Starving

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Replies

  • NCGOALIEMOM
    NCGOALIEMOM Posts: 82 Member
    Starving means you are in too much of a deficit.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,283 Member
    Stupid question, but are you hydrating?

    Dehydration can mimic hunger.

    I sweat like a hundred pigs, whether in the gym or hot yoga. Because I’m curious, I make it a habit to weight myself immediately out of bed, then I habitually drink about a quart annd an half of water/coffee/oat milk/electrolyte drink, along with a large, protein heavy breakfast.

    I reweigh around 11am, after morning workouts.

    In that short time, I consistently weigh 2.5-3 pound less, even after all that food and liquid. That’s sweat. And, thus, dehydration- even if my morning included 90 minutes in a swimming pool!

    I’m “famished” when I get home, but sucking down some water relieves the “hunger pangs”.

    Would one of the weight “smoothing” apps like Happy Scale help? I haven’t used one, because I’m so interested in the bumps and grinds and whys of loss and maintenance, so I enjoy the numbers, but someone else might be kind enough to explain.

    I find sometimes when I’m frustrated and feel like I’m losing traction, that simply changing the view on the app associated with my Bluetooth scale from “week” to “3 months” helps me see the bigger picture better.

    Change something up. I tend to be comparatively low carb and low fat. I’ve added a big bowl of buttered popcorn into my day to get both macros up. I’m finding it helpful.

    You sound a lot like me. I’ve also actually intentionally cut back on exercise. We can get to the point we are doing so danged much in our efforts to lose or maintain that our pain/stuffness/overall- discomfort levels creep up on us. All that contributes to water retention.

    I’d like to get ahold of the Health Team at Apple and vent on them. Trackers are a godsend, but constantly being encouraged with “you can do more!!!!” challenges when you’re already pushing the envelope are hell on certain personalities. Are you one of those, like me?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    edited July 21
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Stupid question, but are you hydrating?

    Dehydration can mimic hunger.

    I sweat like a hundred pigs, whether in the gym or hot yoga. Because I’m curious, I make it a habit to weight myself immediately out of bed, then I habitually drink about a quart annd an half of water/coffee/oat milk/electrolyte drink, along with a large, protein heavy breakfast.

    I reweigh around 11am, after morning workouts.

    In that short time, I consistently weigh 2.5-3 pound less, even after all that food and liquid. That’s sweat. And, thus, dehydration- even if my morning included 90 minutes in a swimming pool!

    I’m “famished” when I get home, but sucking down some water relieves the “hunger pangs”.

    Would one of the weight “smoothing” apps like Happy Scale help?     I haven’t used one, because I’m so interested in the bumps and grinds and whys of loss and maintenance, so I enjoy the numbers, but someone else might be kind enough to explain.

    I find sometimes when I’m frustrated and feel like I’m losing traction, that simply changing the view on the app associated with my Bluetooth scale from “week” to “3 months” helps me see the bigger picture better.

    Change something up. I tend to be comparatively low carb and low fat. I’ve added a big bowl of buttered popcorn into my day to get both macros up. I’m finding it helpful.

    You sound a lot like me. I’ve also actually intentionally cut back on exercise. We can get to the point we are doing so danged much in our efforts to lose or maintain that our pain/stuffness/overall- discomfort levels creep up on us. All that contributes to water retention.

    I’d like to get ahold of the Health Team at Apple and vent on them. Trackers are a godsend, but constantly being encouraged with “you can do more!!!!” challenges when you’re already pushing the envelope are hell on certain personalities. Are you one of those, like me?

    My belief is that the OP is hungry because she is not eating enough to fuel her workouts. It might be helpful to her if you share your gross calories.

    That said, yes, thirst can definitely feel like hunger.
    • I feel hungry in the AM, which goes away as I start drinking tea.
    • I have fluid with me at the gym.
    • I just bought a new fanny pack so I can bring a bigger water bottle with me on the trail.
    • After I swim, I dry my face and the very next thing I do is start drinking - my bottle is with my towel.

    Also, I struggle with constipation when I'm not sufficiently hydrated and I'm amazed at how much more fluid I need this time of year due to the heat. It's a challenge to get in all the fluid I need, but I'm working on it.

    ************

    A few years back I lost almost 40 pounds and did find a weight trend app helpful. (I have an iphone and use Happy Scale.) Some weeks and even months it didn't feel like I was making progress, but the trend line showed otherwise.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,915 Member
    zfitgal wrote: »
    Hi everyone, I was just talking to one of the trainers in my gym and she was telling me that when a person is in a caloric deficit, they should be hungry and starving. That’s how they know your metabolism is working hard. I totally disagree with that. I think of a person is on a diet and they are constantly starving. You’re constantly going to Binge. Have any of you ever heard of this before? She is a person who does compete in bodybuilding competitions and is on a ton of supplementation and I’m sure performance enhancement drugs as well. But I do not believe the average person who wants to lose 15 to 20 pounds in a 1 pound a week or half a pound of deficit should be starving. Please let me know if you feel I’m wrong.
    Competitive bodybuilders STARVE themselves to get to single digit body fat percentages (women in the low 10's). So it sounds like it's just an objective opinion from them.
    You DON'T need to starve. But it's not uncommon to feel hungry if you were very used to eating large portions and eating all the time around the clock.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 40 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,283 Member
    edited July 21
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    My belief is that the OP is hungry because she is not eating enough to fuel her workouts. It might be helpful to her if you share your gross calories.
    Undoubtably not eating enough if she’s working out as often as stated, and recording every bite accurately.

    OP, I started at age 56, 225’ish, 5’7”, with 1470 calorie allowance. I was sedentary. As in, I only got up to get a fresh supply of chocolate or a new book.

