Always want more food

I think a lot of people have this issue. I feel this way when I'm eating something I don't really want, such as when I try to substitute a lower calorie option for a higher calorie food I'm truly craving. In the end, I do better when I just eat the thing I'm craving in an amount that fits my calories.

Beyond that, many people who experience this find that protein, fat, and/or fiber help them feel satiated. Some people find certain carbs, especially potatoes, to be satiating. There are also folks who feel satiated when they eat a large volume of food, such as a huge serving of low calorie vegetables. Which one(s) work for you is something you would need to figure out through trial and error.

I COULD eat more every single day. I WANT to eat more a lot of days. I actually do eat more than I need to maintain sometimes but not that often. So I’m right there with you, OP. I can say it has gotten easier (the mental part, wanting) very slowly over time.

Actually, this conversation has got me thinking. I've always been the same with eating so I wonder if I've actually not been over eating but instead, under eating. They say not eating enough calories can put weight on but I never believed it although now I'm actually considering that possibility. I'm rather active due to my circumstances so I'd be burning off calories and not eating enough could be the reason why I'm also feeling exhausted constantly over the last 2 years. So perhaps, I need to use this app in reverse; use it to see how many calories I need to force myself to eat rather than not. 🤔

Not necessarily. As stated in my comment, I don't eat often. According to this, it is a big possibility:

"When your calorie intake is too low, you may not get all the nutrients your body needs. Additionally, your body's natural response to a decrease in food can lead to your body's metabolism slowing so that your body can conserve energy. In the long run, this slowing metabolism can lead to weight gain."

Also, I have no idea what you mean by starvation mode.

OP - yes, I can always eat more. Always. I like feeling full. And I eat far too fast. I have kinda found out by trial and error how to keep myself fuller for longer. It’s definitely protein that fills me up and fruit and veg.

I also find a lot of cardio makes me ravenous and I tend to overeat if u do long sessions.

GlobeYack wrote: »

Actually, this conversation has got me thinking. I've always been the same with eating so I wonder if I've actually not been over eating but instead, under eating. They say not eating enough calories can put weight on but I never believed it although now I'm actually considering that possibility. I'm rather active due to my circumstances so I'd be burning off calories and not eating enough could be the reason why I'm also feeling exhausted constantly over the last 2 years. So perhaps, I need to use this app in reverse; use it to see how many calories I need to force myself to eat rather than not. 🤔

It is possible to under-eat to the point where you become exhausted and do less, so burn fewer calories, slowing weight loss compared to what the rate loss rate "should" be at a normal activity level. Some of the "do less" may be more visible, some of it more subtle and hard to see. The subtle and hard to see parts (which some refer to as "slowed metabolism") are a relatively small amount of calories, in the larger scheme.

For many people, there's probably some reasonable calorie range where energy stays pretty good, so activity level stays up, but weight loss occurs at about the best rate that person can achieve at the time: A caloric sweet spot, if you will.

It's never the case that someone eating fewer calories than they actually need at that point will stop losing weight (fat or lean tissue, in this case). It may be the case that eating less than some ideal amount will lead to water retention, which is a different thing entirely, even thought it's still technically scale weight.

If you, personally, have been exhausted for 2 years, (1) see your doctor for relevant blood tests, because a nutritional deficiency or thyroid condition (among other things) can have this effect, and you need to rule those out first, then (2) if everything on that front looks optimal, then sure, bump your calorie level up a little (100 calories or so daily), do that for a month or so, and see if things improve. If you don't see an increased rate of weight gain, but don't feel better, increase again, and repeat those steps until you get reasonable data.

If you're not tracking as accurately as possible (food and activity, including food scale) while you do this, it's pretty much a stab in the dark, so track accurately if you want to know what's going on. I don't know details about you, but frequently when people report this sort of thing (other people, other threads) the root problem turns out to be either logging inaccuracies day to day, or unreported over-goal days (plus denial), or something along those lines.

None of that seems to have much to do with the OP's question, though.

It depends on what kind of foods we're talking about. Put veggies on my plate and yes, I can eat just one. But cookies, or anything that's junky, sweet, filled with @rap, I could finish it all off with no problem. So it's not hunger that's my issue, it's carbs and needing to eat to fill a void of some kind.