Struggling to feel "full"

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MrsPatchon1837
MrsPatchon1837 Posts: 22
in Health and Weight Loss
I do pretty good all day, Im doing 30 day shred, level one, my calorie goal is 1200 a day and Im always slightly under that but its so hard to feel full after eating so during the day I drink coffee all day to keep from snacking but at night, about 3 hours after dinner, I'm STARVING!! Like stomach growling and gurgling hungry and tonight I wound up caving and eating dinner left overs which put me over my goal and probably ruined my entire day today. Any BTDT advice?

Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    If you are only eating 1200 calories and you are exercising... the most likely reason that you are hungry is because - you're hungry!
    That is a very low amount of calories (even if you are a small person) and is probably not enough to keep you happy and healthy and full of energy.
    Eat more food!
  • luckyambition
    luckyambition Posts: 5
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    I drink cold water when I am really hungry, because after the second glass my body begins to refuse it because of the temperature. Honestly, I'd suggest an activity that keeps food off your mind, like a bath, reading, or laying in bed listening to music. You could also drink tea! That curbs my cravings.
  • 2012Mich
    2012Mich Posts: 93
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    perhaps it's what you're eating. Trying having some almonds or PB as a snack.. might help in between meals.
  • FiercelyBeautiful
    FiercelyBeautiful Posts: 590 Member
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    If you are working out you need to eat some of the calories you are burning in addition to the 1200 calorie non exercise goal. If you are that hungry your body will go into starvation mode which will add pounds and stress to your body.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    You should be eating 1200 *without* exercise. If you're doing 30 day shred, you need more.

    Protein, fat, fiber and water all promote satiety in different ways. Make sure you're getting a sensible amount of all of them... preferably higher than the goverment RDA on protein and fiber at least.
  • 1a1a
    1a1a Posts: 761 Member
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    1200 is way to low, change your goal to half a pound a week and eat back your exercise cals
  • jhigg11
    jhigg11 Posts: 121 Member
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    up your calories, and eat more fiber & protein in your diet.
  • jennafurry
    jennafurry Posts: 2
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    Eating more meat/lentils (beans) will help with feeling full. Stay away from carbs (for obvious reasons). I'll have a couple slices of deli turkey with some sort of dipping sauce sometimes if I have the munchies.

    Also, looking into healthier snacking options. Snacking isn't bad; in fact the best eating regiment is to eat something every 3 hours. Special K makes good snacking stuff. A couple of slices of deli turkey could do it too.
  • twinkletoes2
    twinkletoes2 Posts: 12 Member
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    You also might want to try adding more veggies to your meals. They are typically low calorie and will help you get the "full" feeling when you eat without adding a ton of extra calories.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    You should be eating 1200 *without* exercise. If you're doing 30 day shred, you need more.

    Protein, fat, fiber and water all promote satiety in different ways. Make sure you're getting a sensible amount of all of them... preferably higher than the goverment RDA on protein and fiber at least.
    People in comas require more than 1200 calories. No human being should be on such foolishness .
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Eating more meat/lentils (beans) will help with feeling full. Stay away from carbs (for obvious reasons). I'll have a couple slices of deli turkey with some sort of dipping sauce sometimes if I have the munchies.

    Also, looking into healthier snacking options. Snacking isn't bad; in fact the best eating regiment is to eat something every 3 hours. Special K makes good snacking stuff. A couple of slices of deli turkey could do it too.

    Try this if you want, but don't be afraid to experiment with different foods and combination and see what works for your body.

    "Everybody" says "stay away from carbs" but that doesn't work for me. No matter how much protein and veg I have, it doesn't fill me up. If I add in some nice grainy carbs as well I'm good to go for hours.
  • LSC77
    LSC77 Posts: 24 Member
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    Sometimes I will eat three or four mini carrots if I am starving at night.
  • Miss_Suzylee
    Miss_Suzylee Posts: 26
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    If you get in a snack mood in the evening-like I do, there's nothing wrong with having some healthy snacks on hand for those times. Get some of the 100 calorie popcorn packs-or have a stash of apples or strawberries. 1200 calories is not that much, and if you're exercising a little 100 calorie here and there won't hurt as long as it's pretty healthy. But even when you want to eat another meal-try and just down a glass of water or two. Make it until bed-then get up and have breakfast.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Eating more meat/lentils (beans) will help with feeling full. Stay away from carbs (for obvious reasons). I'll have a couple slices of deli turkey with some sort of dipping sauce sometimes if I have the munchies.

