Day Five of Diet. When Will the Intense Hunger Subside?????

I found that by using at least 50% of my calories on fruit and veggies I lost weight and I'm not hungry. It's so easy to grab an apple or handful of carrots.

I lost 19 lbs over a year ago. I am rarely hungry. I did it by cutting carbs (no pasta, rice, bread, pretzels etc.). I still however eat quite a bit of fruit. I also increased my fat and protein intake. I eat real whipped creem on strawberries and blackberries. I even eat bacon😀. I found that you can eat higher fat foods in the absence of carbs and loose weight. Look up the Paleo diet. It is now a way of life for me and I love fitting into a size 4 or 6.

You can snack between meals just make it fruits and veggies. An apple or some carrot sticks is not going to keep you from loosing weight. Add a little hummus, or some almond butter so you feel more satisfied. Drink lots of water.

I agree with what Jill K. and Suz said. The problem with "diets" is that by definition, they are temporary. Sometimes it's nice to do a 1400 calorie per day diet to kickstart your weight loss, but you cannot sustain so few calories long-term.

Nuts are really good for you, especially almonds and walnuts. And fats are a necessary part of your diet. Your intake is supposed to consist of 30% healthy fats, so eliminating fats from your diet is never a good idea, and is guaranteed to keep you feeling starving. Please keep eating your almonds.

I was watching a weight loss doctor a couple of nights ago, and he made the very valid point that the problem is the American diet, which generally sucks. His mantra was "the salad is the main dish." The way most of us eat does not satisfy our bodies because our diet is lacking in critical nutrients. His point was that when you eat properly, you can eat as much as you want, and you will not be hungry and you will not have to restrain yourself.

Think of it like this: when you are done with this "diet" and you go back to eating "normally," what's going to happen? You are going to gain the weight back.

Change your thinking, and permanently change how you eat. Focus on eating vegetables and things that are healthy, and for the most part eliminate things that you know are unhealthy, and you will automatically lose weight. And definitely do not cut out nuts. If anything, you should increase your nut consumption. I am not overweight, and I practically live on nuts. I eat handfuls of assorted nuts daily. Walnuts, in particular, are supposed to the one of the healthiest things you can eat.

Congratulations on the weight loss! That's great!!

However, the down side? I think you are going too low on calories. I believe the typical caloric intake should be 1500 to 1800.

More protein - chicken, pork, eggs and beef - are protein.

Drink more water.
Eat smaller meals - six times a day. yes, you read that right. Smaller meals or snacks six times a day and lots of water.

If you keep on allowing your body to "starve" it will go into starvation mode and start saving EVERYTHING you eat. Do not allow that to happen. Talk with a nutritionist about this.

Good luck!

1400 calories does not sound like enough. Give yourself a handful of almonds once mid-morning and once mid-afternoon to tide yourself over. If you're constantly really hungry, something isn't right.

Congrats!

I've never actually dieted like that, (with the goal of losing weight), but I grew up as a ballet dancer so not over-eating was (and actually still is, but not in a creepy way) part of my consciousness.

A couple of things.
-Are you drinking plenty of water? Not just the tea between meals, but make sure you're drinking lots of water WITH your meals, and THOUGHOUT the day. It will help you feel less hungry... but it's also just GOOD for you to be hydrated.

- Don't reject those almonds all together! I know they're high in calories, but make room for them in your meal plan and you'll be a lot happier. No calories means no energy... eat the almonds and skip something else.

-Proteins and fats (like your almonds) are going to look "very high" in calories compared to something like popcorn, or a low-cal bar or something, HOWEVER those calories are going to satisfy you, energize you, and keep you satiated for much longer than some diet food.

-1400 calories is pretty low if you're used to having a lot more than that. And 4lbs in 5 days is pretty extreme (although hopefully most of that is water weight... and getting more regular with your BMs). The intense hunger will subside when your body gets used to smaller portions, but if you aren't actually eating ENOUGH, you will ALWAYS be hungry. After the next week or so, your weight loss should taper off to about a pound a week. If that doesn't happen, and you're still hungry, I'd think about letting in a few more calories each day until it's manageable.

