PLEASE HELP...I'm always hungry....did my metabolism increase?!!?

[lulolala123]

I'm new to this wesbite, I just made an account and I desperately need help on something.
I'm sorry the description is so long, please take a few minutes to read. Thank you.

Okay, so, I'm a 15 year old girl, 5'3 and I weigh 125 pounds.
I'v been trying to lose weight for the past couple of months...but the healthy way!
I'm not starving myself at all, I'm only cutting down 100 calories from my BMR.
And I'm exercising for about 1 and a half hour everyday (45 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of sit ups/leg lifts, 5 minutes of squats/lunges, 5 minutes of push ups & some other strength exercises).
My BMR is 2200 and I eat about 2100 calories a day, so clearly I'm not cutting down a lot...and EVERYTHING I eat is HEALTHY.
I have like 6-8 portions of different fruits & vegetables a day, only whole grain bread/pasta/rice....only lean protein like chicken breast/salmon/tuna/sardines and only healthy fats like nuts/avocados/fish.
I don't eat any chocolate/sweets/junk food.
And I'v never had cravings for these foods till like 2 weeks ago....since the past 2 weeks, I'v been a lot more hungrier & I'v been craving chocolate and bread...but whole grain bread lol.
I have a meal and after like an hour, I get so hungry again, and I eat every 3-4 hours but for the past 2 weeks, I just can't go 3 hours without eating anymore!
I was wondering, maybe my metabolism has increased because I have more lean body mass now?
I calculated my BMR with this calculator:
BMR Calculator - Metabolism Calculator (Basal Metabolic Rate)
When I calculated my BMR, I calculated it based on 'moderately active' which is exercising for 3-5 times a week....so now that I exercise everyday, does that put me in the 'very active' category which is exercising 6-7 times a week? and does it mean my BMR is 2450 instead of 2000?
If that's the case then should I start eating 2300 calories instead of 2100?
Because I don't want my body to go into starvation mode because of me thinking my BMR is 2200 and feeding myself too little calories....
And I don't have a scale at home so I don't weigh myself regularly to see if I'm losing weight or not but I have seen visible results in the past 2-3 months, I have lost almost all my of my belly and arm fat and I can actually feel my abs on my stomach and my upper abs are quite visible when I tighten my stomach and my leg muscles are quite big and my outer thighs are really muscular but I still have quite a bit of inner thigh fat that I want to lose.
But yeah, so anyway, sorry for the lecture, my question is, did my metabolism increase and should I start eating 200 more calories than usual?
Thanks in advance!!

[x_k2]

First off, I don't know what values you put into that calculator, but when I used your provided metrics, it came out with a BMR of only 1425. Quite a drop from 2200. This seems about right to me. Don't use the multipliers for physical activity, those numbers are generic and I've yet to come across a generic person. Rather take your resting BMR and then add the amount of calories burnt during exercise to get to a total daily expenditure.

As far as your hunger goes. You're probably hungry because you fixate on food. I went through this exact same thing and you'll continue to be hungry until you find something to keep you occupied. I can't really account for the role hormones might play in this at your age so you may want to forget about dieting/food at this point or risk dealing with an eating disorder for the rest of your life.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

Unfortunately, due to your age and gender, it is difficult to give any specific advice without running the risk of causing unintentional harm to your health. Someone of your age should not be consulting charts and calculators intended for adults.

You are at a very critical stage of your development from adolescent child to adulthood and all sorts of hormonal influences are going to result in a number of physical changes in your body.

While it is commendable that you should be thinking about your health and diet, you run the risk of developing an unhealthy fixation on your physical appearance at a time when it is naturally going to be in a state of flux. The worst case scenario is that this could develop into body dysmorphia or an eating disorder.

I would strongly recommend that you seek some professional guidance first - start with your GP - before taking advice from an internet forum. If your GP feels there is a concern with your weight that needs to be addressed he/she may be able to offer dietary/exercise recommendations or refer you to a NHS dietician for advice.

[Wotan]

Lulolala, firstly welcome to the forums!

Secondly I love the name, ha ha ha!!

Thirdly, I couldn't agree more with Nu if I tried!

What you probably haven't realised is that at fifteen apart from anything else your growth hormone levels alone are probably at an all time high! They might never be this high ever again, in your entire lifetime! One of the effects of growth hormone is that it partitions calories - it moves your metabolism away from fat storage into protein synthesis.

So, you may say how come I'm not bulging with muscle in that case? The answer is that there is a lot of other things made of protein other than muscle. One that springs to mind is your immune system. Right now you are probably immune to more diseases and medical conditions (like cancer) than you will ever be again!

As far as injuries are concerned your body is repairing itself at a quicker rate than it ever will again. Injuries that can cripple old farts like me are ones that you would just shrug off and not even notice three days down the line.

"Speeded-up" metabolism? Yup, you can happily eat more chocolate, crisps and doughnuts without putting on weight than you will ever do again. In thirty years time when just looking at a biscuit will add threee pounds of pure fat to your bum you will wish you were fifteen again - honest. I know I do, ha ha ha!!!

I hope this sets your mind at rest on your initial question.

The best thing to do right now? Eat what and when you want; move as you wish and explore every thought as deeply as you can; be happy and enjoy your mind and body while they are working they way they are. The freedom to do this doesn't last forever and, trust me, you will miss it when its gone.

