Insatiable appetite since I started lifting
- Thread starter jacksoncris
- Start date
1235784truwp
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@jacksoncris Following - same stats and similar story here! I started lifting on a program again 3 weeks ago and the past week or two I’ve just been constantly hungry. So this is definitely normal!
jacksoncris
New member
@1235784truwp I’m glad to hear others are in the same boat. I’m eating a protein bar as I type this, send help.
elissanjuice
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@jacksoncris I doubt 2500 is a big surplus for your size. We have the exact same stats and my TDEE is like 2350+. If you’re new to lifting it’s the peeerfect time to keep your calories on the higher end IMO. Newbie gains are real and will only be boosted by not being in a calorie deficit!
jacksoncris
New member
@elissanjuice Calorie calculators always tell me something like 1600 and I always figured that number applied to me because I don’t have a lot of muscle mass and I’m pretty sedentary. ETA if you’ve been lifting for a while and have a high muscle mass I would think that would contribute to a higher TDEE, but I’m not super knowledgeable about this stuff.
elissanjuice
New member
@jacksoncris You say you’re a healthy weight and I saw in another comment that before you were lifting you were probably eating 2k a day. That goes to show 1600 is definitely too low for maintenance especially when you factor in added energy output. You gotta eat to grow muscle. And the more muscle you grow. The more you can eat!
@jacksoncris If you’re getting in 7500 steps a day plus weight lifting, I wouldn’t consider you particularly sedentary.
jacksoncris
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nerissa1969
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@jacksoncris The PALs that are most commonly used in TDEE calculators are really misleading, and in the opposite direction most people think - they are too low for the amount of activity they supposedly represent. For example it multiplies your BMR by 1.2 if you say you're sedentary - in reality, doubly labeled water studies have found that people with desk jobs and no intentional exercise burn around 1.4-1.5 xBMR. Numbers as low as 1.2 are only found in bedbound or severely disabled people with virtually no mobility, which makes sense because if you do the math, 0.2xBMR just barely covers the energy you need to digest your food.
Best I can tell, they skew low to please the customer, because most people undercount their calorie intake (even trained dieticians) and some of the reasons for that are difficult to avoid, like the tolerance that's allowed on labels. Most people who want to know how many calories they burn want to know it so they can lose weight, but it bites people in the ass if they're trying to adequately fuel muscle building or recovery from endurance exercise.
Best I can tell, they skew low to please the customer, because most people undercount their calorie intake (even trained dieticians) and some of the reasons for that are difficult to avoid, like the tolerance that's allowed on labels. Most people who want to know how many calories they burn want to know it so they can lose weight, but it bites people in the ass if they're trying to adequately fuel muscle building or recovery from endurance exercise.
jacksoncris
New member
@nerissa1969 What’s a PAL?
nerissa1969
New member
@jacksoncris It stands for Physical Activity Level and the multiplier of your BMR to get your total energy expenditure. Scientists (and TDEE calculators) use it because different people burn more or less doing the same activities depending on weight and body fat % and such, but it's basically the same factors as what determines your BMR.
On a smaller scale, an MET (Metabolic Equivalent) is the multiplier for a single activity, so if you did that same activity for 24 hours a day its MET would be your PAL. Your overall PAL ends up being a weighted average of the METs of the activities you do, so for example 8 hours of sleeping at 1.0, 1 hour of running at 10.0, 2 hours of housework at 2.8, 3 hours of reading or TV at 1.4, etc.
This page refers to METs as PARs, which is less commonly used terminology, but it's a nice resource and very credible since the organization is literally the food security arm of the UN: https://www.fao.org/3/y5686e/y5686e07.htm
On a smaller scale, an MET (Metabolic Equivalent) is the multiplier for a single activity, so if you did that same activity for 24 hours a day its MET would be your PAL. Your overall PAL ends up being a weighted average of the METs of the activities you do, so for example 8 hours of sleeping at 1.0, 1 hour of running at 10.0, 2 hours of housework at 2.8, 3 hours of reading or TV at 1.4, etc.
This page refers to METs as PARs, which is less commonly used terminology, but it's a nice resource and very credible since the organization is literally the food security arm of the UN: https://www.fao.org/3/y5686e/y5686e07.htm
@jacksoncris Hey! It’s pretty early to tell if this is just an adjustment to increased activity or something you’ll need to address long term as you continue lifting.
I would spend a couple days actually tracking your macros- I thought I was eating enough protein but was only coming in around half of my goal for building muscle (135 g/day for me and similar to what you probably should be looking at for a recomp).
Upping your protein will have the added benefit of increasing satiety and slightly bumping your BMR. My general rule for myself is to make sure I get all my protein in before appeasing any cravings/hunger beyond my reasonably calculated intake. A whey protein shake before bed will help you sleep well, get in ~25 more gram or protein, and is not calorically dense.
If you’ve done all that and are still struggling a couple weeks from now, you might find intermittent fasting helpful. Disclaimer: this totally depends on your body and lifestyle. I like it because when I’m increasing activity I find my first meal of the day kind of opens the floodgates to hunger, so waiting to eat until 1:00 pm is more comfortable because I know I’ll have 5ish meals over the next 8 hours and be full when I go to sleep. My old roommate who also lifted could not fast at all, and felt very weak and dizzy if she tried even a couple hours so just listen to your body.
Good luck!
I would spend a couple days actually tracking your macros- I thought I was eating enough protein but was only coming in around half of my goal for building muscle (135 g/day for me and similar to what you probably should be looking at for a recomp).
Upping your protein will have the added benefit of increasing satiety and slightly bumping your BMR. My general rule for myself is to make sure I get all my protein in before appeasing any cravings/hunger beyond my reasonably calculated intake. A whey protein shake before bed will help you sleep well, get in ~25 more gram or protein, and is not calorically dense.
