Why am I so hungry?

buffyfan

Cathlete
I need some tips/advice. I have added running into my cathe routine (I started back in April) and so far have not lost any weight. Kinda sucks because the running really kicks my butt so I feel like I should be losing weight!!!!! Anyway, I notice that I am always hungry. Unless I eat a big meal or something. I try to eat 5 or 6 "mini meals" a day but still wake up starving and even after eating breakfast I am still hungry. I am afraid to eat more than I do. I usually eat pretty good but I drink too much coffee and splurge too much on the weekends (I have developed a bad Sangria habit on the weekends!) so I'm assuming this is why I can't lose weight. I need to lose about 30 pounds. So, I'm just wondering if I need to eat more because of the running. I run around 3-4 days a week and go for about 45 minutes each time. obviously, I'm a beginner and can't do much more than that or my shins really start to bother me. I'm just thinking maybe I'm not eating enough but since I'm not losing any weight, I'm afraid to eat any more. I'm just geting a little frustrated. I actualy feel like my pants are getting tighter!!! Besides running, I have a stationary bike I use and I do a CAthe upper body routine twice a week and a leg routine twice a week. Usually my legs and hips hurt too much to do any other cardio other than riding the bike. When my lower body is not in too much pain I do Cathe's kickboxing tapes (they are my fav cardio workouts) Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Hi there! First and foremost how many calories are you eating a day and can you post a sample of your daily diet. Second, for myself, eating 5-6 mini meals made me hungrier. I had to go back to 3 larger meals and doing so let me feel satisfied after eating and i didn't think about food all of the time. I also eat about 60grams of healthy fat a day which helps me stay full. i don't do well on higher carbs and i try to keep my protein around 130grams. so please post your diet so we can help more.
 
Theresa,

Aside from nutrition for a moment, it sounds like maybe you're doing too much. After five months of running, it shouldn't be killing your hips, legs, and shins that much. Are you stretching? Are you wearing running-specific shoes that don't have too many miles on them? Are you running perhaps too many days consecutively?

In view of the ongoing aches you've experienced, if you have addressed the issues mentioned above, then I would consider dropping to 2-3 days of running instead of 3-4 and crosstraining the other days of the week. You might also want to make one of your runs a shorter interval run. (Try a Cardio Coach or iTread or use a Gym Boss and do them on your own.) Of course, as has been often discussed here, you may need to experiment with how much cardio vs. how much weights you're doing to find out what's most effective for you.

In terms of diet, Jodelle posted some very helpful information on how to calculate your caloric needs: http://www.thecathenation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250440

And here's a running calorie counter: http://www.runtheplanet.com/resources/tools/calculators/caloriecounter.asp

I signed up for Cathe's nutrition software a month ago and have the program set up so that I'm eating three meals a day with (usually) three snacks. With the guidance of the grading program, I've been filling my plate with much healthier choices, and in turn, my new, more balanced diet has me feeling full and satisfied pretty much all the time. My diet was off track prior to that, and I was positively ravenous. I'm not saying you have to sign up for this program, but my guess is that, if you're going hungry, you are either not eating enough and/or you are eating too much of the wrong thing.
 
I agree with the above statements...if you are not getting enough of the right foods, i.e. healthy fats and good complex carbs your body will let you know with hunger signals that it is not getting enough of what it needs. That's why we get hunger signals and cravings - because our body is saying, "hey, I need more calcium....or I need more omegas...or I need more nourishment in general because you are expending so many calories". My main concern is how much you are eating for breakfast...if you only eat a small amount at breakfast then throughout the day your body is going to be saying, More, MOre More. Make sure you have a good sized breakfast consisting of complex carbs i.e. oatmeal, healthy fats, i.e almond butter, and protien, i.e. eggs. and see if that doens't help. And watch those Sangria as they are empty calories and when your body can find nothing in what you are eating or drinking to satisfy itself it will only create that hunger signal more, until you put in your mouth what it actually needs.
Calculate your Resting Metobolic Rate, and Your Active Metabolic Rate and then keep track of how many carbs you need, how much protein, and how much fats...if you need help with this, let me know. I can figure it for you if you give me your stats.
One more thing: I'm a runner too, and if I run HARD 4-5 days a week, I do not do leg work in anything else other than yoga and stretching. If you lift heavy weights on your legs and do cycling and kickboxing in addtiion to your cardio that a good way to over train and get an overuse injury. Overtraining can lead to weight loss stopping because your body has no chance to rest and rebuild and speed up your metabolism. If you only do light runs, then a little strengh conditioning is okay with high reps and low weight.
Hope that helps! Keep me posted.
 
- Ditto, echoing that you most likely are not getting enough of the right balance and variety of foods, vitamins and nutrients in your diet.

- and dont forget, what your sodium! sodium makes you thirsty and our bodies often mistake thirst for hunger.
 
I agree with all of the above posts. If they mentioned this, please forgive the repeat; but, are you getting enough protein? If you are running as much as you are and if you are doing any kind of strength training then you need to make sure that you get adequate protein at every meal. A good rule of thumb for active women is 1-1.5g of protein per day per pound of weight. I know it sounds like a lot, but you need it to grow muscle, which is a natural metabolism booster, fat burner. Also, when you get enough protein, you'll find that you stay fuller longer (at least I do).

To burn fat, people say it is good to run on an empty stomach. I agree but sometimes it is hard to get a good long run in that way. I read a great article in Oxygen magazine that said to try getting in about 10g of whey protein right before you run. Having that protein in your system should help you get to the fat burning sooner. Also, immediately post run or workout, get in your simple carbs (25-40g) and within 30-60minutes a fast digesting protein like whey. This will help with building lean muscle.

Track your calories for a few days with your weight to help you find the correct calories needed to maintain weight and then once you know your BMR, you just cut about 500 calories per day.

Hope this helps!

Davina
 
One more thing, you should consider cutting the sangria and any alcohol if you are really serious about losing weight. Alcohol will really make you store the fat. If you have to have it, it should be the occasional treat once or twice a month, and limit to one.

Good luck!

Davina
 

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top