How do you stay full without going over calories?

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  • poptastic
    poptastic Posts: 151 Member
    For those that have asked, I'm not logging my exercises for 2 reasons:

    1) I do pretty much the same every day - I cycle to and from work and go to the gym on my lunch break (although I vary what I do there each day). At weekends I cycle and walk everywhere.

    2) When I was tracking my exercise and eating back exercise calories I got weirdly obsessive about it, and I think it's probably better to maintain a balance each day to get me into better eating habits (trying to eat less generally).

    3) When I was tracking exercise I also think I was maybe too generous with the amount of calories I was reallocating to myself - I was going on what the cardio machines say and what the auto amounts are in here (eg for lifting) and then using that as an excuse to eat a cookie or something. So I felt like I was kind of sabotaging myself that way too.

    I probably do eat a bit more on days that I do weights at the gym rather than, say, a class, but I'm trying overall to eat less.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    For those that have asked, I'm not logging my exercises for 2 reasons:

    1) I do pretty much the same every day - I cycle to and from work and go to the gym on my lunch break (although I vary what I do there each day). At weekends I cycle and walk everywhere.

    2) When I was tracking my exercise and eating back exercise calories I got weirdly obsessive about it, and I think it's probably better to maintain a balance each day to get me into better eating habits (trying to eat less generally).

    3) When I was tracking exercise I also think I was maybe too generous with the amount of calories I was reallocating to myself - I was going on what the cardio machines say and what the auto amounts are in here (eg for lifting) and then using that as an excuse to eat a cookie or something. So I felt like I was kind of sabotaging myself that way too.

    I probably do eat a bit more on days that I do weights at the gym rather than, say, a class, but I'm trying overall to eat less.

    What do you have MFP set at for your activity level, then? There's nothing wrong with just averaging your calorie needs out over the week, the important part is that you count them somewhere. If you have MFP set to "sedentary," then you are basically starving yourself and it's no wonder that you're ravenous.

    If you don't know why you should be eating more, then I highly recommend checking out the articles here - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again . Several of them go into detail about why having too much of a deficit (either by not eating or by exercising off what you do eat) is counterproductive at best.

    As I said before, if you don't track your exercise separately, then calculate your TDEE to help you figure out your needs. If you don't want to overestimate how much you burn while doing your cardio-type stuff, then pick up a heart rate monitor to get a reasonably accurate reading.
  • poptastic
    poptastic Posts: 151 Member
    What do you have MFP set at for your activity level, then? There's nothing wrong with just averaging your calorie needs out over the week, the important part is that you count them somewhere. If you have MFP set to "sedentary," then you are basically starving yourself and it's no wonder that you're ravenous.

    If you don't know why you should be eating more, then I highly recommend checking out the articles here - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again . Several of them go into detail about why having too much of a deficit (either by not eating or by exercising off what you do eat) is counterproductive at best.

    As I said before, if you don't track your exercise separately, then calculate your TDEE to help you figure out your needs. If you don't want to overestimate how much you burn while doing your cardio-type stuff, then pick up a heart rate monitor to get a reasonably accurate reading.

    I have it set as Active, so am trying to stay under 1,690 calories per day. A TDEE Calculator told me around 2400 for an activity level of 3-5 days per week. I do know that it's important to eat enough, but I think at those levels there is no way I can be starving my body if I'm eating at least 1500 calories a day!
  • Propje09
    Propje09 Posts: 2
    Make sure you eat Enough fiber, that will keep you full! A person need around 30/40 grams fiber a day!
  • fatforthewin
    fatforthewin Posts: 33
    Recently I've stepped up my exercise in an attempt to shift my ever-growing excess weight. I've been cycling most days anyway and doing yoga for the past year, I'm now also doing a rowing & weights routine at lunchtime. Since I've started doing that though, I come back to the office absolutely ravenous! Not initially - when I first get out of them gym I drink about a pint of water, and then eat my usual lunch (salad with some kind of fish usually). Sometimes also some fruit or nuts. But a couple of hours later, I feel really hungry again! Should I be eating more post-workout? Or am I eating the wrong kind of things? Or do I just need to get used to the feeling of being a bit hungry? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    The first suggestion I was going to give was to try low carb/high-fat (still calorie-controlled, though!) diet but I see you already control carbohydrates. I did notice potatoes and bread here and there but I don't think you should feel such an appetite from that alone, especially considering that your carbs are still within a good range at the end of the day and you are exercising. You could try lowering carbs and increasing protein and/or fat for a week and see if appetite subsides. My appetite - even cravings, in some cases - disappear when I increase the fat in my diet.

