Hungry on higher calories

alikat42
alikat42 Posts: 213 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello!

I'm 26, 5'5" currently 160 lbs, looking to get to roughly 145.

I recently (as of Monday) increased my calories. I've been consistently netting 1300 to 1400 for the last 3 months and have never really felt hunger in that time. Now that I've upped my net to just shy of 1800 I'm starving all the time? I just ate almost 900 calories for dinner (Subway sandwich, goldfish crackers, and a cookie) and I seriously feel like I could eat my foot right now.

What gives?

Replies

  • bashiera
    bashiera Posts: 140 Member
    That dinner you just described-cookies, goldfish, subway. I see a lot of simple carbohydrates. Hardly any fiber or high protein there. That's my first observation. What's your consumption of whole grains, whole proteins (meats, egg, dairy, quinoa, rice+legumes), fiber, water, leafy greens and fruits? I'd say if your diet is low in those, that might be why. Ever ate a huge Chinese dinner and felt hungry an hour later? It's because the quality of the food, more than the quantity most of the time, determines how satiated you are.
  • alikat42
    alikat42 Posts: 213 Member
    Those are all excellent points. My diet could certainly be better. What confuses me though is my diet was similar two weeks ago, just fewer calories, and I wasn't as hungry.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    i agree with bashiera, look into the type of calories that you're getting. i also eat around 1800 calories a day and i make sure to eat alot of protein and veggies since those are filling
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
    Definitely more protein. I do much better when I aim for 100g a day. lots of chicken, eggs, fish, greek yogurt and protein powder.
  • kaitlynnrogers
    kaitlynnrogers Posts: 142 Member
    not being hungry is a sign of your metabolism slowing down! so now your metabolism is faster than before..which is good!
  • honestlysweet
    honestlysweet Posts: 221 Member
    Just wondering, was the lower calories working ? Why did you up them?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Bashiera has nailed it. Try for fewer simple carbs. Try to think of this as a healthy way of eating, something you could sustain forever.
  • cstroud44
    cstroud44 Posts: 1
    It probably has more to do with length of diet and hormone balance than what youre eating if you were eating the same foods earlier in your diet. If you do some reading about leptin and ghrelin, youll find as you lose weight (especially after having set your body's "set point" at a high level) its harder to lose more weight and you will become more hungry. This is why its so hard to keep weight off. Stay on your diet and definitely make the changes the other users have suggested. Most of all keep exercising.
  • alikat42
    alikat42 Posts: 213 Member
    Just wondering, was the lower calories working ? Why did you up them?

    It worked for the last 30 pounds, but I've been at a standstill recently.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
    The hunger is a normal thing, and the cause of yo-yo dieting where you gain everything back again. When we were hunter gatherers we knew how to survive lean times when the game was scarce and winter meant no berries. But when food became plentiful again, the body triggered the hunger pangs so that we would fatten up again.

    You are simply fighting this reflex and it is the reason why maintaining is so incredibly difficult. Somehow, you have to stay the course until your metabolism adjusts again.

    MFP has to be a lifetime habit because of that.
  • alikat42
    alikat42 Posts: 213 Member
    The hunger is a normal thing, and the cause of yo-yo dieting where you gain everything back again. When we were hunter gatherers we knew how to survive lean times when the game was scarce and winter meant no berries. But when food became plentiful again, the body triggered the hunger pangs so that we would fatten up again.

    You are simply fighting this reflex and it is the reason why maintaining is so incredibly difficult. Somehow, you have to stay the course until your metabolism adjusts again.

    MFP has to be a lifetime habit because of that.

    Dude. This makes major sense. Thank you!

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