Why am I suddenly hungry 24/7?

KWheelhouse19
KWheelhouse19 Posts: 8 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I’ve been exercising and dieting everyday for awhile now. The exercise is great, I absolutely love going to the gym. In the beginning, the dieting was easy. I didn’t want fatty or sugary foods. I have been drinking tons of water and staying well below my calorie count.

BUT THEN

Two nights ago I was overcome with crazy hunger. It wasn’t a craving for something bad, but like a “I haven’t eaten in a month” kind of a hunger. I tried to sleep it off but yesterday all hell broke loose. I did terrible. I ate anything, not caring about the calories or what it was or how much. And even before I started this journey, I’ve never done that. I don’t understand what is happening. I’ve woken up today with another crazy sense of hunger. I’ve been going for protein and veggies and anything to keep me full but it isn’t working. Please help.

Replies

  • XxQueenMxX
    XxQueenMxX Posts: 683 Member
    Could be hormones, or maybe your body just needs more food! Maybe its time to change your eating routine. Have you been working out more?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    If you're well below your calorie goal regularly, it's possible that your body has finally had enough. You can't sustain that forever. Start to make a plan that includes you eating all your calories and you may find that your hunger is reduced.

    What is your calorie goal and what are you actually averaging? How much are you losing per week (on average)?
  • JMcGee2018
    JMcGee2018 Posts: 275 Member
    I get this way around my TOM sometimes. Try going for a walk when that feeling hits, because at least then you aren't around food for awhile and earn back some exercise calories to make the binge less impactful on your deficit. Maybe try setting your goal at maintenance for a few days and see if the feeling passes.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    If you're well below your calorie goal regularly, it's possible that your body has finally had enough. You can't sustain that forever. Start to make a plan that includes you eating all your calories and you may find that your hunger is reduced.

    What is your calorie goal and what are you actually averaging? How much are you losing per week (on average)?

    This!! is the reason we eat back some or all of our exercise calories... and NET at least 1200/1500 daily calories.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    edited March 2018
    KWheelhouse19 wrote: »
    I’ve been exercising and dieting everyday for awhile now. The exercise is great, I absolutely love going to the gym. In the beginning, the dieting was easy. I didn’t want fatty or sugary foods. I have been drinking tons of water and staying well below my calorie count.

    BUT THEN

    Two nights ago I was overcome with crazy hunger. It wasn’t a craving for something bad, but like a “I haven’t eaten in a month” kind of a hunger. I tried to sleep it off but yesterday all hell broke loose. I did terrible. I ate anything, not caring about the calories or what it was or how much. And even before I started this journey, I’ve never done that. I don’t understand what is happening. I’ve woken up today with another crazy sense of hunger. I’ve been going for protein and veggies and anything to keep me full but it isn’t working. Please help.

    How long is a while? 3 weeks or 6 months?

    Either way, the honeymoon is over.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    staying well below my calorie count

    This could be a reason. You should be AT your calorie count, not well below it (just below can be fine). In my experience, depriving myself of certain foods/having too low of a calorie goal has led to me feeling like this. You may want to tweak things to ensure you're fueling your body and not leading yourself into a cycle of restricting then binging.
  • 123dola
    123dola Posts: 6 Member
    I find I'm more hungry when I eat higher carb even when just healthy fruits and veggies. I have found reducing the carbs and increasing protein and healthy fats (ie. nuts, avocado, olives) while staying in my target calorie range has really helped with my cravings and hunger.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    KWheelhouse19 wrote: »
    I didn’t want fatty or sugary foods . . . I’ve been going for protein and veggies and anything to keep me full but it isn’t working.

    Also, calories aside . . . are you getting enough fat? You need a certain amount of fat to stay healthy. If you're on a low fat diet, some people find that this makes them hungrier. I can't do it myself without feeling tired and hungry all the time. So check out where you're been averaging for fat and see if you could stand to add some more to your diet. It may help.
  • MelkaBielka
    MelkaBielka Posts: 36 Member
    something that helps me curb cravings for food and overeating is fibre. Trying to get 25 grams or so a day is a bit hard, and i dont always succeed, but it does help me feel full longer. One thing to note with fibre however, you gotta drink a *kitten* ton of water
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    When you lose weight, the body goes into "self preservation" mode. Many times leptin drops and ghrelin goes up. Do some research on body changes with Weight loss. They have discovered that fat is not just a storage area, but also part of the endocrine system. Best of luck.
  • lilysillycat
    lilysillycat Posts: 159 Member
    The same thing happens to me every month the week before period. Nothing helps. About two months ago my doctor put me on medicine for pmdd. It actually keeps the hunger away. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about taking something to help with pms if it is the time right before your period.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited March 2018
    That's me every day the week before my period. Is yours due?
    lilysillycat wrote: »
    The same thing happens to me every month the week before period. Nothing helps. About two months ago my doctor put me on medicine for pmdd. It actually keeps the hunger away. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about taking something to help with pms if it is the time right before your period.

