Does Anyone Here Ever Get Hungry?????

It seems like people on CC feel full on 12-1500 calories a day.  HOW????????  I am aiming for 1800 a day and it's sooooo hard!  Every calorie is so precious and I have to ration them so carefully.  I eat a lot of low-cal, healthy foods, but I always want more!  I spend so much of my day trying to distract myself from my hunger.  But if I up my calories I know I won't lose the weight.  It's just so hard.  And it shocks me when I see these posts where people find they're getting enough food on 1300 calories a day.  Are you NUTS??? 

I'm starvin' marvin here.

Original Post by poetnw:

I'm totally with you- I can't understand a real day with only 1200 to 1500 calories.  I know that my inability to eat raw vegies like cukes doesn't help but still- I am supposed to live on mostly vegies for the REST of my life?  Not happening.  I try to compromise and yes, the flab is coming off very slowly.  I do feel that I am stronger than I was a year ago when I started trying to be healthier.  I think if I stayed in the low calorie range, I would think of food MORE cause my body would be screaming.  And I've tried to eat more protein to curb my sweets craving.  Does nothing for me.  So keep on plugging. 

yup, making a lifestyle change requires someone to keep those changes for the REST of their lives.

granted, i never liked meat so for me it's VERY easy to live off veggies; I'm currently semi-vegetarian...think that I eat meat MAYBE once a week...otherwise it's veggies, fruits, diary , egg-whites, nuts....

and best of all? I LOVE it! No one MAKES me eat it :)

Damn girl I'm hungry every day. The other day I read a headline of a magazine with Julianne Moore on the cover which said: "I'm always hungry, I think most actresses are."

I eat 1300 cals per day and it's always like I'm just waiting for the next meal. It's a crappy way to live, but once I've lost enough weight, I'll slowly increase my calories to maintain so living this way is just temporary. It helps to bulk up  your meals with lots of veggies and eat regular, low GI meals.

All the fricking time! I usually overeat due to as one person put it 'mouth hunger' but sometimes it's my body that's hungry and then it's like I want something specific eg. I NEED cheese or I NEED porridge so I think perhaps if I'm craving these things it means I need more protein or more carbs?

I love this post. I am always hungry. I was down to 1,200-1,500 calories a day. Got my weight way down but was sick. I believe from not eating enough. I workout 6 days a week.

Now I am up to 1,800-2,300 a day and I am still hungry a lot. It sucks. And I crave all the bad stuff. I don't eat it but think about it a lot. I eat clean 90% of the time but food is always on my mind and I do drink tons of water. I mean tons and eat the right stuff, fiber, protein, complex carbs, good fats and I am still hungry.

I target 1500 cal per day and on days when I am too hungry to eat that amount or less, I ride my bike to make up for the extra calories I have taken in.  Winter is closing in so I will be joining a gym and I hope the weight keeps falling off.  Today is the first day that I have seen the scale read less than 200 pounds in four or five years. 

I just joined this site a few days ago, so I've only been counting calories for less than a week. I feel hungry all the time, but that's because my stomach hasn't shrunk yet. I know from past experiences that the longer I eat less, the easier it will get to feel full on less food. Just have to give it time.

That diet aid from Canada (Salba?) sound great. Anyone know the US name of the product?

@ donnaljo

Yeah, it's called Salba :)

Check out salba dot com.

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one!!!

I appreciate the suggestions and have been trying to up my water.  I know the way to eat under 1800 calories a day and stay relatively full is by eating mostly tomatoes and cucumbers and hardly anything else.  But I don't want to be that weird girl that goes to bar and brings her own Crystal Lite packet.  And I'm not going to show up to a friend's dinner party with a tub of celery. 

How long have you been eating less?  It took me a good 2-3 weeks to adjust to eating about half as much (~3000->1500) calories.

I'm exercising 5 or 6 days a week as well.

A significant tactic in not feeling hungry for me is to split my food up.

In the morning (7:30-8:30) I will eat a bowl or so of cereal or about 60g of oatmeal.  Around 10 or 11 I eat half of my lunch.  If I am feeling extra hungry a Fiber One or some other Granola bar.  I eat the second portion of my lunch between 1 and 2.  I will often eat another Granola bar, tomato soup, or a small bag of popcorn in the afternoon as well too.  I work out/run every day after work and eat dinner between 7 and 8.

Some people at work actually have commented that I "am always eating".  They are right, but I'm not usually eating a lot.  I typically don't exceed 1500 cal in a day.

I do pretty regularly treat myself (once every 1-2 weeks) and eat something indulgent or drink some beers with my friends and put down 2500-3000 calories but it hasn't affected me. much.  I've been dieting for about 3 months now and I'm down 28 pounds.

Some days I feel more hungry than others and it can be annoying.  As long as you're confident that your body isn't absolutely lying to you I usually just eat more if I'm hungry.  Don't listen to it though if it is immediately after eating.  Eat what you've planned wait an hour and if you're still hungry eat some more.  The ticket here is to make sure it is a low calorie but satisfying food.  I've actually gotten to the point that I have to make an effort to eat more some days (except when I do stuff like go out to a restaurant and eat a burger or something).

For reference, I am a now (was 262) 235lb 6'3" 23year old male.

I find myself hungry most days. Because I'm pretty small and my crazy schedule makes it so I can't work out most days, I usually eat around 1300 cal. I burn 1700 on a sedentary day. On days that I get a good workout in I enjoy the extra calories.

It helps if you pay attention to which kind of hungry you are (as has been said already) but also pay attention to times that you like to eat. I find forcing myself NOT to have my nighttime snack ends up leading to me sneaking food- and going over my limit. Now I leave myself ~150 cal for a little snack an hour before I go to bed. I portion the cals out for the day, and I know approximately how much I should be eating for breakfast (~200-500) lunch (~200-500) for a 700 cal total at the middle of the day... so I have 200-500 for dinner with some left for a snack.

i have a q: are calories the enemy here? what about carbs and fat?

