Not hungry but deficit is too big

sarko15
sarko15 Posts: 330 Member
edited October 2019 in Health and Weight Loss
This time around, I've allowed myself a fairly lenient calorie goal which has resulted in weight loss (though slow) and absolutely zero hunger. I don't usually have a hard time keeping under my goal or at the very least under maintenance on those days where I do go over. I've also been upping my protein significantly (as in, from maybe 30-40g to 90g) as I've been lifting and would like to focus on body comp once I can get my body fat % down a little.

However, my appetite has been changing and I find myself satisfied with much less, and some days I have a 1000 deficit. I only have about 10-15 lbs to lose and am mostly just focusing on body fat, so I know that is a pretty aggressive deficit for me. The thing is, some days it feels just fine, mostly on long cardio days. Should I eat more even when I'm satisfied to lessen my deficit, or should I just eat until I'm satisfied? Will I lose muscle if my deficit is too large?

Stats: female, 5'3", 32% bf, 148 lbs down from 157 lbs, GW1 is 140 lbs, GW2 is 135 lbs. Currently eating 1460 calories and eating half my exercise calories back (4-5x a week, lifting and LISS cardio).

Replies

  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    If you are wanting more calories try small additions of high calorie items. 1-2tbsp of not butter in a protein shake, cheese with your fruit or veggie snack, higher calorie dressings or dips(full fat, things with avocado, etc). Use higher fat dairy, add nuts and seeds to a salad. You don’t have to completely change your food choices just add small things to them or choose very similar item with higher calorie counts.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Are you using a food scale to weigh ALL your food? Most people who don’t use a food scale are eating more than they think they are.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    That’s where I am right now. Not often, but today. I’m still short 302 calories. Trying to think of something calorically dense. Maybe peanuts? And another decaf w/milk. Probably will get close.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    You are doing great in so many areas! Yes you should eat to the MFP calorie goal and yes you’ll lose too much muscle with such a large deficit. With 10-15 lbs to go, you’d deficit should be about 250 for .5 lb per week. When you stop at 1,000 cal deficit, that’s 4x what is recommended! It’s not that hard to add healthy fats to your diet to get the needed calories. Butter, olive oil, peanuts butter, avocado, etc
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    Before increasing the amount you eat you really need to determine accurately how much you are eating and burning. To work this out work out how much on average you are losing a week by looking at your weight loss over the previous 4-6 weeks. As a female, you want at least 1 full menstrual cycle to iron out water weight fluctuations as a result of hormones. If this loss is only around 1 pound a week, you are either eating more than you think and/or burning less than you think. If this is the case then tighten up on your logging. If you are losing over 1 pound a week add some calorie-dense foods as previously mentioned.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    Uhh..... the flashing light for me here is the increased protein. Protein WILL lower the hunger level in most people. I have seen studies in Ad Librium eating that shows anywhere between a 450 calorie decrease in intake average bmi 27, to 1000 cals a day in grossly obese.
  • sarko15
    sarko15 Posts: 330 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    Are you using a food scale to weigh ALL your food? Most people who don’t use a food scale are eating more than they think they are.

    Probably 80% of the time, yeah. The other 20% is when I'm using the measurements on the package.
  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
    sarko15 wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    Are you using a food scale to weigh ALL your food? Most people who don’t use a food scale are eating more than they think they are.

    Probably 80% of the time, yeah. The other 20% is when I'm using the measurements on the package.

    Pre-packaged foods can be ~20% off of the info on their labels. Weight everything possible!

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