Still Hungry...

Hello everyone.
I'm quite shy when it comes to message boards, so bear with me.

Lately, I just can't stay full :/
I'm on 1,450 calories a day, and usually get an extra 180-ish from going for my walks every day (walk 2.64 K)
I weigh (roughly) 185 lbs. (This down from 230, so I'm doing pretty good!)

Winter has set in here, and within the last two weeks, I've found I'm unreasonably hungry. I almost go over my calorie limit constantly, whereas before during the summer I was getting hell from the app for under-eating. I tried adjusting my diet - more protein, fiber, etc. Satiating foods that last longer. Should've worked, right?
Wrong! At most they give me an extra thirty minutes.
I go through the day constantly hungry, and it's getting to me.

My breakfast this morning, alone, was five hundred calories. I had two cups of water, a cup of coffee, a half cup of porridge with two slices of apple and cinnamon, and, after that didn't fill me up, two slices of whole wheat toast with protein-infused nut butter.

Yesterday I made a two egg omelette with low fat mozza, mushrooms, and a crumbled stick of bacon. Still didn't work.

There's no reason I should be this hungry! Consistently! I'm sitting here and my stomach is growling like crazy.

I'm at a loss. This hunger is getting unbearable, and I don't know what to do. I'm also terrified of putting the weight back on. Any exercise I do to give myself more leeway just gets consumed because I'm so freakishly hungry. I snacked on carrot sticks the other day and it still wasn't cutting it.

Am I the only person going through this right now? Is there anything I can do to fix it? I mentioned this to my parents and they're both finding they're not staying full like usual. Is it something in the air/environment?

...help?
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Replies

  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    edited December 2020
    I find I cope better when I do not start eating when I get up as that seems to start a craving for food that lasts all day and can get unbearable. And worse, if I do then eat it does not make the craving for more and more food go away even if I was to eat to the point of near explosion.

    I don't think I have ever found a food that "satiates". :/

    So.... I do IF and fast three days a week (600 cals) and on those days having nothing at all until the evening but on my four days where I have calories to play with my first meal is around 2pm.

    Sure I get hungry but I have just learnt to put up with it. Also, worth mentioning is that I never snack because I am hungry. I plan my calories for the day before I eat anything and stick to it ridgely.

    I do have the occasional treat day of course, I have been doing this since August 2019 so would go mad otherwise, but they are planned too.

    Meanwhile, I drink a lot! I start the day with green tea, move on to black coffee and then to decaff black coffee. I also drink no-added-sugar squash, fruit tea and occasionally Lady Grey black tea. I try to find different options and flavours to keep my interest and it works well for me as a substitute for eating.

    I have lost 8 stone so far with at least 1 to go so hang in there!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,745 Member
    Are you sitting more than usual? I find that when I am less active, I get bored and I get hungry. If I exercise, I don't have time to start thinking about what I want to eat. I sometimes find that when it's cold my body wants more food. If I eat warm foods like soup and oatmeal, that helps. As Jane said above it may also just be that you've been undereating for a while and your body is craving nourishment. Maybe try eating at maintenance for a week or so and then go to a less aggressive weight loss goal.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,846 Member
    Eating at maintenance for a while might help reset your hunger cues, if you've been eating at a deficit for a long time.

    Depending on the rate at which you are currently losing weight, you could lower your weight loss rate so your calorie goal is higher (with or without eating at maintenance for a while).

    I find intermittent fasting useful too sometimes, but a very 'light' version: skipping breakfast leaves me with more calories for the other meals. (But if this makes you even more hungry, it might not be the right strategy for you)
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
    Have you tried eating more calories? Whats you weight loss rate? How active are you?

    Im 185, eating 2400 cals, and still losing.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    Funny you mention this, because it seems like every Fall I get hungry and want to eat everything not nailed down. It's like I'm a bear trying to store away food for the winter months or something! But it's every year like clockwork! This is the time of year I ALWAYS get into trouble, then in the spring get bummed and have to lose it back again. So trying to break the cycle this time around.

