Almost at target weight - But appetite is more voracious now
mikenmar
Posts: 31 Member
48-yr-old male, 5'10". I've gone from 265 lbs to a muscular 180 lbs. Yay! Now...
My goal is 175 lbs, but the last five pounds seems to be the hardest. Part of the problem is that I'm much hungrier than I was when I started dieting. It used to be that I'd have no problem staying under 2000 cals/day; now it's a real struggle. I'm having a very hard time breaking into the 170s.
Is it normal to get hungrier as you get thinner? I'm familiar with adaptive thermogenesis -- and I'm prepared to adjust for it -- but it seems like just maintaining is going to be a real struggle when I'm hungry all the time.
Any help?
My goal is 175 lbs, but the last five pounds seems to be the hardest. Part of the problem is that I'm much hungrier than I was when I started dieting. It used to be that I'd have no problem staying under 2000 cals/day; now it's a real struggle. I'm having a very hard time breaking into the 170s.
Is it normal to get hungrier as you get thinner? I'm familiar with adaptive thermogenesis -- and I'm prepared to adjust for it -- but it seems like just maintaining is going to be a real struggle when I'm hungry all the time.
Any help?
5
Replies
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No help, but the same with me.0
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I had that problem too when I lost 25 pounds on weight watchers. I ended up gaining it all back.0
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Ditto here. I was 2 lbs from my goal and went on vacations and I've been ravenous since... that was 3 years ago! Never lost those 2 lbs and I gained back 10. I'd have to really deprive myself if I want to lose that weight again, and maintaining (obviously) is already a struggle... and I have to be very active in order to keep up with my appetite.
And as I said, that was 3 years ago, and I've gained back a bit of weight, so clearly the whole 'diet break' thing hasn't reset my hunger hormones one bit...
ETA: my goal weight really wasn't low either... half way through the normal BMI. I do have a large frame though so that might affect things a bit maybe?0 -
My husband totally could have written the OP.
He finally had to kind of give up, accept 10 more lbs. and after a few weeks of this his hunger is starting to fade. He felt like it came out of nowhere and it was at very close to goal, around 170 lbs. He too started at 265 and he lost VERY fast. My husband is 5'10" and 46 years old.
Hey. Is this my husband?
Just kidding.7 -
I'm a long way from my goal weight , but reading the threads, this seems to be a fairly common problem. Most common "fix" seems to be to increase calories and eat at maintenance for a few weeks, even a month or 2. Then reduce calories again to lose 1/2 - 1 lbs a week for the last few lbs. Good luck! Remember your goal weight isn't the end. Your real goal is to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life. Who cares if the last 10 lbs takes 6 months?9
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Sounds like me. I was about 10 lbs to my goal after losing almost 80 lbs and thought I would maintain for a bit. My appetite came back hard. I was used to eating 1600-1800 calories, but now keeping it at 2100 is hard. I feel like I'm starving. It's a struggle and it's making it hard to care about losing the last bit of weight.2
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maryannprt wrote: »I'm a long way from my goal weight , but reading the threads, this seems to be a fairly common problem. Most common "fix" seems to be to increase calories and eat at maintenance for a few weeks, even a month or 2. Then reduce calories again to lose 1/2 - 1 lbs a week for the last few lbs. Good luck! Remember your goal weight isn't the end. Your real goal is to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life. Who cares if the last 10 lbs takes 6 months?
You know, you're right.
It's not a race, after all, and better to stay stable at still-a-bit-overweight than spiral hungrily upward.0 -
Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.11 -
maryannprt wrote: »I'm a long way from my goal weight , but reading the threads, this seems to be a fairly common problem. Most common "fix" seems to be to increase calories and eat at maintenance for a few weeks, even a month or 2. Then reduce calories again to lose 1/2 - 1 lbs a week for the last few lbs. Good luck! Remember your goal weight isn't the end. Your real goal is to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life. Who cares if the last 10 lbs takes 6 months?
