Someone Want to Tell Me Why I'm Still Hungry?

AimersBee
AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So.. I find that I am still feeling hungry even after 2 hrs of eating something.. if I ate every 2 hrs and I'm up at 4:30am everday, I'd be wayyy over my calorie intake a day.

My stats.. 157 lbs.. 5'4..
Daily Calorie Intake w/out Exercise = 1200
Daily Calorie Intake w/ Exercise = 1350-1550

Please feel free to take a look at my food diary to give me some pointers..

Be kind with me please :embarassed: :flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    :sad: Anyone?! :laugh:
  • Karebear_68
    Karebear_68 Posts: 67
    Hi! Everyone keeps telling me to up my protein intake and cut down on the sugar and I will not be as hungry..... I admit I have not been too good at following this myself. I am like you, I could eat 24/7!!! Also, the eating small amount 4-5 times a day is supposed to help. I hope this may help you some! :flowerforyou:
  • Susan923
    Susan923 Posts: 61
    I sure can hon...you're simply not eating enough food in a day.
    I am 5'4" and weight 125 and I eat @1800-2000 calories per day. I make sure my diet is clean and healthy (with some goodness thrown in once in a while)


    Do me a favor and check out the forum "Eat More to Weigh Less" on the message boards. Take some time to read about it and learn about it and it will change your life. I used to be a 1200 calorie girl and it is so hard to stick with and I would always gain weight and wonder why.
    Add me as a friend if you want. Good Luck.
  • annhjk
    annhjk Posts: 794 Member
    Eat more. If you're truly hungry, your body is trying to tell you something. I'm 5'5" (weigh leas than tou) and I'm eating 2400-2700 cals of healthy food daily. Try adding 100 -200 cals every week and see how you do. The scale might go up a little while your body adjusts, but when you get to the right point, you'll start to drop again. Try setting your goal to 1 lb (or even a half lb) a week instead of 2.
  • Jauryn
    Jauryn Posts: 73 Member
    As well as eating more, you should also do some reading on intermittent fasting. It's worked wonders for some people, and depending on the schedule and the person, can help resolve your issue of hunger since it challenges the notion of having to eat all day. There's a group for it if you're interested in checking it out. I myself am following, for the most part, leangains, which has an eating schedule of 16/8, meaning I only eat in an 8 hour window every day which works great with my schedule, and allows me to eat larger meals during that time. But I've always been a breakfast skipper this schedule isn't too challenging for me.

    And if you are limiting yourself to only 1200 calories a day, you are certainly not eating enough, especially if you are moving around at all during the day. Try to eat back all the calories you gain too from your daily exercise.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    I think your intake is reasonable. 1500 is about right for a 500 cal deficit for an "average" woman who works out. I just started leangains which is intermittent fasting, so you eat all your calories between some set hours. It lets you eat a lot and feel full during that window, eating normal meals. My eating window is late so I go to bed a few hours after I'm done eating, feeling satiated and not tempted to snack, then wake up and I'm sometimes a little hungry but usually I go to work and get busy so I don't even think about food until lunch. Might work for you.

    Other than that, protein and fiber are a girl's best friend. They will keep you full. Try eating 2 servings of green at every meal and see how much food that ends up being. It always amazes me just how much food per calorie you can get with veggies
  • HealthfulLife
    HealthfulLife Posts: 28 Member
    You most likely need to eat more!
    I am 5'1 and 122lbs and intake around 1800-2000 calories per day with exercise. If your stomach is growling and you are hungry, your body is trying to tell you something...eat ! You will still need to eat with a calorie defecit to lose weight but not nearly as low as 1200 calories. Eat more weight less is a good concept, as long as you are getting good quality food! Try adding some small snacks to your daily intake, this will help curb your hunger, add more calories, as well as keep your metabolism moving!
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Honestly? You probably need to eat more.

    I'm 5'4" (okay, slightly under that, but close enough),145-150lbs and I can easily lose weight in the 2100-2200 NET calorie range. I can easily maintain in the 2300-2500 NET calorie range. The constant hunger is your body's way of telling you it isn't getting enough nutrition.
  • ClareWantsProgress
    ClareWantsProgress Posts: 173 Member
    I agree that eating a bit more has helped a lot. I was always waking up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling, constantly hungry, etc. I changed my settings to have a goal of only losing .5 pounds a week instead of one pound, and it bumped up my calories from 1350 to 1600. (I'm 5'6" and currently 154 pounds, not trying to lose more than 15 pounds.) Once I made that change, I find I am no longer famished and feel much better - and I have managed to drop a couple of pounds, albeit slowly.

