Hunger Pains
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DestinyGEC
Posts: 3 Member
The biggest problem I've noticed having when trying to lose weight, is fighting hunger pains. It might only be day one, but I have had them twice today and it's only 2:30pm. I've taken in about 1200cal, and have 800 left to go, which I plan to splurge on at dinner, because I live with a very picky eater. I'm just having a hard time keeping these pains away, and I'm curious to know if they are something else entirely apposed to hunger. Is it dehydration? I don't normally feel this way when I am, and I've had two glasses of water today. (I don't drink a lot in the first place)
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Replies
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2 glasses of water is not enough.
You shouldn't be having hunger pangs on 2000 cals, do you eat a lot of carbs?3 -
I agree with upping the water, I've been fasting and I drink water and they go away, and for what it's worth I am absolutely not trying to be a jerk at all, but I think it's hunger pangs not pains, just a friendly fyi
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Drinking electrolyte solution can help. But, in the end, distracting yourself is the best remedy. Your body is designed to shelve hunger when there are other things to attend to. For me, even a brief cardio session staves off hunger for hours.3
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drink water and lots of it. hunger comes in waves but your body will adapt over time be-aware if you feed it every 2 hours it will expect to be fed every 2 hours. the harsh truth is unless your going long periods (16-72 hours) without food your not really hungry. hope this helps11
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Day one is always hard. Don’t stress if you go over your calories today. Just log it all in and use the data as a tool to replace higher calorie items with lower calorie items on future days. I consider the first few days part of the research process. It takes time to find what works for you.7
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evilsmudge wrote: »drink water and lots of it. hunger comes in waves but your body will adapt over time be-aware if you feed it every 2 hours it will expect to be fed every 2 hours. the harsh truth is unless your going long periods (16-72 hours) without food your not really hungry. hope this helps
Unless a person goes 3 days without food, they're not really hungry?
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People often find themselves feeling hungry the first couple of weeks of calorie restriction. I would say consider if your weekly weight loss goal is too aggressive, but if you've been given 2000 calories, that doesn't seem likely. As others have said, you may need to swap out some of your choices for more filling things & increase fluids. Some people benefit by delaying breakfast or skipping it altogether (intermittent fasting), but since it's only your first day, I wouldn't draw any conclusions just yet.
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72 hours is harsh lol, but technically around the time the body goes in starvation mode.evilsmudge wrote: »drink water and lots of it. hunger comes in waves but your body will adapt over time be-aware if you feed it every 2 hours it will expect to be fed every 2 hours. the harsh truth is unless your going long periods (16-72 hours) without food your not really hungry. hope this helps
Unless a person goes 3 days without food, they're not really hungry?21 -
evilsmudge wrote: »
72 hours is harsh lol, but technically around the time the body goes in starvation mode.evilsmudge wrote: »drink water and lots of it. hunger comes in waves but your body will adapt over time be-aware if you feed it every 2 hours it will expect to be fed every 2 hours. the harsh truth is unless your going long periods (16-72 hours) without food your not really hungry. hope this helps
Unless a person goes 3 days without food, they're not really hungry?
'Starvation mode' which isn't a thing, you mean?12 -
evilsmudge wrote: »
72 hours is harsh lol, but technically around the time the body goes in starvation mode.evilsmudge wrote: »drink water and lots of it. hunger comes in waves but your body will adapt over time be-aware if you feed it every 2 hours it will expect to be fed every 2 hours. the harsh truth is unless your going long periods (16-72 hours) without food your not really hungry. hope this helps
Unless a person goes 3 days without food, they're not really hungry?
I've fasted for 72 hours, there was no starvation mode.8 -
DestinyGEC wrote: »The biggest problem I've noticed having when trying to lose weight, is fighting hunger pains. It might only be day one, but I have had them twice today and it's only 2:30pm. I've taken in about 1200cal, and have 800 left to go, which I plan to splurge on at dinner, because I live with a very picky eater. I'm just having a hard time keeping these pains away, and I'm curious to know if they are something else entirely apposed to hunger. Is it dehydration? I don't normally feel this way when I am, and I've had two glasses of water today. (I don't drink a lot in the first place)
Try changing up your meal timing.
The sooner I eat, the sooner my "hunger" for the day gets going. If I eat as soon as I get up, I get hungry again earlier. I'm normally not hungry first thing in the morning. So, I push breakfast back until 10:00 or so. Lunch around 1:00, snack about 3:00, dinner about 7:00 with plenty of calories to eat (about 800-1000).3 -
As other posters have said, you need to hydrate more. Your body needs water to function properly including digestion and brain activity. When you drink water before or during meals, it also makes you feel full much quicker.
Personally, I find that hunger pangs are a signal that I'm hungry so I eat. I normally eat 3 meals a day, plus snacks and still manage to stay under around 1800 calories. When I feel hungry between meals, I eat something. I don't have a full meal, just a little snack. You'd be surprised that a couple carrots with some hummus or a celery stalk with a teaspoon of peanut butter will satisfy for minimal calories. Be thoughtful about what you're eating and you can actually eat quite a lot.
It's also a bit of a brain game. If you're never used to actually being hungry then hunger pangs are a new experience. Many overweight people never allow themselves to get there because they are eating huge meals and having another one before the first one is fully digested. As I've been changing my way of eating for the past several years I recognized this in myself. You can begin to see the hunger pangs as a sign that your body is functioning as it should and relish (if not enjoy) the experience.
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Agree with being easy on yourself at first, and paying attention to see what causes you to feel more hungry or less hungry.
