HUNGER!!
leahhope051174
Posts: 16 Member
So I've reached my fat loss goal. Hooray! I'm reverse dieting and I have been slowly creeping my calories up week by week to find maintenance. I'm hungrier than ever! I was never this hungry when my calories were low. My workouts have been more intense and I'm lifting heavier so could that be it? What's going on?
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Replies
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leahhope051174 wrote: »So I've reached my fat loss goal. Hooray! I'm reverse dieting and I have been slowly creeping my calories up week by week to find maintenance. I'm hungrier than ever! I was never this hungry when my calories were low. My workouts have been more intense and I'm lifting heavier so could that be it? What's going on?
Yes that could be a part of what's going on. I find weights and high intensity cardio have a higher impact on appetite - maybe the repair aspect of intense exercise makes you hungry? (Speculation!)
The increase in calories can also noticeably increase your non exercise activity - when you feel low on energy during dieting you can subconsciously move less to conserve energy.
Maybe your slow creep upwards in calories needs to be a little faster? Same increase but twice a week perhaps?
Well done on joining the maintenance crew. :flowerforyou:6 -
Maybe you're too lean for comfort. What's your BMI? But appetite, and even hunger, is sneaky, maybe you're having rebound hunger - how fast have you been losing?3
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leahhope051174 wrote: »So I've reached my fat loss goal. Hooray! I'm reverse dieting and I have been slowly creeping my calories up week by week to find maintenance. I'm hungrier than ever! I was never this hungry when my calories were low. My workouts have been more intense and I'm lifting heavier so could that be it? What's going on?
The same exact thing happened to me. I'm 20 lbs heavier now 3 years later and it's extremely hard to keep a deficit more than 3 days because I get SO HUNGRY. And I had no problem keeping a 400-500 deficit until I got close to my goal weight (I never actually reached it because I went on vacation, started eating more, exercising more, and hunger went through the roof after that). I wasn't even that lean, maybe 22% body fat.
I'm frustrated and convinced I'll never be able to maintain my ideal weight because of this - I can't even maintain, let alone cut again... I mean, sure, I have treats, but still not as many as I did when losing, and it was fine. It's like I can't even afford 200 worth of chocolates or I'll be hungry later. I have petite friends who lose weight eating donuts and 200 calorie coffees and here I am, starving after a huge salad or 4 tacos (with corn shells, meat, avocado, salsa, and just a bit of cheese).
Haha I even feel like a fraud being in the maintenance section because clearly, I've failed at it. The struggle is real.
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Check your carbs intake - to much carbs makes you hungry, makes you grave for more carbs and sugar.14
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kommodevaran wrote: »Maybe you're too lean for comfort. What's your BMI? But appetite, and even hunger, is sneaky, maybe you're having rebound hunger - how fast have you been losing?
happening to me! So, yes that could be a problem! Congrats on making it here as well! Good knowledgeable people on this forum.5 -
It is common for people to experience increased hunger when switching to reverse. One theory as to why this happens is that your metabolism is adapting faster than your calorie-increases. Another is that you have suppressed your hunger when dieting, and now that you have started eating more the body is telling you it's been starving and wants all the food. Did you make an initial boost to get up to maintenance before the reverse? Otherwise, you will still be in a deficit and that is why you are hungry.2
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kommodevaran wrote: »Maybe you're too lean for comfort. What's your BMI? But appetite, and even hunger, is sneaky, maybe you're having rebound hunger - how fast have you been losing?
It took me 1 year and I lost 64 pounds. I have no idea what my BMI is. I never knew and I don't care to know. I just wanted to fit into my clothes again.
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It is common for people to experience increased hunger when switching to reverse. One theory as to why this happens is that your metabolism is adapting faster than your calorie-increases. Another is that you have suppressed your hunger when dieting, and now that you have started eating more the body is telling you it's been starving and wants all the food. Did you make an initial boost to get up to maintenance before the reverse? Otherwise, you will still be in a deficit and that is why you are hungry.