I'd be thrilled if I could take the next 6 months to lose the last ten pounds. I'm more worried about putting all the weight back on. I had the momentum of a freight train for a long time there, and now it's fading away; I don't want to start going backwards now.0 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.2 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.1 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.2 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?7 -
If you're having trouble eating under X calories, I would recommend either making the deficit smaller or adding some cardio. A 30 min jog is often about 100 calories for someone, which could be enough to give you that slow-and-steady deficit.1
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You can try losing more slowly and pace out the last few pounds.0
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?
That's a question I have asked myself, to be honest. And clearly I'm not killing myself over a pound if I'm regaining 4-8 of them! I've basically decided on a range and that original goal weight was at the bottom. As long as I don't go over the top of it, I'm okay. I just find it interesting that my body maintains comfortably at one weight, but if I dip a few pounds lower I turn in to an eating machine until I have a significant buffer.1 -
I'm not at goal yet but I'm SO CLOSE to 50 lbs down. Could NOT keep at deficit.
The only thing that's helped me stop regaining was a conscious diet break. For x amount of time, I got to eat to maintenance. That was so many more calories than I'd been eating that it felt like I was feasting every day!
This extended "refeed" actually is making my deficit more bearable. My calorie goal is lower than it's ever been, and it's really achievable because I got the mental break of the diet break.
Maybe look into doing something like that?2 -
.0
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Mouse_Potato wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?
That's a question I have asked myself, to be honest. And clearly I'm not killing myself over a pound if I'm regaining 4-8 of them! I've basically decided on a range and that original goal weight was at the bottom. As long as I don't go over the top of it, I'm okay. I just find it interesting that my body maintains comfortably at one weight, but if I dip a few pounds lower I turn in to an eating machine until I have a significant buffer.
Are you maybe cutting a significant amount so that when you maintain you're trying to add back a lot of calories? I'm wondering if maybe you tapered yourself up and down over several days if it might help keep the monster at bay. For example, if you just add 50-100 calories for a couple of days did that for however long it takes to get back up to maintenance if it might make it easier?0 -
My husband totally could have written the OP.
He finally had to kind of give up, accept 10 more lbs. and after a few weeks of this his hunger is starting to fade. He felt like it came out of nowhere and it was at very close to goal, around 170 lbs. He too started at 265 and he lost VERY fast. My husband is 5'10" and 46 years old.
Hey. Is this my husband?
Just kidding.
Scary!
Same situation here, same starting weight, down to 161 now... and I’m 460 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
Never said it works for everyone. And who knows if you hadn't gone on vacation and had gotten to goal then moved to maintenance that the exact same thing wouldn't have happened.0 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?
That's a question I have asked myself, to be honest. And clearly I'm not killing myself over a pound if I'm regaining 4-8 of them! I've basically decided on a range and that original goal weight was at the bottom. As long as I don't go over the top of it, I'm okay. I just find it interesting that my body maintains comfortably at one weight, but if I dip a few pounds lower I turn in to an eating machine until I have a significant buffer.
Are you maybe cutting a significant amount so that when you maintain you're trying to add back a lot of calories? I'm wondering if maybe you tapered yourself up and down over several days if it might help keep the monster at bay. For example, if you just add 50-100 calories for a couple of days did that for however long it takes to get back up to maintenance if it might make it easier?
I don't think so. I've never targeted more than a 250 calorie deficit. I enjoy food way too much. I think maybe my body just feels comfortable at a particular weight or range of weight. It's all vanity pounds at this point and I'm no spring chicken. It may not be realistic to expect my body fat to get as low as I'd like. I'm okay with this. I'm just always amazed at how I can put away around 3000 calories and then be thinking "got anything for dessert?"2 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?
That's a question I have asked myself, to be honest. And clearly I'm not killing myself over a pound if I'm regaining 4-8 of them! I've basically decided on a range and that original goal weight was at the bottom. As long as I don't go over the top of it, I'm okay. I just find it interesting that my body maintains comfortably at one weight, but if I dip a few pounds lower I turn in to an eating machine until I have a significant buffer.
Are you maybe cutting a significant amount so that when you maintain you're trying to add back a lot of calories? I'm wondering if maybe you tapered yourself up and down over several days if it might help keep the monster at bay. For example, if you just add 50-100 calories for a couple of days did that for however long it takes to get back up to maintenance if it might make it easier?