We can feel hungry not only because of actual need for calories, but also because of habit, stress, boredom, insufficient sleep, sub-optimal food choices, under-hydration, sub-optimal nutritional balance, and more. Try to figure out which is which, and deal with the non-food ones (habit, boredom, stress, sleep, hydration) in some way other than food.
Different people find different macronutrients (protein, fat, carbs) filling and satiating. Protein and fats are the most common satiators, but some people need carbs to feel full - often complex carbs like potatoes or grains, but not always. Other people get more cravings when they eat more carbs. We each have to experiment with our macros to figure it out. For some people, specific foods are necessary for satiation. Some common ones are things like veggies, oatmeal, apples, etc. Use your food log and daily experience to see what you've eaten when you feel more hungry or less hungry.
Some people find that high-volume foods are filling and satiating, even if they're low calorie. Some veggies are a good example of this, but there are other high-volume low-cal foods to try, like protein fluff. There's a volume eaters thread in the Food & Nutrition part of the forum that you can take a look at, if volume sounds good:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10563959/volume-eaters-thread
Another thing that can make a difference is timing of eating: 3 meals, 5 meals, one meal, snacks or not, which meal is biggest, that sort of thing. Again, no way to know except by experimenting, because it's very individual.
Some people feel more hungry when they exercise. Some feel less hungry when they exercise. For some people, the type of exercise makes a difference (say, hungry after running, but less hungry after weight training . . . or vice-versa). This is another thing to experiment with.
Sometimes, even things on the previous day seem to trigger hunger today, so think about that possibility as well.
What you're fundamentally trying to do is find a way of going through your day on fewer calories that works for you as an individual. We can give you ideas about what the variables may be, but since it's very individual, it'll require some thought and experimentation from you, for best results.
Best wishes!
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Grimmerick wrote: »evilsmudge wrote: »
72 hours is harsh lol, but technically around the time the body goes in starvation mode.evilsmudge wrote: »drink water and lots of it. hunger comes in waves but your body will adapt over time be-aware if you feed it every 2 hours it will expect to be fed every 2 hours. the harsh truth is unless your going long periods (16-72 hours) without food your not really hungry. hope this helps
Unless a person goes 3 days without food, they're not really hungry?
most likely a bad choice of words on my behalf, but i always thought that after several days of fasting, all cells in the body begin to break down protein. This releases amino acids into the bloodstream, which can be converted into glucose by the liver. Since much of our muscle mass is protein, this is responsible for the wasting away of muscle mass seen in starvation.1 -
evilsmudge wrote: »Grimmerick wrote: »evilsmudge wrote: »
72 hours is harsh lol, but technically around the time the body goes in starvation mode.evilsmudge wrote: »drink water and lots of it. hunger comes in waves but your body will adapt over time be-aware if you feed it every 2 hours it will expect to be fed every 2 hours. the harsh truth is unless your going long periods (16-72 hours) without food your not really hungry. hope this helps
Unless a person goes 3 days without food, they're not really hungry?
most likely a bad choice of words on my behalf, but i always thought that after several days of fasting, all cells in the body begin to break down protein. This releases amino acids into the bloodstream, which can be converted into glucose by the liver. Since much of our muscle mass is protein, this is responsible for the wasting away of muscle mass seen in starvation.
Umm I'm not sure why it says that I wrote the above quote, I think maybe you typed a little out of whack, no bigs, From what I have seen the definition of "starvation mode" is when your body starts burning less calories to conserve energy, which is not true. Hmm maybe my mfp is wonky because now it says that I wrote your quote.....weird.2 -
If I don't drink enough water I'm straving up your water.1
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MixedbarbieMOM1991 wrote: »If I don't drink enough water I'm straving up your water.
HUH? What does this mean?
It means people can't be bothered with spelling & punctuation on their phones. 5 -
DestinyGEC wrote: »The biggest problem I've noticed having when trying to lose weight, is fighting hunger pains. It might only be day one, but I have had them twice today and it's only 2:30pm. I've taken in about 1200cal, and have 800 left to go, which I plan to splurge on at dinner, because I live with a very picky eater. I'm just having a hard time keeping these pains away, and I'm curious to know if they are something else entirely apposed to hunger. Is it dehydration? I don't normally feel this way when I am, and I've had two glasses of water today. (I don't drink a lot in the first place)
2,000 cals should be plenty to keep you full throughout the day. I get hunger pains on prep, but I intake 1,400 and do 2-hours of lifts plus an hour of cardio some days. I usually quell them by drinking sparkling water or a Zevia cola because it's 0 cals and makes your stomach feel full. Definitely up your water, but the pains you're feeling don't really sound like hunger pain.0 -
You're doing better than me with 2 glasses of water. I'm alot worse. I literally have 3 drinks a day. Tea, juice and juice. Before it was a tea and diet coke. That sounds bad but for me that is pretty good. As before I ended up with kidney stones but drinking less than a cup of water per day. I find it so hard to drink when I'm not thirsty 1
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LynseyJane90 wrote: »You're doing better than me with 2 glasses of water. I'm alot worse. I literally have 3 drinks a day. Tea, juice and juice. Before it was a tea and diet coke. That sounds bad but for me that is pretty good. As before I ended up with kidney stones but drinking less than a cup of water per day. I find it so hard to drink when I'm not thirsty
you aren't 'not thirsty' you just don't recognise what thirst is.
there is nothing wrong with tea or diet coke by the way... its certainly better than nothing.2
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