Hunger after eating

ash1864
ash1864 Posts: 24 Member
edited December 19 in Health and Weight Loss
So after I eat pretty much any meal, but mostly my evening meal, I get hungry about 2 hours afterward. I am using MFP to lose weight, and this has been going on for a few months now.

I exercise between 3-5 times per week doing zumba and other classes.

I eat between 1300-1400 calories per day, a varied and healthy diet, with the occasional treats. But, my main problem is the hunger after I've eaten and I should feel full.

I drink 2-3 litres of water a day and I'm not bored and I get enough sleep.

The main annoyance for me is if I ignore the hunger it becomes painful and I have to have a small snack, mostly late at night, when I've already consumed my daily calorie intake. This means I'm going over my calories allowance, which is fine sometimes, but not most days when trying to lose a few pounds!

Do I just have a fast metabolism or could this be something else?

Replies

  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Are you eating your exercise calories?
  • ash1864
    ash1864 Posts: 24 Member
    No, I don't eat them because I want a defecit to lose weight. But if I eat at night due to still being hungry, then yes.
  • ash1864
    ash1864 Posts: 24 Member
    But, certainly not all of the calories
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    ash1864 wrote: »
    No, I don't eat them because I want a defecit to lose weight. But if I eat at night due to still being hungry, then yes.

    MFP is built to include your exercise calories as part of your intake. So yes, you should be eating your exercise calories, especially if you're hungry.

    What she said. You need to eat your exercise calories.
  • ash1864
    ash1864 Posts: 24 Member
    Will this still result in weightloss?
    I burn between 400-600 calories per workout, but I wouldn't want to eat all of these.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    ash1864 wrote: »
    Will this still result in weightloss?
    I burn between 400-600 calories per workout, but I wouldn't want to eat all of these.

    Yes that's the way the system works. As far as eating them all, some eat half or 75% as there are fluctuations in how much burned.

    You have to adjust as you go and see what works for you.
  • ash1864
    ash1864 Posts: 24 Member
    Thank you!!
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    ash1864 wrote: »
    Will this still result in weightloss?
    I burn between 400-600 calories per workout, but I wouldn't want to eat all of these.

    Depending on the intensity of your workout and how you're calculating your calorie burn, these numbers may or may not be accurate. MFP is designed for you to eat back all of your exercise calories, but that assumes that your calorie burn is calculated correctly. Some calculators overstate exercise calorie burns. Start by eating back half of your exercise calories, do that for a while, and adjust based on whether your weight loss is proceeding faster, slower, or at the expected pace.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited January 2019
    ash1864 wrote: »
    No, I don't eat them because I want a defecit to lose weight. But if I eat at night due to still being hungry, then yes.

    MFP gives you what to eat to loose weight. the 1300-1400 calories IS what to eat TO loose weight - before exercise. if you work out you are INCREASING the deficit (which is not necessarily good - as you can see you are starving and too quick a loss isn't good for your body).

    start by eating half those exercise calories. they can be over estimated so eating half is a good place to start. see if you feel better (hungry wise) and monitor your progress on the scale.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    As others have posted, your calorie target already factors in a deficit, so exercising increases your deficit (not just creates one). Eating some of those calories back will keep you from eating too little and running into fatigue, hunger, and other health issues.

    For example, an MFP calorie goal of 1200 per day plus 400 exercise calories means you're only eating 800 calories which is WAY too low. However, eating back those calories will keep you on target for the rate of loss you chose when you set your MFP calorie goal. It is a bit of trial and error on how many of those extra calories to eat back, but the trick is to be able to eat as much as possible and still lose at an appropriate rate (which will depend on your current body weight > desired body weight and the time it takes to get there in a healthy way).
  • ajwcyclist2016
    ajwcyclist2016 Posts: 161 Member
    edited January 2019
    Even if you eat your exercise calories in you will still loose weight. Is it just on the days you exercise that you're extra hungry? Why not have a low calorie snack with a bit of protein that will aid recovery. Then that way it helps keep your meals simple and you're not have to change how you've being doing your meals
  • ash1864
    ash1864 Posts: 24 Member
    When I exercise it certainly increases my hunger. I'll definitely try eating half my exercise calories if I'm still hungry.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    ash1864 wrote: »
    When I exercise it certainly increases my hunger. I'll definitely try eating half my exercise calories if I'm still hungry.

    If you are accurately calculating both your exercise calories and your food intake (i.e., you're using a food scale), then you are going to be significantly undereating if you don't routinely eat back your exercise calories.

    The minimum recommended calorie intake for a woman is 1200 not counting exercise. 1200 is generally only appropriate for people who are very short, sedentary, and/or older.

    If you eat 1400 calories and burn 600, then you've only given your body 800 calories for its basic non-exercise functions. That's far too low.

    Make sure your food intake is accurate by using a food scale. Eat back at least half of your exercise calories; if you begin losing weight faster than expected, then eat more of your exercise calories. If you aren't hungry but have a lot of calories left over, add low-volume food like nut butter or oil to make sure you're getting at least the minimum number of calories you need.
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