What to do When you are just unsatisfied....

Mrsindepenant1
Mrsindepenant1 Posts: 196 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m on 1200, I go up to 1600-1800 on a Sunday and that keeps me on track.
I have been doing really well but today I was starving and went 400 calories over. I ate normal and was on track with my calories but 4pm came and I just had to smash back a loaded sandwich. To be honest I have no regrets but I want to avoid this happening again. I’m pretty sure it happened because I took pain relief for a condition I have and it can upset my stomach but I’m going to have many days where I need to take it and I can’t just binge eat to feel better. Different meds or no meds is not an option.
What do you all do when the hunger just gets to you and you feel you actually need to just eat something whether it fits or not? Forget it and move on? Drop calories for the next days to make up for it even though they are already low?
Does anyone else here take meds which affects their stomach? Makes you feel ridiculously hungry?

Replies

  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    edited May 2022
    I forget it and move on. And usually there's 1 day a week where I go over, about the same amount that you did. It's the long haul that's going to make a difference. As the above poster said, I also wouldn't cut back on calories another day to make up for it because I think you may end up starving even more, therefore go over even more.
    Make sure you're following what guidelines MFP is giving you for calories. If you're not regularly taking in enough, your body might be telling you to eat more. :)

    ETA: another thing I've changed about my eating is go with less during the day at some point, whether a small lunch or dinner, so I can have more calories at night when my 'gotta have something to snack on' feelings hit. So far, that's worked really well for me.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    I just go over and move on. That was MORE true in loss than while I'm maintaining because when I was losing that 500 calorie deficit gave me a bigger buffer before gain, but even now maintaining -- it takes a LOT to actually regain.

    The only thing I actively watch for is a pattern where it's happening more days than not. Then I figure out why the thing I WAS doing was working no longer is, and adjust. Isolated days of going over (accidentally or CHOOSING to because it's thanksgiving or something) even by a whole lot aren't going to make any great difference.

    If my pattern turns into going over, and my weight starts creeping up, it's time to make a change. For me that change is usually that I've hit a point where, like Reenie mentioned, I want to eat at night. When that happens, I just shift what I eat before then so I have the calories to do it later. ...Then pay attention because the pattern for me will eventually shift back, resulting in me not eating those calories at night and undereating. Which will make me ravenous and set me up to throw down an entire pizza or something that I don't really want and will make me feel bad.
  • SilverSage1
    SilverSage1 Posts: 54 Member
    I find when I get those feelings, I would usually reach for cookies, crackers, breads, etc. Sweet and/or salty carbs. Then I want more and more. But lately I’ve realized that if I’m truly hungry, a better choice for me is to have some low fat protein. Skip the bread, and have some meat or cheese. It fills me up better and stays with me longer.

    A hard boiled egg, a dish of cottage cheese, a slice of leftover meat from dinner….. I was so used to reaching for the “snacky” stuff that I hadn’t given any thought to what I really needed.
  • kchapmanma
    kchapmanma Posts: 174 Member
    I just move on too - and try to think about it the way @sijomial described as "still progress, just smaller progress". If I tried to compensate for it by eating fewer calories the next day, I'd likely feel deprived and it might trigger me to actually eat more and not less.

    I do take medications that cause issues for staying within my calorie limit. In my case, I'm diabetic and am taking insulin and metformin to help manage my blood sugar levels. It gets tricky because when I'm having a low blood sugar, I have to eat something regardless of where I'm at with my calories. It's generally not too bad because I can usually eat something within a 50-100 calorie range, and I'll be OK. Sometimes I have a really low blood sugar incident, though - and those always end up with me nearly bingeing trying to get my sugar up fast. The most important thing for me when this type of thing happens is to not let it derail me going forward (like thoughts of "oh, I ate so many extra calories yesterday! I have failed so I might as well not bother trying anymore and just eat whatever I want..."). Instead I try and focus on the big picture that I am in fact losing weight, and that it was just a little bump in the road, and that's all it was.
  • shockbishop
    shockbishop Posts: 38 Member
    I called it "fat boy sweats". When I was much slimmer and tracking calories, I would wake up in the middle of the night and go get a triple cheeseburger. I got to know that one splurge wasn't going to ruin me. Since I was tracking, I could see that I really on gain a fraction of what sat on my weight scale that next morning. I think what's important is that you get back on track. I'm just glad I don't live next door to burgers this time around.
  • Mrsindepenant1
    Mrsindepenant1 Posts: 196 Member
    Thanks all. I manage well on 1200 but yesterday just got the better of me after I had my meds, these meds are half the reason why I have come here with the need to loose because I have to take them with food and then not too long after I get reflux like symptoms and nothing other than food especially heavy foods like breads, potatoes and meats helps settle the burning. I have meds to help with the reflux but they don’t work at all. I’m a farmer so I’m actually really active however we are in the process of moving so I’m spending a lot of time sitting around decluttering which is why I’m set at sedentary for now.
    I’m going to admit after writing this post I continued to pack away food and ice cream. I don’t actually regret it, I have been doing well but I need to ensure this doesn’t become a thing.
    I fast 16/8 and only eat from 12-8pm and save my calories for the afternoon/ dinner because that’s when I get ravenous and I’ll follow it all down with a hot chocolate which would usually satisfy me.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,002 Member
    if it just puts me at maintenance for the day i don’t think twice about it. i needed it.
  • IAmTheGlue
    IAmTheGlue Posts: 701 Member
    csplatt wrote: »
    if it just puts me at maintenance for the day i don’t think twice about it. i needed it.

    Same! Sometimes you need more food. Maybe your body is fighting off something you are not aware of or you are overly stressed, healing, whatever… sometimes your body needs more.

    But… if you are feeling hungry, fighting with yourself constantly, you probably need to re-evaluate your intake, goals etc. I would rather meet my goals slowly than get frustrated and fail to meet them at all.

    Just keep going. Don’t give up.

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