    Also, looking into healthier snacking options. Snacking isn't bad; in fact the best eating regiment is to eat something every 3 hours. Special K makes good snacking stuff. A couple of slices of deli turkey could do it too.

    Try this if you want, but don't be afraid to experiment with different foods and combination and see what works for your body.

    "Everybody" says "stay away from carbs" but that doesn't work for me. No matter how much protein and veg I have, it doesn't fill me up. If I add in some nice grainy carbs as well I'm good to go for hours.
    Those who say such things are foolish as well. I have more endomorphic tendencies. That means my body doesn't "tolerate" carbs well. Yet, I am still cutting on 200g a day. People who have to remove a certain micro nutrient from their nutrition plans, clearly don't know how diet or most importantly ADHERE to a life style change.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
    Options
    Eating more meat/lentils (beans) will help with feeling full. Stay away from carbs (for obvious reasons). I'll have a couple slices of deli turkey with some sort of dipping sauce sometimes if I have the munchies.

    Also, looking into healthier snacking options. Snacking isn't bad; in fact the best eating regiment is to eat something every 3 hours. Special K makes good snacking stuff. A couple of slices of deli turkey could do it too.

    Try this if you want, but don't be afraid to experiment with different foods and combination and see what works for your body.

    "Everybody" says "stay away from carbs" but that doesn't work for me. No matter how much protein and veg I have, it doesn't fill me up. If I add in some nice grainy carbs as well I'm good to go for hours.
    Those who say such things are foolish as well. I have more endomorphic tendencies. That means my body doesn't "tolerate" carbs well. Yet, I am still cutting on 200g a day. People who have to remove a certain micro nutrient from their nutrition plans, clearly don't know how diet or most importantly ADHERE to a life style change.

    Exactly - we're all different. I think it just takes experimenting to find out what works for each of us.
    Well, that plus not believing everything that "everybody" says!
  • _hi_hat3r_
    _hi_hat3r_ Posts: 423 Member
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    Increase your fats and proteins
  • candacepatra
    candacepatra Posts: 26 Member
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    Check out the group Eat More to Weight Loss here on MFP. There are a few beginner's sticky forums that explain what the method is and why it's so important. After doing a few days of research, watching all the videos, and calculating my own figures - I truly believe that eating at 1200 calories per day is the absolute worst thing you could do to try to lose weight.

    There is also a video here that explains all about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYi9xjIRvbY&list=PL53474F3B3E221BEE&index=8&feature=plpp_video

    What's even better is that yesterday, my first day of eating at my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure ... I think that's what it stands for, I'm doing a metabolism reset!) I felt SO amazing. I usually would experience an awful feeling in the middle of the afternoon where I felt like I was absolutely starving, and that didn't happen yesterday... I just had energy all day long! On top of that, my workout went better, I slept better, I didn't have an evening "crash" that I had to push through... I am feeling GREAT.

    Don't let the high numbers scare you, just give it a try!
  • MrsPatchon1837
    MrsPatchon1837 Posts: 22
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    WOW.....thank you every one for your responses. Im glad I did post this, I had no idea that my calories were way to low. Im going to adjust my weight loss goal on here and see how I feel.

    Thanks again. <3
  • lucylAnneMason
    lucylAnneMason Posts: 87
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    I try and stay under 1500 calories, as long as your eating under 2000 calories, doing exercise and drinking plenty of water, you should be losing wight =)
    you need to make sure your eating plenty otherwise your body will go into starvation mode and you will put wight out =)
    Plus caffeine can make you crave more food so id probably lay off the coffe a little =) x

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