I'M STARVING ... all the time..HELP

ok so lately this past week i find myself ALWAYS wanting food, and it's usually sweets
i just had my period so maybe that's why but I find that no matter what time I always want sour southers, or sugar, or skittles, or any sort of candy or sweet.
My daily calorie intake was really bad around like 900 and now im working on getting it up to 1200
im 18 female, 5'6 and 115 pounds and i would like to maintain that weight
do you think that the reason i am craving sweets is due to lack of other nutrients?
i eat really healthy and get enough fruits/vegetables and protein most days so i have no idea why i feel like eating all the time!
i'll have dinner and while i'm eating it i will be thinking about what i want to eat next...gahhh help please

you are starving because you don't eat enough! You might know this already, but at 115lbs you are underweight and you need to gain weight, not maintain. I am sure that will help you stop starving. And yes, you probably need lots more nutrients.

What are you eating on these days where you find yourself starving? i.e. what's your typical breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks

no but i have a tiny frame, i like being 115 and would like to stay there, i do eat alot aswell
today i had an apple and yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast
another apple for a snack
a turkey salad with carrots radishes and cucumbers for lunch
a plum
more carrots/cucumbers for a snack
a genisoy protein crunch bar
and spaghetti with chicken and broccoli for dinner - which i allready ate because i have to go somewhere right after work.

That sounds like a pretty decent meal plan...

you could try eating a few more snacks during the day (and one after dinner), maybe some veggies with a light dip, or some nuts (almonds are really good). I always eat some fruit after dinner too cuz I almost need something sweet and desserty (force of habit?), so I'll have some grapes.

Aside from that, maybe you just need to up your calories a bit more? Like have a bit more yogurt and a bit more oatmeal for breakfast, and a larger portion for lunch and dinner .. etc..

ok excellent
thanks =) i think its just working in an office and i get bored for the most part, and so when i'm bored i almost think i'm hungry...you know?

I was DYING for sweets last week but it was my TOTM too. It went away after the week though.

Research that's been done on people with low calorie intake has shown that the brain reacts to starvation as well as the body.  People were not only constantly hungry and craving but also tended to obsess about food, thinking ahead to future meals while eating, thinking about food on and off all day, etc.  It's the brain trying to encourage the body to eat enough to maintain its weight.  If you're constantly hungry and thinking about food, you aren't eating enough.  Are you eating any dairy?  Fat-free yogurt and skim milk are good additions, if you can tolerate dairy, and the occasional ounce of a tasty cheese with an apple or other fruit is nice.  A whole-grain or low-carb slice of bread or two--turn turkey salad into a sandwich, for instance--would also be good.  It sounds like you're focused on eating healthy, but your portions must be very small if you're getting that variety of foods in every day but having to work up to getting 1200 calories.  Adding calories won't make you heavier if you stay below your daily calorie usage rate.  It's also better to add calories and some healthy exercise than to drastically cut calories; on a very low calorie intake your body will go into starvation mode and begin to use less calories to maintain itself, making it possible to gain weight even when your intake is low!  Keep your metabolism up by eating enough calories to stave off hunger and add exercise to both burn what you don't need and to give your metabolism an added boost.  Then you'll have no problem maintaining your weight.

I am not the original poster of this message, but cc I cannot tell you how much you just helped me out.  I have hit my goal and am maintaining, but I am ALWAYS hungry!  I thought - if I have to go through life always hungry, it is not worth it.  I also thought that I was eating too little, but I was always going a few hundred calories over my allowance (per the computer anyway).  I will try changing some of the things I eat AND eating a little more.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  And good luck xxvanessa!

Vanessa, I'm glad I could help!  What the computer can't know is your own personal metabolism--it can only guess how much you need based on the answers to some pretty general questions, and our metabolisms can fluctuate from day to day based on diet, exercise, hormone issues, etc.  If you're hungry, then eat, but eat healthy and eat controlled portions, and stop when you're satisfied but not stuffed, and you should be fine.  Your scale and your clothing will tell you whether you need to step up the exercise or cut back the calories. 

Other things that can mimic hunger are thirst (it's good to stay hydrated), indigestion (the gnawing feeling may be too much stomach acid) and fatigue (a tired body will sometimes call for food to fuel and energize itself.)  Also, too many refined carbs in the diet can lead to blood sugar spikes and crashes that can create hunger even when enough calories have been consumed to meet your needs.  Eating smaller meals more often and choosing complex carbs, in moderation, rather than simple carbs can help a lot with hunger.  Diet drinks and artificial sweetners can cause hunger through a kind of Pavlovian body response to the taste of sweet that's lacking the calories needed to meet the insulin charge your body sends out to greet it (cafeinated diet drinks, especially.)  And sights and smells of goodies can cause cravings and hunger--drat those late-night Taco Bell commercials!  *g*  There are a number of reasons that hunger may not necessarily signal a need to eat, but if we've covered all those bases and we're still hungry, then we should.  Our bodies sometimes know better than a computer program what they need.