Hungry at maintenance! Help!

[Cornishbelle]

I know to be in a deficit you are going to be hungry, not looking for miracles honestly.

But today I have tracked everything I have eaten and am on 1500. Not yet had tea and I know I will have the munchies again before bed

My maintenance is 1900 so ideally I would like to stick to 1400 a day or 1500 max. But my appetite is huge 😩 anyone any ideas or tips to help whilst adjusting to less food. I have been a piggy for too long but I am determined to change!

Thanks for reading

Lean protein.
It’s filling and keeps you satisfied.

Fibre is filling.
Eat a bowl of homemade vegetable soup before your meal maybe? That would fill you up.

What have you eaten today that has got you up to 1500?
Maybe if you list your food someone could suggest some painless swaps?

Fasting.

If you follow 16:8 and only start eating at lunchtime, your calories will go further for lunch and dinner.

Three slices french toast cooked in 5 sprays oil with 100g fat free greek yogurt and a tbsp jam 300 cal

Two coffees with skimmed milk amd low sugar syrup 120 cal

Two crispbread 40g red pepper houmous 140 cal

Skinny whip bar 99 cal

Two slices left over pizza 600 cals
150g cooked pasta 200 cals

Side salad beetroot carrot celery cucumber 50 cal

Urgh, I'm eating too many refined carbs aren't I? Pizza would not be my normal go to but we had left from weekend.

Written down looks really bad I'm not a fussy eater and like healthy stuff just seem to crave carbs. Thanks for the advice so far any other honest advice welcome I can take it. Have ideally 4 at least 3 stone to lose am early 40s my knees are already grumbling

How did you calculate your maintenance calories? I’ve found the ‘Macros zinc’ one to be really accurate.

But yes, you need more high volume low calorie-dense food. Veggies + lean protein is your friend. Replace the hummus with tuna. Etc

Follow the ‘Fitness Chef’ on Instagram for ideas and sensible insight on food choices and debunking diet culture nonsense

Grrr. Macros Inc, not ‘zinc’

Yes. You're eating fat too much of the wrong stuff to fill you up. Change that and you'll manage much better. Main part of each meal should be lean protein.

*far too much...

I’d say you need to increase your fat and protein intake. So introduce things like the following into your diet; avocados, nuts/nut butter, full fat Greek yogurt, eggs, butter etc.

Basically, these things will help keep you satiated and feeling full.

Eating too many refined carbs and low fat yogurt will not keep your blood sugar stable at all. Cut out any low sugar syrup and replace the low fat yogurt with full fat. For 600 cals you could have had a 3 egg omelette with cheese and salad and not needed anything else. Skinny whip bar not needed. If you’d had 400 cal for breakfast you’d have 500 for dinner.
Try looking at low sugar diet for ideas.

Thanks everyone. I had used tdee for my calorie level I will have a look at macros Inc. Bit scared of increasing fat which goes to show I have ingrained diet myth mentality going on I think, as I can understand it in theory. Will have a look at fitness chef and remind myself if I stick to calories healthy fat not a problem. Will look at increasing lean protein and gradually incorporating more healthy fats. Thanks all

I actually do better on lower fat higher carb, but each to their own. It’s a bit of trial and error to find out what works for you so you can sustain it long term. For me that’s fitting in bread and a bit of chocolate daily - I just make allowances elsewhere so it all fits in.

Think low cal bulky stuff
Lettuce, cabbage, carrots, leeks, cucumber.. you can have giant amounts of these!
Soups are really good to help fill you up
Anything that is low calorie per 100g
So pizza is really dense in calories, cucumber isn't..

200 cal of sugar flavoured air won't help. You'd be better off eating two hobnobs than the low cal bar and low sugar syrup, as that would at least have some substance.
Why are you saying you're hungry at maintenance when you're trying to eat well under maintenance?

I have full fat Greek yogurt with nuts and seeds for breakfast and that keeps me full.

You would be better having half the amount of full fat Greek yogurt, rather than low fat, and less French toast.

Meal wise 300-400 calories per meal is best, then you have some calories left for snacks.

I know you say the pizza was left over but that means you had that high calorie meal another day too. If you had had the pizza with a massive salad you would have saved having the pasta calories. Consistency is key I’m afraid.

3 egg omelette cooked in butter with spinach for brekkie

Big bowl Lentil and veg soup, a few crackers and cottage cheese for lunch

Grilled steak, stand veg and a baked spud for dinner

*steamed veg

Protien. It's always protien OP. Use MFP, log absolutely everything and you'll get set right.

@Cornishbelle

Three slices french toast cooked in 5 sprays oil with 100g fat free greek yogurt and a tbsp jam 300 cal

Two coffees with skimmed milk amd low sugar syrup 120 cal

Two crispbread 40g red pepper houmous 140 cal

Skinny whip bar 99 cal

Two slices left over pizza 600 cals
150g cooked pasta 200 cals

Side salad beetroot carrot celery cucumber 50 cal

Urgh, I'm eating too many refined carbs aren't I? Pizza would not be my normal go to but we had left from weekend.

Yeah, protien. No wonder you're starving.

Thank you some really helpful advice

It is always protein, to echo a pp.

Lean protein at meals, confine complex carbs to evening meal. My fave snack now is an apple with nut butter. Nice and filling too.

Agree with everything above but I have found that some things that 'everyone' agrees are filling don't leave me feeling full, but other things do, so as well as calorie mapping I'd suggest a slightly more detailed diary.

What did I eat? When did I start feeling hungry again? How much water had I had?

If I have porridge for breakfast, which a lot of people find incredibly filling, I'm either hungry an hour later or I have raging heartburn. If I have 150g of fat free greek yoghurt, 40g of granola, and maybe a tbsp of honey or jam it's just over 300 calories but I'm full 'til lunchtime.