    Add a few healthy items to your daily intake and see how it goes. Good luck!
  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    I eat quite a bit of veggies and fruits throughout the day.. here's what I'm snacking on.. then I'll have about 2-3 cups of veggies for dinner as well. I don't think the eating healthy part is killing me.. I've looked through a lot of people's diaries and I find mines a little more clean eating than most.. but again differs between everyone I'm sure..

    11.jpg


    I guess I'll have to implement more protein (although protein goes over as well).. or just eat more and up my calorie intake on MFP.. hopefully that works..

    :) Any other points are still appreciated.. more the merrier! Thanks!
  • CinJay
    CinJay Posts: 157 Member
    I sure can hon...you're simply not eating enough food in a day.
    I am 5'4" and weight 125 and I eat @1800-2000 calories per day. I make sure my diet is clean and healthy (with some goodness thrown in once in a while)


    Do me a favor and check out the forum "Eat More to Weigh Less" on the message boards. Take some time to read about it and learn about it and it will change your life. I used to be a 1200 calorie girl and it is so hard to stick with and I would always gain weight and wonder why.
    Add me as a friend if you want. Good Luck.

    ^^ this :)
  • grumpy2day
    grumpy2day Posts: 198 Member
    It may sound strange but I was always hungry when I stuck to everything low/no fat and I wasn't losing either. I started adding fat back in (in small quanities through the day) and I feel much more sated. Your body does need some fat, just use good sources of it. Nuts, evo a little whole dairy here and there. It also heped me to start losing weight again. But the main problem may be that you are not consuming enough calories for the level of activity you do every day.
  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    So I changed my settings to 1 lb loss per week rather than 2 lbs.. still 1290 caloric intake? Even with 6 days a week exercise.. Should I be changing it myself.. or should I just be in the negatives/red everday to eat more in a day?
  • greatthursday
    greatthursday Posts: 19
    So I changed my settings to 1 lb loss per week rather than 2 lbs.. still 1290 caloric intake? Even with 6 days a week exercise.. Should I be changing it myself.. or should I just be in the negatives/red everday to eat more in a day?

    You're my height/weight twin! Well, you are where I was a few months ago. Currently I am at 141 lbs and trying to eat about 1400 calories a day or so, and I am losing. 1290 may be a little bit low ... Maybe go in and manually adjust the calorie allotment (that's what I had to do ... I didn't want to eat 1300 calories a day)? It's weird, some days I am satisfied with 1200 (net) calories, some days I'm not.

    As far as the "hungry every 2 hours" ... I get up at 5AM for work, eat breakfast (typically between 200-300 calories), then head in. I snack once at 9 or 10 AM (a banana, or a yogurt cup, or a protein shake -- I try to make it between 100 and 200 calories) and this keeps me more or less satisfied until lunchtime (11:30 or 12 PM), where I eat between 250-350 calories. Snack again at around 2 or 3 PM, again 100-200 calories, and then this keeps me satisfied until I am home at about 4:30 or 5 PM. Exercise, dinner. Dinner can vary ... between 300-500 calories is best for me, I've found.

    I do try to eat at least once every 2 or 3 hours, because I do get miserable and hungry if I'm not, but if you add up my numbers there, the low estimate is 950 and the high estimate is 1500. I typically have a snack before bed (I don't sit in the camp with the individuals who don't eat before bedtime. Doesn't work for me) to get me to my calorie limit for the day, especially if I have exercised. Sometimes this is a satisfying thing, like ice cream, sometimes it is fruit or something salty.

    But there's nothing wrong with "grazing". I personally believe it is better to not ever feel "stuffed" and instead be satisfied throughout the entire day, because this makes me feel better!

    EDIT to add: I have a desk job, and do not know your situation, but I presume if you have anything more active you have let MFP take that into account ... ?
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    You could always have base calories higher than 1200. 1200 calories makes me a stabby *****. You should be able to keep yourself comfortable even on a deficit. If you have too much of a deficit, it will be difficult to feel good.
  • tabulator32
    tabulator32 Posts: 701 Member
    Move more so you can eat more.

    Take a walk, eat a turkey croissant.

    Take a jog, eat a cheeseburger.

    Run a marathon, eat a large pan meatlovers pizza.
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    My only suggestion would be to ditch some of the sugar. When I was having a banana (even half) in the morning, I was going way over on my sugar count. Even too much natural sugar can give us false hunger signals. Now that I try to keep my sugar count to 15g or less each day, I don't get strong hunger cravings and can eat sensibly when I really am hungry. I hope that helps?
  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    Move more so you can eat more.

