Starving

I dont really find myself starving but I eat a lot of lentils and high fiber foods

Hi-I joined Feb. 10th. I have been very faithful to logging my calories and such. I run long distance and I usually eat most or all of my exercise calories. I haven't lost weight nor have I lost inches. And I am soooo hungry-I just ate lunch but I as still hungry. Are any of you starving like this?

how many calories are you eating? sounds like your not eating enough...

High fiber and low carb is the key to keeping your body satisfied. High protein foods shakes, bars, eggs keep you fuller longer. I don't know if that helps.

maybe eat more often using the suggestions others have posted. you seem like you run a lot, i bet you could eat more calories but i dont know how many you burn or what you are set for daily. drinking your water?

I get like that sometimes. I usually try to drink water. If I am still hungry after 30-hour I eat. I usually find eating a grapefruit works for me.

here is mine:

cals
1,370
carbs
188
fat
46
protien
51
sodium
2,500
fiber
16

but this is just what MFP set me at. i didnt adjust it at all. i dont run either, so we cant really compare accuratly.

This sounds familiar to what I went through a few years ago. I had planned a trip to Hawaii and had six weeks to get it together. I started eating better (although this was pre-MFP days, so I just cut out bad stuff and concentrated on eating healthily) and I ran 5 miles a day, 6 days a week, for 6 straight weeks. I remember being hungry a lot. I also distinctly remember being ready to quit exercise for ever because by the end of the six weeks, I had no weight loss to show for all my work, nor had I lost any inches. My husband said I looked more toned, but what else is he gonna say? I was still in my same old clothes and felt like all my effort had been a waste.

This time around (I started Jan 5), I am 5 years older and I don't run like that anymore. I have lost 19 lbs since beginning (I am 1 lb. from my original goal) and it is through swimming, stationary bike, jogging, walking and the stairmaster. I have actually found that too much exercise can slow down my weight loss. Weird, huh? I think my body gets freaked out by the extra work and hangs on for dear life to those calories......Is your primary goal to lose lbs? Because if it is, I would suggest letting up on the running for a week or two, just to see how your body reacts. If you are more interested in aerobic fitness and don't care so much about what the scale says, keep doing what you are doing.

I am inclined to think that after over a month of consciously eating low calorie, nutritious foods and your body is still asking for more, you should probably feed it more.

I dont really find myself starving but I eat a lot of lentils and high fiber foods

I LOVE lentils! Have any good recipes that are easy and low cal?

Long-distance running always makes me feel famished... Drinking a lot of water and some gatorade helps though... as a lot of that famished feeling is really thirst masquerading as hunger. And fatigue... Are you getting your zzz's?

Btw... you're so lean already... Maybe you just don't have any fat to lose - either in pounds or in inches!

Long-distance athletes have unique nutritional needs that other dieters do not.

Kimono - have you tried timing your carbs for maximal energy release when you need it? I've seen diet plans in Runner's World that suggest having your high-carb meal closest to your run and raising the % protein for the other meals.

In response to the suggestions about fiber, runners need to be careful with that.. Running itself makes you digest your food faster. Adding too much fiber is an accident waiting to happen - or a very painful walk to the nearest port-a-potty. :sick:

Oh, you should check out runner's world magazine for april. Not only does it have an extensive article on "The Runner's Diet" it also has a great section in it titled FUEL. The article is all about the weight loss of a runner.

runnersworld.com has a TON of info on diet, training, injury prevention etc.. you will find your answer here!

As you know you need more carbs, especially the longer distances you are putting in!
Add unsaturated fats to your diet to reduce hunger and injury. Add salmon, avocado, walnuts, flax to your your diet.

Basically as a distance runner you should be eating a 50-25-25 diet, 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% healthy fats to keep the energy you need to run and still lose weight.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-310-7771-0,00.html

the link (don't think I posted it right ) Will explain it all to you and give you the formula you need to better figure you actual calorie needs.

:flowerforyou:

Your body will not let go of that little bit of fat you want to lose because you are running so much, whereas a less active person might be able to.

I don't understand how this can be. Can you explain it to me? It is my understanding that if you are burning more than you are consuming you will lose weight. Why would the running cause the body to hold on to fat?

Your body will not let go of that little bit of fat you want to lose because you are running so much, whereas a less active person might be able to.

I don't understand how this can be. Can you explain it to me? It is my understanding that if you are burning more than you are consuming you will lose weight. Why would the running cause the body to hold on to fat?

In general, the fact that women are women makes it hard to lose that last "little bit of fat." But again, in general, for runners that last "little bit of fat" is a lot littler than it is for people who work out less.

If you run in a cold climate with inadequate clothing, your body may hold on to fat... But otherwise, I don't see why this logic would apply to Kimono's situation.

An active body requires more calories. If it is undernourished, which can occur by eating crap or not enough, it will try to hold on to every calorie it can.

It gets used to needing lots of calories because it's always working. When it doesn't get enough it holds on to everything it can to compensate, by storing.

This is why crash diets fail, lots of water is lost then the body starves, holds on to everything it can so the weight goes back on.

Look at Olympians. They eat around 6,000 calories a day whilst in training, but have bodies we'd all kill for!

MPF creates a deficit of 500cal/day because that's an acceptable deficit. If it was much higher, say , 1000 calories per day, the body would compensate by holding on to energy. By making fat.

Ok, I still don't get it. If she is burning more than she is taking in it wouldn't it be impossible for her body to "store" any excess calories - because there are no excess calories? And if she is at a caloric deficit wouldn't her body HAVE to burn previously stored calories? If there is a deficit the body has to come up with the fuel from somewhere.

As for Olympians, they are probably burning 6,000 calories a day in their training...so I don't see how that applies. I