trying to loose weight but constantly starving, please help with diet

ellejay

Hi

I'm trying to loose weight and get fit, eventually I would like to be able to jog/run the ladies mini marathon next year.

Stats
female, 32
height is five foot three.
weight is eleven and three quarters stone.
sedentry office job.

I've started spinning classes, twice a week, Tuesday and Thursdays.
Power walking Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, possibly on Satudays if I can get out, for an hour and half.
Started to jog a little on the route when I can manage it.

I thought I'd modified my diet but I'm just always starving and tummy growling.
Now I know I'm not eating enough of something but what is that something?

Breakfast: Porrige with low fat milk
Lunch: Baby Spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, green beans. Sprinkled with a little balsamic vinegar.
Three ryvita's with low one triangle of low fat spread shared between three crackers.
Fish of some sort, either tuna in brine drained, or smoked salmon or sardines in tomaoe sauce
Snack: frut made up of half apple, half pear, half kiwi, half banana, orange, low fat yogurt.
Dinner: One small boiled potatoe, carrots, brocolli (some variation on veg,) and chicken or fish or lean steak or lean pork.

Haven't been eating supper but so hungry last night, made tea and toast, wholemeal brown bread with crunchy peanut butter, around eight o clock

I thought I was hitting all the right food groups, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to change this.
Also, as a consequence of this, I've little energy to exercise, or increase speed and distance etc.

If anyone could offer advise I'd really appreciate it.

Many Thanks,
LJ.

Khannie

That's a fairly low calorie intake (just ignoring the toast + peanut butter for a minute). I'm going to guess that it's around 1200 odd calories which is pretty low. Also, I'm not sure what your diet before was like, but I found a period of adjustment was necessary from eating crap to eating well and feeling good. When you're used to eating crap you get mad sugar cravings for a while after you start to eat a more healthy diet.

I'd suggest upping your calorie intake slightly, at least until you feel like you're not starving (you shouldn't feel that hungry all the time). That fruit salad sounds sugary enough too. Overall though it looks like a really clean diet to me.

Red Cortina

In my opinion being hungry all the time is just not sustainable. You end up eating loads at some stage afterwards cause you feel so bloody deprived!

Have you figured out how many calories you need everyday to maintain your current weight (info on how to do this is in the stickies) and then you need to figure out how many calories you are actually consuming everyday and also how much of a calorie deficit you need to run on to lose weight.

What I have found that works well for me is to have a really decent breakfast. I think that if I ate porridge everyday it just wouldn't be enough to keep me full. So I try and eat eggs for breakfast every day. I find that even though I am running on a calorie deficit, I'm not hungry all the time and therefore don't think about food the whole time either.

xgtdec

maybe add another snack or 2, i have breakfast at 7am and then snack at 10, snack being a rice cake with peanut butter and an apple or some variation, possibly try have a bigger breakfast than just porridge,if you had a bigger breakfast and snack at say 10 you should get to lunch no bother at all, another snack at 4 and crusing to dinnertime, spinning classes are great burners and when im finished them i could eat for Ireland, mcdonalds right outside the gym aswell:)...but that warm feeling of being wasted from spinning and saying no to mcdonalds while getting in shape..nothing beats it...good luck on your goals!!!!

shootermacg

Khannie wrote: »

That's a fairly low calorie intake (just ignoring the toast + peanut butter for a minute). I'm going to guess that it's around 1200 odd calories which is pretty low.
I'd suggest upping your calorie intake slightly, at least until you feel like you're not starving (you shouldn't feel that hungry all the time). That fruit salad sounds sugary enough too. Overall though it looks like a really clean diet to me.

You could add more lean protein, it fills you up pretty well. You could try an egg white turkey omelette in the morning with your porridge, should fill you up nicely, breakfast is important. I judge a good breakfast by how I feel at lunch time, if I'm only a bit peckish then I've had a good breakfast.

For a pretty guilt free snack try air popped popcorn, I bought an air popper in lidl the other day, I love the way popcorn expands in your tummy.
Brocolli, coliflower are good fillers with meat, eat as much as you like.

Your current diet looks like one that you may have trouble sticking with, I couldn't imagine sticking with it.

I agree dramatic dieting isn't the way to go IMO, aim for losing a pound or 2 a week.

ellejay

thanks for all your replies.

i haven't calorie counted what I'm eating because i'm bad at judging portion sizes, if i'm in at 1200 calories, what should i be aiming for?
i'll have to get a scales.

i've been using weight watchers points system as a rough guide for portion control and also daily points, just totted it up and i'm coming in under the recomended so not eating enough i guess.

i've gotten some good tips.
think i'll have omlette or grapefruit before porridge and snack as mentioned.

my downfall is carbs, spuds, bread, scones, pasta, rice etc etc, afraid i'll eat small amount and go back on slippery slope. worried if i have some it'll increase my craving, and i'm craving bigtime!

why do you think i'd have trouble sticking to diet, as in too little calories?
think I'll try to get more smaller meals/snacks in maybe?

no, i haven't been able to figure out how many calories i need to burn/maintain, i got lost trying to follow post as i've no idea how many caloies i burn off spinning and walking, so couldn't finish off the calculations.

thanks again for all your thoughts.
Lj.

Khannie

I'd say estimate 500-600 for spinning. It's a starting point. I've never been to a spinning class, but they're around 45 minutes to an hour long, right? For walking you can check the distance you've covered on mapmyrun.com, then work out calories from that.

What does the calculator come out at if you put in zero? (for the exercise part)

ellejay

Khannie wrote: »

I'd say estimate 500-600 for spinning. It's a starting point. I've never been to a spinning class, but they're around 45 minutes to an hour long, right? For walking you can check the distance you've covered on mapmyrun.com, then work out calories from that.

What does the calculator come out at if you put in zero? (for the exercise part)

spinning class is forty minutes, but i'd estimate about ten mins of that is warm up and down, five each.
thanks for mapmyrun.com, i'll check that out shortly
- just checked this website, what a brillant tool!! anyway, my walking route is 3.54 miles.
calculator comes out at 2069.35, without adding in the exercise, ie up to part two.