    Take a walk, eat a turkey croissant.

    Take a jog, eat a cheeseburger.

    Run a marathon, eat a large pan meatlovers pizza.

    I do 30 Day Shred everyday currently, along with my 10-13 hr day of work (desk job), along with 2 hrs travel time.. there is only so much I can do for "moving more" unfortunately..
  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    My only suggestion would be to ditch some of the sugar. When I was having a banana (even half) in the morning, I was going way over on my sugar count. Even too much natural sugar can give us false hunger signals. Now that I try to keep my sugar count to 15g or less each day, I don't get strong hunger cravings and can eat sensibly when I really am hungry. I hope that helps?

    Hmm didn't realize that too much fruit is bad... :frown: I personally thought you could eat as much fruit and veggies in a day as you wanted to?
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
    when I keep my sugar down, carbs so so and protein level throughout the day...my hunger is zilch. increase that sugar n id be craving n searching the cupboards lol
  • spngebobmyhero
    spngebobmyhero Posts: 823 Member
    agree with the eat a bit more, but also your fat intake is really low. Fat will keep you full for longer and it won't make you fat, I promise! Just stick with healthy fats!
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    Here is an Awesome site to give you your numbers to go by - MFP calculates a little differently (lower than average):

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    TDEE = The most calories you should eat and stay at the same weight (maintain)

    BMR = Least amount of calories that you should ever eat b/c these are the calories you need just to breathe and function

    -15% = Cut = The equation that you should most likely use to get your number of calories to eat per day (You eat this amount of calories...Don't eat extra calories from exercise unless you NET under your BMR.

    NET = Calories eaten - Calories burned (You can see this number on your News Feed page)

    Confusing I know but you will remember it all once you get the hang of it....

    I hope this helps you out!! :)

    ETA: I did your numbers on the scooby site with Moderate activity level - Here are the numbers I got for you:

    BMR: 1506

    TDEE: 2334

    CUT (-15%): 1984

    You should be eating 1984 calories per day - Do NOT eat back your exercise calories with this...
    **Unless you burn MORE THAN 478 calories with all exercise for the day!!**
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    My only suggestion would be to ditch some of the sugar. When I was having a banana (even half) in the morning, I was going way over on my sugar count. Even too much natural sugar can give us false hunger signals. Now that I try to keep my sugar count to 15g or less each day, I don't get strong hunger cravings and can eat sensibly when I really am hungry. I hope that helps?

    Hmm didn't realize that too much fruit is bad... :frown: I personally thought you could eat as much fruit and veggies in a day as you wanted to?

    I used to think the same thing and there will be some people who will say that natural sugar from fruit is okay. It is okay, but in moderation. Non-starchy veggies are a completely different story though... I eat tons and tons of those! :) But, in my own experience, having a couple of servings of low-sugar fruits (berries, etc.) in the morning and cutting out as much sugar the rest of the day has worked very well in controlling hunger cravings.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    You may not be eating enough. 1200 calories isn't enough for most people.
  • Tdk4685
    Tdk4685 Posts: 293 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories?
  • Nerdy_Rose
    Nerdy_Rose Posts: 1,277 Member
    I'm 2 inches shorter than you, and I eat 1500-1600 per day + exercise calories.

    That said, eat more.
    Protein shakes, protein bars, nuts, avocados = all awesome sources of more calories, good fats, and a way to up your protein macro.
  • AimersBee
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    Most of the time I'm eating back just about all of my exercise calories..
  • mitchellwelsh
    mitchellwelsh Posts: 3
    I am doing 1600 ish with nearly 400 excercise. I am teetering on hunger but it goes away when I have a cup of tea or water. I also have been told to wait 20mins after eating and if you still feel hungry, eat something.

    Thanks for this tip. I think I have to eat a little more and excercise a little more.
  • boggsmeister
    boggsmeister Posts: 292 Member
    It might help to replace some of those carb calories with fat. You look pretty good on your protein numbers. You also might consider raising your calories and doing this slower. If you are always hungry, you are going to fall off the wagon pretty fast.
  • Marmitegeoff
    Marmitegeoff Posts: 373 Member
    when I keep my sugar down, carbs so so and protein level throughout the day...my hunger is zilch. increase that sugar n id be craving n searching the cupboards lol

    The sugar so early in the day will give you an insulin spike that will then make you feel hungry for the rest of the day.

    Try a day with low GI foods poridge or oats NO added suger first thing and see how you feel.

    Then try a day with manufactured cereals first thing see how you feel. then read the lables for the suger content.

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