a day, you probs stay over weight. But it's hard to over eat on a plant based diet because the food isn't addictive, it's filling, and it makes you feel satisfied and energetic.
And I don't just eat lettuce, lol.
I'm eating pastas, rice, potatoes, bean burgers with all the fixings, French fries, pizza, smoothies, burritos... ugh, so much delicious food. I'm hungry now, haha.
I'd suggest everyone at least try it out. It's very liberating to no longer be addicted to food and to eat as much as makes me happy.
It is still all about CICO. I gained 15 pounds (in 6 months) on a plant based diet, and now I'm here on MFP to correct it. You cannot eat unlimited pasta, pizza and french fries and lose weight.14 -
robm1brown wrote: »Ignore the trolls.
I don't see anyone in this thread trolling. What specifically don't you agree with?3 -
MommaGem2017 wrote: »SecularVegan wrote: »I stopped counting calories a long time ago. It's stressful and rarely works long term. I switched to a plant based diet and now I'm eating all day everyday and losing pounds all the while. Granted, if you eat junk food or like 5000 calories a day, you probs stay over weight. But it's hard to over eat on a plant based diet because the food isn't addictive, it's filling, and it makes you feel satisfied and energetic.
And I don't just eat lettuce, lol.
I'm eating pastas, rice, potatoes, bean burgers with all the fixings, French fries, pizza, smoothies, burritos... ugh, so much delicious food. I'm hungry now, haha.
I'd suggest everyone at least try it out. It's very liberating to no longer be addicted to food and to eat as much as makes me happy.
It is still all about CICO. I gained 15 pounds (in 6 months) on a plant based diet, and now I'm here on MFP to correct it. You cannot eat unlimited pasta, pizza and french fries and lose weight.
I gained my excess weight as a vegan, I can confirm that eating as much pasta, rice, potatoes, bean burgers, french fries, pizza, smoothies, and burritos as I want make it impossible for me to stay at a healthy weight. I still eat all those things, I just manage my portions.11 -
Losing 7 and a half stone (105 pounds) will put you at 109 pounds, which is not "normal" BMI, it is underweight. You only need to lose 65 pounds, or approximately 4 and a half stone, to get to a BMI in a healthy range.7
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SecularVegan wrote: »I stopped counting calories a long time ago. It's stressful and rarely works long term. I switched to a plant based diet and now I'm eating all day everyday and losing pounds all the while. Granted, if you eat junk food or like 5000 calories a day, you probs stay over weight. But it's hard to over eat on a plant based diet because the food isn't addictive, it's filling, and it makes you feel satisfied and energetic.
And I don't just eat lettuce, lol.
I'm eating pastas, rice, potatoes, bean burgers with all the fixings, French fries, pizza, smoothies, burritos... ugh, so much delicious food. I'm hungry now, haha.
I'd suggest everyone at least try it out. It's very liberating to no longer be addicted to food and to eat as much as makes me happy.
@SecularVegan while calorie counting is just a step to help learn how to intuitively eat the right amounts of the right macro it never the less is not to be put down as a useful tool to some of MFP 100K+ users.
From another discussion can you as a secular vegan PM me as to how can a vegan eat to keep his or her Vitamin D level in the 75+ ng range for optimal health?0 -
Are you really trying to lose 105 pounds?Losing 7 and a half stone (105 pounds) will put you at 109 pounds, which is not "normal" BMI, it is underweight. You only need to lose 65 pounds, or approximately 4 and a half stone, to get to a BMI in a healthy range.
Sorry - I weigh 242 pounds. 17 stone 4 pounds. I worked the pounds out wrong earlier when I did it and can't edit my original post on mobile. My goal has always been 10 stone. It's a nice middling bmi for me, so yeah 7 stone 4 to lose.1 -
Sounds like the problem is your calorie level, not the fact that you are counting calories. How many calories are you eating each day? With 105 pounds to lose you should be able to eat plenty while losing at a good clip. I'm talking 1800+ calories.
1800 calories - and I'd still lose?! Surely that would be very slow though? I'm eating 1370 which is the MFP number I got. I lost a lot of weight in the first two weeks but the last two weeks has been a pound each week. Slower than I'd like so I can't see how I'd lose weight by eating more.