    Having low cal snacks helps (cheese, nuts, etc). Fruit works for like maybe an hour tops and then I'm right back to being starving. Water helps. Taking a short walk when I'm hungry also takes the edge off. Not sure why. Exercising in the morning really helps because I get that extra allowance of calories during my day too.

    But you're not alone. It's 11:00AM here and I'm already eyeing my lunch like a ravenous animal... :)
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,075 Member
    Things will be very individual, but I've noticed a few trends for myself:

    1. When the days get shorter and especially when the temperatures start to drop, my cravings for fattening/comfort foods increases exponentially. Finding healthier alternatives helps, but doesn't fully solve the issue.
    2. I found a lower carb, higher protein/fat diet really helped me overcome plateaus and stay in my calorie range - however, it took about 2 weeks of eating at a lower carb before the hangries started to dissipate and I could see the pattern (I'd still feel "hungry" when I was done with my meal, but 30 minutes later I'd have no desire for more food). One meal didn't make a hill-o-beans difference, neither did one-off days - I had to stick with it for a couple weeks.
    3. Evaluate your exercise vs your intake and perhaps an adjustment needs to be made, or switch up your exercise to include more ST training, and less "cardio" type training (cardio makes me ravenous - way more than the calories I burn).
    4. I like savory foods, so I keep pickles and olives around to nibble on. Veggies are a great thing to nibble on, but I do not find them satisfying in terms of hunger (or not for long).
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    Another vote for a diet break. You have made fantastic progress, and it sounds like you are overdue for one. So helpful for so many reasons -- re-balancing hormones, practicing maintenance, mental break...

    Also, you SHOULD expect to lessen your deficit to slow your rate of loss as you near goal. Maybe it's time?

    In terms of satiety, which as others have said is highly individual, I do best with my first meal being late morning and high fat/mod protein. When I have porridge, fruit and toast at breakfast, I'm ravenous all day. I love them and eat them a lot, but as afternoon snacks, not first thing.

    Good luck with some minor adjustments! You're doing great!
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 858 Member
    What's your nutrition looking like lately, especially your macros? Whenever I find myself insatiably hungry, it's usually because I'm running low on fats, protein, or some other nutrient like magnesium or B vitamins.

    It could also just be that your preferred macros aren't working for you right now. Your carbs/proteins/fats from the summer may not be working for you in the winter. I know that I usually eat more carbs and less fats in the summer, because I'm active and snack on volume foods like raw fruit and veg a lot. In the winter, I'm more likely to focus on proteins and fats because I'm moving less and want to stay full longer because I'm in school all day.

    If nothing else, there's no shame in having a set amount of time (say, anywhere from a week to a month) where you eat at maintenance. You've come a long way! Your body may just want to get used to its new 'normal' for a bit before changing again :)
  • taramont45
    taramont45 Posts: 9 Member
    Are you sitting more than usual? I find that when I am less active, I get bored and I get hungry. If I exercise, I don't have time to start thinking about what I want to eat. I sometimes find that when it's cold my body wants more food. If I eat warm foods like soup and oatmeal, that helps. As Jane said above it may also just be that you've been undereating for a while and your body is craving nourishment. Maybe try eating at maintenance for a week or so and then go to a less aggressive weight loss goal.

    Not really, I haven't been sitting any more than I usually do. :( It's why I'm super confused.
  • taramont45
    taramont45 Posts: 9 Member
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    Another vote for a diet break. You have made fantastic progress, and it sounds like you are overdue for one. So helpful for so many reasons -- re-balancing hormones, practicing maintenance, mental break...

    Also, you SHOULD expect to lessen your deficit to slow your rate of loss as you near goal. Maybe it's time?

