itscleo

I really appreciate the comments. First maybe an update. I've pulled back from weighing myself as much as I was (2-3) times a week, bc it was really affecting me negatively I think. So I am still focussing on what I eat, but trying not to obsess over weight loss and just focus on building good habits, and if weight loss happens great and if not so be it. I have also been doing better without bad hunger pangs, though I'm not sure why as I didn't make drastic changes to my diet. I spent a week counting my calories more closely and I do notice that I can eat an average of 1600, and then go to the extremes of 1200 to 2000. So I assume those extremes play a role in both the hunger and the lack of weight loss. It is hard to be consistent! I know that's common and a lot of people struggle with it. In terms of macro portions- I count calories, and I will count grams of meat (75 grams for lunch is the objective, and 120-150 for dinner, which is higher than the food guide recommends, but oh well. I find the thought of counting more than that, or counting fat really overwhelming. It has been a long gradual process for me to count calories without rebelling. I know there are things like Fitness pal, but when you make all your own meals and snacks etc it is still very time consuming bc you have to do it on an ingredient basis. Maybe I can do a week or something just to get an idea of where I'm at. As for fasting, I'm not sure I can do that. I find when I don't snack at night I am pretty much starving in the morning, and so right now I am trying three meals, without any snacking in between. So far (since I upped my lunch to 75 grams of meat) that seems to be working. I also eat lots of fruit and veggies to balance it out of course at 2-3 meals a day. Will keep the coffee & cocoa ideas in mind. Sometimes I get sick of drinking water

Thanks for the suggestions. My PT also said I should try eating more meat, less carbs though I dont think I eat a lot of carbs. But I was averaging lunch- 50 grams of meat, dinners more like 120-150. So for lunch I've been trying to increase it to about 75 grams of meat protein. It seems to be making a difference. It's weird, I keep thinking eating so much meat isn't healthy, but I know for weight loss it's good. I eat a mixture- fish, turkey, chicken, as well as pork and beef. I looove red meat, but I try to balance it out

It's been better the last couple days, stayed away from rice. I tried 3 or 4 TDEE calculators and got answers as varied as 1500-2400. I think 1600-1700 is still good to aim for. I'm trying to make sure everything I eat is good protein, and good fibre which I read makes you feel fuller. Yeah I'm going to have to add something, I had just bought a bag of white rice before I realized so I can't just throw it out. Will only have it occasionally and mix with quinoa or brown rice. It's an interesting idea, not sure that would work for me though, I do have issues with my blood sugar levels and sometimes if I don't eat I get sick (like start shaking). There is a history of diabetes in my f amily, and I'm not diabetic but as I said, very sensitive to not eating and/or to eating sugar that hits the bloodstream too quickly (ie juices, pops, etc) But generally I do try to eat less during the day- I agree it is easier to be hungry during the day, especially bc your mind is on other things. It has been a bit better, so will continue to try tinkering and try to notice what foods leave me hungry. Thanks!

Yeah I'll have to try some of those calculators again. In terms of losing fat/weight- I know what you mean, but I'm not sure. Just by eyeballing, I think there are days I look bigger, but it fluctuates so it could just be bloating. I do know that I have actually gained a couple pounds in the last few weeks from weighing myself. I assume this is because on those nights when I feel really hungry I end up overeating bc nothing seems to do the trick. The one thing I noticed this week- I don't usually eat white rice, but I had a stirfry with white rice twice, and both times about an hour after I was really hungry. I read the sugar cam affect your blood sugar levels and make you hungrier. I am sensitive to this, I can't drink juice or pop bc the sugar really affects me and makes sick. So I'm going to try to avoid that. I don't typically eat white bread. I don't pay much attention to fat, so maybe this is a factor. I don't buy fat free anything, but I don't eat chicken with skin. I focus alot on protein. I guess I need to try some analysis of fat, sugar, fibre, and see if some tweaks there will help. Along with trying the tdee calculators again. Thanks for suggestions.

This is a long post, but I figure it's good to give the full picture. I’ve been trying to lose weight for a while (6 months), and I’ve changed a lot of my eating habits, but the last few months I’ve been struggling with extreme hunger in the evenings. It’s really frustrating, it’s also nothing I’ve ever experienced before so I don’t know what is causing it or what to do. I’m on the verge of just giving up. Any suggestions much appreciated. I am 41 yrs old, female, 5’2” and weigh around 155-160lbs. I was 155 for a long time, I think recently it is trending up a bit. Activity: I exercise anywhere from 3-5 times a week. Right now an average week includes: - 2 strength training sessions with a trainer. We do squats, deadlifts (85lbs or so), trying to build up to pushups, pullups. etc. We do a lot of single arm, single leg work because I have a lot of strength imbalance from one side to the other. For example, one arm at a time- overhead press with a dumbbell (15-20lbs), single leg squats on a bench, etc. My trainer says right now we are doing hypertrophy workouts. He says this will increase my appetite. I work with him Tues/Thursday. -1 strength training session by myself, usually some core exercises, and then a few with weights. Saturday. - a second core session by myself 20 minutes. Monday. - cardio- walk or run. Friday or Sunday. Caloric Intake: last year I did one of those calculator thingies, I don’t really find those helpful to use, but gave it a try and came up with the number 1600 calories to lose weight. This is my aim, but I’m probably eating 1600-1800 (or more on the nights I’m starving). So I’m not achieving the goal of 1600 bc I'm too hungry. I break the day out to around 400 calories for breakfast and lunch each, maybe a 200 cal snack, which leaves around 600 calories for dinner ideally. I try to eat a lot of protein: eggs, greek yogurt, nuts, cheese, beans, and meat- fish, chicken, beef, pork. Typical day: Breakfast: 2 eggs, piece of toast, fruit Lunch: bit of steak (50 grams) and veggies, piece of bread. Maybe some cheese to bring it up to 400 cals, or salad with cheese or nuts. Dinner: chicken or fish (120-150grams), some kind of carb- potato, rice, couscous etc, and veg. What has been happening at night is an hour or two after I eat dinner I am starving, and even if I have more dinner ie another small piece of chicken, I’m still starving. I’ve been struggling with this for months and I’m really frustrated. It’s never happened to me before, but I’m really tired of being hungry all the time. It’s clearly not bc I’m calorie deficient because I don’t lose weight. If I eat more I’m afraid of gaining. Is it because I’m building muscle? If so, still don’t know what to do. If I eat more, it does translate to bigger belly, I can see it. Any suggestions appreciated!