I'm losing weight but I'm so hungry 😭

[Clemopesea]

I've been about a stone to a stone and a half overweight for pretty much all my adult life, yo yo-ing back and forth on various diets (I've tried them all including keto). After a shit time and 3 back to back miscarriages I comfort ate my way into oblivion and had a nasty shock when I realised I was now nearly 2.5 stone overweight and had just tipped into the "obese" BMI range. at 5ft 3 with a desk job my TDEE is 1700 cals so a 1lb loss requires me to eat no more than 1200 calories a day. I've been doing this for 8 weeks (that's the longest I've ever stuck to a diet) and I've lost nearly a stone which is obviously great. However, I'm starving all the time and I'm finding it is seriously affecting my mood. I follow a Mediterranean style diet with plenty of protein, healthy fats, fibre etc (which I always did, just ate too much of it) and I am just starving. To the extent that I'm often so hungry it wakes me up at night. I eat two meals a day, 400 cals for lunch and 600 for dinner with 200 left for milk in tea or a small snack etc. I cannot do any high impact exercise due to a knee injury but I walk 10-15k steps per day and do some yoga. I'm completely healthy otherwise. My thyroid is normal (not just within NHS normal ranges but genuinely completely normal).

I would have thought after 8 weeks I'd be getting more used to the smaller calorie allowance but I'm so hungry I can't bear it. I tried upping my calories to 1400-1500 but weight loss completely plateaud. With all previous diets I've felt hunger like this but always assumed it was because I hadn't stuck to them so hadn't adjusted. Am I destined to just feel starving forever now?

Also I can't help feeling my weight may have been a factor in losing my babies.

I hear you OP, it's so hard. I'm a stone and a half over weight and it's bloody hard to get it off. I've been trying so hard since March with 3 intensive cardio/weight training sessions per week and really watching the calories and I've still only lost 5 pounds!

CV exercise is for your CV systems. Resistance training is to build muscle (and it's slow) Diet is about fat control. Sure, you'll burn more calories and you'll build muscle, but if you're eating the wrong things you can be eating too much and still be malnourished, or eating too little and not losing weight. It's not about calories.

Before my knee was injured I used to do a fair whack of cardio and it never made the blindest bit of difference to my weight, if anything I found it harder to lose because I was hungrier and ate more, or felt I'd earned a "treat" for exercising. I don't get that with walking and it's gentle so no injuries.

I'm pretty confident I'm not eating the wrong things, I think genuinely I just haven't adapted to the amount of calories I need to eat to consistently lose. Maybe it will come with time.

Someone asked why I went GF, I just feel a lot better on it. My sister has been GF for 20years but recently I’ve felt just awful thought it was my age as peri-meno but cutting gluten out has been eye opening on how I’ve felt after meals. Just lighter, less hungry, less tired, no exploding poo and much reduced bloating. I’ve found it really easy and a good reason to not eat biscuits. I’ve still made GF brownies & eaten oat cake biscuits as treats, switched pasta for brown rice and jacket spuds or sweet potato. I rarely ate bread anyway so I’m surprised how easy it’s been so far.

Have you considered trying a hypnosis app? There are some free ones you can try.

I have done 1200 calories a day before and I was able to have 3 meals a day with a snack, I used pinch of nom recipes. Also I'd go to gym classes and on those days I'd allow myself an extra 200 cals for a choc bar.

Have you had a thyroid check etc? If you are doing plenty of steps a day I'd expect that you could have a bit more food.

Please don't punish yourself by thinking this.

OP what stuck me also is that you mention you have ADHD, this can play havoc with your appetite and metabolism. Is it maybe worth seeing if different medication might help as appreciate you didn't get on with the one you took previously?

It does take a while to adjust when cutting down on calories, it sounds like you're doing great if you've lost a stone nut also doesn't sound sustainable if you're feeling this hungry. I agree with others try different foods and different foods before bed to keep you full. I eat lots of low calorie but high density foods like stir fry as I also get hungry!

Floralie "I eat lots of low calorie but high density foods like stir fry as I also get hungry!"

what do you put in it? I'm always hungry after stir fry.

It's so tough! Congrats on your progress so far, that's amazing! Plateaus are to be expected during any weight loss.
My suggestions:

• Dont count calories for milk in tea if that's all you drink - if you have a takeout latte or something do, but not tea at home. use these calories on weetabix or another breakfast. You should be on more calories but I do understand your frustration.
• Have a meal 'off' every other week - and don't weigh yourself until 3 days later. I always get more results doing this.

-Can you maximise protein - maybe greek yoghurt as part of a breakfast?

What does this mean? ..."My thyroid is normal (not just within NHS normal ranges but genuinely completely normal). "

In the kindest way possible you can't know this, I lost a baby when I was slim and had a healthy baby when I was a bit overweight. I don't believe 1000-1200 calories would make an ideal growing environment for a baby either

Just that the levels the NHS classifies as normal are not actually optimal, something I learned during my miscarriage testing.