I ate an average of 1800 calories from the 170s down to 150 and lost fine. You are losing slowly because you are eating too little and likely are very sedentary due to lack of energy and it just being your lifestyle. NEAT (non exercise energy expenditure) makes up a large portion of a person's calorie expenditure and are extremely variable from person to person but tends to decrease when you eat less. Eat a bit more and make an effort to move more and as you feel better you'll find yourself up and moving around without thinking about it. Sustainability is more important than speed when it comes to weight loss. Right now what you are doing is not sustainable.
Totally this. Wouldn't you rather lose a slower and not be miserable? Also it will greatly increase your odds of successfully sticking to it. You're already frustrated and on the verge of giving up.4 -
When my starting weight was 254 lbs, I took it slow and told MFP I wanted to lose 1lb/week. It put me on 1710 (I'm female, 5'3")2
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So, I've seen people in other threads in the past say that you have to expect to be hungry when dieting. I call BS!! I get hangry and hungrad (hungry and sad) if I'm hungry. I hate the feeling and refuse to be in a sustained hunger. If it's a half hour or so before a meal, ok fine. Same with if I'm super hungry after a workout - I'll tough it out until I eat dinner (I work out in the evening and then immediately go walk my dogs, so there's not really time to eat). But, any other time during the day - I eat if I'm hungry. You should be able to, too. Repeat after me: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE HUNGRY OR MISERABLE TO LOSE WEIGHT.
You seem to be approaching this too aggressively - a cut in calories from whatever you were eating to maintain your current weight to 1370 is HUGE!!!!! That's a lot of food that you're missing out on. You should be able to eat much more, especially if you go on walks. You didn't mention if they were long walks or not, but THEY COUNT! Even 4k steps should get you enough extra calories a day for a decent sized snack! Start by adjusting your activity level to be more accurate and make sure that you're eating back some exercise calories.
It's important to manage your expectation and set yourself up for success. While the idea of dropping weight quickly sounds sexy, it's really not. It comes with a lot of health risks, not to mention the misery of always feeling like crap to the point that you just give up. It's better to go slow and steady that to burn out. If you get too aggressive in the beginning and can't maintain it, you'll just find yourself unhappy and no lighter in six months or a year when you have to try to start over again.
Yes, a long weight loss process can seem daunting and frustrating. You will have days or weeks when you want to throw your scale out of the window. You'll have weeks where you drop weight like crazy and the then next week the scale doesn't move at all. You'll have those weeks where you just need to eat all the food you're trying to moderate on a diet. All of those things can happen and you can STILL lose weight. Keep a long term perspective. Anytime that the scale doesn't seem to move week to week, I go back and look at my weight loss as a whole from at least a month or six week previous. Every single time I'm frustrated but then go back and look at the actual numbers, I'm losing 1.5lb/week . . . . exactly on schedule. Don't let any specific number get you down - fat loss is not linear.
TLDR: Eat more, be patient.5 -
I lost well over 100 lb but it took me YEARS...like six years, start to finish. If it's the difference between doing it for a very long time but it being tolerable, versus quick weight loss that makes you miserable...maybe reframe your timeline?
I suspect you're going for a goal more like 2 lb per week, if they're giving you an estimate of 1370 cal/day at 214 lb. I may be wrong! But maybe try 1 lb per week and see if the greater calories help you.
Another idea, others have mentioned meal timing...I have to have three "larger" meals, the standard breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I don't snack. If I am 2 hours late missing a meal I get moody and horrible. A friend of mine has lost a lot of weight eating mini meals all through the day and she feels satisfied with that instead. Try different things to see what works for you.1 -
Yeah the 1370 was 2 pounds a week. I know I need to be more realistic with 1 pound instead. Definitely3
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Yeah the 1370 was 2 pounds a week. I know I need to be more realistic with 1 pound instead. Definitely
I think you need to experiment. Try setting to 1.5 lbs per week and see if adding those cals back in helps. If not, go to 1 lb per week. Also, there are 2 other things I'd experiment with. Both have been previously mentioned. The first is macro mix.
For me, I find protein and fat fairly satiating and help with reducing hunger, I also find veggies and fruits with high fiber satiating. So those compose the majority of my diet. eg. A big salad with lots of greens, tomato and cucumbers and some chicken, steak or shrimp on top with EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar is very filling and satisfying and reasonable for calorie load.
