Why am I so hungry?!

I woke up this morning not hungry at all but I had a FiberOne Bar before my workout. I just started lifting a new weight on Saturday, rested yesterday, lifted again today. Could this be why I am so hungry? Normally, I don't feel like "I need more fuel!" but today I cannot get satisfied. I was hoping you all could look at what I ate today and tell me if I am doing anything wrong. Also, its always good to have other look at your logs once in a while to get some suggestions but seriously, I ate a ton of protein so I am confused to this hunger. I'm 5'1,5", 25, Female, I workout with weights every other day or at least try to, I don't know if I should up my calories or not, I have been trying to stick at 1,200. I've seen a lot of people on this site say they stuck around 1,200 to lose weight. Let me know what you think. Everything for breakfast but the cereal bar was an omelet and the last 1 items were used for a grilled cheese. I am really wanting some oatmeal (157cal) with natural peanut butter (169 cal), should I eat it?

Fiber One Chewy Bars C 40 150

Egg, White - Raw, Fresh A- 99 48

Chicken, Thigh, Meat Only - Cooked, Roasted B- 98 205

Kraft Free Singles American Nonfat Pasteurized Process Cheese Product B 21 31

Mushrooms - Raw A 105 23

Dinner Tilapia Fillets 100 83

Broccoli - Cooked, Boiled, Drained, Without Salt A 98 34

Mushrooms - Cooked, Boiled, Drained, Without Salt A 20 6

Instant Brown Rice - Whole Grain Brown Rice C+ 54 190

Watermelon A 95 29

Snacks Watermelon A 92 28

Blueberries A 110 63

ROLD GOLD Honey Wheat Braided Twists B 14 55

Frigo Light String Cheese D 28 60 Sugar Free Orange, Cherry and Grape Ice Pops - Sugar Free 50 15

light wheat bread B 42 70

Kraft Free Singles American Nonfat Pasteurized Process Cheese Product B 21 31

Sorry if you said it and I missed it, but is this a new way of life for you? If you are used to eating more food than you have today or have been recently, your actual stomach stretches and retracts with the amount or lack of food you put in it.  So if you are used to eating more, it will have stretched your stomach out, especially if you regularly ate larger quantities. You may have to give your tummy some time to readjust to the new amount of food that you are feeding it...

Also, 1200 cals may be too low for your body.  You can go by the burn meter on this site and the calorie estimator and such, but in actuality, your body is unique and you may have more muscle/faster metabolism than the calculator takes into consideration. You also need to factor in your activity level and the calories you burn above during the day.

Also, you may be feeling deprived rather than hungry, I know I experience that occasionally.  May need to check and uncross those hunger/thirst/want/need signals that we all struggle with. If this is the case, my suggestion would be to allow yourself to eat foods you like but in smaller quantities.  If you are eating something just because it is healthy for you, but you dont necessarily enjoy it, you may be heading for a a fall off the wagon

blah blah i'm long-winded blah blahh

Oh my no, losing weight and becoming more fit/healthy is not a new thing. I've been at it since Feb of this year. I've lost 37 pounds so far. Thats why I just don't understand why I am suddenly so hungry. I mean, I've drank a ton of water today and also ate what I thought was enough food. Granted, I have 100 more calories to go for the day but I mean still this never really happened to me before. I was really curious if it was from the lifting or maybe I'm not eating enough of something I should be eating.

How many grams of protein do you have going on there?  Just looking over it I would say it doesn't look like enough for your level of activity but I can't tell just by the number of cals.

I would really chuck the processed cheese for something more natural 'forgiving' to your system.

If you are lifting definitely up the protein!

Hmmm ok, yea it definitely could be the lifting.  Your food choices look great to me, so I wouldn't think too much about the types of food being wrong, I say if this isn't an everyday thing for you, go ahead and eat something satisfying for you...  One of my favorite low calorie/high fiber and high satiety snacks is air-popped popcorn.  It is crunchy and filling, and ALMOST feels like being bad... hehe

One thing most of us struggle with are our hunger cues, so if your body is genuinely telling you that it is hungry, I say honor it and give it something nutritious!

she isnt power lifting lol... you don't need to go on a protein spree here! I'd say your protein looks great... maybe try chicken breast rather than thigh, though.  Youd get more meat for less cals and fat... but your chicken, fish, eggwhites, and cheese provide you with protein, and seeing as you are not new at this whole thing, you know whether or not you're eating the amount of protein that makes your body function properly.

Original Post by drcoffee:

How many grams of protein do you have going on there? Just looking over it I would say it doesn't look like enough for your level of activity but I can't tell just by the number of cals.

I would really chuck the processed cheese for something more natural 'forgiving' to your system.

If you are lifting definitely up the protein!

My protein for the day is at 31.9% (94 grams)

Fat is at 17.4% (23 grams)

Carbs 50.6% (148 grams)

Awww man! Cheese makes omelets great though lol, have any suggestions with what to replace it with?

