I am starving! I this normal?

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  • Veganniee
    Veganniee Posts: 460 Member
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    Half the time I find it very difficult to stick to 1,200 cals per day. I've found myself binging a few times due to hunger. I've now changed my profile to lose 1lb per week and this has given me an extra 400 cals per day so I'm going to see how this goes for a week or two.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    What do you mean by double deficiting?

    My goal is 1450. According to my HRM, I'm burning around 400-500 cals, therefore i am consuming around 1600 or 1700 cals each day.

    There are many on here that forget that the MFP goal calories has a deficit compared to maintenance calories.
    But it does not include any exercise calories.

    So you would normally eat those back, or else you have a double-deficit, that depending on where you started, could put you into some dangerously low calorie ranges that would be bad to try to maintain.

    So if you trust the 1450 goal, which I'm guessing for the 2lb/wk you mentioned, means your maintenance is 2450, and your BMR is probably calculated at around 2000.

    If you trust those, then you are making the 1000 calorie MFP deficit actually more, and the net calories you are hitting is actually 1200.

    So 250 less than the already sizable 1000 deficit that is present.

    Would a 250 cal snack a day help out? You got room.

    Now, if you don't trust the BMR estimate, and therefore believe the maintenance calories is off, and thereby the goal calories, then go for another estimate.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

    If you can use the BF% figure with some decent accuracy, that will be giving you a better BMR foundation, and those times for activity helps keep that accurate too. Whatever it comes up with, subtract 500-1000 (start small so little shock) for your 1-2 lbs of weight/week.

    Be aware, if you want MFP to still give you extra calories for days you do exercise, do NOT include exercise in calculations on that site. Just add to MFP, and eat them back.
    If you are pretty sure of what your avg daily exercise will be, go ahead and put it in there, but do not include it in MFP, except in exercise notes.
  • thelassiemickyjames
    thelassiemickyjames Posts: 197
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    I know how you feel! I get so hungry at night I've thought about skipping breakfast or at least having a really light one so my dinner can be more satisfying.
  • elledo
    elledo Posts: 80
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    @heybales My trainer calculated that my BMR is 1700.....
    I just used the tool and the number it generated was 2647. Would i be right in assuming that deducting 1000 cals would result in 2 lbs and 500, 1 lb?

    Also, with this calculation say 1647- i would still need to eat back any workout cals.

    Sorry for all these questions! i just really want to get it right!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    @heybales My trainer calculated that my BMR is 1700.....
    I just used the tool and the number it generated was 2647. Would i be right in assuming that deducting 1000 cals would result in 2 lbs and 500, 1 lb?

    Also, with this calculation say 1647- i would still need to eat back any workout cals.

    Sorry for all these questions! i just really want to get it right!

    You bet you do, safe is better and sustainable, and less prone to shooting yourself in the foot, or belly or butt as the case may be. ;-)

    So the site had maintenance calories at 2647 as final figure? (trainer with BMR at 1700 is different figure remember)
    Then yes, 1000 less per day would be 7000 a week, and that is how many calories in 2 lbs of fat. That is assuming the body will focus energy needs on the fat. Which is almost never the case.

    So to encourage that, now that you have your lean body mass (LBM - weight minus the bf%), try to hit 1 gram of protein for each lb of LBM. You can change your diet goals to reflect this.

    And you are correct, that 1647 does not include exercise calories if you did not include them in the time estimate levels on that calculator. And you'll notice if the calculator also had BMR about 1700 like the trainer, then your goal calories is below your BMR at this weight loss level. So very careful in not making your body slow down because you are eating less than even basic body functions.
    So record them based on HRM, and eat them back.

    Healthy small snack before/after a workout shouldn't be too hard.

