its not the hunger thats making me snap its normally just after i have eaten that i turn in to a monster
I am having 1000 cals a day and Tangerines as snacks inbetween
Just eating 1000 calories per day is a pretty low calorie intake. That's much lower than what I lost weight on. If I ate just 1000 calories per day I would be munching on the furniture.
A lot of times people use food as a coping mechanism, and when that's taken away they have to actually deal with the uncomfortable feeling of feeling your feelings.
You might want to find some new coping mechanism like journaling, walking, yoga, meditation, etc. Something healthy.
When I get hungry between meals and I know I am not really needing a substantial snack, just munchy, I drink some tea. I still, make sure to eat within an hour or so, but sometimes a little liquid takes the edge off (I get hunger and thirst confused easily).
If I am having gnawing, gut hunger that is my signal I need to eat more calories. Adding in a healthy snack (like an apple) with a fat to help my brain signal hunger is being satiated helps a lot. So some cashews or cottage cheese with that apple? Great, substantial, healthy snack that tides me over the few hours until the next meal. Eating frequently also helps me thwart the hunger monster.
Sorry, I have to disagree. A little bit of hunger is certainly normal when you are eating less calories than you burn.
The need to never have hunger is what gets a lot of us in this predicament. It's okay to be hungry. Now, being ravenous is usually not a good idea when it can be prevented, but a little hunger is ok and normal.
the anger gets worse today I weighed my self and the scales are not moving, so I went mental at my husband as he feeds me!!!
Last night he sat there munching cookies asking me if i wanted some, but I was good and said no. he just winds me up. I think i am going to have to deal with the fact my marraige needs working on, along side the dieting
As for the low cals its not food thats my problem its drinks I have to have a drink in my hand all the time, I am trying to get it to be water and thats not going to bad I have been 8days with out a coke so I please with this.
Sorry to rant and go on, I am finding this very hard and the results are not fast enough, If i dont lose enough weight by march I am going to not go on my holiday to Aus as there is NO WAY i can put on swim wear this size. I was also put on anti depressants last year because i cried when the doctor weighed me, thankfully I am off these now as the bloody things made me GAIN weight. I feel like i cant win
I really think you should try upping your calories by 200-300 a day and see if that fixes the problem. What you are describing is exactly what used to happen to me, and I also never thought I was all that hungry. When you are really starving, the body gives up on hunger pangs but hunger still affects you.
That anger/frustration is what ruined every diet I ever went on before this time--and this time I've lost 135 pounds. I couldn't be a raving ***** 24/7 and I eventually would snap.
Trust me when I say that an extra 300 calories a day for 5 days is not going to pack the weight back on, and it's worth the experiment to see if it helps with the moods.
You've gotten lots of good replies, and I don't have the time to read through them all...Pardon if I'm repeating.
I did and still do feel anger and frustration though the weight loss and maintenance process.
- I feel anger at our culture in general that constantly dangles fast food, sweets, etc in my face. Shoot, it doesn't even dangle, it smears unhealthy food in my face.
- I'm angry at the culture that smears bad food in my face but tells me I'm only beautiful if I'm thin.
- I'm angry at naturally thin people who eat whatever they want and don't gain (*cough*myfiance*cough*)
- I'm angry at people who can so easily walk away from food when they feel full. Lord knows I wish I could leave french fries on my plate just because I was full!
- I'm angry at myself for NOT being able to quit when I'm full.
- I'm angry at my parents for not teaching me better eating habits when I was younger.
- I'm angry and frustrated that even though I've gotten to my goal, I will have to be obsessive about my eating habits and what goes into my mouth for the rest of my life or else I'll gain it back.
- I'm angry that I will never just be able to eat. I know that's kind of a "duh" statement, but yea, I'm ticked off that I can't just eat all of the bad foods that I want and not worry about it. While I am not "hungry," and if I'm honest with myself, I am very content and satisfied to stay on plan for the rest of my life. But sometimes I feel like I'm condemned to a life of being "hungry" because I can't eat McDonalds and go out for ice cream and eat cookies like everyone else.
