Fighting hunger

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beastmode2718
beastmode2718 Posts: 108 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've always had a problem with portion control. I just never feel full and end up eating huge amounts of food. My calorie goal per day is 1200 and I feel like I'm literally starving myself but it's been over a month and I haven't lost anything. I end up not being able to deal with the hunger anymore and binging and probably destroying any progress I may have made. Any advice on how to deal with this will be greatly appreciated.

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    are you weighing your food?

    what are your stats? is 1200 cals actually appropriate for you?

    are you eating enough fat, fibre and protein to help keep you full?
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
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    At 1200 over a month without losing anything. You are not logging properly. Get a food scale and log more religiously. Then up your calories to 1400 and walk a little.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    what is your weight, height and age?
    how are you tracking your food?
  • NadNight
    NadNight Posts: 794 Member
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    Try by setting your calorie goal higher so you can get used to eating less, aim for 1500-1600 for a while. It's better to eat slightly more than your goal then binge regularly! Other advice I can think of is lots of water and try and add more vegetables to whatever you eat to bulk it up. If you want lower calories, veggie substitutes are good- like try swapping spaghetti for courgette noodles (I just googled the difference and according to google there's 54 calories in 323g of courgette (apparently thats how much they think one courgette weighs which must be a massive courgette!) but in the same amount of spaghetti there'd be 510 calories!).

    Try and discover what style of eating works best for you- are you less hungry if you eat very regularly throughout the day or does it feel better to have 3 major meals with only a couple of small snacks?

    Also, if you struggle eating less, try moving more so your body burns the food faster
  • beastmode2718
    beastmode2718 Posts: 108 Member
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    27, 5'4", 116
    Measuring cups and a food scale
    I'm not very active so maybe that has something to do with it

    Everybody keeps telling me I'm actually eating too much and that's why I'm not loosing weight but I'm 99% sure when I don't have a binge episode I am sticking to 1200. I can't exactly eat less if I'm already starving now can I?
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited August 2017
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    Check your BMI - you might be reaching the UnderWeight category. Or you are too close. Ease up a bit?
    How much are you trying to lose and how fast?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    beastmode2718 wrote: »
    27, 5'4", 116
    Measuring cups and a food scale
    I'm not very active so maybe that has something to do with it

    Everybody keeps telling me I'm actually eating too much and that's why I'm not loosing weight but I'm 99% sure when I don't have a binge episode I am sticking to 1200. I can't exactly eat less if I'm already starving now can I?

    you're at the low end of healthy for your weight, recomp may be more suitable?
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited August 2017
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    Start logging your binges. A good binge can let you keep calories low for a day or two.
    Bingeing is called Yo-yo dieting which is harmful to your health. Go to dangers https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/yo-yo-dieting-binge-eating-disorder
    Start logging everything. And open your diary if you want help with nutrition. I honestly do NOT think you need to lose weight.
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
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    beastmode2718 wrote: »
    27, 5'4", 116
    Measuring cups and a food scale
    I'm not very active so maybe that has something to do with it

    Everybody keeps telling me I'm actually eating too much and that's why I'm not loosing weight but I'm 99% sure when I don't have a binge episode I am sticking to 1200. I can't exactly eat less if I'm already starving now can I?

    Can you become more active? Burning more calories will allow you to consume more calories and still net 1200/day. At your current height and weight, I might consider eating at maintenance and creating my calorie deficit solely from exercise.

    Depending on how many calories you eat when you binge, it has the potential to undo an entire week of deficit.
  • RMSchmidt17
    RMSchmidt17 Posts: 30 Member
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    Drink more water! Also more low calorie filling foods like salads with leafy greens and veggies. There are great low calorie veggie dips (try Mt Vikos tzaziki or roasted red pepper dip) and a huge plate of cut up veggies with a good dip can be super filling.
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
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    According to this website: https://www.rush.edu/health-wellness/quick-guides/what-is-a-healthy-weight

    You are in the normal range for both your weight / BMI based on what you gave us.