If you’ve done all that and are still struggling a couple weeks from now, you might find intermittent fasting helpful. Disclaimer: this totally depends on your body and lifestyle. I like it because when I’m increasing activity I find my first meal of the day kind of opens the floodgates to hunger, so waiting to eat until 1:00 pm is more comfortable because I know I’ll have 5ish meals over the next 8 hours and be full when I go to sleep. My old roommate who also lifted could not fast at all, and felt very weak and dizzy if she tried even a couple hours so just listen to your body.
Good luck!
@grace14 This
. The best advice here is to listen and pay attention to your body. I’ve also been doing a new workout regimen to overcome a chronic back issue and after months without seeing gains I realized I wasn’t eating close to enough protein to exceed my daily protein deficit. You should eat 1g of protein/ 1kg of your weight per day to exceed your protein deficit.
The only thing above that I would disagree with is the whey before bed…I try to get casein protein before bed instead. A snack of Greek yogurt is great for this. Casein protein is slow digesting therefore is great to digest while you sleep for quick muscle repair overnight. I use whey before and after a workout because it digests much quicker and provides an immediate supply of protein to your muscles. If you focus on getting your muscle built I’d think that your problem areas will take care of themselves and start to shape up after a couple of 6 week routines.
. The best advice here is to listen and pay attention to your body. I’ve also been doing a new workout regimen to overcome a chronic back issue and after months without seeing gains I realized I wasn’t eating close to enough protein to exceed my daily protein deficit. You should eat 1g of protein/ 1kg of your weight per day to exceed your protein deficit. The only thing above that I would disagree with is the whey before bed…I try to get casein protein before bed instead. A snack of Greek yogurt is great for this. Casein protein is slow digesting therefore is great to digest while you sleep for quick muscle repair overnight. I use whey before and after a workout because it digests much quicker and provides an immediate supply of protein to your muscles. If you focus on getting your muscle built I’d think that your problem areas will take care of themselves and start to shape up after a couple of 6 week routines.
jacksoncris
New member
@dawn16 Thank you. So you two are giving vastly different numbers here- 1g/kg of body weight would put me at 60g protein, which I have been meeting, but @Deep_Significance496 is saying 135, and I’m nowhere near that number.
What does a typical day of eating look like for you when you’re making good gains?
What does a typical day of eating look like for you when you’re making good gains?
@jacksoncris For gaining muscle you need 1.5-2.2g per kg of body weight. 1g is for people who don't exercise much.
@jacksoncris Protein numbers are a huge source of… opinioned debate in fitness communities and people tend to be overly fond of round numbers despite their arbitrary relationships. (1g per 1lb would be wildly coincidental to be most optimal. It’s a simplistic rule of thumb if anything.) I recommend finding good sources and deciding for yourself. This is a paper from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine.
@jacksoncris 1g/kg is kinda seen as the minimum intake for sedenary adults. It's higher if you are going for muscle gain. It's all different from person to person, but if you are in the 80g-100g range at your bodyweight you're probably doing well.
But as has been said by others give your body a bit of time to adjust and see how you feel.
But as has been said by others give your body a bit of time to adjust and see how you feel.
@jacksoncris Hey! My understanding is 1g/lb of body weight is ideal for a recomp, but there are definitely different opinions out there. I like Lyle McDonald’s research so that’s what I base a lot of my macro decisions on. I also keep my protein on the higher side because I’m in a calorie deficit trying to retain muscle. You should definitely adjust based on what feels good for you and isn’t torture to get in daily, and use recommendations as loose guidelines (I do imagine you’d feel better higher than where you are now though : ) )
@grace14 That’s right! My mistake….it should be 1 g/lb.
I haven’t made great gains to date lol…but I have made some progress. Meals are as follows:
Breakfast: oatmeal with berries, honey, and 5-8 grams of walnuts. Eggs also are a great protein source but probs shouldn’t eat every day.
Lunch: something with animal and plant protein like a burrito bowl with chicken and black beans, guacamole (healthy fats), lettuce for fiber, etc.
Dinner: I really like to make a huge pot of lentil soup with vegetables and you can eat this with any additional meals ideas you might have. Goes great will grilled cheese/ chicken dishes.
Oh and like I said before, a Greek yogurt snack with some nuts and berries is really great before bed.
I’ll be honest, it gets hard to eat this much sometimes but as long as you stay on your exercise routine you should be good. You won’t always meet your goal but as long as you’re getting close every day then you should see returns readily.
Something else I wanted to mention that’s really helping me recover is a low inflammation diet….I’ve been preaching it to anyone with dietary issues. Its really helped my appetite in a healthy way, but I have Celiac so was kind of half way on it already. You should check it out:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation
I haven’t made great gains to date lol…but I have made some progress. Meals are as follows:
Breakfast: oatmeal with berries, honey, and 5-8 grams of walnuts. Eggs also are a great protein source but probs shouldn’t eat every day.
Lunch: something with animal and plant protein like a burrito bowl with chicken and black beans, guacamole (healthy fats), lettuce for fiber, etc.
Dinner: I really like to make a huge pot of lentil soup with vegetables and you can eat this with any additional meals ideas you might have. Goes great will grilled cheese/ chicken dishes.
Oh and like I said before, a Greek yogurt snack with some nuts and berries is really great before bed.
I’ll be honest, it gets hard to eat this much sometimes but as long as you stay on your exercise routine you should be good. You won’t always meet your goal but as long as you’re getting close every day then you should see returns readily.
Something else I wanted to mention that’s really helping me recover is a low inflammation diet….I’ve been preaching it to anyone with dietary issues. Its really helped my appetite in a healthy way, but I have Celiac so was kind of half way on it already. You should check it out:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation