Hunger

JMike

JMike

New member
I have a question about dieting and hunger. Not the desire to eat but the empty feeling that can be almost like a twinge.

Everyone has that right?

Thats not my main question lol just something I just thought of. Heres the question:

I recently started watching what I eat. I ate a can of soup this morning, 1 hour later I get that feeling, but I wait hoping it will pass. 2 hours later no luck so I eat another can and drink some milk and add crackers. As soon as im done eating and go out the feeling is back. This has been a repeating process with my new smaller portioned meals. I am very much overweight and accustomed to eating very large portions..will this feeling subside as my body adjust? Its a very hollow empty annoying feeling..will it go away or should I be prepared to live with it if im going to diet?
 
I'd seriously suggest NOT dieting and instead focusing on a lifestyle change where you aren't hungry and are eating enough to keep you satisfied...

Spend some time reading the stickied threads in On Topic/Nutrition/Exercise and you'll get lots of helpful hints...
 
Sorry I said diet, bad choice of a word.

Lifestyle change is more what im leaning towards, in a manner of actually caring what I eat and how much of it I eat instead of just gobbling down whatever I feel like.
 
Oh and Ive been reading the crap out of the stickies since I got here :)

Two enlightening things so far Ive learned:

High reps low weights not as good for toning as I believed.(even though I don't tone)

Eating 80000 small meals a day wont raise metabolism.
 
I sometimes get that feeling you mentioned JMike, but once I'm into a normal routine of eating well, then it's just an occasional feeling, not over and over all day.

Sometimes I get that feeling when I've had plenty to eat, but I'm in a bad patch emotionally. I'm afraid my sense of hunger only works properly some of the time.

Chances are that if you are substantially overweight, your sense of hunger may also be misleading, at least some of the time. However, I'm pretty sure I've seen mal say she calculated the amount of calories she needed to lose weight at her size and didn't go much under that, so didn't feel hungry - and she has lost heaps.

I think trying to have an idea of how many calories to eat a day would be useful. Also, a certain amount of trial and retrial might be needed.
 
Are you drinking enough water? Sometimes the feeling of hunger may mean that your body just needs some fluid. Try drinking more water and eating more small meals...add in healthy snacks.
 
Thanks for the help and advice, I'm mainly just hoping someone will say "Yes, it gets easier." but dont worry im not gonna give up if thats not the case :p
 
Ha ha. Yes it gets easier. :D

But it depends how much you are eating.

I have tried to lose weight on plans that don't have enough food in them, and in those cases it just got harder.
 
JMike said:
Oh and Ive been reading the crap out of the stickies since I got here :)

Two enlightening things so far Ive learned:

High reps low weights not as good for toning as I believed.(even though I don't tone)

Eating 80000 small meals a day wont raise metabolism.
Click to expand...

Hiya Mike.

Not that what I'm about to say has much to do with the original topic... but....

I think the stickies are great. What's wrong with the concept though is they don't cover everything. If I were to sit down and write a book, the stickies would only cover a few of the chapters included.

The stickies, in a way, are their own book but it's info that's pulled from here and there in no particular order.... KWIM?

That said..... high rep weight training definitely does have it's place in certain scenarios. You have to ask yourself what you want to get out of a resistance training program in relation to your goals.

For instance, if I were to give someone advice on how to resistance train who had 100+ lbs to lose, high reps would probably be a core component of they're program.... namely b/c caloric expenditure is the primary concern in that particular situation and muscle loss isn't that big of a concern at all.

I only mention this b/c I saw your weight in one of your other threads.
 
JMike

What I have found is that over time, my body has gotten used to eating less...it the beginning, hell yes, it sucked and the more I focused on it, the more I wanted to eat. I drank lots of water (not an abnormal amount) and that seemed to help as well.

Now, if I eat more than I am used to I get this horrible bloated feeling and what I have learned is that my body has, over time, adapted to this new way of eating.

So in short, yes it will get better but you have to be willing to push through it. The benefits are far worth the cost. :seeya:
 
Oh yeah it gets easier. One thing I've noticed after changing what I eat is that I used to eat like 4 sloppy joes on sloppy joe night (my favorite meal of all time) and now after I eat 2 I am so stuffed I don't even think about dessert. I think your stomach needs time to adjust to be totally honest and after that it's much easier.
 
Steve said:
Hiya Mike.

Not that what I'm about to say has much to do with the original topic... but....

I think the stickies are great. What's wrong with the concept though is they don't cover everything. If I were to sit down and write a book, the stickies would only cover a few of the chapters included.

The stickies, in a way, are their own book but it's info that's pulled from here and there in no particular order.... KWIM?

That said..... high rep weight training definitely does have it's place in certain scenarios. You have to ask yourself what you want to get out of a resistance training program in relation to your goals.

For instance, if I were to give someone advice on how to resistance train who had 100+ lbs to lose, high reps would probably be a core component of they're program.... namely b/c caloric expenditure is the primary concern in that particular situation and muscle loss isn't that big of a concern at all.

I only mention this b/c I saw your weight in one of your other threads.
Click to expand...

Wow I'm gonna like it here, everyone is soo nice and helpful :)

My weight is 350 pounds, and while I only desire to lose 60-70 pounds, losing 100 wouldent hurt.

About the weight training though, I can't afford to lose muscle since I box, even if it means Ill drop weight a little slower. I'm already incredibly weak for my size(the upside being im very fast, flexible, and long-winded for my size)
I had previously been doing what I thought were high rep workouts but let me emphasize in case im wrong.

