I shoot for 1350 a day, with 1 or 2 days at 1500. I could easily eat more food. Easily. I do get full at my meals, but am ready to eat again 2-3 hours later. I have 2 snacks a day.
DH laughs because every night at about 10pm, I say "I'm hungry". He mentioned one night that I was like an alarm clock that way.
There are some days were I feel full and satisfied at 1250 or so, but those days are rare. There are other days where I am a ravenous fiend all day.
I just know that I am in a calorie deficit, and hunger is a part of that.
Yoyo, thanks for sharing your experiences. You've given us a glimpse into the other side and it doesn't look like a happy place at all. It's something I've never experienced and I really appreciate you giving us all some insight into your world. Stick around here with us and we'll all figure out a way to make it through together.
Thanks Meg . I was hoping it wasn't going to come across as being angry, just a share. That's one of the things I love about 3FC - a bunch of very diverse experiences and a chance to learn from all of them.
Um...I have been thinking the same thing! Of course I'm hungry; I wouldn't be a fat chick if I didn't like to eat. I am slightly embarassed to admit that while I am glad I'm losing, the thought of my WW points decreading into the 20's absolutely freaks me out!
You're not. There are plenty of chicks from both sides here.
Being one or the other does not make you mutant, or mean that you're freakish for being hungry, OR mean that you must have miscalculated because it's definitely not possible for a fat girl to lack an appetite, etc etc etc. Some people have an appetite, others just don't.
So, how does a person get fat without much of an appetite, that can't be possible? One asks.
Low quality/crap food. If you've ever taken a look at the calorie counts of some of the junk food, you know that it doesn't take much food at all to be way up there in the calories. Replace the junk food with healthy, low calorie, clean foods, and for the same amount of calories you have twice to three times the amount of food. For someone without much of an appetite, it can be difficult to get that amount in.
I, personally, have seen my share of both sides. Some days I'm just really not hungry at all and end up at 900 calories, and then the next I get up to 1,400.
It really just depends on the person. I've seen it vary equally all ways.
I am always sooo hungry. Somedays I can deal with the gnawing physical pain in my tummy and tough it out to 1,000 and others I have to eat everything in the whole world and reach 2,500. (On holidays I have been known to exceed 4,000, drinks really add up, what can I say?)
But the hunger, oh the hunger.
And, in spite of that it is still sooo worth it.
Life is greener being smaller, at least for me. Even with the sacrifices.
/End my tangent.
Just for kicks...today I ate 1260 calories, or so. I had:
B - French toast made with Alvarado Light Flax Seed Bread soaked in Egg Beaters, with 2 tsp of apple butter.
S - A tangelo...mmm.
L - White bean soup with carrots, celery, and garlic...a HUGE bowl!
S - Smoothie made with Light N Fit Yogurt, almond milk, and fresh strawberries
S - 120 calories worth of perfect airpopped popcorn with pink mineral salt
D - A giant plate of stirfry...1 cup cooked of brown and wild rice blend, 4 oz of chicken, and at least 1 1/2 cups of veggies...broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, and mushrooms.
S - 150 calories worth of no sugar added ice cream.
That's a ton of food...eating every 2 hours, all day. I wasn't hungry.
Alternately, for 1280 calories, I could have eaten:
A McDonalds Crispy Chicken Club
Medium Fries w/ 2 ketchup packets
Medium Coke
One meal...and you can bet I'd be hungry later that day. So it definitely DOES depend what I eat.
That being said, it also depends a lot on other things, like where I'm at in my cycle, how much exercise I'm doing, etc.
you can add me to the "always hungry" club. I have no idea how NOT to feel hungry unless I eat too much. And I eat several "meals" throughout the day. Some bodies are just different I guess.
I would love to not feel hunger but I can't even train myself against it. I get physical symptoms from hunger - headache, lightheaded, cranky, my stomach rumbles enough for someone next to me to think there was a small earthquake. Often I eat fruit when this happens but fruit never actually makes me feel full...