There are many more. Buuuut, having lived a lifetime of being overweight and "fat and happy" as one might say, eating all that junk whenever I wanted, I can confidently say that it wasn't worth it. Sure, I could eat whatever I wanted, but I was overweight, insecure, constantly coveting a healthier slimmer body, constantly wishing I had more self control. I was FAR more miserable when I was "fat and happy." So yes, now I am thin and I have to constantly watch what I eat and I can't indulge whenever I want to and sometimes that infuriates me...but overall, I am so much happier. I'm proud of my accomplishments, proud that I have learned to take control, and proud of my body. In the end, I'd rather be thin and not have a second dinner than fat and eat a second dinner.
Also, on a more physiological note...as others have said, sometimes our bodies have a physical reaction to not getting as much food (or carbs/sugars or unhealthy fats or whatever) as it's used to and we have a physical response that makes us irritable. Our bodies are programmed to WANT sugar/carbs, fat, etc and to WANT to maintain weight. When we deprive it of those things, we often feel agitated. But as the body adjusts, those feelings subside.
I agree with you on all of the points above, sometimes its a no win situation, as for the blaming my parents i couldnt agree more my mother is a very large woman she wont tell us her weight but she is dubble me she should of stoped me and my sister eating like her when we where young I am definatly not making the same mistake with my girls
I am hoping my body ajusts soon I am starting to get headaches with the diet the last 2 days have been bad but I am slugging back water to try and clear it
Thanks Calry I have just looked up rabbit starvation and I think thats why I am getting headaches last night my headache was so bad I went and stayed in a dark room I didnt sleep very well waking up every hour was horible as I have to be up at 5am for work
I am going to have some lamb and veg for dinner tonight so hopefully a little fat will help.
I am still grumpy but I am starting to think maybe that is just how I am
One more thing, since we're discussing cranky-ness as a result of hunger. I agree that it's normal and expected to feel "hungry" when we're eating less calories than we're used to and also creating a calorie deficit (burning more than we eat). Our brains evolved mechanisms to shout out "um, excuse me, we're running on empty here...what are we gonna do when you can't find the next mammoth to kill? Eat something!!!" Weight loss goes against every instinct that we likely aren't even aware of, so, yes, that will make us cranky. Especially at the beginning of our lifestyle changes when we aren't used to the "hunger" feeling. For me, my "hunger" was the fact that I couldn't completely feast and stuff myself every meal. I felt "hungry" and deprived. I legitimately mourned the loss of some of my old favorite foods, I was truly sad about it.
That being said. It's SO important to have a plan that we can and will and are happy to stick to. Sure, on any given day I'd rather have Chinese buffet if I could eat it and not gain weight, but, I am very content to eat on plan. Why? Because I like what I'm eating, I am eating enough, I am eating foods that fill me up, I have an eating schedule that keeps me happy, and I have stuck with it long enough to realize that the results of staying on plan are so worth giving up my old habits and favorite foods for.
Perhaps you're simply not content with your current plan, and it needs to be tweaked. When I first started, I figured I'd have to devolve into a rabbit to lose weight. I ate salads every meal because, well, people on diets eat salads, right? You don't think I was cranky!? Shoot, I would have murdered for some real food. Diet confessional #23526: I hate salad. I don't mind it if there's so much meat, cheese, nuts, dressing, etc with a few pieces of lettuce thrown in, but for that amount of calories, I'd rather just eat something else. So, I gave up on salad. Then I tried eating the 6 mini meals per day because that's what so many diet advice tips will say. I ate itty bitty "meals" of lean protein, fiber, and complex carbs every few hours. I was never really hungry, but I was absolutely never satisfied. I was obsessed with watching the clock, waiting for my next mini meal. I tried it for 6 weeks, but I was nearly crazy by the end of it. Food obsessed, hyper focused on the clock, constantly desperate for the next snack. And yes, very very cranky.
Finally I said to heck with it, I'll eat what and how I want. I now eat a small lunch in the middle of the afternoon, a MASSIVE dinner, and I snack all night. And I eat delicious things like a huge veggie omelet over 4 pieces of toast, pumpkin pie oatmeal, cinnamon toast crunch popcorn, and so on. I eat warm comfort foods and a truck load of it. I still stay within my calorie limits for the day, I just tweaked my plan to find exactly what I like to eat and when to eat it. I am no longer cranky