I don't think so. I've never targeted more than a 250 calorie deficit. I enjoy food way too much. I think maybe my body just feels comfortable at a particular weight or range of weight. It's all vanity pounds at this point and I'm no spring chicken. It may not be realistic to expect my body fat to get as low as I'd like. I'm okay with this. I'm just always amazed at how I can put away around 3000 calories and then be thinking "got anything for dessert?"
Have you tried sitting at a given weight, deliberately at maintenance cals (ie still tracking and logging), for a good bit, then going again?
And dessert stomach is totally a thing. There's always room for dessert.0 -
One change I try to make is consuming a lot more calories from vegetables. Eating for volume instead of just caloric goals can be really useful to some when it comes to fullness. I can eat a ton of cabbage or broccoli or other veggies and it does add up to a bit of carbs but is better than eating a potato or something less filling.1
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I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
I had a similar experience. Well, I didn't go on controlled diet break, but I overate for a couple of weeks after losing a decent amount of weight and the hunger has been pretty much a constant problem since then. I'm about 10-15 pounds away from my goal weight though.
I feel like there must be a scientific explanation for that. Don't anorexic experience a similar thing? When they start eating more and the hunger suddenly skyrockets and they can't stop eating? Of course, I am nowhere near being that underweight or malnourished, but from an evolutionary standpoint the body perceives any significant weight loss as threatening so maybe there are similar mechanisms at play.
1 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?
That's a question I have asked myself, to be honest. And clearly I'm not killing myself over a pound if I'm regaining 4-8 of them! I've basically decided on a range and that original goal weight was at the bottom. As long as I don't go over the top of it, I'm okay. I just find it interesting that my body maintains comfortably at one weight, but if I dip a few pounds lower I turn in to an eating machine until I have a significant buffer.
Are you maybe cutting a significant amount so that when you maintain you're trying to add back a lot of calories? I'm wondering if maybe you tapered yourself up and down over several days if it might help keep the monster at bay. For example, if you just add 50-100 calories for a couple of days did that for however long it takes to get back up to maintenance if it might make it easier?
I don't think so. I've never targeted more than a 250 calorie deficit. I enjoy food way too much. I think maybe my body just feels comfortable at a particular weight or range of weight. It's all vanity pounds at this point and I'm no spring chicken. It may not be realistic to expect my body fat to get as low as I'd like. I'm okay with this. I'm just always amazed at how I can put away around 3000 calories and then be thinking "got anything for dessert?"
It was just a guess. Good for you for not starving yourself. I said when I started losing weight that I didn't want to go hungry and I never have. But I'm also taking a pretty slow.
Hilarious. I'm that way too. "When are we having cake?"0 -
Here's a different approach. Play a mental trick and convince yourself that you're not close to goal yet, and that you've got, say, thirty more pounds to go instead of ten. I'm not saying actually lose thirty more, just get out of the mindset that you're close to goal.
Perhaps the increased hunger is from seeing that goal within your grasp and an ability to slacken up a bit for maintenance.
I don't know. It's just a thought. Congratulations on your success so far.1 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?
That's a question I have asked myself, to be honest. And clearly I'm not killing myself over a pound if I'm regaining 4-8 of them! I've basically decided on a range and that original goal weight was at the bottom. As long as I don't go over the top of it, I'm okay. I just find it interesting that my body maintains comfortably at one weight, but if I dip a few pounds lower I turn in to an eating machine until I have a significant buffer.
Are you maybe cutting a significant amount so that when you maintain you're trying to add back a lot of calories? I'm wondering if maybe you tapered yourself up and down over several days if it might help keep the monster at bay. For example, if you just add 50-100 calories for a couple of days did that for however long it takes to get back up to maintenance if it might make it easier?
I don't think so. I've never targeted more than a 250 calorie deficit. I enjoy food way too much. I think maybe my body just feels comfortable at a particular weight or range of weight. It's all vanity pounds at this point and I'm no spring chicken. It may not be realistic to expect my body fat to get as low as I'd like. I'm okay with this. I'm just always amazed at how I can put away around 3000 calories and then be thinking "got anything for dessert?"
