Muscle and Fitness Hers Forums - View topic

gaqueen · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:34 pm Post subject: I'M STARVING!

Okay - so I'm following the Ultimate No-Brainer Fitness Diet that M&F Hers has published in several issues (first publication in 2002). I've followed this diet before (last year) with awesome results. The problem is this - I'M STARVING. I don't want to mess up my caloric/nutrient intake, and I don't want to cheat. What can I eat that won't jack me up?

I can no longer find the actual diet online, but here's the link to the grocery list for the diet: http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/hers/071202/no_brainer.html

For weight loss of 1-2 pounds, the diet prescribes the following for daily consumption (based on a moderately active woman who weighs about 140 lbs, weight trains 2-3 times/week, and does cardio 3 times/week):

* approx. 1600 calories
* 200-260 grams carbs
* 75-95 grams protein
* 35-55 grams fat
* 25-35 grams fiber

Still starving here - so far I've had breakfast and snack #1. Lunch is in 1.5 hours, but I really don't think I can make it. I've tried not thinking about it, working out to distract myself, drinking lots of water, having a cup of tea with no-cal sweetener - all to no avail. My tummy wants food. Please help! I don't want to starve myself - which is VERY unhealthy - but I do want to make wise food choices.

Any suggestions please...?

Sophie · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:55 pm Post subject:

That's not a lot of calories. How active are you? Do you weight train and do cardio as frequently or more frequently than the guidelines?

I weight around 125 lbs and am more active than the moderately active described in your post and am losing weight eating ~1700-1800 calories a day.

1600 might just not be enough.

Anne-Marie · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:39 pm Post subject:

Hi there - here (should be) a link to the article from findarticles.com.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KGB/is_5_3/ai_98607101/pg_2/?tag=content;col1

I took a quick look and in my opinion you might not be getting enough protein. Certainly most of the snacks have no protein, which in my case always means I am hungry 20 minutes later!

I would add non-fat dairy, nuts, something like that at every snack!!!

That might make all the difference, and you will make far better progress meeting your goals if you aren't hungry, since then you are less likely to 'cheat'. (Although in my opinion, if you're hungry EAT! It's not cheating... only cheating if you aren't following the plan and/or getting cravings to which you succumb! Not getting enough to eat and then eating, NOT cheating lol)

Good luck! Smile

anne-marie

gaqueen · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:48 pm Post subject:

Yep - that's the article!

I've recently become about as active as mentioned in my post (cardio/weight training 3x/week). I'm aiming to lose 8 pounds by the end of the year/early January, which I believe is reasonable. (I've recently been moved a project where I work from home and have subsequently become more sedentary during the day, which is NOT helping me.) More protein and a few more calories might do the trick - thanks for your input. At this point, I'm trying to stay really focused because I know that if I give myself an inch of lee-way, I'll end up taking a mile. My body is VERY sensitive to what I eat, so it's a matter of eating super-clean for me.

In the meantime, I ended up eating lunch early, at 11am. I'm not beating myself up about it, since I believe that if your body is truly hungry, you should feed it. As with anything, this is a work in progress.

Anyone else have any ideas?

lizzyb · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:16 pm Post subject:

Wow Anne - Marie, how you alwayz amaze me with your finds!!! How do you do it, lol?!

Hmm, personally I think the calories are a little low too.....sort of reminds me of an extreme diet....which is what I am assuming it is, to lose those last lbs. Another magazine has done similar recently and has taken some flack for suggesting such low cals as well, however it is intended to lose those last stubborn pounds, not a lifestyle diet.

Could try as stated already having some nuts 8-10 almonds. Or just have a shake and half a banana whenever you are starving.....shouldn't be starving on any diet really, means something isn't quite right in the macros for your body's needs......have you ever figured out what your BMR is and such? Maybe designing a meal plan around this would be a better option for you as you may have more metabolically active tissue (read: muscle) than the general population that this meal plan was devised for back in 2002?

guitargrl325 · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:02 am Post subject:

I think when you ar eating clean healthy while foods and you are still hungry it is a sign your metabolism is working efficiently and you should eat more. That bein said you also want to make sure you are truly hungry. One way I do this is think, am I willing to eat an apple or some celery or am I really just craving candy or something of the like. If I'm truly hungry I want that apple or celery or raw kale w/o dressing...lol...the other day I was driving home from picking up some kale for me green smoothies. Among other non edible items and I was sooo hungry I was considering eating the unwashed kale straight from the bag!!