    In terms of satiety, which as others have said is highly individual, I do best with my first meal being late morning and high fat/mod protein. When I have porridge, fruit and toast at breakfast, I'm ravenous all day. I love them and eat them a lot, but as afternoon snacks, not first thing.

    Good luck with some minor adjustments! You're doing great!

    I'm still so far from my goal weight, though. I'm trying to get down to 150 so I'm at least no longer morbidly obese and I can feel somewhat good about myself. And the weird thing is that usually porridge, fruit, toast etc is what I usually eat and it lasts me until dinner. I very rarely snack at all.
    It's just this super random spike of absolutely stupid hunger driving me crazy. And it's taking everything four of me not to snap.
    I'm counting the hours down until I can eat supper. Keep glancing at my clock. It's getting ridiculous.
  • taramont45
    taramont45 Posts: 9 Member
    LenGray wrote: »
    What's your nutrition looking like lately, especially your macros? Whenever I find myself insatiably hungry, it's usually because I'm running low on fats, protein, or some other nutrient like magnesium or B vitamins.

    It could also just be that your preferred macros aren't working for you right now. Your carbs/proteins/fats from the summer may not be working for you in the winter. I know that I usually eat more carbs and less fats in the summer, because I'm active and snack on volume foods like raw fruit and veg a lot. In the winter, I'm more likely to focus on proteins and fats because I'm moving less and want to stay full longer because I'm in school all day.

    If nothing else, there's no shame in having a set amount of time (say, anywhere from a week to a month) where you eat at maintenance. You've come a long way! Your body may just want to get used to its new 'normal' for a bit before changing again :)

    I always try and keep my macros about 50% carb, 20% fat 30% protein. Sometimes I go over the carb or fat limits, but it's rare.
    It's really weird though because this was never really a problem up until about a week ago. :(( Now I'm watching the clock waiting until it's 4:30 ish to 5 so I can eat an early supper.
  • taramont45
    taramont45 Posts: 9 Member
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    Another vote for a diet break. You have made fantastic progress, and it sounds like you are overdue for one. So helpful for so many reasons -- re-balancing hormones, practicing maintenance, mental break...

    Also, you SHOULD expect to lessen your deficit to slow your rate of loss as you near goal. Maybe it's time?

    In terms of satiety, which as others have said is highly individual, I do best with my first meal being late morning and high fat/mod protein. When I have porridge, fruit and toast at breakfast, I'm ravenous all day. I love them and eat them a lot, but as afternoon snacks, not first thing.

    Good luck with some minor adjustments! You're doing great!

    Unfortunately I'm nowhere near my goal weight (150) :( but I have made progress, and I'm terrified of gaining it back. My metabolism is naturally stupidly low. One of those people who looks at a cookie and gains seventy pounds instantly.

    As for food: tat's the weird thing: I'm usually easily filled until lunch by porridge. But like everything else, it's just not sticking. I'm not particularly active: I go for a walk every day. And the rest it's mostly moving around in general.
    Nothing has changed in my day to day habits. But I'm starved. I'm sitting here waiting for 4:40 to roll around so I can have an early supper. I've already eaten an entire can of vegetable soup for lunch and have no more room to spare, calorie wise.

    I just don't know...
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    briscogun wrote: »
    Having low cal snacks helps (cheese, nuts, etc)
    In what world are cheese and nuts low calorie snacks 😛
    Highly individual too, which snacks are satiating. I don't find nuts very filling at all when I have to limit them to a sensible amount, the calories add up very quickly.

    agreed........
    sijomial wrote: »
    taramont45 wrote: »
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    Another vote for a diet break. You have made fantastic progress, and it sounds like you are overdue for one. So helpful for so many reasons -- re-balancing hormones, practicing maintenance, mental break...

    Also, you SHOULD expect to lessen your deficit to slow your rate of loss as you near goal. Maybe it's time?

    In terms of satiety, which as others have said is highly individual, I do best with my first meal being late morning and high fat/mod protein. When I have porridge, fruit and toast at breakfast, I'm ravenous all day. I love them and eat them a lot, but as afternoon snacks, not first thing.