I initially raise my calories by 100 and I've been raising them every week by 100. I'm pretty sure I'm at maintenance now. I wouldn't mind if I still had another hundred or so calories and the tank. LOL.0 -
It took me one year to lose 50 pounds, for reference. I don't care what your BMI is either. But would you not be interested to know, as a low BMI is a possible reason for being hungry?leahhope051174 wrote: »
It took me 1 year and I lost 64 pounds. I have no idea what my BMI is. I never knew and I don't care to know. I just wanted to fit into my clothes again.kommodevaran wrote: »Maybe you're too lean for comfort. What's your BMI? But appetite, and even hunger, is sneaky, maybe you're having rebound hunger - how fast have you been losing?7 -
Following this thread as this is the same thing I've experienced.
I had very few issues dropping 25 pounds (5'9", dropped from 170 to 145). Looking back at those ~9 months, it seemed reasonably easy to drop the excess weight. I started strength training late last year (just bodyweight for the moment), and in combination with the running I do, hunger hit me with a vengeance!
Very interested in the advice to the OP to see if it's something I can incorporate as well.1 -
That hunger feeling is just a hormone. You can just ignore it, distract yourself, and it WILL go away.6
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I am sure I will get woo'ed, getting used to it, lol. There are many things the media and weight loss industry does not tell you. Leptin, a master hormone produced by the adipose tissue, goes down when you diet. It has shown not to fully recover in people who maintain a lower body weight. Leptin is thought to control metabolism and hunger. What basically happens is the fat senses low reserves of energy, sends signal to the hypothalamus that you are on low energy reserves. Time to eat! Ghrelin is released. Your stomach starts to rumble. You eat! Leptin is then released by the fat cells saying you are full, which suppresses the release of ghrelin. That happens in a normal person, but in a weight reduced person, the cell is still shrunken. The fat cells do not release as much leptin, so the hypothalamus tells us we are still hungry. Most of us become far hungrier and food focused. Couple that with a slightly lower than expected RMR after weight, a decrease in NEAT, and greater muscle efficiency weight is regained. Some people state that they maintain easily with little hunger issues after weight loss. Some of us have hell. I personally believe it has to do with how much weight a person lost, and how long they carried that extra weight. This is still debated in science and people on this forum. I am trying to "Bulk", aka gain weight without feeling like a failure to be honest, in hopes that some of my issues will pass. I actually had some of the same issues an anorexic would have, low hormones, hunger, hair loss, blood sugar drop outs...ect. I went sub 9% BF according to my dexa. All this being said, I am trying some eating window strategies along with a higher fiber, higher protein approach. Seems to help a little. Best of luck.11
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I had that when I was reverse dieting. It was because the first foods I added back were carbs. And carbs make me hungry. Add more fat and protein.7
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Definitely add more fat and be care of the carbs. Leptin issues are real.3
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neugebauer52 wrote: »Check your carbs intake - to much carbs makes you hungry, makes you grave for more carbs and sugar.
Aha! Mystery solved - It always surprised me how if i start eating pasta, I just can't stop. And then feel like I didn't even eat an hour later.
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neugebauer52 wrote: »Check your carbs intake - to much carbs makes you hungry, makes you grave for more carbs and sugar.
Aha! Mystery solved - It always surprised me how if i start eating pasta, I just can't stop. And then feel like I didn't even eat an hour later.
Except it's very personal - starchy carbs are my most satiating foods.7 -
Aha! Mystery solved - It always surprised me how if i start eating pasta, I just can't stop. And then feel like I didn't even eat an hour later.
