Help!!! Why am I so hungry??!!

I lost 50 pounds last year and have been maintaining since the beginning of this year.  I monitor my caloric intake and expenditure on this site daily and eat within a couple hundred calories of what I expend each day.  Lately, I am starving all the time, more so than I ever was when I was losing weight.  If I am replacing what I burn, why am I so hungry all the time? I am eating the same stuff I always eat, only now I don't even feel like I have eaten anything.  Why am I so hungry??!!  Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.  Thanks, Martha

Make sure your drinking enough water and maybe try some new foods!

It sounds like you aren't eating enough. Something tells me this site is underestimating how much you really need.

Try not counting and eating normal portions of real food. I found I was hungrier when I was obsessed about the numbers. 

Are you eating plenty of greens, and other veggies? The bulk from the fiber really helps you to feel satiated. Also, it is possible that your diet might be lacking in some nutrients, and when you flood your body with the powerhouse of nutrients contained in fruits and veggies, it can make all the difference. The reason I'm taking a stab at this by bringing up vegetables, is that in our modern world of convenience, people tend not to eat enough quantity of them. Convenience foods don't tend to contain very sizeable portions of vegetables.

Of course I'm just guessing. I'd have to take a look at what foods you've actually been eating to know for sure what the problem is.

I follow Dr. Fuhrman's dietary recommendations, and find that I'm able to stay very satisfied on a much smaller number of calories than I ever would have expected. I'm finding maintenance quite easy, which is a huge departure from all of my past experience.

Who is Dr. Fuhrman and how do I find information on his dietary recommendations? 

 I suggest that you stop counting and logging each calorie. Instead trusting your instincts and all you've learnt thus far. Try just going off that for a week. Pick a weight in day instead of counting calories daily. Then if you see that you're losing or gaining ( you'll probably lose... I did. I had to start adding snacktimes into my daily routine between meals otherwise I was still losing by not counting calories. ) Anyway, back to what I was saying.. If you notice that you're gaining try working out more or deducting a snack. If you're losing then add a snack ect ect.

It may sound silly but you'll feel better when you do. I did. I felt a sense of relief and peace of mind. I wasn't as hungry so I lost weight. It made ' eating ' so much easier. ( Enjoyable again. ) By just using what I already knew and making healthy choices. Try it, if only for a week or two. Just pick a weigh in day and try not counting. I ended up eating less that way. Ironically enough.

I've been maintaining 103-105lbs since April. (I'm 5'2 Small Frame.)I'm living proof that you don't have to count forever to maintain. You just have to make healthy choices. It's doable.

Counting calories can become a complusive disorder. Because it can give you a bad relationship with food. I think any bad relationship with food is a disorder. Regardless if you're overweight, underweight, or within a healthy range for your height/stature. It's just not healthy mentally. Don't let it start to control you.

You can always PM/ or send me mail if you like.

This time around losing weight I made a huge discovery that has made all the difference to my maintenance.  I found out that every time I diet I get the symptoms of iron deficiency (had the tests this time) and I feel really really depleted and it makes me massively hungry.

So now I take iron supplements and I have energy and a normal (still too high though) appetite.

Martha, how long have you been feeling hungry? Are you talking a few days, or weeks? Is your weight stable through the hungry period?

I'm not sure wht the answer is, but if it's not been going on too long, maybe it is seasonal. I've been really hungry for about a week myself... coinciding with colder weather.

And, congrats on losing 50 and keeping it off for so long! that is major!

If you're been really  hungry for weeks now, perhaps you need to dial up the exercise and/or the food. If your weight is stable, try dialing up the exercise. If you're losing weight, give yourself a bit more food.

And finally, consider mixing up what you're eating. If you're really eating the same stuff all the time,maybe you should mix it up. Go out and have a steak (ok, maybe not the whole steak). Add some cereal. Whatever you haven't been allowing yourself, just enjoy a bit. Spend a weekend or two not counting calories and see what happens. I've found (I'm still losing, not maintenance yet) that sometimes when I do that it helps me drop more weight, even though I'm eating a little more.
all best,
fishy

Just to be on the safe side, have you been to the doctor lately?

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and advice.  I saw a doctor.  Everything is fine.  So I saw a nutritionist.  She upped my calories a little, added more protein--just basicly tweeked what I was already doing-- and recommended some vitamin supplements.  Also, I found a protein powder drink on the internet that is sweetened with stevia, since I can't have any sugar or artificial sweeteners, and that has helped a lot, too.  I feel much better and I am not hungry all the time.  Thanks, again!!!