Original Post by gennysaurus:

she isnt power lifting lol... you don't need to go on a protein spree here! I'd say your protein looks great... maybe try chicken breast rather than thigh, though. Youd get more meat for less cals and fat... but your chicken, fish, eggwhites, and cheese provide you with protein, and seeing as you are not new at this whole thing, you know whether or not you're eating the amount of protein that makes your body function properly.

Lol, I do circut training definitely not power lifting is right but to lose weight you do usually need to eat more protein.... I think. I can't stand chicken breast, I've tried so many ways and usually I don't have a problem sticking to my calories so I go for what I like I remove the bone, skin and all visible fat from the thighs and grill them so most of the rest drips off. Thats one thing I won't give up is my chicken thighs, lol, if I am watching what I eat all the time I am going to make it something I want to eat and enjoy to begin with, ya know what I mean?

Original Post by lillysmominpa:

My protein for the day is at 31.9% (94 grams)

Fat is at 17.4% (23 grams)

Carbs 50.6% (148 grams)

Awww man! Cheese makes omelets great though lol, have any suggestions with what to replace it with?

 Hey, I'm all for the cheese!  Don't get me wrongjust switch to a reduced fat natural one, it tends to 'clog' in the first place so why add the processed gunk?  I know...it doesn't melt as good as the processed cheese....but it is so much better for you!

As for your protein, rule of thumb is a gram of protein for every pound of weight.  I weigh 130 so I strive to get @ 130g per day.  I also make sure that my fiber and water is right up there as well.  Some will tell you a little less on the protein but not usually the case when you are lifting.  Helps the muscles recoup faster and burn more fat.

It looks like maybe you could trade in some of the processed carbs, like the pretzles, for lower calorie items like raw veggies. They may not taste as good but they are more filling and leave room for more calories if you are craving. I actually have had trouble reaching my 1300 cal for the last week because I feel so full. I have found that 1 oz of natural almonds is very satisfying and has tons of nutritional value.

I made the oatmeal, but I only gave myself a half portion and I didn't even eat all of it. So with the half portion I would have went over by 22 calories but I think I may have still made it in to the 1,200 without going over. This morning I woke to find out why I was hungry. Ugh! Time of the month decided to finally come. Thanks everyone for your help. Lol, I hardly ever eat those pretzels, they are like over a month old. ROTFL!!

Not to get too personal but if you are close to your time "female" ,that can cause hunger as well. I know with me I can eat and eat and eat and never feel full at least one day around that time.

Yeah that must have been what happened. With working out and losing weight I don't always get my period and it has a habit of coming whenever it just so feels like it. So I never really thought to attribute it to that until I woke up today and found out it decided to come. ! The loveliness of being a women

Original Post by drcoffee:

 

As for your protein, rule of thumb is a gram of protein for every pound of weight.  I weigh 130 so I strive to get @ 130g per day.  I also make sure that my fiber and water is right up there as well.  Some will tell you a little less on the protein but not usually the case when you are lifting.  Helps the muscles recoup faster and burn more fat.

 So I weigh 224lbs are you saying I should eat 224 grams of protein?  That's a heck of a lot. I would have to have about 70g of protein for every meal.  That can't be right can it?

I was telling my boyfriend about this 1g of protein for 1# of weight thing because I just couldn't get my head around it. Lol, I think I am doing great if I manage to break 100g (which doesn't happen too often). But I think me eating 145 grams of protein a day would be really hard to do in a healthy way. I mean plus, how is that good for your body? You know protein makes it hard to #2. Lol, oh the greatness of this thread periods and talk of #2's LOL Please excuse me while I go lose my mind!

I think what no one else here has asked is what does your current workout schedule look like?  I suspect that you're not accounting for your burn properly.

Original Post by life35:

Original Post by drcoffee:

 

As for your protein, rule of thumb is a gram of protein for every pound of weight.  I weigh 130 so I strive to get @ 130g per day.  I also make sure that my fiber and water is right up there as well.  Some will tell you a little less on the protein but not usually the case when you are lifting.  Helps the muscles recoup faster and burn more fat.

 So I weigh 224lbs are you saying I should eat 224 grams of protein?  That's a heck of a lot. I would have to have about 70g of protein for every meal.  That can't be right can it?

 http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/19/suppl _5/513S

JACN article on protein intake on active individuals building muscle, working out, etc.. 

Original Post by morrighu:

I think what no one else here has asked is what does your current workout schedule look like? I suspect that you're not accounting for your burn properly.

I do 30 minutes of circuit training about every other day. I don't do much other than that run up and down stairs a lot, house work, gardening and taking care of the dogs (but I did all that before I started to lose weight, so I don't count that). So thats why I try to just stick to 1200 calories. I did just land a great job and after my training I will be doing a lot of physical work so I am looking forward to that.

Sorry if I missed this in scanning the thread, but what about upping your fiber?  I've found that an ounce of Wheat Germ on yogurt or in cereal goes a long way to help me feel full for the day.  100 calories that are worth it!!  Just a suggestion...