HUNGER!!

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leahhope051174
leahhope051174 Posts: 16 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
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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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    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?
  • andreaen
    andreaen Posts: 365 Member
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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.
  • leahhope051174
    leahhope051174 Posts: 16 Member
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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.
  • leahhope051174
    leahhope051174 Posts: 16 Member
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    andreaen wrote: »
    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.
  • kcn2bluesky
    kcn2bluesky Posts: 187 Member
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    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.
  • flitabout38
    flitabout38 Posts: 48 Member
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    Definitely add more fat and be care of the carbs. Leptin issues are real.
  • klove808
    klove808 Posts: 346 Member
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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.
  • Jrpwgr
    Jrpwgr Posts: 44 Member
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    klove808 wrote: »

    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.
  • tracysalisbury
    tracysalisbury Posts: 6 Member
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    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 :)
  • sbrownallison
    sbrownallison Posts: 314 Member
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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.
  • leahhope051174
    leahhope051174 Posts: 16 Member
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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!

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