My husbands hungry all the time.

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nataliew12
nataliew12 Posts: 32 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
We are counting calories and my husband tries to stick to his allotment but he is hungry all the time and has no energy. What would be some low cal foods he can eat to keep him feeling full? Thank you!
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  • nataliew12
    nataliew12 Posts: 32 Member
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    Thank you for the reply! We just went to myfitness pal and plugged in the weight, how much to lose, etc and it shows the calories to eat daily. He eats over about the recommended calories and eats foods he likes and hes' still hungry. He's not counting macros, don't even know how to do it haha. I think we'll look for a different plan.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,429 Member
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    How long have y'all been at it? If it's several weeks, how much weight has he actually lost? The estimated intake MFP gives you to lose weight really is just an estimate: Some people lose faster than expected (and some people target a faster loss than they ought to). Under-eating can cause fatigue and weakness. (He should not be losing, or trying to lose, more than 1% of his body weight per week, and slower than that may be better if he has less than 50 pounds to lose).

    If he's just starting, looking at what he's eating could help (different people find different things filling, or that a different timing of eating is more satiating, plus nutrition can matter as noted above). Getting enough protein helps some, relatively more fat helps others, still others need high volume/high fiber foods to feel full, etc.

    However, some people do have a brief period right at first for a week or two where they feel hungrier, with new eating habits, then get more adjusted as time goes on.
  • nataliew12
    nataliew12 Posts: 32 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    How long have y'all been at it? If it's several weeks, how much weight has he actually lost? The estimated intake MFP gives you to lose weight really is just an estimate: Some people lose faster than expected (and some people target a faster loss than they ought to). Under-eating can cause fatigue and weakness. (He should not be losing, or trying to lose, more than 1% of his body weight per week, and slower than that may be better if he has less than 50 pounds to lose).

    If he's just starting, looking at what he's eating could help (different people find different things filling, or that a different timing of eating is more satiating, plus nutrition can matter as noted above). Getting enough protein helps some, relatively more fat helps others, still others need high volume/high fiber foods to feel full, etc.

    However, some people do have a brief period right at first for a week or two where they feel hungrier, with new eating habits, then get more adjusted as time goes on.

    We just started it 2 days ago. Today has been the worse day feeling hungrier. I told him he needs to eat more protein to keep him fuller. So he's been eating more eggs and meat but not sure if that is healthy to eat daily. He also tried eating a potato with his meal to see if that helps his hunger. Thank you for your reply!
  • nataliew12
    nataliew12 Posts: 32 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Just a thought -- are you sure you didn't accidentally enter your information (height, weight, etc.) instead of his to get his recommended calories? You each have your own individual calorie goals, right?

    YEs he created his own account and put in his weight, height etc and his goal .
  • nataliew12
    nataliew12 Posts: 32 Member
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    crazykatlady820 wrote: »
    I don’t know how long he’s been at it or what his calorie goal is. That being said, I would still like to offer some advice. When I first started out I actually ate at maintenance for a few weeks before even going into a calorie deficit. Then, I eased into that deficit a little bit at a time instead of going balls to the wall. I also allowed myself to eat at maintenance on the days that I struggled and felt hungry. I still do that quite often actually. It keeps me sane and makes this sustainable for me. I’ve stayed with it for almost a year now and I’ve lost 90 pounds. I’ve never made it this far and I know it’s because I’m not all hungry and miserable.

    Ok i'll tell him to try that! Thank you!
  • nataliew12
    nataliew12 Posts: 32 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Weight loss is size of deficit over time.

    A small deficit applied for a long period of time works much better than a large deficit you fail to apply.

    Adjust. Type of food, quantity, calories...

    And don't make things harder than they have to be :smile:

    I told him he needs to eat more protein even if he goes over his calorie goal for now until he gets adjusted. I think thats what he's going to start doing.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited September 2018
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    If he is hungry all the time and low energy the answer isnt low calorie foods....it is eating more calories. The trick to a successful diet is sustainability transitioning into maintenance...not sprinting while gritting your teeth through the pain.

    Generic advice would be for hunger go protein....for low energy go carbs. For both I'd say up overall calories and eat s ok nothing like a lean chicken breast pasta with sauce or something. Chicken for long term satiety ..pasta for energy.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    edited September 2018
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    nataliew12 wrote: »
    We just started it 2 days ago. Today has been the worse day feeling hungrier. I told him he needs to eat more protein to keep him fuller. So he's been eating more eggs and meat but not sure if that is healthy to eat daily. He also tried eating a potato with his meal to see if that helps his hunger. Thank you for your reply!

    There are other sources of protein that he can add other than meat and eggs. The other thing he might tweak is fat - if he's going very low fat, increasing the grams of fat might help. I find that if I am heavy on the carb side and low on the protein/fat side, I tend to experience more hunger during the day.

    He might also look at when he's eating - I've found a pattern that works for me: breakfast, then a protein-heavy late morning snack, no lunch, and then dinner plus an evening snack with protein in it. We don't have to have three meals, we can split up our calories in whatever way works best for us.

    I get a little hungry if I haven't eaten for a while and then I know, it's time for a snack or meal. Part of the journey I think is learning to recognize when we're getting hungry, eating and enjoying our food to satisfy our hunger, and recognizing when we're satisfied and stopping rather than continuing to eat because of whatever food-related scripts we have in our heads.
  • 12Sarah2015
    12Sarah2015 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    Nothing wrong with eggs. I eat up to two daily and it fills me up
  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    These are my really general tips for hunger:

    1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    2. Try different macros. A lot of people look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below. Others feel better with high volume, higher carb diets. That's okay, too. See what makes him feel best.

    3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

    4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

    5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

    6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

    7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

    THIS. Also, it's been two days. The beginning is very much an adjustment and finding the patience can be scary. If your body is used to always being satisfied at the bare minimum and frequently over filled (that sounds more awful than I mean it. What many of us have done in the past to gain the weight was to overfill the tank and never let the tank get below half empty before we filled it again.), the idea of being hungry is scary. Your body needs time to get used to relearning actual hunger cues.

    I don't know if you've ever had a new to you car, but if you have, think about your gas tank. When you first got the car, you wouldn't let it get below a quarter tank because you weren't sure how far that would get you and whether you could make it to a gas station or not. Then, you own the car for a year or two and you know how far that gas will get you. You'll let that low fuel light come on. Once or twice you've rolled into a gas station at crazy low levels! It's the same with your body. We all need to be able to learn how to accurately read our gas tank. When your body gets to a quarter tank, you've still got some gas left. Let your low fuel light come on because your body will learn to alert you when you actually need to refuel.

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