    If you are trying to tone down a little, you **could** adjust your macros and go paleo / keto for a while:

    15% sugar/carbs; 45% protein; 40% healthy fat (olive oil, coconut oil, grass fed butter)

    The benefit is that you will lose inches as you body uses the stored fat for energy rather than the carbs / sugar your normally ingest and the added protein will also ensure that you maintain muscle.

    Once you get used to it, you really won't be as hungry as you were when you were craving sugar and carbs as your blood sugar dropped.

    Also, you could try adding psyllium seed powder or konjac root, also known as glucomannan to assist with helping you to feel fuller longer. Note, that both restricting carbs and using konjac root can cause constipation.

    Finally, if you are able, please check in with a nutritionist at some point just to ensure that you are getting the proper calories from the right foods that are best for your body and your situation.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
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    Up your calories a bit. Drink water. When I get cravings that I know are not really hunger related, I find that drinking a cup of green tea helps a lot.
  • ACanadian22
    ACanadian22 Posts: 377 Member
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    You are 5'4 and 116 lbs. You are at a very healthy weight. I might be wrong but pretty sure you should be eating about 1500 calories now
  • beastmode2718
    beastmode2718 Posts: 108 Member
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    I know I'm at a normal weight but I still want to loose a little bit. I have weighed more in the past and if I don't control the hunger I'll start gaining again.
  • LiveLoveFitFab
    LiveLoveFitFab Posts: 302 Member
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    Check out the thread on volume eating. I get hungry a lot, so I don't eat little meals throughout the day. My meals are huge sometimes when you factor in the huge salad, the lean meat and then the extra serving of veggies on the side.
    Before bed I eat 175g of plain greek yogurt, with an apple cut up, and then half a cup of cereal in it. I can't get hungry on that much food. It comes to about 300 calories and fills me up for hours.

    Also, I take medication which makes me ravenous, so I keep 700 (out of 1500) calories a day for that time of the day and live off of lean meat and veggies for other meals. If you know your hungriest time you can apportion the most of your calories for that time.
    The rest of the day just watch out for the things that add calories but don't satisfy you. Lean protein always keeps me full. Veggies keep me full for a few hours and are low calories.

    Also, up your calories to 1500 and try and burn 300 extra calories a day. Steady state cardio will actually lessen your appetite (in most people) 300 extra calories is a walk or an exercise video. Or change your goal to less weight per week and try to burn 150 extra calories a day. Depending on your weight, that could be as little as 20 minutes of general exercise or a bit more.

    Today I was ravenous for some reason today, and I didn't feel like cooking. So I ate a Lean Cuisine with two cups of frozen broccoli tossed in.

    Also, keep an eye on your fiber intake. Your body takes a longer time to process high fiber breads and veggies, so you will stay full longer.

    It's not fun being hungry, so just don't do it.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    beastmode2718 wrote: »
    27, 5'4", 116
    Measuring cups and a food scale
    I'm not very active so maybe that has something to do with it

    Everybody keeps telling me I'm actually eating too much and that's why I'm not loosing weight but I'm 99% sure when I don't have a binge episode I am sticking to 1200. I can't exactly eat less if I'm already starving now can I?

    You are likely eating too much..... as in eating more than you think you are. As in eating more than 1200 calories.

    Do you weigh solids on a digital food scale.....even packaged foods? Are you measuring liquids in a measuring cup? Are you using recipe builder? Double check your data base selections. There are plenty of wrong entries.

    You are basically at goal.....so weight loss is going to be very slow. About 1/2 pound a week. That 1/2 pound can get lost with water weight fluctuations (sodium, sore muscles, time of month). Binges could be wiping out an entire weekly deficit.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    beastmode2718 wrote: »
    I know I'm at a normal weight but I still want to loose a little bit. I have weighed more in the past and if I don't control the hunger I'll start gaining again.

    What are your goals? Are you not happy with your current body composition?
  • beastmode2718
    beastmode2718 Posts: 108 Member
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    Its pretty much composition. I have a lot of body fat

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