    Two months after starting, first dietician visit suggested i increase to 1700, and then 1900 a couple months later. Got a superb trainer six months in, who insisted I increase to 2100 and then 2300. I still lost consistenly at 2300.

    I have taken a slightly different tack than others. I weigh and log carefully, but always shoot for a flat number, regardless of activity, with the caveat that if there’s too large a spread, or if I get nappish or snappish, I take that as a sign to add a snack or two.


    Once I reached maintenance, now the polar opposite of “sedentary”, I easily maintained at a flat 2800-3000, but that’s working out multiple times and walking the dog several times a day. (Retirement is both a luxury, and an opportunity to make “me” my full time job.)

    I’ve been trying to shed a few following a couple of trips and an injury early this year. I currently eat about 24-2600 to stay in a large deficit, netting roughly 1800. I’ve now lost the weight I intended to, though, so now am increasing calories again to return to the higher number.

    And yes, because I was in a large deficit, working out at the same pace or more, plus still swollen and sore, I was fatigued, falling asleep mid afternoon, peckish, and found myself relieved this week when the rain and storms limited walks and swimming.

    It seems counter-intuitive, but my experience has been if you cut too hard in one direction and work harder in the other, it does nothing for you except make you retain water weight. I’ve been at this nearly six years and haven’t yet come to terms with that. It’s always a learning experience.

    It just seems so logical that few calories/higher burn should work, but it’s just not true. Many people argue that’s because your NEAT activity is reduced when you don’t have the calories available. Maybe. I’m happy as a clam to spend the rest of my hours on the sofa reading, doing needlework, “coming to” an hour later after an unintended nap

    As @AnnPT77 mentioned, we can get in the mindset that weight is a sin and we must punish ourselves into submission. It’s a hard mindset to lose.

    But back to the original point about hydration….i drink about 45 ounces between getting up and leaving for the gym. I do not like to drink during training or cardio classes because I usually swim laps and do aquafit immediately afterwards. If I drink the hour before the pool it goes straight through me the minute I hit the water, and there’s no bigger PITA than making a quick potty run (or two) in wet britches. So, by the time I get home I’m pretty dehydrated, which feels like hunger, which translates into my head “where’s that open bag of chips?!!!” As long as I drink a glass of water , I’m usually fine til lunch.

    There’s an absolutely lovely and boy-howdy-is-she-cut lady bodybuilder @JBanx256 who used to visit these boards occasionally. I don’t know if she’s one of those who left after the newsfeed was axed. What I’ve gathered from watching her and others is, they don’t “starve”. I’ve never looked at her diary but judging from her old newsfeed posts she ate heartily, and then cut hard only in the run up to competitions.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,072 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Stupid question, but are you hydrating?

    Dehydration can mimic hunger.

    I sweat like a hundred pigs, whether in the gym or hot yoga. Because I’m curious, I make it a habit to weight myself immediately out of bed, then I habitually drink about a quart annd an half of water/coffee/oat milk/electrolyte drink, along with a large, protein heavy breakfast.

    I reweigh around 11am, after morning workouts.

    In that short time, I consistently weigh 2.5-3 pound less, even after all that food and liquid. That’s sweat. And, thus, dehydration- even if my morning included 90 minutes in a swimming pool!

    I’m “famished” when I get home, but sucking down some water relieves the “hunger pangs”.

    Would one of the weight “smoothing” apps like Happy Scale help?     I haven’t used one, because I’m so interested in the bumps and grinds and whys of loss and maintenance, so I enjoy the numbers, but someone else might be kind enough to explain.

    I find sometimes when I’m frustrated and feel like I’m losing traction, that simply changing the view on the app associated with my Bluetooth scale from “week” to “3 months” helps me see the bigger picture better.

    Change something up. I tend to be comparatively low carb and low fat. I’ve added a big bowl of buttered popcorn into my day to get both macros up. I’m finding it helpful.

    You sound a lot like me. I’ve also actually intentionally cut back on exercise. We can get to the point we are doing so danged much in our efforts to lose or maintain that our pain/stuffness/overall- discomfort levels creep up on us. All that contributes to water retention.

    I’d like to get ahold of the Health Team at Apple and vent on them. Trackers are a godsend, but constantly being encouraged with “you can do more!!!!” challenges when you’re already pushing the envelope are hell on certain personalities. Are you one of those, like me?

    My belief is that the OP is hungry because she is not eating enough to fuel her workouts. It might be helpful to her if you share your gross calories.

    That said, yes, thirst can definitely feel like hunger.
    • I feel hungry in the AM, which goes away as I start drinking tea.
    • I have fluid with me at the gym.
    • I just bought a new fanny pack so I can bring a bigger water bottle with me on the trail.
    • After I swim, I dry my face and the very next thing I do is start drinking - my bottle is with my towel.

    Also, I struggle with constipation when I'm not sufficiently hydrated and I'm amazed at how much more fluid I need this time of year due to the heat. It's a challenge to get in all the fluid I need, but I'm working on it.

    ************

    A few years back I lost almost 40 pounds and did find a weight trend app helpful. (I have an iphone and use Happy Scale.) Some weeks and even months it didn't feel like I was making progress, but the tryy end line showed otherwise.

    OP doesn't say they are hungry. OP is asking for reaction to their reaction that someone at their gym was wrong when they said you have to feel like you're starving to know you're in a deficit.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,133 Member
    Bottom line is with the proper food choices you can be in a deficit without hunger.

    The less fat you carry and with a steep enough deficit then yes hunger will probably be a factor but that isn’t sustainable so for anyone not in contest prep it’s not probably not the way to go.

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