I get on said machine, lift the maximum weight that I can lift 15 times, rest for 1 minute, lift it 10 more times.
After one week of this its 15-15-10 then when I can do 15-15-15-15 I raise the weight 5 pounds weekly until I decide im lifting enough. Which probably isint enough lol.

Granted weight training is not my strong point, if I was short on time or feeling lazy its what got cut into, not cardio. Most of my exercising life Ive neglected it completely. Not that I dont enjoy it, its results are the most visibly rewarding in the short term, but I have this fear of being muscle bound and slower for my troubles, with no real gain other than looking beefy.
 
Im gonna go get on some scales thursday and get my precise weight and make one of those ticker things, looks like a good idea for goal tracking. Gonna go start a diary now in the other forum, thanks again!
 
JMike said:
Wow I'm gonna like it here, everyone is soo nice and helpful :)
Click to expand...

Yup, for the most part this is an excellent community.

About the weight training though, I can't afford to lose muscle since I box, even if it means Ill drop weight a little slower.
Click to expand...

Couple of things in relation to this statement.

1. Boxing is more about power production capabilities than muscle mass, among other things. In other words, it's getting your muscles to create force more quickly and powerfully that tends to have the most significant impact.

2. What's your height? At 350 lbs, you have to understand that you are not only carrying around a lot of extra fat.... you're also carrying around a lot of extra muscle. Every pound gained from overeating, although it seems like it all goes to fat, has a portion going to lean body mass.... regardless of exercise. That said, people carrying around 100+ extra lbs of fat can *afford* to lose some muscle without a negative impact on performance.

3. At your size, losing enough muscle to have a negative impact on performance is highly unlikely.

4. Higher rep training as a core component of your resistance training program will aid in caloric expenditure, and since you're body isn't *primed* to lose lots of muscle, it will also get you a lot of mileage in terms of muscle maintenance. Point being, you don't need to focus a lot of your attention on heavy strength training as it relates to muscle maintenance. To performance attributes, that's a different story.

It's all about picking what goal is most important to you right now and striving for it. Sure, you can have multiple goals, but the more you have, the harder the attainment of each, independently, becomes.

I'm already incredibly weak for my size(the upside being im very fast, flexible, and long-winded for my size)
I had previously been doing what I thought were high rep workouts but let me emphasize in case im wrong.
Click to expand...

And said weakness translates into what exactly in the ring? Being able to bench press 350 lbs does not make one a good boxer.

Being able to generate a lot of force quickly does. I don't mean to totally discredit absolute strength by any means.... I consider myself a strength athlete and true strength training always leads to better performance on the field or in the ring IME.

Read this article:



I get on said machine, lift the maximum weight that I can lift 15 times, rest for 1 minute, lift it 10 more times.
After one week of this its 15-15-10 then when I can do 15-15-15-15 I raise the weight 5 pounds weekly until I decide im lifting enough. Which probably isint enough lol.
Click to expand...

Enough for what?

That's a critical question.

And are you lifting to failure each time?
 
Steve said:
Enough for what?

That's a critical question.

And are you lifting to failure each time?
Click to expand...

Basically I just lift until I feel that im lifting enough to maintain, then I quit adding weight/reps. I never lift to failure as a goal, sometimes early on in the regimen it happens though.

As for strength, I simply dont hit very hard. I can put my weight behind a hit and KO someone but that makes for telegraphed shot and puts me way over extended and off balance afterwards.

I do have a few one punch knockdowns, maybe 2, but they were alot smaller than me, or alot less experienced. Most of the time if someone falls its because they are exhausted and im not and I just hit them with 4-5 light quick shots in a row and they are overwhelmed.

Usually other guys my size suck air within 3 minutes. Thats how I win, ive never been confident in my punching power.
 
Punching is a lot of hip torque. Focusing on leg drive and rotational core strength is going to be a big part of it.

Twisting ab work and low back strength should be high on the list.

I've helped out a couple of fighters and usually end up using some form of a PL and OL hybrid, as these lifts will build strength and speed-strength in the needed muscle groups.

Focus on a speed day oriented around Olympic lifts and a day oriented around strength-- not necessarily max-effort work, but heavy nonetheless, for upper body and lower body.

Adding in one or two days of cardiovascular training would be a good idea as well. Have a day oriented towards light or moderate distance work, and a day oriented towards intense intervals like you'd find in a boxing match.

A bunch of generalities.... but nonetheless something to think about.
 
Mike, regarding hunger, there are are three things (some or all of which have been pointed out already I'm sure), well 4 actually that I've sort of crammed into three points:

1) Eat foods with a higher satiety factor. Not all foods are created equal in this regard. Soup, milk and crackers are probably some of the worst choices. Try eating a lb of Cod and 2 cups of sweet potato (yam) and see how hungry you feel immediately afterwards. I'm guessing not very.

2) Try "spending" your alloted calories over fewer meals. I will be surprised if you can even manage to eat enough to maintain an intake of 20% under your maintenance (which by the way is what you should be doing - NOT eating at some fixed number that is much too low and will hurt your metabolism, and therefore your progress, both immediately and in the long term).

3) After you've tried 1 and 2: Suck it up, muffin. You'll survive. :D

Also, "It gets easier." From someone who's been there. ;)
 
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