I am starving

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JCIzzo
JCIzzo Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it normal to be incredibly hungry? I'm only eating about 500 cal less per day than required to maintain weight. I see some people posting how they aren't eating enough. My stomach is growling all day. Especially in the evening though. I'm not overweight, just a tall skinny guy trying lower body fat %

Thanks.

Replies

  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
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    How many calories total are you eating? Is it telling you to eat 1200 and you're eating 500 less than that? The 1200 (or whatever number it's giving you) is actually a deficit, so you should try to eat around that. Any less and you're likely doing more harm than good!
  • inspiration345
    inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
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    Apparently feeling hunger is suppose to be a good thing. It means that your metabolism is high. What you should do is decrease your calories by 500 of what you used to consume before. If you ate 5000 calories a day, eat only 4500 calories a day now or eat 5000 calories and burn 500 calories. You will have to taper down because eating lesser will also decrease metabolism.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Use your imagination...
  • StevLL
    StevLL Posts: 921 Member
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    Depends on what you are eating. If it is not nutritious it will not keep you feeling full, because it is just empty calories. I eat 2350 calories a day and it keeps me full and then some, but only if it is clean, whole and not fast food or proccessed. It requires a bit of planning and preparing, but it's what is working for me and I'm never hungry, but my energy is always high now.
  • shadowfx
    shadowfx Posts: 52
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    You're hungry because whatever u are eating, it's not enough. My suggestion (I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist BTW) is to increase your protein intake to at least 30g per meal. This will help you build more muscle, which in turn will burn more fat. It will change the ratio, which is what you are trying to achieve and you will feel a lot less hungry. Good luck, if you decide to give this a go, let me know how you get on :o)
  • deathstarclock
    deathstarclock Posts: 512 Member
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    What you should do is decrease your calories by 500 of what you used to consume before. If you ate 5000 calories a day, eat only 4500 calories a day now or eat 5000 calories and burn 500 calories. You will have to taper down because eating lesser will also decrease metabolism.

    ^^To lose weight you need to create a deficit in your caloric expenditure. 500 calories a day by seven days equals 3500 cals a week which is equivalent to roughly a pound of weight.

    But if you're focusing on reducing body fat percentage, you need to do cardio exercises that'll provoke your body into using fats to fuel those exercises. When your heart rate is in a certain range during cardiovascular exercise, the body will derive energy from lipids.

    You said you're a tall skinny guy.... Do you really need to reduce body fat percentage? Most tall skinny dudes I know need to "convert" weight...
  • JCIzzo
    JCIzzo Posts: 2
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    According to this site, my daily goal is 1,700. I'm not eating bad foods or anything, I don't eat a lot of fruit though. Maybe one apple per day and that's about it. Veggies with dinner.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    You are hungry because you are eating at a deficit. It's sane to be hungry, your body doesn't want to give up that fat. It's put it there for a reason.

    I am hungry all the time at maintenance, which is a little scarier.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    Given we can't see your food diary here's a few questions...

    Are you eating high calorie food options? These will fill you up for short periods and then leave you hungry. Avoid processed foods and go for more home made stuff.

    Are you eating all your calories at meal times? Snacking is the key. Eat smaller portions at meal times and snack often throughout the day.

    Are you drinking water? You may be thirsty rather than hungry. Drink a big glass of water when you get hungry, If you're still hungry ten minutes later you were actually hungry.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    It does take a while for your body to adjust to the new lower level you're feeding it. Try coping with it for a week, it should ease off after that.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    hmmm...I don't know if it's a good thing that you are feeling so hungry. I thought it would make the whole process harder to follow if you are miserable all the time.

    I normally plan out the meals in the morning and try to distribute calories into 4-5 portions: 3 bigger and 2 smaller.

    I find myself pretty satisfied with high protein content. Coffee makes eager to eat go away, too.

    I also drink lots lots of water daily.

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