I eat 2-3 pieces of fruit a day. I have a mixing bowl salad with lunch. I bulk up my dinner with loads of veggies. I use no or low cal seasonings like vinegar and lemon juice. My proteins are as lo-cal as I can get them (tofu, cc, tuna, etc.). I have three meals and two snacks, and sometimes I'll split breakfast into two parts, pre- and post-workout. I never eat fast food.
This isn't the issue. I'm simply hungry sometimes while dieting, even when I'm doing it right. That's my weight loss experience.
Just thought i'd throw in my $0.02
I have a history of an eating disorder. I have bounced back and forth from months of binge eating to months of serious restriction (500 cals a day max) and fasting. I have TOTALLY screwed up my metabolism. I gain at 1600 cals a day...with enough exercise, i can maintain there, but it's hard. Which of course made it easy to get heavy again. On that note, that doesn't mean i'm full at 1600. Some days i'm more than full at 1000. Some days i'm ravenous at 2000.
Recently, thoguh (past three months) I became a vegan. I eat mostly fruits, vegetables, beans, and some nuts. Sometimes, i can litterally eat all day, but not get enough calories, because I'll sit around and have ten servings of veggies but it only comes out to like 500 calories. That's the thing about raw veggies...i love them, but they don't fulfill my calorie needs the way a snack should. So sometimes, it is really hard for me to get to the 1100 calorie minimum i've set for myself to ensure i don't slip back into my severe restriction tendancies. my goal is 1200-1400, but on a day where i don't feel like eating nuts, sometimes it's hard to find. I had to add things like wheat pasta and vegan pizza into my diet to have larger meals and get me there, because the veggie burgers (120 cals) on two slices of light bread (80 cals) with tomato and onion didn't help me get there.
I have sort of learned to accept that I will never be able to be one of those people who can feel "full" ever. I can always eat....and I have had to learn to deal with that persistent hunger. It sucks, but if I don't want to end up where I was last April...I have to suck it up and deal.
It's refreshing to hear that I'm not alone in this hunger.
Wow. First, about the members saying they're not hungry and have trouble reaching, say, 1200 calories. I don't understand it. I have an appetite. I started out over 2000 calories, and ate every last one of my calories with gusto. For most of my journey so far, I ate 2000 and stayed there until my weight loss stalled. It took 2 months of trying to reduce my calorie intake to 1800. I hate to be hungry, and now at 1800 I have to be more planful and make better choices to stay full. I hope that I don't have to reduce calories further, because I think I will have a very hard time going much lower than 1700.
I know I could not stand being hungry all the time. I am shocked by how many people on the other end of this say they have to go hungry to lose and maintain. So far I haven't. On days that I'm still hungry after eating my allotted calories, I eat. I cannot stand the feeling, and also believe that my body is telling me it needs fuel. There have actually been very few days that I have needed to eat above my set calories from true hunger.
I guess I will be ok with settling at a maintenance weight that is a little chubby if it means that I can fuel my body when hungry and not have to go around with a gnawing feeling. I am amazed that so many can, and I give any of you who do a lot of credit for being able to withstand that and hold onto your commitment. You are stronger than I am.
I would like to offer one more theory on why some members say they are having trouble eating their allotted calories. I know myself, I lived many years going between starving and binging. A weight loss plan to me was starving myself, eating way too few calories. It had to hurt or it wasn't a diet. I didn't believe one could eat a good deal of food and still lose weight. When you're eating 1500 or 2000 calories a day, it's a lot of food compared to the starvation diets, and it almost feels wrong....like somehow its wrong to eat that much and must be cheating. It was a real mind shift to look at this journey as a sustainable lifestyle and not a temporary and severe restriction/punishment.
I have also noticed that most of the members who severely restrict and say they are not hungry end up flaming out if they dont get a grip and start eating enough, and eating healthily. Eventually the hunger returns times 100 because the body fights against starvation.
You've given us a glimpse into the other side and it doesn't look like a happy place at all. It's something I've never experienced and I really appreciate you giving us all some insight into your world. Stick around here with us and we'll all figure out a way to make it through together. 
cheese...