The other thing is experiment with meal timing. I personally do Intermittent Fasting on roughly a 16/8 or 18/6 schedule. (I'm not particularly rigid about it). The key thing is I am can delay the start of eating without and issue. But once I start eating, hunger signaling starts. So it's easier to wait, have a reasonalbe mid day meal and a big dinner (as that is my preference). Figure out your preferences and how you can minimize hunger signaling. It's a very individual thing. Although, when you first start in deficit, hunger signalling is going to be a bit of a hormonal issue for a little while til your body adjusts. That's just the way it is.
Some last thoughts. Most of us ignore our weight gain while it happens but then get really focused once we decide it's not longer how we want to be. That generally leads to impatience and getting unsustainably aggressive with our approach. That often leads to discouragement and failure. A reasoned, patient, realistic and experimental approach is sustainable. I always like to think, we didn't put on weight overnight and it's not going to come off overnight. Hoping this helps.1 -
MFP gave me 1300 a day when I first started. I was fine for a couple of weeks and I thought the constant hunger was normal and dealt with it for a bit. It did get better in some ways but I was so tired in addition to thinking of food constantly that I tweaked my calories.
I am largely sedentary apart from walking the dog and I was still losing on 1800 a day until I hurt my foot. I'm now on 1500 a day and not able to exercise, and I am feeling good. I haven't eaten way over my calories in weeks now and I am still losing weight.
You just have to lose the fear of experimenting a bit until you both feel okay, and you are losing at a sustainable rate. The worst that will happen if you increase too far is that your weight loss will stall, whereas if you keep eating too little then you're just going to be miserable and want to give up.
ETA: I am 5'7", 31, started at 123.7 kg (about 19.5 stone) and now down to 110.1 kg (about 17.5 stone) since mid May. My goal is 70 kg which is the higher end of a healthy BMI. So we have similar goals at this point I think2 -
I have had the same issue... or so I thought... I found a few good articles about the hormone Leptin and it's role in the body (see WebMD link). I also discovered that I was having some acid reflux which I was mistaking for hunger feelings. Once I convinced myself it was something other than hunger (or my brain tricking my body into being hungry), it got better.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/the-facts-on-leptin-faq#10 -
I'm a bit fed up today. It's been bang on a month since I started my healthy eating plan. I am always hungry. I'm sat here right now with my stomach growling knowing I need to save my remaining 600 calories for the evening because that's when I'm most likely to need them. Because of this hunger, I've been REALLY moody and irritable for the past month and it's bothering me that people have noticed. My boyfriend said he noticed a change as soon as I started counting calories and that I'm always low, upset or argumentative, but that is how I get when I'm hungry.
He then starts going on about how he likes me the way I am and prefers me happy and big than moody and trying to lose weight. I don't want to hear that. Why can't my mood be okay whilst I'm counting calories.
Does anyone have any advice on this because what I'm doing at the moment is not sustainable with my mood swings?
I've lost 16 pounds but have 7 and a half stone to go until my BMI is normal so it really feels like I'm not going to be able to do it. I don't want to be a moody mess for the next year. I will be single by the end of it that's for sure.
I don't understand why I'm hungry. I'm eating reasonably large meals to try and stay full but my stomach is hurting from hunger! I make sure I am constantly drinking water to check it's not thirst.
EDIT: left off my stats, sorry.
I eat 1370 a day (that's what MFP came up with when I put everything in). I weigh 214 pounds and am 5 foot 5. Female. I'm 25.
If it is hunger (and I suspect it is) then look at your goals such as moving from 2lb a week to 1 or 1.5.
Look at the foods you are eating and note which days you are feeling hungrier and see if you can fit in more protein and fats to help keep you feeling fuller longer.
As well make sure if you are exercising you are eating back some of those calories...
and ensure you are eating what you are logging...by that I mean...get a food scale...
I think you will be surprised at some of the things that you could be eating more of or less of.
For example...
on the packages of cottage cheese...
1/2 cup or 125 grams...125 grams is a lot more than 1/2 cup so go with the food scale...more food same calories.
or
Cereal...3/4 cup or 85 grams...guess what 85 grams is less than 3/4 cup so you should not be eating as muc.
and for me protein (cheese) beats out carbs (cereal) every day.1 -
SecularVegan wrote: »I stopped counting calories a long time ago. It's stressful and rarely works long term. I switched to a plant based diet and now I'm eating all day everyday and losing pounds all the while. Granted, if you eat junk food or like 5000 calories a day, you probs stay over weight. But it's hard to over eat on a plant based diet because the food isn't addictive, it's filling, and it makes you feel satisfied and energetic.