I learned a trick from The Biggest Loser and that is when you're feeling hungry or want something sweet, chew some sugar free gum.  It makes your stomach think that you're eating something and tides you over until your next meal.  Works for me...

Cheryl

when i'm hungry, i eat.  i just don't eat massive quantities.  when i'm really on track and doing well, i'll find that all my 10" dinner plates stay clean and all my soup bowls and small plates are dirty ;)

I am usually hungry after 10:00. While I am at work, I could care less about eating. When I am at home, eating is all I think about. Well that and laundry, and the floor and all of the other chores that need to be done.

I have found that lots of fiber and protein help keep the hungry bug away. Attitude is important as well. I wish I could take my own advice.

I am a full time student and work full time (I am a nurse)  and have grandchildren who keep me quite busy, but I suspect with my advanced age and menopause and passion for pasta and beer, there is a lot I have working against me.

LOL  It is all about what those calories are made of.  I am on a 1300 calorie diet right now and don't feel hungry mainly because the calories I am eating are really hard to digest foods that tend to linger for a while.  (lots of proteins & vegetables)

My snacks also tend to be calorie-less but filling.  For example I will eat an entire bowl of sugarfree jello and take in only about 40 calories, but feel completely full until my next meal. 

I can't explain it really, but I remember being a lot hungrier when my diet consisted of more starches and sugars.

Original Post by momma3biker:

Thank you barnaby!  I'm right there with you.  I've been wondering the same thing and I'll tell you what, it's not about the food because I eat a really clean diet with plenty of fiber (I've been over 30 grams every day this week) and a lot of protein (80 grams approx per day).  1800 calories a day is very difficult for me to maintain, even when I don't exercise.  I'm glad I'm not the only one!

 Hmmm well that is only 17.7% of your calories from protein, I don't consider that "a lot".

I am a big fan of the protein and fibre, I do find it makes a huge difference to how I feel, and I am pretty much never hungry unless I happen to get stuck somewhere without food (then, lookout!). I average about 27% of my calories from protein, so on 1800 cals that would be 122g of protein per day. By focussing on lean proteins, I keep my fat at a reasonable level and supplement with good fats like olive oil and nuts (around 23% fats). This is a balance that works really well for me....but everyone is different. I think it's really important to find your balance, don't just track calories, also track macronutrients to figure out what works for you.

As a point of note, I was at 1700 cals per day very happily for the first 22 weeks or so, then I hit a plateau and ended up upping to 1950 or so to try and break it. Well the plateau broke and I am still at 1950, I am finding it hard to go back to 1700 after being at a higher level for a while....which I totally don't get, I used to eat likely 3000 per day before counting and had no trouble going down to 1700!! What the heck. So I understand your pain...personally I have found a good place at 1950 and just accept that I will lose slower.

btw I also use the phrase Starvin Marvin, haha....like, "It's 12:30 and I haven't had lunch yet, I'm starvin Marvin!!"

you need to eat more greens (veggies) not the startchy kind .....mind you we are different (my problem was I didnlt eat enough) so my P.T. planed out a diet that you eat 5 meals a day .......my typical day consists of 2/3 ceral (or whaterver it says on the box) one cup 1% milk (2% or whole is fine but gotta count those calories) and 24oz water(falvoured is fine) then mid morning I have a banana or a lowfat yogurt and more water , lunch I have one skinless boneless chicken breast (3 or 4 oz) 1 cup brocoli, 1 cup califlower, and or 1 cup carrots or 1 cup rice ( I measure and weigh everything). I also have a salad with maybe 1/2 tablespoon dressing or 1 1/2 tablespoon cheese and yes water agian( if your still hungery you must have a tape worm) then around 3ish I have a small 1"x1" piece of chees or a low fat yogurt or a piece of fruit and some fresh veggies like celery and carrots ect more water....for dinner its ethier a chicken breast again or a 3 or 4 oz lean steak (sirlion for me) a small potato or 1 cup rice and lots of not so startchy veggies and a salad agian and you guessed it water  ....I never eat till I am stuffed , just full and I find I don't crave things any more...this is the diet that my P.T made up for me and told me to eat more often as it helps get your metabolism gowing ( this menu is about 1550 cals a day ) if your a vegan just get your protien from something like tofu (I like it in stir fry) I have lost 7.8lbs in two weeks keeping to this as well as going to my P.T 3 times a week ....what I getting at is that if you eat the right foods (not processed or overly processed) you can eat more of them and still stay in your cal mark what ever it may be and not be hungry....  hope this helps and I don't sound preachy

Hi there,

I am eating 1200 a day and even can't eat 1200. I end up every day with 1170 or even less. My stomach shrinked so much that i just can't eat much anymore. It is surprising for me how people can eat  1500 or 2000 calories a day.  But it's me.

I eat b/w 1300-1500 cals a day. At first, it was really hard, and I was always hungry. My first step was to get some great low cal snacks and start eating fruit and drinking water like there was no tomorrow. It's true what they say about your stomach shrinking. Case in point: I used to love eating at Chipotle and could make it through a whole burrito without a second thought. The last time I went, I only ate about half of it and felt sickly full.

Another thing I noticed is that some days I would eat right at my goal and be completely satisfied and full. Then other days I would be way over and be starving. Never underestimate the power of how WHAT you eat fuels you. I found this really great article a while back on here that really summed up what I had kind of figured out on my own: that certain foods fuel me much better than others. It's almost as if certain things that aren't normally considered "empty calories" are pretty much just that for me.

http://caloriecount.about.com/metabolic-types -eating-ft93247