So hungry!

Would you be willing to share your stats? There are two big possibilities here (and probably other smaller ones):
* You're eating far too little for your weight. The solution is to eat more. Yes, weightloss will be slower, but what's the point of eating too little if you can't stick to it?
* the standard macros are not for you. It's just a standard setup. Maybe your body needs more protein or fat to feel full. Experiment with it. There's no magic associated with the standard setup.

You need to give some more info (height, age, sex, current weight)...and activity level (do you work? What's your activity level like other than your intentional workout?).

You said you are exercising 'moderately'...what does that mean? Are you eating back those calories?

It just sounds like it *might be possible you're just not eating enough.

Also, 12lbs lost since March of this year isn't 'slow' progress.

sherrilynn1985 wrote: »

Also, I take a break to stabilize after every 10 pounds where I increase my calories by a couple hundred. After a few weeks, I'm ready to go again.

Very smart.

Thomaskerrya wrote: »

Yes, I have been overweight for many years, But I’m now in my 50s and have arthritis but I’m trying to take control of my health life. I am eating a healthy diet, no junk, 1200 to 1400 cal a day, ensuring that I am getting as close to the macronutrients on MFP as possible. I increased my lean protein to try and stave off hunger. I drink 2L water a day. I exercise moderately, because too hard and my joints hurt. My weight loss is frustratingly slow and it doesn’t take much at all to put it back on. And I am struggling with constantly feeling hungry - any advice would be appreciated

Thomaskerrya wrote: »

I should have said that I started this new journey in March. 12lb off. 40+ to go. I do feel better for it. But I’m concerned the hunger will never go! Even an hour after dinner, my tummy feels kinda empty and I’m hungry already.

I can feel hungry an hour after dinner if I eat something that I don't find filling, like pizza. So now I eat less pizza but add a large salad, with some cottage cheese for a protein boost.

What's your protein goal and how regularly do you hit it?

What about fiber? Protein and fiber (through food) help keep me full.

Like others have said, another possibility is that you are not eating enough for the amount of weight you have to lose.



Also consider using a weight trend app like Happy Scale (iphone) or Libra (android.) I lost almost 40 pounds in 2021 and while some weeks and even months I felt like I wasn't making progress, the reports showed me otherwise.

Really good advice here.

12 pounds in 9-10 weeks, with 40 to go. Slow it down. What’s the point in suffering to lose if you’re miserable, hungry, and going to lose your mind and put it back on?

Weight loss doesn’t have to be punishment.

As @herringboxes so eloquently put it on another thread, in four more months will you look back and regret having lost 25 or so?

Take this time to learn new habits you can stick to, not panting to some arbitrary finish line and then falling back to old habits.

Can you get a consult with a dietician? My dietitian visits helped immensely and I only went three or four times. I went armed with questions to make the best use of my thirty minutes. I caught her so off guard she showered me with advice. I got discount sessions via my gym. My health insuror also offered phone visits with a dietician for free which I did a couple times to see if I could pick up any fresh advicr for maintenance (I find I get my best advice here on these boards, tbh).

Dietitians are degreed professionals, versus ‘“nutritionists”, who can range wildly from educated but non-degreed to some joker getting a commission on bars or powders.

I started weightlifting at 56, and am still amazed at the difference it’s made in outlook and comfort. I have arthritis, too, but can easily control it with exercise. It’s like the irritating arthritis meds commercial touts “a body in motion stays in motion”. Any kind of exercise lubricates my joints. I no longer get out of bed clutching the four-poster because I can’t make it acrost the room.

And finally, sometimes what we perceive as “hunger” is actually dehydration. Learn your body’s dehydration cues. For me, it’s fine wrinkles in my inner elbows, and if it’s up and down my arms, I’m really dehydrated. With warmer weather arrived, I’m finding myself drinking a LOT more than even a couple of weeks ago, and still having a hard time staying ahead of those dehydration wrinkles. You may possibly need more than those two liters.

My thought, though, is you need to bump those calories up. At 5’7” I started at 1490 calories and was only there for a couple months til my dietician encouraged increasing to 1700. Three months later a trainer suggested (demanded!) I bump them up another 25% because I had started weight training.

Weight training doesn’t have to mean bodybuilding btw. I enjoy the gym, but I see lots of older ladies in my “muscle madness” classes getting good results with hand weights in as little as the 3-10 pound range.

Like others have said, find things to fill you up. I have to eat fiber because of diverticulosis, and it doesn't really fill me up. This morning, 1/2 hour after my oats, I was still hungry so I had 6 large shrimp with spicy mustard for 90 calories and a large glass of sparkling water. I have a machine I use vs. buying it. Now I am ok. You have to figure out what works for maintenance during the weight loss.

If you feel that your calories are in order then I would start playing around with macros a bit. Calories don't necessarily equate to hungry or not hungry so it is possible to be eating enough calories (energy) but to still be hungry.

Macros are a pretty individual thing and there isn't any universally optimal macro ratio...there's certainly nothing magical about MFP's defaults. They're just defaults and it has to be something because your macros are the composition of your calories (4 calories per gram for each carb & protein and 9 calories per gram of dietary fat).

People will often look to macros where their physical performance is concerned as well as satiety, restfulness and sleep, etc. This may take a bit of journaling or at least mental notes of how you feel after certain meals, certain days, etc and what the macro ratios look like on those days.

For myself, my natural eating patterns are where I feel my best in terms of energy, physical performance, and satiety. This comes out to roughly 1/3 or thereabouts of each macro...I just kind of naturally default to that and that's where I feel my best.

Find the things you can eat that fills you up. For me it's protein and fiber. Especially fiber. Apples are my best friend. I love them and an apple will keep me fill for a long time. I also like things like carrots and celery. Cut up raw vegetables are low in calories yet very filling because of the fiber.

Everyone here has given you really good advice. Experiment with all of them and narrow it down to what works for you.