Hungry Every Day
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StarBrightStarBright
Posts: 97 Member
I suspect I'm on the low end of calorie burning in general. I declared myself at maintenance 3 pounds over my goal weight because for six months I wasn't able to get any lower.
I stopped logging for a bit and sure enough my weight crept up about 4 pounds. I'm currently at 1460 for calorie allowance - that is what keeps me at 3 pounds over goal. Honestly y'all, I'm hungry all the time!
I've played with macros and that helped a little but I go to bed hungry every night when I'm trying to maintain.
I am lightly active (walk the dog a few miles a day, peddle around town on errands) but don't really have the facilities or time for weight training.
What else am I missing here? I believe in CICO but I always thought the right amount of calories for my body would leave me feeling good.
Height 5'6" . Current weight 147, goal 140. Perfect logging/eating gets me to 142.8 (at best).
I stopped logging for a bit and sure enough my weight crept up about 4 pounds. I'm currently at 1460 for calorie allowance - that is what keeps me at 3 pounds over goal. Honestly y'all, I'm hungry all the time!
I've played with macros and that helped a little but I go to bed hungry every night when I'm trying to maintain.
I am lightly active (walk the dog a few miles a day, peddle around town on errands) but don't really have the facilities or time for weight training.
What else am I missing here? I believe in CICO but I always thought the right amount of calories for my body would leave me feeling good.
Height 5'6" . Current weight 147, goal 140. Perfect logging/eating gets me to 142.8 (at best).
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Replies
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At your height and weight and activity level, your maintenance calories should be at least 2000. Do you have cheat days (will explain not losing weight)? Are you eating a lot of junkfood/drinking your calories (will explain hunger even on 2000 calories)?3
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Sounds very low. How long have you been eating 1400 cals?1
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When I'm tracking I don't have cheat days, other than I allow myself a single glass of wine or a beer on friday and saturday nights. I only drink water and coffee (other than the weekend glasses of wine) on a regular basis. An occasional cocktail is always logged. I sometimes use Huel as a meal replacement just because I often don't have time to eat breakfast on work days so I do drink that but I'm counting it.
I am generally a very healthy eater and 90% of our food is cooked from scratch by me.
I definitely cheat when I'm not tracking - not eating bad food. But eating until I'm full.
When I track my weight is very steady (if still not what I want it to be). If I don't track it takes a couple of months but my weight creeps right back up.0 -
You might need to reverse diet. My metabolism used to be really really slow (due to my ED) but over the years I've built it up by building muscle. People say that it doesn't make that much difference but building muscle is metabolically expensive. I can eat more now than I used to. It's worked for me so it might work for you. Also what kind of foods are you eating? Try eating more protein and fibre. I make sure to eat enough protein and that's how I managed to stay within my calories.10
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TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds very low. How long have you been eating 1400 cals?
hmm - I honestly can't remember. I think I started around 1500 calories when I started (starting weight was 155). but I've been at 1460 for well over a year.0 -
StarBrightStarBright wrote: »When I'm tracking I don't have cheat days, other than I allow myself a single glass of wine or a beer on friday and saturday nights. I only drink water and coffee (other than the weekend glasses of wine) on a regular basis. An occasional cocktail is always logged. I sometimes use Huel as a meal replacement just because I often don't have time to eat breakfast on work days so I do drink that but I'm counting it.
I am generally a very healthy eater and 90% of our food is cooked from scratch by me.
I definitely cheat when I'm not tracking - not eating bad food. But eating until I'm full.
When I track my weight is very steady (if still not what I want it to be). If I don't track it takes a couple of months but my weight creeps right back up.
So you've been on 1400 for a year, except when you don't track. How much of the year is tracked/not tracked?7 -
@TavistockToad - Sorry was misunderstanding you! I had excellent tracking from January 2017 until about June 2017. Then fell off for a couple months. Good tracking from August 2017 until May 2018. I started tracking again about a week ago.
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StarBrightStarBright wrote: »@TavistockToad - Sorry was misunderstanding you! I had excellent tracking from January 2017 until about June 2017. Then fell off for a couple months. Good tracking from August 2017 until May 2018. I started tracking again about a week ago.