Have you tried sitting at a given weight, deliberately at maintenance cals (ie still tracking and logging), for a good bit, then going again?
And dessert stomach is totally a thing. There's always room for dessert.
"Tried" is the appropriate term. That was my plan, but I have not yet had the discipline to stick with it. As soon as I give myself license to eat a bit more it turns in to a whole lot more. I've been at this for about five years now and I still haven't figured out my body. I will go through periods of near constant hunger - weeks, even months where I can barely stay at maintenance. Then suddenly it will stop and I can eat at a deficit without much effort. I've no idea why.
I think I might try to maintain at my slightly higher weight and see what happens. I'm still well within the healthy range for my height. Maybe after the holidays I will try to cut a bit more.0 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Have a read of this: https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/, and take a look at the thread a few down titled "Of refeeds and diet breaks". When we diet, hormones get out of whack (principally leptin, thyroid, and cortisol) as our body fights to prevent fat loss (this is an evolutionary adaptation, handy when food scaricity was a common thing for all, decidedly not if you're trying to lose weight!). The less body fat you have, the harder your body will fight to keep it.
I know you're probably thinking 'but I'm so close, isn't it better to just keep going?', and you certainly could do that, white knuckle it through and hope you don't break and go on a complete bender, but a controlled diet break will help to reset those hormones to where they should be, and hopefully get your hunger under control for the home stretch. I've done this myself, and so have several others, and you can read our testimonies and experiences with it in the Refeed thread.
Note, those hormone-driven adaptations will return to normal once you're in maintenance regardless, though obviously you're not going to be able to eat as much as you used to to maintain, because there's less of you now.
ETA: the refeeds thread is really long (we're chatty), though well worth wading through because there's nuggets everywhere, but there's a handy synopsis of the first five pages on p.6, and the diet break article is the key thing I think you should read right now.
Thanks, I'm looking at it now.
Re the afraid to put it all back on, diet breaks are also awesome practice for maintenance
I still don't get the whole 'diet break' thing. My appetite shot up after I took one, and that's when my problems started.
This has been my experience as well. Twice now I have gotten within a pound of my ultimate goal weight and both times my appetite came on fast and strong. So, I took the advice here and decided to try a maintenance break. My appetite just kept increasing. Last time I had regained 8 pounds before the monster abated. This time I've regained 4 and I am fighting to get it under control. It seems like the more food I give my body the more it wants.
If can't manage a diet break, though, how are you going to manage maintenance? You can't stay in a deficit forever. Also, have you considered raising your goal weight by a pound? I know that might sound snarky, but I'm serious - what possible good could come from killing yourself over a pound?
That's a question I have asked myself, to be honest. And clearly I'm not killing myself over a pound if I'm regaining 4-8 of them! I've basically decided on a range and that original goal weight was at the bottom. As long as I don't go over the top of it, I'm okay. I just find it interesting that my body maintains comfortably at one weight, but if I dip a few pounds lower I turn in to an eating machine until I have a significant buffer.
Are you maybe cutting a significant amount so that when you maintain you're trying to add back a lot of calories? I'm wondering if maybe you tapered yourself up and down over several days if it might help keep the monster at bay. For example, if you just add 50-100 calories for a couple of days did that for however long it takes to get back up to maintenance if it might make it easier?
I don't think so. I've never targeted more than a 250 calorie deficit. I enjoy food way too much. I think maybe my body just feels comfortable at a particular weight or range of weight. It's all vanity pounds at this point and I'm no spring chicken. It may not be realistic to expect my body fat to get as low as I'd like. I'm okay with this. I'm just always amazed at how I can put away around 3000 calories and then be thinking "got anything for dessert?"
It was just a guess. Good for you for not starving yourself. I said when I started losing weight that I didn't want to go hungry and I never have. But I'm also taking a pretty slow.
Hilarious. I'm that way too. "When are we having cake?"
When I first signed up I wanted to lose a pound a week. Then I saw the numbers. Uh... Maybe I'm not in a hurry after all!
It's always embarrassing to finish up a huge holiday meal and everyone else is sitting around groaning about how stuffed they are and I'm eyeballing the desserts! 1
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