[ben 21]

welcome aboard lulalala did i get it right? yeah as usual nu has hit the nail on the head. your very young to be worrying about what you look like physicaly. my advice would be to cool it. because that hunger thing could be in your head. you,ve got alot of mc donnalds to eat and alot of underage drinking to do. dont come into this madnees yet! lol. bascily what im saying is enjoy being a teenager because trust me 1 day you wake up and your in your 20,s like me! wondering where did all that time go?!


oh but by all means do exersise and eat relitivley well just dont go to far yet. you are still growing

[Lee Adams]

Quote

I'm new to this wesbite, I just made an account and I desperately need help on something.
I'm sorry the description is so long, please take a few minutes to read. Thank you.

Okay, so, I'm a 15 year old girl, 5'3 and I weigh 125 pounds.
I'v been trying to lose weight for the past couple of months...but the healthy way!
I'm not starving myself at all, I'm only cutting down 100 calories from my BMR.
And I'm exercising for about 1 and a half hour everyday (45 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of sit ups/leg lifts, 5 minutes of squats/lunges, 5 minutes of push ups & some other strength exercises).
My BMR is 2200 and I eat about 2100 calories a day, so clearly I'm not cutting down a lot...and EVERYTHING I eat is HEALTHY.
I have like 6-8 portions of different fruits & vegetables a day, only whole grain bread/pasta/rice....only lean protein like chicken breast/salmon/tuna/sardines and only healthy fats like nuts/avocados/fish.
I don't eat any chocolate/sweets/junk food.
And I'v never had cravings for these foods till like 2 weeks ago....since the past 2 weeks, I'v been a lot more hungrier & I'v been craving chocolate and bread...but whole grain bread lol.
I have a meal and after like an hour, I get so hungry again, and I eat every 3-4 hours but for the past 2 weeks, I just can't go 3 hours without eating anymore!
I was wondering, maybe my metabolism has increased because I have more lean body mass now?
I calculated my BMR with this calculator:
BMR Calculator - Metabolism Calculator (Basal Metabolic Rate)
When I calculated my BMR, I calculated it based on 'moderately active' which is exercising for 3-5 times a week....so now that I exercise everyday, does that put me in the 'very active' category which is exercising 6-7 times a week? and does it mean my BMR is 2450 instead of 2000?
If that's the case then should I start eating 2300 calories instead of 2100?
Because I don't want my body to go into starvation mode because of me thinking my BMR is 2200 and feeding myself too little calories....
And I don't have a scale at home so I don't weigh myself regularly to see if I'm losing weight or not but I have seen visible results in the past 2-3 months, I have lost almost all my of my belly and arm fat and I can actually feel my abs on my stomach and my upper abs are quite visible when I tighten my stomach and my leg muscles are quite big and my outer thighs are really muscular but I still have quite a bit of inner thigh fat that I want to lose.
But yeah, so anyway, sorry for the lecture, my question is, did my metabolism increase and should I start eating 200 more calories than usual?
Thanks in advance!!

Hello there! Im not an expert but ive had the unfortunate pleasure of making every bloody diet mistake in the book. First of all from what I can see your over eating even for slow weight loss for your weight/height/gender - Im not going to give you a kcal number because that is your job to slowly adjust your numbers over time till you find the right amount for steady weight loss. Secondly for christ sake stop exercising everyday and cut the cardio (unless you have other reasons to do it E.g. CV health / sports performance) because it plays such a small part of losing weight and you will end up tired/overtrained and demotivated when you dont get the results u want but busted yo ass in the gym all week -Your nutrition WILL control your results. Focus your training around heavy resistance training (weights) with big compound moves like Squats, Deadlift, Bench Press, Chin ups,Rows, Dips and Overhead Press(Be safe and get plenty of rest) -Worried about being "big&bulky"? -excuse my language but its bull**** (search jamie eason and other female fitness models if u dont believe me) Thirdly its good that you eat healthy/nutrient dense foods, however dont think this gives you any kind of advantage in terms of weight loss (apart from satiety) you need to understand that you can eat junk food/sweets/chocolate/crisps etc and lose weight - I dont recommend it because it doesnt do much for satiety/hunger but it can give physchological boost and controls cravings. We all get hungry on a diet and we all get cravings, welcome to dieting but we can make it easier for our self and reduce the intensity so we can be succesfully reach our goals. Cravings will be worst when your hungry and I tell you all that exercise you doing IS making you hungrier. I was exactly the same, eating every 2-3 hours and was always still hungry and watched the clock till next meal, your never satisfied and cravings get to intense and you end up crumbling. I believe your a perfect candiate for intermittent fasting...this check out website (leangains.com) - its not for everybody but be open-minded and make your own informed decision. Read this article Top Ten Fasting Myths Debunked (Major Update Nov 4th) | Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health may just be very eye opening for you.

Ive overloaded you with information and I dont expect you to take it all in but I want to help you so you dont make the same mistakes as me. Simple answer - No your metabolism hasnt increased and Starvation mode is a myth....it doesnt quite work like that. From what you described your already quite lean and that thigh fat will be stubborn as hell and will come off very slowly its like lower ab fat for men.

I know some ppl may not agree with what ive said but I hope I've helped and feel free to ask me anything else.