    Good luck with some minor adjustments! You're doing great!

    I'm still so far from my goal weight, though. I'm trying to get down to 150 so I'm at least no longer morbidly obese and I can feel somewhat good about myself. And the weird thing is that usually porridge, fruit, toast etc is what I usually eat and it lasts me until dinner. I very rarely snack at all.
    It's just this super random spike of absolutely stupid hunger driving me crazy. And it's taking everything four of me not to snap.
    I'm counting the hours down until I can eat supper. Keep glancing at my clock. It's getting ridiculous.


    The problem with white-knuckling your weight loss is sooner or later your grip will fail.
    Eating at maintenance for a couple of weeks is far better than "snapping".

    It's not a defeat to take a diet break, it's just a method to consolidate the progress you have made to date and to ensure long term adherence.

    My thoughts exactly. Break time. Increase calories. I think you have been massively undereating personally. 10x bw is roughly RMR. Use MFP's suggested calories and trend weights. Scale may jump up quick at first. Will be water weight and poop. I would suggest an 8 week stabilization track and then reassess is you want to continue losing.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    briscogun wrote: »
    Having low cal snacks helps (cheese, nuts, etc)
    In what world are cheese and nuts low calorie snacks 😛
    Highly individual too, which snacks are satiating. I don't find nuts very filling at all when I have to limit them to a sensible amount, the calories add up very quickly.

    Ok good point. I guess I just have small portions to tide me over. So maybe 100-200 calories?
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    briscogun wrote: »
    Lietchi wrote: »
    briscogun wrote: »
    Having low cal snacks helps (cheese, nuts, etc)
    In what world are cheese and nuts low calorie snacks 😛
    Highly individual too, which snacks are satiating. I don't find nuts very filling at all when I have to limit them to a sensible amount, the calories add up very quickly.

    Ok good point. I guess I just have small portions to tide me over. So maybe 100-200 calories?

    I’m with you. They’re not considered low calorie foods, but a stalk of celery and 30 calories of low fat cheese takes the edge off for me for an hour or so. If I’m craving sweets, 4 almonds eaten one at a time satisfies me until the “really, really want”s pass.
    Maybe we’re just outliers.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    I also say eat. Your body is telling you something. But I suggest eating at maintenance for a few days. Set a day right now that you will go back to a deficit. For instance, Friday. Flip over to Friday food diary now and prelog what you might eat to stay in your calorie deficit. By doing this, you know you’re not falling off the wagon, you’re not giving up, you’re not going to gain back all that you’ve lost, because you’re still in control. You might even prelog Saturday and Sunday if it makes you feel better.

    As someone above said, your weight is gonna go a little crazy for a few days. It’s just adjusting to a new normal. It will settle back down soon.

    It’s also a good time to reassess. You have some great suggestions about considering macro changes, slowing down your speed of weight loss, etc. Also a good time to seriously think about what maintenance will be like.

    Good luck!
  • AshHeartsJesus
    AshHeartsJesus Posts: 460 Member
    Here are some ideas for breakfast

    Egg white scramble= 3 or 4 egg whites with 1 whole egg, 1 piece of toast, and coffee
    Sugar free french toast= 2 pieces low cal bread soaked in egg whites stevia and cinnamon
    Maybe a savory oatmeal with egg would be more filling

    Look up anabolic recipes it might help curb your hunger just watch your calories close

    LORD JESUS bless
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,258 Member
    taramont45 wrote: »
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    Another vote for a diet break. You have made fantastic progress, and it sounds like you are overdue for one. So helpful for so many reasons -- re-balancing hormones, practicing maintenance, mental break...

    Also, you SHOULD expect to lessen your deficit to slow your rate of loss as you near goal. Maybe it's time?

