***UGH I am so effing hungry!!

[tal 129]

Hello all! I am almost 7 months and soooo frustrated. I am at a stall right now and yes im happy for the weight ive lost, i just feel frustrated that i am not down more i feel like i am not on track 😓 I also feel hungry every 2 hours. & yes i cant eat alot when i do eat or snack, but im sooo hungry. What are your suggestions for helping this? & what can get you out of these stalls they suuuuuck

[Hop_Scotch 1,625]

Do you know how many calories you are eating at the moment? What type of foods are you are you eating?

PS well done on your weight loss so far!

Edited February 12, 2020 by Hop_Scotch

[tal 129]

2 minutes ago, Hop_Scotch said:

Do you know how many calories you are eating at the moment? What type of foods are you are you eating?

PS well done on your weight loss so far!

Ill be honest i dont keep track. I just serve a little and if im too full ill throw it. I go for Protein but i eat alot of cheese and turkey and sometimes ill snack on crackers or some stuff like that.

[Brent701 438]

More than likely you didnt get fat eating cheese turkey and snack crackers so you should still be ok. The severe calorie drop you had immediately after surgery is not permanent. The 7 month stall is a very real thing. Try to get an idea how much you are eating but you are probably still easily lat a calorie deficit and just stay the course.

[catwoman7 10,844]

start tracking again to see where you're at. My dietitian doesn't like the fact I'm obsessed with numbers and wants me to try "intuitive eating", but sorry, that doesn't work for me. I "intuitively ate" up to over 300 lbs. I have to track to make sure I'm staying within my maintenance range.

and yes - hunger comes roaring back after a few months, and our stomach capacities are bigger. Stalls become more frequent and last longer. Weight loss slows to a crawl. Continued weight loss becomes a real challenge. But it can still happen if you're committed. I kept losing until I was 20 months out.

When I'm having a particularly "hungry day", I try to eat more healthy fat and/or Fiber, as both are pretty filling (at least for me). And I really step up my Fluid intake. But I know it's hard. Sometimes I have to get out of the house or put myself to bed early just so I'll quit thinking about my stomach. It's a challenge for sure...

[catwoman7 10,844]

p.s. watch the snacking on crackers. Or any kind of mindless snacking. My surgeon says that the two biggest reasons people gain weight are 1) not separating drinking from eating and 2) grazing. Make sure you're planning your Snacks and not going overboard. Maybe munch on raw vegetables or plain, air-popped popcorn instead of crackers? I know it's not as exciting, but it's a lot fewer calories

Edited February 12, 2020 by catwoman7

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

3 hours ago, tal said:

Ill be honest i dont keep track. I just serve a little and if im too full ill throw it. I go for Protein but i eat alot of cheese and turkey and sometimes ill snack on crackers or some stuff like that.

I know you don't want to hear this (i didn't) but you have to track your food.... if only to see where your cals are coming from. Good job with the turkey... not so good with the crackers and "stuff". I'm wondering if your eating a lot of nuts too. I have a quiche in the morning. My husband cooks one most every Sunday for the week... eggs, cheese, bacon, green onions. lunch is normally cucumber with homemade dressing (fresh basil, fresh parsley, garlic, EVOO, balsamic vinegar, S&P). dinner is up in the air... I try to not snack, ... but i found strawberries, deli meats (salami, persutto, etc) And if i'm still hungry.... smash up a sweet potato or cut up an avocado.

I get up and do something... clean, wash clothing, go walk, exercise.

Are you exercising? If not, you need too. Two rules to weight loss..... EAT LESS/BETTER AND MOVE MORE.

[JAKE H 1,229]

If it makes you feel any better, i am 7 months out and i am in a stall as well. ITs real but we just need to stick to our program. im right around goal and i cant get there. But i know i will. This seems to happen at all my milestones. itll break. we got this.

[GradyCat 3,692]

I get hungry every 3 hours and "snack" on something like almonds or a Protein Bar, but I also track all my food every day in MyFitnessPal.com and watch my calories to make sure I'm not overeating so many times a day. I stay at 1200 and under.

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

Watch out for the almonds and Protein bars.... the bars sometimes are loaded with sugar.

[FluffyChix 17,409]

Generally, if people are hungry every two hours after some time out, it could be a few things, but Occam's Razor (simplest is best), will show you that most of the breakthrough hunger is caused by:

1. Blood sugar crashes and insulin spikes from the previous meal. ( A meal should be able to last someone 3-6 hours and if you're feeling hungry at <2hours, you can find the culprit by looking at your food log. Anything with added sugar, fake sugar, or fast carbs - talking bout you Mr. Ritz! will cause this type of phenomenon. It can also be caused by habit...habitually eating every 2 hours never allows our blood sugar to go back to normal, and so we perceive that we need to eat cuz we're starving or shaky when the blood sugar hits normal rather than "low" or low normal. Point blank, it also hard wires the habit to receive a hit to the hedonic pleasure center every 2 hours. So the more we eat the more we get used to eating and want to eat. Also, Snacks are usually pretty unregulated. I can EASILY add 500 calories in a snack to my daily total. So not only will I stall...I will gain.)

2. Your restriction prevents you from taking in adequate Protein per meal. Usually 2-4oz of protein per meal will last a "normal" non-athlete between 3-4 hours. Anything less than that, and yeah you could be legit straight up hungry every 2 hours.

3. Your exercise level is causing blood sugar disregulation and causing you to go low (usually anything over 2 hours) which causes hunger.

4. It could be that time of the month...just sayin...

5. It could be that a medicine you're now taking or a Vitamin you're taking has gone too high. (I can tell when I need to lay off my B-Complex and B-12 for a couple days. I get voraciously hungry. And the hunger dissipates the further out from my last dose of Bs. Check your vit levels with your doctor and tell him/her about your voracious appetite.

6. You need Water. Lots of it. You are dehydrated.

7. It's natural. Around 7-9 months my appetite came back like there is no tomorrow. I added in IF at that point since I could easily satisfy daily protein needs with food. By adding IF, I was able to control my insulin and no more blood sugar rollercoasters and lost the rest of my weight.