I'm always hungry!

21katykat01 · November 2011

I've been on MFP for a while and am now only 5lbs from goal, which is great. I know the last 7lbs are meant to be the hardest, and I'm certainly finding that.

My daily calorie allowance is 1290 calories, with at least 4 30-minute work outs a week. I do my best to stick within my allowance but I am finding recently that I seem to be permanently hungry. This hunger level fluctuates and I'm aware that sometimes it's due to thirst, or to cravings or even hormone levels. When I'm hungry, I have 300-500mls of fluids and always wait at least 30 minutes before acting on my hunger (to give time for it to go away if it's a craving). My concern is that sometimes I'll be hungry to the point of feeling light-headed, even when I've had around 800 calories in the day so far.

Do you have any suggestions for how to either minimise or get over this hunger? Is it all in my head?

dls06 · November 2011

If you are light headed your blood sugar could be low. Have you have it checked? If not maybe you should. If it's ok I would eat more protein at meals to help keep you full longer. :drinker:

ProTFitness · November 2011

COuld be the food your are eating could be causing you to crave or be more hungry. Or you may need to eat a little more. Remember whole grain lean protiens and veggies keep you full longer

persian_star · November 2011

There's a theory that (although not in starvation mode) your body still isn't getting enough to function properly at such low cals, and a few of us have pledged to start eating more to see if it changes our difficulty with plateaus etc. Have a look at the stuff in the Group "Feed the Furnace, Burn the Fat" - there's lots of information there and it might help :flowerforyou:

CanuckLove · November 2011

Maybe try zig-zagging your calories to get more on days you are really hungry? Increase good fats like nuts, avocado, etc. It worked for me when I was at my last few pounds and thought I was starving to death lol

grassette · November 2011

This is always the most critical point in dieting. Last time I lost 40 lbs, and got that famished, bottomless pit feeling and gained 60 lbs. You have to stick with it until your metabolism changes.

Suggestions to check up on blood sugar are good ones. Find out if something else is going on.

selfishshellfish · November 2011

I find that if I do anything other than walking for my exercise I tend to get very, very hungry and light-headed. Disproportionately so. Two years ago I lost 28lb and then immediately stacked it all back on because I was permanently ravenous.

My strategy this time round has been to vary my walking intensity and duration depending on my appetite. No exercise at all seems to leave me feeling hungry, and too much (seemingly over an hour a day at more than 4mph) does the same.

I also find that keeping my carbohydrate intake to under 100 a day really helps.

Don't be afraid to tweak your exercise/energy intake (and keep tweaking it) until you find a balance which works for you.

jarrettd · November 2011

As you get closer to your goal weight, your calorie deficit needs to be less. Your body simply doesn't have as large a store to draw from and can't burn it as efficiently as before. Your may even burn muscle for fuel instead of fat if you are eating too little.

Light-headedness is a sign of low blood sugar. If you eat a lot of simple carbs, they convert to sugars and your body answers with an insulin surge. You burn the sugar you ate and then some, so your blood sugar goes low. Then you get super-hungry and crave carbs, and the cycle starts over. Protein and fibrous veggies!! Can't stress this enough!

BerryH · November 2011

As you're close to your goal, change your target to lose 0.5lb a week. Not only will this keep you from getting famished, but it's an easy adjustment towards maintenance. Don't forget to eat your exercise calories! :drinker:

21katykat01 · November 2011

Thanks everyone, these are some great suggestions. I'm going to change my weight loss target to 0.5lb a week, and focus on making sure my net calories are at the suggested rate, because looking over the last wee while some days I'm a bit over or way under or somewhere in between. I'm hoping that ensuring my net calories are on track will help keep me on track too.

Great to have you all here for support though!

21katykat01 · November 2011

Wow, just changing my goal to .5lb a week from 1lb has upped my calories to 1540 a day! Bit nervous about the big jump, but am going to stick with it for at least until the new year to give my body time to adjust. I have to say, it does seem a lot more manageable.

Emily_Katherine · November 2011

This seems like a no brainer, and maybe it doesn't apply to you, but I used to always eat fruit in the morning and then be ready to gnaw my own arm off by lunch. I found that eating carbohydrates like toast with a little peanut butter or a muffin (homemade - small and with flax) first thing really makes a difference in terms of how hungry I feel for the rest of the day.

ADobs · November 2011

you should listen to your body. my opinion is that on the days you're working out, you need to be eating a lot more. if you're eating 1,200 calories and then burning whatever, you're net calories is going below 1,200 which is the recommended allowance for any female and therefore going close to starvation mode, if not already there.

neanderthin · November 2011

It could be because of your food choices. A higher carb diet that also has it's fair share of refined carbs will leave someone pretty hungry on your allotted calories. Whole foods, higher in protein and fiberous veg works better on a lower calorie diet.

dsjohndrow · November 2011

First, everyone is different. I am more hungry at the end of the day, and my wife is more hungry in the morning. I gain weight eating carbs, she gains weight eating fat. I would suggest eating 6 times a day if you can. Try to cut back in your least hungry time whether morning or evening.

Second - a good mix of carbs and protein seems to be the best for stopping hunger. IE: Banana and peanut butter, apples and plain yogurt, salad with nuts or cheese or chicken or fish...

Water - it can help quell the hunger sometimes. Mix it with something else like cucumbers, lemon or lime juice to flavor it.

Macros - Carb/protein/fat. As you go along, play with these in the custom goals. I am better with 35%/35%/30%. When I was 50/30/20 I was gaining weight, and at 40/40/20 I was hungry a lot.

I can't see that less that 1200 is going to be a forever goal. I suggest working on .5 or 1 lb a week.

Be sure to weigh everything, maybe your portions aren't quite what you think they are.

And lastly - be sure to eat good food. All the slim meals and diet stuff isn't always filling.

Good luck.

Teliooo · November 2011

grreat to read this. I have been light headed for the last month.

21katykat01 · November 2011

It's really interesting to hear everyone's different views.

I eat a lot of carbs at the moment (like pasta and rice) but normally have them with some form of protein, or quorn or something. My pasta is just white, but always go with brown rice and wholemeal for everything else.

We've stocked up on some meat recently, but at the moment I'm struggling to get more protein in my diet because all the things I'd usually eat - chicken, ham, fish - are expensive and we're really broke just now. Same, unfortunately, goes for lots of veggies. There's not really any greengrocer's in Scotland to get it fresh and supermarket veggies are reasonable quality, but expensive. Does anyone have suggestions for other types of protein I could include in my diet?

bigfluffyjujubird · November 2011

cous cous i think is protein heavy is nom and is filling! tinned veg is cheaper or frozen, frozen is pretty good.

I'm always hungry!

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