You're hungry because you're not eating enough. The hunger will not go away. Calorie tracking can be helpful, but can't be the be-all and end-all in a healthy diet. A low calorie diet can backfire by making your body retain it's fat stores, or even adding to them, because it thinks you're having a food shortage.

Please Google 'calorie theory' and have a read. Skip the Wikipedia page.

eeeeEEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
deprivation diets DO work (BTDT) but being frantically hungry all the time will inevitably backfire horribly on you.
1400 is NOT enough calories to sustain you. clearly we need to re-train our bodies when they're screaming for fried oreos and hot fudge sundaes, but if you are depriving yourself of bottom line nutrition, you need to heed the outraged screams coming from your belly.
you MUST snack in order to lose weight at a sustainable pace, and keep it off. raw almonds are an excellent go-to, especially when paired with something like raisins. yes, they're high in calories, but you only need a handful. give yourself unlimited green leafy veggies, and a high ceiling for other veggies like broccoli, cauli and carrots (yes, carrots have sugar. and lots of other good stuff too. eat them.) an apple or a banana in the middle of the morning will NOT derail your weight loss.
4lbs in 5 days is not sustainable. think 1-2 lbs per week. not nearly as exciting but a LOT more realistic.
do you have an uber-blender, like blend tec? they are your best friend. no way could i get down all the greens i need every day if i couldn't make green smoothies. invest in one!
good luck.
:) khairete
S.

You need to snack between meals.

Think of your metabolism like a fire. If you want it to burn consistently, you need to feed it small amounts several times a day.

If you only feed it a couple of meals, you'll have some big "burns," but then it'll go back down to coals until the next meal. You're not burning energy.

Also, drink more water. 1 cup every 2 hours during daylight hours is a good rule of thumb. Your body needs water to flush out impurities.

honey, i don't think 1400 is enough calories for an active adult female. maybe that's why you're hungry. good luck with everything, though. stay healthy!

My Fitness Pal is a great way to help you be aware of what you are eating, make the right choices & see the results! I've used it in the past, & lost 20 pounds in a few months...

Make sure you are recording any structutred activities. I did not put down my day-to-day activities, like normal chores, but if I was doing something different for a sustained period of time (went for a 20 min walk, worked out @ the gym, went to the barn & rode for an hour), then I would put that down.

MFP will log the calories you burned doing that exercise, & give you back calories to consume. Don't think of it as "Well, now I've dropped for 1400 calories AND burned another 500, so the weight will really come off now!". That's not the way it works.

MFP has already accounted for your steady weight loss by the drop in calories against your body weight & the average calories you would need for your activity lifestyle to just maintain. So if you never work out, 1400 will have you losing whatever you told your profile (1/2 to 2 pounds a week).

If you exercise, MFP needs to know, so you can eat those calories, which will continue to give you energy.

Now, let's say you have already been doing this, & you are just hungry because you want more food. Then I have 2 thoughts - #1. When I did MFP before, & South Beach a while back also, it took me 1-2 weeks until my body was used to not getting the calorically rich diet I had previously consumed. So, give it time.

You can try adjusting some of your calories to eat more in snacks, less @ dinner (when you don't need to worry about a big meal to satisfy you because you'll go to bed soon). Either by eating more snacks, or making the ones you eat a little higher on the calorie counter (celery w/peanut butter instead of just an apple, for example)

The other thought is maybe you put in your profile you wanted to lose too much weight. More than 2 pounds a week is not recommended by MFP if I remember correctly (and some weeks you will lose more, & some weeks you might not as your body adjusts). But if 1400 calories has you losing 3-4 pounds a week calculated, you might want to change that to only 1 or 2 pounds a week, consume the extra calories, & then offset it with a workout.

Hope this is helpful, stick with it! You have great results already & you will be amazing when you are done!!

T.

P.S. Anyone reading this, I actually would like to resume MFP again, please send me a friend request to help me out! My account name is WarmFuzzy. Thanks!