    What did your doctor put you on? I tried the pill and it just made things worse.

    I'm quite sure that at least 10 of the pounds I've gained back is because of that week :(
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    For who ever had the testicular or ovarian fortitude to woo me, here are some meta analysis on the subject. Thanks

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19389439
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3302146/
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20719836
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    One thing I've found helpful if you can do it, is eat similar meals the next week but change the protein carb fat fiber proportions.
    I love eating the same thing everyday with switching it up every week or so (minus weekends) but I know that could be a nightmare for some people.

    However it will show you how fat protein fiber carbs affect your hunger levels
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    KWheelhouse19 wrote: »
    staying well below my calorie count.

    Significant undereating will of course make you hungry.

    You don't need to eat under your calorie count, it is already set for weight loss.

  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    Here is a video from HBO as well. It's a little old, but it has Rudolf Liebel in it. Probably the greatest metabolic researcher of our time. Time stamping about 5 minutes in. It's talks about hunger and how the brain responds.

    https://youtu.be/2i_cmltmQ6A
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
    That’s how I feel when I am stressed.
  • Hyacinth_Hippo
    Hyacinth_Hippo Posts: 51 Member
    You may want to consider tracking your menstrual cycle and your symptoms (I use P tracker lite). Hunger like that could be related to your hormonal cycle, on those days, I just eat my calories and try to ignore the hunger (and end up complaining about how hungry I am to everyone who will listen.)
  • ironhajee
    ironhajee Posts: 384 Member
    Not sure if this was mentioned as yet - but excessive cardiovascular will lead to more cravings and more hunger and also if you're cutting carbs out that could be something you're also craving.

    Best thing to do is just eat!!! If you are going to the gym this often and putting in work, long term you will level out and get back on the right path.

    Consider giving yourself a treat either daily or even a treat day once a week where you can enjoy some of the foods you might have turned a cold shoulder too.

    I am also in the same boat. I get late night hunger and what I personally am.am working on is to schedule meals later during the day & evening. So of you're eating dinner at 6pm and going to bed at 12pm... there's a six hour window to get hungry again!!!! Try eating dinner later to minimize late night hunger cravings and go to bed early!

    Moderation of course.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Hard to answer without knowing if "awhile" is a year or like 3 weeks.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Hard to answer without knowing if "awhile" is a year or like 3 weeks.

    @KWheelhouse19

    This is the most important question to help diagnose your issue

  • marisap2010
    marisap2010 Posts: 909 Member
    How far under your calorie goal are you eating? You should eat TO your goal.
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited March 2018
    KWheelhouse19 wrote: »
    I’ve been exercising and dieting everyday for awhile now. The exercise is great, I absolutely love going to the gym. In the beginning, the dieting was easy. I didn’t want fatty or sugary foods. I have been drinking tons of water and staying well below my calorie count.

    BUT THEN

    Two nights ago I was overcome with crazy hunger. It wasn’t a craving for something bad, but like a “I haven’t eaten in a month” kind of a hunger. I tried to sleep it off but yesterday all hell broke loose. I did terrible. I ate anything, not caring about the calories or what it was or how much. And even before I started this journey, I’ve never done that. I don’t understand what is happening. I’ve woken up today with another crazy sense of hunger. I’ve been going for protein and veggies and anything to keep me full but it isn’t working. Please help.

    My gut feeling is that you're under eating for the calories you burn which gives you hunger rage. I know it's common for women on this website to cut their calories drastically when just a slight deficit would've still done the job and be more sustainable long term. When I go on a cut (aka fat loss phase), I eat at the highest amount of calories I can that makes me lose weight. For example, my TDEE is somewhere around 3000 calories at this moment, if I were to start my cut, I would start at 2600, but I know many people who would go straight to 1800 calories if they were in my shoes which would be a big mistake.

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