    In terms of satiety, which as others have said is highly individual, I do best with my first meal being late morning and high fat/mod protein. When I have porridge, fruit and toast at breakfast, I'm ravenous all day. I love them and eat them a lot, but as afternoon snacks, not first thing.

    Good luck with some minor adjustments! You're doing great!

    I'm still so far from my goal weight, though. I'm trying to get down to 150 so I'm at least no longer morbidly obese and I can feel somewhat good about myself. And the weird thing is that usually porridge, fruit, toast etc is what I usually eat and it lasts me until dinner. I very rarely snack at all.
    It's just this super random spike of absolutely stupid hunger driving me crazy. And it's taking everything four of me not to snap.
    I'm counting the hours down until I can eat supper. Keep glancing at my clock. It's getting ridiculous.

    I agree with others that a diet break could be a really good plan.

    Also, I'm concerned that you haven't answered the question about how fast you've been losing. Sounds like you've lost 45 pounds so far (230 to 185), but you only make a vague reference to "summer" when it comes to timeline. I started losing around your current weight (I was 183) and would have lost like a house afire at 1450 + exercise. (I still lost at a decent rate at 1400-1600 plus all exercise, when in the mid-150s).

    If you've been losing fast, it would be very, very common to experience a hunger/appetite crash eventually. The best potential remedy for that is, in fact, to eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks. (As others have said, that's good practice for future skills you'll need to maintain a healthy weight long term, so it isn't a waste of time. I get that you want to reach goal weight as fast as possible . . . but sometimes getting there fast is in conflict with staying there, and sometimes even with getting there in the first place.

    At this point, at 185, with 35 pounds to go, losing at a pound to maybe a pound and a half a week, tops, would be a good idea IMO. Much faster would be likely to have . . . consequences . . . for many people, if doing that for many weeks.

    As an aside, and I'm asking this because it could conceivably affect how we'd give you advice: How tall are you? Extremely petite? Are you really 4'9" or shorter? If you're morbidly obese (BMI >= 40) at 185 lbs, that would be just into morbidly obese at 4'9". But in order to stop being morbidly obese only at 150, you'd have to be 4'3". (At 5'5", I was just over the line into class 1 obese BMI at 183, FWIW. 185 would be pretty far from morbidly obese for an average-height woman, even a sorta-short woman.)
  • taramont45
    taramont45 Posts: 9 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    taramont45 wrote: »
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    Another vote for a diet break. You have made fantastic progress, and it sounds like you are overdue for one. So helpful for so many reasons -- re-balancing hormones, practicing maintenance, mental break...

    Also, you SHOULD expect to lessen your deficit to slow your rate of loss as you near goal. Maybe it's time?

    In terms of satiety, which as others have said is highly individual, I do best with my first meal being late morning and high fat/mod protein. When I have porridge, fruit and toast at breakfast, I'm ravenous all day. I love them and eat them a lot, but as afternoon snacks, not first thing.

    Good luck with some minor adjustments! You're doing great!

    I'm still so far from my goal weight, though. I'm trying to get down to 150 so I'm at least no longer morbidly obese and I can feel somewhat good about myself. And the weird thing is that usually porridge, fruit, toast etc is what I usually eat and it lasts me until dinner. I very rarely snack at all.
    It's just this super random spike of absolutely stupid hunger driving me crazy. And it's taking everything four of me not to snap.
    I'm counting the hours down until I can eat supper. Keep glancing at my clock. It's getting ridiculous.

    I agree with others that a diet break could be a really good plan.

    Also, I'm concerned that you haven't answered the question about how fast you've been losing. Sounds like you've lost 45 pounds so far (230 to 185), but you only make a vague reference to "summer" when it comes to timeline. I started losing around your current weight (I was 183) and would have lost like a house afire at 1450 + exercise. (I still lost at a decent rate at 1400-1600 plus all exercise, when in the mid-150s).