Try maintenance for a few weeks and give yourself a break. You won’t get less hungry because your body is programmed to try and prevent you losing weight. Then go low car again.

Yes it been shown that those with ADHD or ASD use food as a dopamine seeking hit especially when your hormones are out of whack. It’s something I was trying to find out more about as my tween ASD DD has an appetite that has gone bonkers for sugar recently just like I have struggled with over the years. Previously she’s eaten an healthy well balanced diet but in the last months has been a heat seeking missile for anything sugar! And in your 40-50s female hormones go bonkers like the teens hence the suspected link to appetite.

ADHD def a factor but meds are a no for me, aside from the appetite thing they made my anxiety horrendous (I've tried a few different kinds).

Peppermint tea helps to naturally suppress your hunger pangs.

I'm 3 weeks into 1300 calories a day, 3lb down so far.

Yesterday was the first day I felt hungry, that was because I ate out at lunch which was 800 calories and carb heavy. So I only had 500 calories left for breakfast and dinner, plus on snacks.

My usual day is:

Breakfast: 250 calorie / 20g protein : Kvarg with fruit and a bit of granola, protein pancakes, porridge with no cal syrup.

Lunch: 250 calories / 20g protein : Nando's bake in a bag chicken breast with flatbread, a bagel thin, or sweet potato wrap and plenty of salad.

Dinner: 600 calories / 20g protein : salmon with stir fry veg and rice, steak with a few chips & mushrooms, prawn pasta with 50/50 spaghetti and zucchini, 2x tacos with beef mince and lots of salad.

Snacks: 200 calories / as much protein as possible : Fulfil bars / MyProtein chocolate rolls / Babybel light / half a protein shake with

I could never last off of just 2 meals a day. On days I go to the gym I quite often have 4 meals of 250/250/250/450 plus a 100cal snack.

By only eating 12-8 you’re condensing your fuel intake.
think of food as fuel, your body needs fuel to run just like an engine would. Maybe change it to 10-6? That way it’s more even around wake up time etc

Add some snacks into your day. Tomatoes and cucumbers are very low calorie but a bowl of them chopped up will help you fill up. Sugar free jelly can help with a sweet fix.

high protein foods will keep you fuller for longer.

Don’t punish yourself. Have 80% good stuff then 20% of what you fancy!

I've tried both ways, and I prefer fewer meals that are more calorie dense, than more but lighter meals.

I'm sorry to hear about your babies @Clemopesea. I am the same. I'm sticking to 1,200 and it is hard. I find snack cucumbers (Lidl does them) are great, because there are barely any calories, but the crunch is satisfying. See also black grapes. I have them when I'm hungry, rather than at set times. Good luck. There's some supportive threads on here.

This is both so sad to read - and completely inaccurate.

All these posts saying 'get used to hunger'. No. You simply cannot sustain that long term & eventually, you'll stop, and revert to eating more and possibly unhealthily & gain more.

Inflicting hunger on oneself is not healthy. That's not the same as a short-term readjustment to a way of eating and getting used to not eating certain food.

OP, you must eat more. It's that simple. Eating only at 12 when you are presumably up for many hours and busy (if you home-school) is clearly not working for you.

Our individual bodies are not a exact science. We have to listen to what works for us, while making healthy food & activity choices.

I would increase your food intake and also more resistance / weights / HIIT, that you get qualified advice on with your injury.

It's often said on here that you don't lose weight through exercise. That's true, in part. But you will find yourself able to eat more as you body becomes more efficient burning calories in the period after you exercise.

Despite @Watchkeys dismissing me for suggesting hunger is normal on a diet, I am pretty happy with the 40lbs I have lost in 16 weeks (and yes hunger has been a factor)

I do an 18:6 fast three days per week - finishing eating at 18.00 and not resuming until 12.00 noon the next day. The rest of the time I avoid sugar, eat carbs in moderation, avoid gluten (tends to give me IBS) and eat unprocessed food focussing on lean protein, vegetables and fruit. I don't do calorie counting - I just don't eat chocolate / cake / crisps etc at all, ever. I'd rather go for more satiating food. Alcohol is only drunk socially (usually just once per week)

Like you OP I don't like low fat / non fat dairy. I regularly eat the Fage 5% fat Greek yoghurt and regularly have a small portion of cheese. Also like you due to a knee issue (full chondral loss in the joint) I am limited on exercise

To manage your hunger I would recommend the 18:6. If you stop eating at 6pm hopefully you won't feel hungry when you go to bed and will sleep through any hunger pangs. Then stay busy the next morning and push through until 12. I always eat an apple and an orange when really hungry and/ or a few slices of lean ham