And what was your calorie goal each time? And how much did you lose?4 -
StarBrightStarBright wrote: »@TavistockToad - Sorry was misunderstanding you! I had excellent tracking from January 2017 until about June 2017. Then fell off for a couple months. Good tracking from August 2017 until May 2018. I started tracking again about a week ago.
then give it more time. 1 week of tracking again isnt enough to see a change. its very easy to eat more than you think if you are not using a food scale .healthy eating and cooking from scratch mean nothing when it comes to weight loss. you need to be in a deficit. and if you have very little weight to lose its going to be very slow coming off. so give it more time and see what happens.every 6-8 weeks you should take whats called a diet break for a week or two. that can help with weight loss again once you go back to it. but it wont matter if you arent in a true deficit and with so little to lose you need to be as accurate as you can.7 -
Thanks guys - I'm not that worried about getting back down to 143. It is more that I am so hungry when I'm eating 1460 calories. I trust that 1460 will get me close to my goal weight, it just drains me going to bed hungry at night. I've never actually switched to maintenance calories because I've never actually hit my goal weight of 140.
So then I stop tracking thinking I have a good handle on it (because I maintain for months at a time) but I clearly gain over the course of a couple of months. In fact, the way I noticed that I had gained this time was I had a realization that I hadn't experienced hunger in a while, so I weighed myself and was up 5 pounds.
Tavistock - When I am tracking my calorie goal is 1460 and I maintain at between 142-145 on those calories. Technically it is still set to lose a half pound a week but I just don't drop under 142.
I think I'm frustrated that I might have to track AND be hungry for the rest of my life to maintain my weight.4 -
StarBrightStarBright wrote: »Thanks guys - I'm not that worried about getting back down to 143. It is more that I am so hungry when I'm eating 1460 calories. I trust that 1460 will get me close to my goal weight, it just drains me going to bed hungry at night. I've never actually switched to maintenance calories because I've never actually hit my goal weight of 140.
So then I stop tracking thinking I have a good handle on it (because I maintain for months at a time) but I clearly gain over the course of a couple of months. In fact, the way I noticed that I had gained this time was I had a realization that I hadn't experienced hunger in a while, so I weighed myself and was up 5 pounds.
Tavistock - When I am tracking my calorie goal is 1460 and I maintain at between 142-145 on those calories. Technically it is still set to lose a half pound a week but I just don't drop under 142.
I think I'm frustrated that I might have to track AND be hungry for the rest of my life to maintain my weight.
you also dont have one static number for weight. you have a weight range.weight fluctuates all the time. so you may just be seeing fluctuations and not actual weight gain. but if you havent lost anything in awhile you should take a diet break and then get back to it and when you do make sure you are as accurate as you can be with weighing all solids and semi solids on a food scale and give it time. weight loss is also not linear and the less you have to lose the slower its going to be.2 -
Are you weighing your foods? There can be a big caloric difference between weighing vs measuring. What types of foods are you eating? Perhaps you need more filling foods?2
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I am not weighing my foods. It is honestly the thing I've been avoiding for a while that I know I need to do! I've had problems with anxiety and obsessions every since I was a kid and weight related stuff is a huge trigger for me. I've been avoiding it.
I make a lot of from scratch meals. Tonight was breakfast for dinner for the family so I had a quarter serving of baked french toast (no syrup), one cup of fruit salad and a cup of siggi's skyr. I feel nicely full right now. I have 100 calories left for the day.
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StarBrightStarBright wrote: »I suspect I'm on the low end of calorie burning in general. I declared myself at maintenance 3 pounds over my goal weight because for six months I wasn't able to get any lower.
I stopped logging for a bit and sure enough my weight crept up about 4 pounds. I'm currently at 1460 for calorie allowance - that is what keeps me at 3 pounds over goal. Honestly y'all, I'm hungry all the time!
I've played with macros and that helped a little but I go to bed hungry every night when I'm trying to maintain.
I am lightly active (walk the dog a few miles a day, peddle around town on errands) but don't really have the facilities or time for weight training.
What else am I missing here? I believe in CICO but I always thought the right amount of calories for my body would leave me feeling good.
Height 5'6" . Current weight 147, goal 140. Perfect logging/eating gets me to 142.8 (at best).
Reverse diet to restore your metabolism.. look up some of Layne Norton's videos on YouTube . It's not worth being hungry every day and being at your goal weight then eating more and feeling better being 10 lbs above your goal weight6 -
StarBrightStarBright wrote: »I am not weighing my foods. It is honestly the thing I've been avoiding for a while that I know I need to do! I've had problems with anxiety and obsessions every since I was a kid and weight related stuff is a huge trigger for me. I've been avoiding it.
