My computer is being so slow- I'm sure someone will say this before I get a chance to post. LOL. But I think a lot of it has to do with your Basal Metabolic Rate. Currently at 218 my BMR is 1777.2 at my goal weight of 135- my BMR will be 1416.15.
I'm not sure if I will really be increasing calories when I hit maintenance- I think that my consumption will become pretty even with my metabolic needs. This is a rather simplistic way to look at it, but it makes sense to me.
Last edited by lunarsongbird; 03-07-2013 at 08:22 PM.
To maintain you have to eat the calories you burn everyday. If you don't you lose, too much you gain. Nothing magical will happen but after months (or more) of eating in a deficit many experience heightened hunger due to hormonal shifts (leptin).
I'll tell you I'm more hungry NOW than I ever was obese! I'm soooo thankful I can eat more now!
Hunger doesn't necessarily have anything to do with why people eat more in maintenance. You are eating fewer calories now to create a deficit. That deficit creates the fat loss. When you are at the weight you want, you can add calories back in, to whatever level lets your body maintain the new weight (figuring that out can be a little tricky).
From reading on this site and conversations with people, anecdotally it seems there is a lot of variation in how much hunger people experience during weight loss and after.
I'll tell you I'm more hungry NOW than I ever was obese! I'm soooo thankful I can eat more now!
This is so true for me as well... and my shrunken fat cells ARE NOT HAPPY about it... and unfortunately, they let me know about it much more than I would like lately...
I don't think people are automatically either losing weight or in maintenance. Weight management is an ongoing and very individual journey. There are many variables about what and how much people of all sizes are eating.
The short answer, though, is if you are creating a deficit and losing weight consistently and you want to stop losing, you likely can add more calories, hungry or not.
Hunger honestly doesn't have much to do with it, in my opinion.
I think that maintaining your weight and hunger are two very different things. And they don't necessarily go hand in hand. Hunger is merely a signal that it is time to eat. The body is so complex and it's awesome that we have such a signal! The problem is that sometimes I misread that signal.
I think you can eat at whatever rate you want to, but it tends to be a more mental game when your body knows that you aren't dieting anymore and are 'maintaining'
It's a bit relaxing and everyone would like a break from the constant consciousness of it all. Then, when you can eat a bit more and still maintain it tends to make you more lax and you add a bit more here and there.
I know a lot of women that live like they are actively pursuing weight loss, even though they are at their target weights. And that works for them, they don't have noticeable fluctuations.
I guess it just depends on how tight of a reign you are willing to keep on it.
Question about hunger