    If you've been losing fast, it would be very, very common to experience a hunger/appetite crash eventually. The best potential remedy for that is, in fact, to eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks. (As others have said, that's good practice for future skills you'll need to maintain a healthy weight long term, so it isn't a waste of time. I get that you want to reach goal weight as fast as possible . . . but sometimes getting there fast is in conflict with staying there, and sometimes even with getting there in the first place.

    At this point, at 185, with 35 pounds to go, losing at a pound to maybe a pound and a half a week, tops, would be a good idea IMO. Much faster would be likely to have . . . consequences . . . for many people, if doing that for many weeks.

    As an aside, and I'm asking this because it could conceivably affect how we'd give you advice: How tall are you? Extremely petite? Are you really 4'9" or shorter? If you're morbidly obese (BMI >= 40) at 185 lbs, that would be just into morbidly obese at 4'9". But in order to stop being morbidly obese only at 150, you'd have to be 4'3". (At 5'5", I was just over the line into class 1 obese BMI at 183, FWIW. 185 would be pretty far from morbidly obese for an average-height woman, even a sorta-short woman.)

    I started actively trying to lose weight in September of 2019. Started on keto but due to the costs of the diet I had to turn back to adding some carbs in. But decided I was only going to eat whole grain carbs and cut out the over processed crap/watch what I eat calorie-wise. So it's been 45 pounds over more than a year. I wouldn't say it's terribly quick? Doesn't feel like it, anyways.

    I'm barely five feet tall. Not petite by any standard, but very short and squat.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    taramont45 wrote: »
    I want to thank everyone for the advice so far.
    I did a tiny increase yesterday and changed my settings to maintaining my weight. Realized I just needed an extra 200 -260 calories to be happy. Didn't need the extra 500 the maintaining my weight option gave me :)
    Might be the weather, might be hormones. We'll see. This just gave me the confidence to keep going and not be so hard on myself. Like some of you said, it's good practice for maintaining later on in my life :)

    Thank you everyone for your kind words.

    That's great news! I'm glad to hear adding 200ish calories has done the trick. :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,258 Member
    taramont45 wrote: »
    I want to thank everyone for the advice so far.
    I did a tiny increase yesterday and changed my settings to maintaining my weight. Realized I just needed an extra 200 -260 calories to be happy. Didn't need the extra 500 the maintaining my weight option gave me :)
    Might be the weather, might be hormones. We'll see. This just gave me the confidence to keep going and not be so hard on myself. Like some of you said, it's good practice for maintaining later on in my life :)

    Thank you everyone for your kind words.

    Good show! Going all the way to maintenance for a couple of weeks is still a good idea, just to smooth the path ahead, of course.

    When you resume deficit eating, even that 250 calorie daily deficit will result in gradual weight loss, so you can hang out there for periods of time or until you reach goal, too. At a small deficit, it can take weeks for fat loss to show up clearly on the scale (to sort itself out from the background of couple-pound random water weight fluctuations), which can be frustrating/confusing . . . but it definitely does work, and can be very sustainable and healthful.

    BTW: At 185 and 5 feet tall, you already aren't technically "morbidly obese", just a little bit into class 2 (at 36.1 BMI). For some intermediate milestones: At below 179, you'll be into class 1, at around 151 into the overweight category. Every pound improves your odds of improved long-term good health.

    You've been making great progress, and with the attitudes and introspection you're bringing to this, you're lined up to keep on winning!
  • smiley4198
    smiley4198 Posts: 2 Member
    One thing I've found helpful is eating smaller meal/snacks every two and a half to three hours. Maybe try this? I find I'm never starving because I'm eating something frequently rather than eating three bigger meals
  • bellkat31
    bellkat31 Posts: 74 Member
    The most important thing for me to realize is it’s okay to feel Hungry. If you know you have consumed enough calories to support your activity level it’s mental hunger and not physical. I have a list of busy work if I start having mental hunger I try to work off that list. It usually occupies my mind so the Hunger passes