And I don't just eat lettuce, lol.
I'm eating pastas, rice, potatoes, bean burgers with all the fixings, French fries, pizza, smoothies, burritos... ugh, so much delicious food. I'm hungry now, haha.
I'd suggest everyone at least try it out. It's very liberating to no longer be addicted to food and to eat as much as makes me happy.
Right. You enjoy that. I have no desire to eat a "plant-based diet. And I am certainly not "addicted" to food.
Oy vey.10 -
I skip breakfast. I usually get up at about 7am and don't have my first food until around 1pm. Continuing my fast from sleep doesn't seem to bother me much if I didn't eat carbs the previous day and then I have all of my calories for lunch and dinner. It works for me. I have an open diary if you'd like to see how I eat. That works for me. The other way is to get more cardio in. If you're at 225, then walking at 3.0 mph for 30 minutes will get you a decent amount of calories to eat more on.1
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I would have to assume that you are looking to lose like 2 lbs a week? I would first start off by adjusting the amount you want to lose weekly to 1lb a week so that you can increase your calories. Slow and steady wins the race, I know we all just want to lose the weight like yesterday but there has to be a balance if you are going to sustain this healthy lifestyle. Doesn't do you much good if your hangry all the time, you will eventually just give up. Your body will adjust to a lower calorie count over time, and maybe then think about lowering it gradually. Eat plenty of satisfying meals, protein, healthy fats, fiber... at least for me they keep me fuller longer and drink a ton of water. I drink half my weight in water every day and that keeps me from feeling hungry. 70lbs down and I am still drinking half my weight in water from 70lbs ago because my body craves it now. Makes small changes, get your body use to those changes, then add another change. You can't just go from eating a certain way to automatically changing it and not expect your body to be like WTF?? That is why they call it a lifestyle change and not a diet.... changing your lifestyle takes time. so you need to decide what is more important to you... a higher loss on the scale where you are unhappy and hungry all the time or a slower loss being happy and satisfied. You tend to keep the weight off when it is done at a slower pace, this isnt a quick fix, its a lifestyle. Good luck!1
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Yeah the 1370 was 2 pounds a week. I know I need to be more realistic with 1 pound instead. Definitely
Why not even start at 0.5 / week and set your daily calorie budget based on that? You can always eat less than budget on some days, and that will feel like more of a success and motivation. It will also allow you to avoid the discouragement of going over on some days. Set yourself up to succeed.
If you find that eating at that level is always more then enough, you can then decrease your goal to 1 / week.
In my opinion, the most important thing is to find something you can do consistently and to feel good about it. Starting with modest goals and then increasing always seems more satisfying than starting with high goals and needing to cut back.
Just my experience. YMMV.1 -
Didn't you say you lost 16 lbs in one month in your first post? Four pounds a week is not really a good idea, no wonder you're hungry.
For this to work, there is no end date, you will have to be aware of your food intake for the rest of your life in order to keep the weight off. Maintenance is as hard (or even harder) for most people as dieting. So you might as well get settled in now with something you can stand for the rest of your life. Try eating better, more filling and satisfying foods for the same calories, and eat more of them.0 -
One thing that's overlooked is the GI of carbs they eat. If you eat high GI carbs, your blood sugar is going to spike then crash, leaving you hungry. Look up the Glycemic Index and try to eat lower GI carbs.
Also, eating whole foods instead of packaged will get you a lot more volume per calorie. This is an extreme example, but 2 Poptarts are 400 calories. 400 calories of grilled chicken and vegetables will fill a plate!
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I'm 5'5", 125 pounds, and lose on 1400 net calories. You can absolutely eat much, much more.
Yes, it will be a lttle slower, but it will also be easier to stick to, so your chances of success greatly increase. Plus, your mood will improve and you'll have more energy.
1800/day, as mentioned above, sounds like a great place to start. Be aware that when you increase your calories, you're likely to retain a bit of water weight, so don't be discouraged if the scale increases a bit or stalls for a week or so. Just stick with it and everything will be fine.0
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