I make a lot of from scratch meals. Tonight was breakfast for dinner for the family so I had a quarter serving of baked french toast (no syrup), one cup of fruit salad and a cup of siggi's skyr. I feel nicely full right now. I have 100 calories left for the day.
that still doesnt say how much you ate a quarter serving of french toast is how many grams? how much was the egg you used for the french toast mix, how much did the bread weigh(no two slices will be the same)etc? how much was the cup of fruit salad? if you made it yourself how much was each fruit(for example how many grams of grapes? oranges?) and a cup of yogurt can be more or less than the label states. food labels can be off by up to 20% per serving.
its very easy to eat more than you think though. I have been there and done that. and if you have 100 calories left eat those too since you say you are often hungry your goal is to eat to your calories not be under it.6 -
moogie_fit wrote: »StarBrightStarBright wrote: »I suspect I'm on the low end of calorie burning in general. I declared myself at maintenance 3 pounds over my goal weight because for six months I wasn't able to get any lower.
I stopped logging for a bit and sure enough my weight crept up about 4 pounds. I'm currently at 1460 for calorie allowance - that is what keeps me at 3 pounds over goal. Honestly y'all, I'm hungry all the time!
I've played with macros and that helped a little but I go to bed hungry every night when I'm trying to maintain.
I am lightly active (walk the dog a few miles a day, peddle around town on errands) but don't really have the facilities or time for weight training.
What else am I missing here? I believe in CICO but I always thought the right amount of calories for my body would leave me feeling good.
Height 5'6" . Current weight 147, goal 140. Perfect logging/eating gets me to 142.8 (at best).
Reverse diet to restore your metabolism.. look up some of Layne Norton's videos on YouTube . It's not worth being hungry every day and being at your goal weight then eating more and feeling better being 10 lbs above your goal weight
you dont restore your metabolism. you reset your hormones and thats usually for those who have been dieting for a certain length of time. she stated she jut got back on to logging her food a week ago. but if shes been eating the 1460 for the last year then she may have whats called adaptive thermogenesis. your metabolism runs or it doesnt. it doesnt run out and you cant restore it. you can boost it with exercise and taking a diet break sure if thats what you mean by restore.2 -
StarBrightStarBright wrote: »I am not weighing my foods. It is honestly the thing I've been avoiding for a while that I know I need to do! I've had problems with anxiety and obsessions every since I was a kid and weight related stuff is a huge trigger for me. I've been avoiding it.
I make a lot of from scratch meals. Tonight was breakfast for dinner for the family so I had a quarter serving of baked french toast (no syrup), one cup of fruit salad and a cup of siggi's skyr. I feel nicely full right now. I have 100 calories left for the day.
also try higher fiber foods and maybe a little more protein? if that doesnt satiate you try more fats.maybe a balance of fats,carbs,protein and fiber? are you getting enough sleep? I know if I dont get enough sleep I am hungrier.2 -
This is what I believe is going on:
You are trying to eat 1400 calories, believing that is your maintenance level.
You don't use a food scale because you're scared about everything that has to do with food and weight, so you're eating more than you think you are.
You eat too little, and boring and unsatisfying food, so you feel resentful and want something else, or at least more.
You alternately undereat and overeat, which keeps your weight a little higher than you want it to be.
You have certain rules that don't work optimally for you - you have to eat breakfast, you should cook at home, that all foods you eat should be healthy.
This is what I would suggest:
Set a reasonable, middle of the road target, for instance 1800 calories, and aim to stick to that every day.
Weigh your food.
Work on your relationship with food. A healthy diet is balanced and varied. You can eat what you like. You can eat any time you like.20 -
StarBrightStarBright wrote: »I am not weighing my foods. It is honestly the thing I've been avoiding for a while that I know I need to do! I've had problems with anxiety and obsessions every since I was a kid and weight related stuff is a huge trigger for me. I've been avoiding it.
I make a lot of from scratch meals. Tonight was breakfast for dinner for the family so I had a quarter serving of baked french toast (no syrup), one cup of fruit salad and a cup of siggi's skyr. I feel nicely full right now. I have 100 calories left for the day.
you're not eatign 1400 cals then.
buy some scales, weigh and measure your 1400 cals for 4-6 weeks and you'll almost certainly lose weight.12 -
^^^^ This
In addition:
Do you use another method of logging, because excluding yesterday I can't see where you've logged any of your meals? Also, looking at yesterday: a quarter of a slice of french toast? "1 slice" of a cherry clafoutis? These are somewhat suspicious entries, and are quite probably off. There's also a lot of calorie dense food: French Toast, Lots of Fruit, Cherry Clafoutis. They give you lots of calories for not a lot of volume. Also I'm seeing virtually no vegetables which are good at giving you lots of volume for calories, and fibre which can fill you up.6
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