    Interestingly, you are ravenous after your rowing/weights routine. Something similar happened to me a year ago and it is the reason why I stopped lifting weights consistently. My appetite after weight lifting was painful. I, like you, chose filling and wholesome lunches and dinners but nothing seemed to stave off hunger for long. When I stopped weight lifting (consistently) the fat continued to disappear (because my calories were still low enough) but my appetite disappeared with it. I think the appetite problem has something to do with muscle breakdown and anaerobic metabolism. You could try weight lifting two days a week and see if your hunger levels change. Two days is enough to stimulate the positive effects of strength training and it should provide a perfect amount of time between sessions for recovery. There is really no need to strength train every day.

    If strength training is supposed to stimulate muscle catabolism and consequent repair (anabolism) but your calories are low enough for weight loss (catabolism of various tissues), you have two different, if not opposite, processes being stimulated.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    What do you have MFP set at for your activity level, then? There's nothing wrong with just averaging your calorie needs out over the week, the important part is that you count them somewhere. If you have MFP set to "sedentary," then you are basically starving yourself and it's no wonder that you're ravenous.

    If you don't know why you should be eating more, then I highly recommend checking out the articles here - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again . Several of them go into detail about why having too much of a deficit (either by not eating or by exercising off what you do eat) is counterproductive at best.

    As I said before, if you don't track your exercise separately, then calculate your TDEE to help you figure out your needs. If you don't want to overestimate how much you burn while doing your cardio-type stuff, then pick up a heart rate monitor to get a reasonably accurate reading.

    I have it set as Active, so am trying to stay under 1,690 calories per day. A TDEE Calculator told me around 2400 for an activity level of 3-5 days per week. I do know that it's important to eat enough, but I think at those levels there is no way I can be starving my body if I'm eating at least 1500 calories a day!

    If your TDEE is 2400, then you're working on a roughly 900 calorie deficit, which works out to a little under 2lb/week. According to your ticker, you're only looking to lose about 15 lbs. Assuming your goal is what's considered "normal" for your height/frame, then you're trying to lose too aggressively. You should be doing one of two things:

    1. Chose a more conservative deficit. You should be aiming for a .5 - 1lb/week loss. Add in an extra high-protein snack and you should be good.

    2. Ignore "weight loss" altogether and focus on body composition. Continue your weight routine (or even step it up and start lifting heavy; no, you won't turn into she-Hulk) and eat at maintenance or even a little above. A good weight routine will help you decrease your body fat percentage.
  • iamers
    iamers Posts: 74
    I stock up on veg and lots of it!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    I have it set as Active, so am trying to stay under 1,690 calories per day. A TDEE Calculator told me around 2400 for an activity level of 3-5 days per week. I do know that it's important to eat enough, but I think at those levels there is no way I can be starving my body if I'm eating at least 1500 calories a day!

    If you are ravenous, that's your body telling you that you are starving your body.
  • fatforthewin
    fatforthewin Posts: 33
    I have it set as Active, so am trying to stay under 1,690 calories per day. A TDEE Calculator told me around 2400 for an activity level of 3-5 days per week. I do know that it's important to eat enough, but I think at those levels there is no way I can be starving my body if I'm eating at least 1500 calories a day!

    If you are ravenous, that's your body telling you that you are starving your body.

    If you are ravenous, that's your body telling you that it is running low on glucose.
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