It has always really depended on what I am eating. For example, when I calorie-count but am eating "lean cuisine" (frozen diet meals), or basically if I am eating carb-y food like pasta, bread, sugar etc. even if it is portioned out, it takes a few weeks for my tummy to shrink enough and stop growling constantly.
If I am eating things like eggs, plain yogurt, a little fruit (2-3 servings/day), chicken and fish, veggies- basically "clean eating" non-processed food, I will not be hungry at all (maybe 1-2 days to get used to it, max). It really helps a lot to pre-plan what I will eat that day and it also helps to guzzle water like crazy.

Congrats! 4 pounds is a lot! Make sure you're hydrating (that first week, there's a lot of water weight loss, so don't be surprised if next week it's only 2 pounds). Personally, I would recommend making small cuts and bringing your diet down to 1400 gradually - cut out 100-200 calories per day until you're down to your goal intake. That large a sudden drop will cause your metabolism to also drop and burn fewer calories than it otherwise could and you risk saying screw it, I'm having that doughnut! For me, it takes about two to three weeks to adjust to a new routine like that. I'd go easy on yourself and add a few snacks back in until your body gradually adjusts and then you can remove them, too.

I love MFP. Haven't been on it for a month or so (too busy) but in regards to your question. . . drink a lot of water. It will take another week at least.
Your stomach has to "shrink" again. As we eat our tummy expands and that is how we know we are "full" if you have been eating larger quantities it stretches and won't feel full until it has some time to shrink down again.
I did the advocare 28-day challenge and I was starving for the first 9 days and after that, it got a lot better. change is hard and it takes more than 5-days for our bodies to catch up. Stick with it:)

1. Those stomach pains are stomach gases in your stomach, it is not you starving. So try to drink water to help with them.

2. Make sure you are eating high protein and high fiber foods to help you stay full longer. Beans, legumes, whole wheat items. etc. If you waste (for lack of a better term) your calories on something with low fiber/protein you will be hungry earlier but stuck without the ability to snack.

3. You will continue to crave items until your palette changes and then you will start to crave things that are on your diet, this takes a while so give yourself time. Also, allow yourself to have a very small portion of the craving, but don't think of it as a "reward" or "cheat day".

4. IF you need to snack make it a handful of nuts, a spoonful of peanut butter, a piece of whole wheat toast, a hard boiled egg i.e. something that will hold you over until your next meal.

5.. Sorry @Suz T. but you have to eat less in order to lose weight, that is just the rule of the game. Snacking all day DOES NOT allow you to lose weight.

Have you looked into Weight Watchers? I was able to lose over 60 pounds and I don't remember ever feeling like I was starving. With their points system you don't ever have to eliminate anything totally from your diet. It is more of a lifestyle change with smaller portion sizes, more healthy choices, more movement, and learning how to manage your environment to be more friendly. If you feel deprived or starving you are not going to be as successful. You can do WW on line, but for me, going to the meetings was a huge help for me. I had support from others trying to do the same thing I was. We share new products we have found, recipes, and tricks for skinnying up recipes. WW really taught me how to bulk up my eating with healthy options that keep me feeling fuller longer. Then I didn't feel the need to snack like I did before. Good luck! It is not an easy job to lose weight, but it is possible. I have two friends from WW who have lost over 100 pounds each and have been able to keep it off for going on two years now.

Veggies & Fruit are always good
popcorn if not loaded with butter

But really, if you are hungry maybe you need more to eat. When I did weight watchers, I was never hungry. I recently went gluten free, and I have done nothing different-I eat pretty healthy to begin with, and I have lost about 15 lbs since Christmas. Aslo, you need to eat to lose.

Maybe look at how much protein you are eating, They say, Breakfast eat like a king, lunch eat like a prince and dinner eat like a palper. That is how my son eats. Maybe eating more first thing in the morning will help you stay fuller during the day. Also look at what you are eating, do complex carb etc.

You DO need to snack between meals!!! If you don't, your metabolism will slow way down because your body thinks you're starving it. And you won't lose weight.

You need protein in your diet to help melt fat instead of muscle. You need lots vegetables and two fruits a day. Fill up on veggies. It will give you fiber. You need 64 ounces of water a day too.