    Again, if this is a big change for you, might spend several weeks at just 500 less, and don't even worry about the weight. Because if the exercise is new too, you'll probably stay or gain some. But won't be fat, don't worry, go by the way the clothes fit.
  • elledo
    elledo Posts: 80
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    Ok. So i did include my hour or so of daily gym time in the previous calculation. SO i have gone back and removed it and come up with this number 2611. Therefore my daily cal intake should be 1611 + eating back the 400-500 cals I burn on my workout days. Am i finally on the right track? lol....sorry for being such a pain.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    I find when I eat the right foods, even if I'm just eating 1300 cal, I don't feel hungry. Fruits and veggies, as well as whole grains tend to be very filling, so instead of eating a bag of potato chips for a snack, I'll have an apple. Less calories, and keeps me full much longer
  • CherylYMerritt
    CherylYMerritt Posts: 114 Member
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    can you change your setting so that I can see your food log, I am curious as to what you are eating and how often.
  • karleen
    karleen Posts: 260
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    i didnt read all the responses but why not try 1 pound a week or 1 and a half? 2 ponds is a lot and you have quite a while til september. stick with nice healthy clean eating and be active im sure you could meet your goals! [i dunno what a kilogram is in comparison to a pound oops
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
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    Open up your food diary if you want serious input on this. Also realize that your body doesn't care if you have a goal and a certain date that you are hoping to lose by. Setting yourself for 2 lbs a week will be difficult with the amount you have to lose.
  • bonniejc4
    bonniejc4 Posts: 12 Member
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    You might try reducing your carb intake a bit and increasing your protein and fiber intake. Fiber does a terrific job of satisfying hunger. Many good veggies are high in fiber, including broccoli, squash, zucchini. You could even add a couple tbl spoons of flax seed to your daily diet. Ensure that your getting enough good fats. A combination of this will curb your appetite very well.

    It's a process. A fine tuning to find what works for you. I've done weight watchers in the past and I was always starving too. I prefer low carbing for a lot of reasons, but probably the biggest bonus is when your in ketosis, your appetite is very suppressed. Choose what works best for you.

    Good luck.
  • jenifer7teen
    jenifer7teen Posts: 205 Member
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    food choice is crucial to feeling satisfied.... but another thing i have noticed that is enormously helpful is VERY rarely eating more than 200 calories in a one hour window. it allows me to have a steady stream of calories so i dont ever get really hungry or really full. i've also noticed over the holidays (before i started dieting) i felt REALLY hungry a lot even though i was eating MUCH more. My stomach would even growl the next day if i'd eaten a big meal the night before. Now that i'm eating 1/3 the amount i havent had my stomach growl in 2 weeks... no big meals stretching out my stomach. that's just my theory though.
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I find that if I've done a hard workout I'm starving either later on in the day or the next day. I do have to eat if that's the case and most times I end up over my calorie limit. I just try to make good choices.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    Yeah, in the beginning, you'll be hungry because your body is used to eating so many more calories. Your body will adapt, though. Just try to eat a lot of veggies so you can eat more of them, also lots of protein.
  • bonniejc4
    bonniejc4 Posts: 12 Member
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    I struggle with this too, especially right before bedtime. Sometimes I let veggies be "freebies" and don't add them to the calorie count.
  • cajan10
    cajan10 Posts: 2 Member
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    I was really hungry by 4 pm on the 3rd day & had few calories left
    Most days I have gone a little over the allowance & weight seems to be dropping quickly
    My body is also behaving as if its on a liver detox
    I think its hard to work out calorie useage from exercise, so if I am really hungry I am having something extra (healthy)
    after all, surely we want to be able to learn to stop eating when our body has had enough,
    but I don't think being hungry for long is helpful
  • adamsidea
    adamsidea Posts: 15 Member
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    Alot of people say it isn't true. One thing I have found that really helps especially at night for me because I have always been a night snacker is water. I will drink a fairly large glass of water. It kind of tricks my body into thinking I did eat something.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Ok. So i did include my hour or so of daily gym time in the previous calculation. SO i have gone back and removed it and come up with this number 2611. Therefore my daily cal intake should be 1611 + eating back the 400-500 cals I burn on my workout days. Am i finally on the right track? lol....sorry for being such a pain.

    You nailed it.

    Now once a month, you get your stats to compute your body fat %, and head back to the calculator, and see if any big changes to make in the MFP goals.
    And record those stats as other measurements so you can track your real progress, real size, BF%, and weight.

    You may be very relieved that after a couple weeks of the scale not seeming to move much, you confirm sizes are smaller and BF% is down.

    Then you can start tackling some different training options. Though it sounds like you have that trainer with a whip already!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Now once a month, you get your stats to compute your body fat %, and head back to the calculator, and see if any big changes to make in the MFP goals.
    And record those stats as other measurements so you can track your real progress, real size, BF%, and weight.

    I realized I never gave a nice site to compute your own BF%, in case you don't have another means.

    This is nice, because with so many measurements you can also track on MFP, you can really see progress.

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/

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