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I recently increased my work out routines (from 4 - 5 days a week to 7 days a week) with the goal being to lose weight without further restriction of calories. I think I eat well balanced meals, very minimal sugar, plenty of lean protein, veggies, fruits and as well as some "bad carbs" (occasional pizza, pasta, wine) but I try to maintain a good balance. That said, I hate restricting my calorie intake to lose weight, I much prefer to increase muscle (strength training) and cardio to burn calories. My challenge is, the more I work out, the hungrier I get. Today I did 60 minutes of high intensity cardio on my lunch break. Afterward I had a turkey/avocado wrap. Normally that would hold me until dinner but, because I worked out, I'm hungrier! So, how do folks lose the weight without being hungry? I've tried increasing veggies but I never actually feel satiated no matter how much vegetables I eat. Or is the reality simply, if you want to lose weight, you have to accept feeling hungry? Very frustrating...
No, you should not have to experience hunger, and you do not need drugs to achieve that.
You should experience a little hunger before meals. That is a normal sensation that seems to have vanished for a lot of people.
Make sure you include healthy fats with every meals. That will help you stay satiated. I love snacking of a few nuts. They are great at keeping me going until my next meal. Any snack with protein and fat will do. Just be careful how much you eat. You don't need much.
If you are targeting a specific calorie range make sure you take into account how many calories you are burning during your work out. Of course it will be approximate, but you should be able to get a rough idea. Make sure you take those calories burned into account.
I do. Learning to be hungry for a while is something I have to live with or I won't lose weight. Not being hungry at some points in the day means I am eating all the time. Not good.
No idea. The body isn't really very good at signaling hunger sensations on anything objective. There's some science behind that with satiety index or fullness factor which you can use to try and trick your body into thinking it's not hungry when you're operating at a caloric deficit. I've never really bothered that much. I just accept feeling hungry when I'm losing weight and it's really not that bad.
The hungriest I've ever been was during the period I was doing road racing (cycling), running, and doing a few triathlons for variety. I wasn't trying to lose weight, just maintain, and it sucked. I can see why people use things like EC stacks or clenbuterol. I don't experience anything similar to that level of hunger now even when I'm losing weight. Usually after a few weeks I just get used to it and don't even really notice feeling hungry, just more of a background sensation.
No you don't need to be hungry all of the time to lose weight. You train your body to get used to smaller portions of food. I time my food intake and my body has become accustomed to it. It gives me "hunger" signals to let me know when I need to eat and after that I'm comfortable. Comfortable means satiated, not overstuffed full. You need to recognize the difference.
If you are truly hungry, then eat something that achieves satiety but not "overfull". Workouts demand refueling. I eat before I work out and then I eat after I work out. Both meals tend to have more calories than meals timed when I am not super active. Again, that is real hunger, your body is demanding repletion of energy. The key thing is not to overeat.
Well, I never eat until I feel "overstuffed" and usually don't eat before working out because I find it adversely effects my workout performance. That said, I've tried the high protein snacks and other methods to curb hunger but honestly feel at my age I would have to keep my calories below 1400 a day to lose weight. I give up. I will continue to eat healthful foods and exercise but I have to accept that I'm not only not going to lose the weight, but that it will probably continue to go up over time. I guess I feel like I should be able to eat what I ate in my 30s and not gain and, reality is not in alignment with that opinion.
Well, I never eat until I feel "overstuffed" and usually don't eat before working out because I find it adversely effects my workout performance. That said, I've tried the high protein snacks and other methods to curb hunger but honestly feel at my age I would have to keep my calories below 1400 a day to lose weight. I give up. I will continue to eat healthful foods and exercise but I have to accept that I'm not only not going to lose the weight, but that it will probably continue to go up over time. I guess I feel like I should be able to eat what I ate in my 30s and not gain and, reality is not in alignment with that opinion.
I know your frustration very well but you are giving up way too easily. I lost a lot of weight in my 40s - when my metabolism started to stall - so weight loss can be achieved regardless of how old you are. Sure, it's not going to be as easy..but anything worthwhile won't be easy as the saying goes.
Since you know what your reality is - that you can't eat as you did in your 30s - you adapt. Adapt or remain the same weight. it's that simple. As a male who is working out as much as you do, you shouldn't have to eat 1400 calories per day. Short of having a medical issue, if you are not overconsuming and work out, weight loss will happen. I still stand by my post. btw if you are overconsuming, it doesn't matter if the foods are healthful or not. Track your intake if you have to.
Regular feelings of hunger are not healthy, and while one can lose weight on a starvation type of diet, it is not a long-term sustainable or healthful way of living.
To the Original Poster, the quandary that you refer to is the biggest reason as a longtime distance runner I advise people that if you want to lose weight, intense loads of exercise actually is NOT the most effective way to do so.
60 minutes of high intensity cardio? That is a significant stressor on the body, and you had better believe you are going to be hungry well after that workout.
Eating less than 1400 calories would classify as a starvation type of diet in my opinion. I know that people do it, however, you are encouraging your body's metabolism to slow in an effort to conserve key stores for the continued functioning of your body.
I would say that if you insist on being under 1400 calories (or around there for that instance) you - even though this will feel very contrary to what your gut is telling you - would lose more weight by *not* working out more intensely than some walking/yoga-type intensity of a workout. I know that you don't feel like it will contribute to weight loss eating the same and taking away intense exercise, however, I have seen it very often.
If you still are concerned about the weight loss and don't want to give up on exercise, then I would encourage some experimenting with Intermittent Fasting where you eat to the point of fulfillment/a genuine lack of hunger in about an 8 hour window in a day (say, lunch at 12noon and dinner at 7pm) and then you are in a fasted state for the other 16 hours. Since exercise requires ample caloric intake, you would base your workouts around your calorie consumption (i.e., immediately before lunch or dinner).
Something else you may wish to try if you are hesitant to pull back on the exercising would be a) doing higher intensity interval workouts but for a much shorter period of time (at most, 20 minutes) where you are really pushing yourself quite hard for 15 seconds and then going very slow for 45 seconds. Exercising this way though is a 10 to 20 minute maximum endeavor; b) and/or, adding in some heavy weight lifting (heavy for you) for a limited period of time (again, 20 minutes maximum would be good). Lifting heavy is what encourages muscle development/strengthening, and as you assuredly know, muscle development (which does not mean you'll become "bulky" muscular) significantly aids one's metabolic rate. One will burn many more calories at rest with stronger muscles than they will without them.
Transversely, eating what I would term to be excessively lightly (i.e., 1400 calories) and also doing hard, longer workouts will harm muscle strengthening, as there will be a breakdown of muscle mass to preserve key bodily functions. Again, this is the exact opposite of what you would want to be doing if attempting to lose weight.
The good news is that while I know it will sound counter-intuitive, I believe you are likely being too hard on your body/are overdoing it. Theoretically, eating less than 1400 calories and also exercising would make you excessively skinny as all calories would be more than spent (a significant deficit) covering your workout and covering your living the other 23 hours in a day.
However, by taking away the stressors on your body, you lessen its stress hormones which are antagonistic to optimal thyroid functioning and thus optimal metabolic rate.
Either keep eating how you are and get into very slow/light exercise that is not strenuous such as walking or yoga, or, try Intermittent Fasting in conjunction with high intensity (but short duration) interval training.
Go easy as possible on your body! Not doing so will cause the discouragement that you are facing and set the body up for failure.
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