Quote:
Originally Posted by danzingurl77
but as far as numbers go, this is my average day...
Wake up and do HITT or lift weights for about an hour on average (1)
Get ready/work (waitress, walking around) for about 5 hours on average (5)
Head to they gym and do an hour of cardio (run, elliptical, or bike) (1)
Go teach my dance classes (dance little, mostly walk) 4 hours average (4)
So you are exercising hard -- cardio, HITT or lifting -- two hours daily six days a week, and you are working two separate jobs which have you on your feet for nine hours a day for either five or six days a week?
Of course you're ravenous. And you're also edging into disordered eating & exercising territory. (Says someone who's been there and has to watch herself for a lifelong tendency to return there.)
If this is the way you plan to live -- and I'd be curious to see how you got to this place, what you decided to add and when and why -- I agree with upping your calories for several days to see what happens. You want to see how high you can go and still maintain. That's the idea, rather than how low you can go and be ravenously hungry all the time.
But don't up your calories with junk. Good clean protein and the good fats are what you need.
Now that we know your activity level, can you also give us a typical day describing what and when you eat? When you write it down, you may be able to see the gaps of things you may not be getting enough of, or even the timing of the meals, that could help you.