Really, you need to snack to help your metabolism. Good luck!!!

You can adjust your goals so that you are allowed more calories. Try that. Then use the additional calories to eat the healthy snacks you are craving.

You didn't get to this place overnight, and you won't get back to your ideal overnight either. Until your body size matches your calorie intake - you're going to be hungry.

Remember that hunger is just an electro-chemical signal sent to your brain - like a radio station. Find something to do to occupy your mind and change the station.

First of all, I'm totally jealous that you a) get 1400 calories a day and b) can actually lose weight on that. I'm at 1200 and even with that, weight loss might be a couple of lbs a month if I'm really, really strict.

So first, you can eat more if you burn the calories, so get moving and make sure you log your fitness activities.

Second, carve some calories out of your meals for snacks. For my 1200, I shoot for 300 at each meal and the rest in snacks. I tend to be not very hungry in the morning, so I'll have a smoothie for breakfast of something else that comes in at under 300 calories, then I usually have a really big lunch (a big veggie salad with chicken and things like slivered almonds, some feta cheese, beans, chickpeas, and other toppings that are good sources of protein and fat but add calories) that comes in at over 300 calories. I usually have an afternoon snack, a small dinner, and sometimes another snack after dinner.

My biggest calorie saver is bread and starchy sides. Instead of having something like a chicken or egg salad sandwich on bread, I'll wrap the sandwich filling in lettuce leaves, adding additional veggies for crunch and sometimes a drizzle of a flavorful sauce. At dinner, I'll double up on veggies instead of having rice or whatever else I made for the kids. A couple of swaps like those a day can easily shave off 200-300 calories, which you can replace with wholesome snacks instead.

Good job! I do want to say that drinking a lot of water, pure and simple, will fill you up. Every time you feel the least bit hungry drink two cups of water. Not only will it aid in weight loss, it will help you to conquer those hunger pains. I read an article a while back that said most people can't tell the difference between hunger pains and thirst because we are so used to satisfying ourselves with food instead of water.

Keep up the good work. BTW, you may start to notice, in the beginning a bloating of water in your body. Once your body realizes that you are going to continue giving it the water it needs it won't hold onto the extra's.

It will go away when you EAT! That is starvation.
Youreatopia.com

Good for you! It's not easy to lose weight!

I guess I would wonder if you're exercising and have a high activity level that maybe you need a few more calories?

Like maybe if you added 100-150 calories of almonds (measure them out)...maybe that would be enough to tide you over from feeling super hungry? Sometimes I will even eat 7-10 almonds if I'm getting hungrier than I like and it really does help me...or an apple...those fill me up too and it's all good stuff for you! Good luck!

Adjust the foods you are eating to things that are more filling for less cals, like lots of veggies and small amounts of lean protein. Also, you will find that if you work out and burn a lot of calories the amount you are allowed to eat goes up to compensate, so you could work in more food that way. Feeling deprived will end up hurting you in the end so be careful. You can make big meals with little cals with a few easy switches, like replace half your spaghetti noodles with long strings of squash, or replace rice or potatoes with cauliflower. Replace bread in sandwiches with lettuce leaves and you can add more meat to your sandwich to make it keep you full for longer. Look to the discussion boards on myfitnesspal and there will be more ideas for how to increase your food without increasing cals.

best of luck

I do mfp also and started at 1280 for calories, now I'm down to 1200. I never feel hungry though. I really try to eat 3 main meals and 3 snacks. I know what you mean about the almonds though...try getting the 100 calorie packs. Some things that I eat that are pretty low calorie but enjoyable: egg whites scrambled with mushrooms and onions in pam spray. Sometimes I will add a piece of canadian bacon to that. Celery and mini bell peppers (the red, yellow and orange, they are very sweet) are a go to for me. Smoothies made with almond milk and berries. Or with sf ff chocolate pudding powder. Try to have some protein with every meal, it does help. Light and fit greek yogurt is 80 cals and pretty filling. If I make pasta for dinner, I will use the sauce over cauliflower for myself. There is a popcorn that is 35 calories a cup, I forget the name though. Good luck!