Isn't that amazing how much spaghetti you can make disappear? Bread has always been my weakness like that, so I have learned to not even start.2 -
I am still losing but in the past when I was at my ideal weight and the hunger was what I considered just a mental thing, aka my body did not need more food I drank more water, increased protein and made sure that I was getting healthy fats. Now I also use Metamucil for added fiber when I don't feel like I should be hungry, just the quell the feeling. It is easy to drink and adds extra fiber to your diet. Great job getting to your goal! I am envious
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I agree with others who cite food choices as predictive of hunger issues. For me, so true. When I was younger/stupider, I thought I could eat chocolate cake and make up for the calories by eating less at dinner. This is the kind of thinking that got me to over 200 lbs. I would eat the cake (and of course a larger portion than recommended as a "serving" on the package), then get super hungry and overeat even more. For me, my food choices have to be satiating clean foods, not highly-processed/sugary foods -- in order to achieve a normal weight and maintain it.1
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psychod787 wrote: »I am sure I will get woo'ed, getting used to it, lol. There are many things the media and weight loss industry does not tell you. Leptin, a master hormone produced by the adipose tissue, goes down when you diet. It has shown not to fully recover in people who maintain a lower body weight. Leptin is thought to control metabolism and hunger. What basically happens is the fat senses low reserves of energy, sends signal to the hypothalamus that you are on low energy reserves. Time to eat! Ghrelin is released. Your stomach starts to rumble. You eat! Leptin is then released by the fat cells saying you are full, which suppresses the release of ghrelin. That happens in a normal person, but in a weight reduced person, the cell is still shrunken. The fat cells do not release as much leptin, so the hypothalamus tells us we are still hungry. Most of us become far hungrier and food focused. Couple that with a slightly lower than expected RMR after weight, a decrease in NEAT, and greater muscle efficiency weight is regained. Some people state that they maintain easily with little hunger issues after weight loss. Some of us have hell. I personally believe it has to do with how much weight a person lost, and how long they carried that extra weight. This is still debated in science and people on this forum. I am trying to "Bulk", aka gain weight without feeling like a failure to be honest, in hopes that some of my issues will pass. I actually had some of the same issues an anorexic would have, low hormones, hunger, hair loss, blood sugar drop outs...ect. I went sub 9% BF according to my dexa. All this being said, I am trying some eating window strategies along with a higher fiber, higher protein approach. Seems to help a little. Best of luck.
I read a little bit about this this morning. Makes sense. Thank you!0 -
glacierlilly1 wrote: »That hunger feeling is just a hormone. You can just ignore it, distract yourself, and it WILL go away.
After how long exactly? I mean, it's been 3 years here.
About carbs, I have to be really careful not to use up more than 400-500 calories on the non filling kind a day (which for me includes bread, baked goods, pasta). It's not that it 'makes me crave carbs or makes me hungry', like people say (I don't believe it one bit either), but that it's just calories that are not as filling, so obviously I'm hungrier after eating them that if I had eggs, bacon, and potatoes, for example.
It's definitely a hormonal issue though (way worse before my period).5 -
I’m thinking over exercising can make me unbearably hungry. I do moderate exercise with weight training for about an hour a day and haven’t taken a break in about two weeks. I eat all my exercise calories back (based on my Apple Watch exercise calories).
I was so hungry last week I was in tears a few times, so afraid my body just wants me fat and is going to force me to overeat. I only had a 300-400 calorie deficit, so I shouldn’t be that hungry!
Exhausted and starving I forced myself to take a break from exercise Friday and the hunger was still there, but not as intense. I decided to take off yesterday too and the desperate hunger is gone. I had no extra exercise calories to eat on those break days and I was okay.
A new lesson learned for maintenance is that if my hunger gets too bad, take time off from exercise and it will be better.5 -
ITUSGirl51 wrote: »I’m thinking over exercising can make me unbearably hungry. I do moderate exercise with weight training for about an hour a day and haven’t taken a break in about two weeks. I eat all my exercise calories back (based on my Apple Watch exercise calories).
I was so hungry last week I was in tears a few times, so afraid my body just wants me fat and is going to force me to overeat. I only had a 300-400 calorie deficit, so I shouldn’t be that hungry!
Exhausted and starving I forced myself to take a break from exercise Friday and the hunger was still there, but not as intense. I decided to take off yesterday too and the desperate hunger is gone. I had no extra exercise calories to eat on those break days and I was okay.
A new lesson learned for maintenance is that if my hunger gets too bad, take time off from exercise and it will be better.
that's different for me. heavy weight training blunts my hunger for hours.0 -
flitabout38 wrote: »Definitely add more fat and be care of the carbs. Leptin issues are real.
When I switched to maintenance (the last time) I just switched out my low-cal, fat free, or "diet" versions of foods for their full-fat counterparts to add more calories in without having to change up the foods I ate. Made it easier and kept me (sort of) on track.2
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