Dieting, hunger, and feeling hangry

timoteo2017
timoteo2017 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I want to lose 10 pounds, maybe more, but my attempts losing weight always seem to fail because I end up being really "hangry" after a few days.

I feel like maybe I don't get or recognize normal hunger signals on a daily basis. My stomach doesn't usually growl when I'm hungry. I normally just eat by the clock - I you eat every 4 hours or so and I can easily forget to eat for many hours. If I don't eat enough one day, I don't usually notice it. But after three or four days of not eating enough I start to feel really tired and I get really, really cross and am unable to make even simple decisions and feel like curling up in a ball and sleeping.

I have a relatively fast metabolism and while most men my age (59) have a "gut", I don't.

How do I figure out how much to eat on a daily basis without becoming a hangry monster? Is my seeming lack of hunger normal? Am I just out of touch with my feelings of hunger?

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    How are you selecting your calorie goal?
  • timoteo2017
    timoteo2017 Posts: 2 Member
    I haven't really sat a calorie goal for weight loss. I eat four or five meals a day around 400-500 calories per meal. The goal right now is just eat more often and if I can cut out a few extra calories that's good too.

    I do not understand my body isn't giving me explicit " low on calories" morning is when I don't eat enough. This morning I woke up and actually felt a little bit hungry but also felt really tired. I got up had breakfast and took a shower but still couldn't get going. I took a nap for about an hour then fixed lunch eventually. I ate lunch but didn't really start to feel better until I had a banana or two. If I could just keep my blood sugar stable over the long term and not crash and burn like I do, that would help a lot. Surely I'm not the only one in the world who doesn't have "normal" hunger?
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    How many calories are you eating? Are you accurately weighing, measuring and logging your foods? You may have set your deficit up too large and it's leaving you feeling overly hungry.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,803 Member
    Yeah, man. The problem is that our bodies are not designed to tell us to eat what we exactly need for any particular meal. We have evolved to overeat whenever possible to protect against future lack of food. You don't have to eat on any particular schedule if you are willing to carefully tally the calories up and keep them at a reasonable level (that MFP will calculate for you).

    Now, if you're not willing to do that, then MFP can't really help you and you'll have to try some other approach.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 38,129 Community Helper
    With little to lose, y'wanna lose slowly: 0.5lb/week or less. If you're already aiming there, the answer is likely macro distribution, specific food choices, or food timing. The latter is irrelevant for weight loss, but can be important for satiety and happiness.
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 510 Member
    I get like that a bit too, so I schedule some days where I eat more and some days where I eat less to keep my average deficit over the week rather than each day. And If I'm starving one day I'll eat to maintenance if I need to - no harm done and over the long term, one day at maintenance won't hurt me.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,803 Member
    I want to add: I have cut by 10lbs several times. I like the "MFP way" which is to count your calories and keep it under the limit. Adding in for sustained workouts is also a good idea.

    So: you are going to get hungry at times. You may even get hangry. Your inner troll may rattle the cage and demand more. You need to tough it out, particularly in the first week or two. If you plan your meals carefully, you don't get over-hungry and you can push through. It gets better with time. The troll gives up.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
    I want to add: I have cut by 10lbs several times. I like the "MFP way" which is to count your calories and keep it under the limit. Adding in for sustained workouts is also a good idea.

    So: you are going to get hungry at times. You may even get hangry. Your inner troll may rattle the cage and demand more. You need to tough it out, particularly in the first week or two. If you plan your meals carefully, you don't get over-hungry and you can push through. It gets better with time. The troll gives up.

    ^^ so much this!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories