Hunger

A

Ando3242

New member
For myself and most others I would guess hunger is the hugest stumbling block to losing weight. When dieting I constantly feel as though I could easily devour a triple baconater from Wendy's. I never thought that a burger like this was ever even meant to exist.

When I get hungry I try to keep myself busy to get the mind off it, but I simply cannot stop thinking about food to the point where it is difficult to focus on anything else. When this happens I eventually cave and most the time I'll try by eating something healthy like a salad. This helps somewhat but adds calories (should I skip the dressing?). Then, it is not too long before hunger strikes again.

I often reach my calorie limit way too early in the day and as the dreaded night time hunger strikes I go over.

What are some good strategies to deal with diet induced hunger?
 
Triple baconator? NO..... you need a QUAD stacker from burger king!!!!
Just kidding.
Okay.... To me... it sounds like you're eating food that is just too calorie intensive.
Eat better.. I guess. I don't know exactly what you're eating, but you might need to add more lower fat meat, veggies, and fruits into your diet.
Split your food up. Especially since you're eating your full number of calories early in the day. Save room for a light snack later in the day, if you need it.
Don't drink caffeine (it will make you hungry)
And drink water with or before your meals.
 
What helps me is that I keep my breakfast, and lunch intake low. For breakfast, I have a bowl of cereal with skim milk and an apple/banana. Then for lunch I have a salad with home made salad dressing (olive oil, vinegar, salt, and lemon juice). And sometimes i have chicken with my salad. So then that leaves me plenty of calories for dinner time.
 
Lyla said:
What helps me is that I keep my breakfast, and lunch intake low. For breakfast, I have a bowl of cereal with skim milk and an apple/banana. Then for lunch I have a salad with home made salad dressing (olive oil, vinegar, salt, and lemon juice). And sometimes i have chicken with my salad. So then that leaves me plenty of calories for dinner time.
Click to expand...
That's not how I'm doing it. .. I have to eat way more than that if I'm keep on track. I try to get in 1000-1500 by 2 PM. (I'm working 2nd shift now.... so) This leaves me with 1000 calories to play with by the end of the day.
As long as I can avoid the fast food places on the way home, I'm usually good.
 
What helps me is snacking in between.
Try to have a some fruit, or some nonfat yogurt, or a banana can be pretty filling.
But honestly listen...losing weight is a process, yes I am new to this but I did this about 6 years ago and lost plenty of weight so how about you eat lighter during the day and snack on healthy things inbetween eat a nice filling dinner, but do watch the carbs and then maybe 2-3 hours after dinner have 2 tangerines or whatever fruit you like or even a glass of milk...better to feed your hunger with a small portion of something you usually wouldn;t eat than to sit there ...suffer suffer and then BAM!...before you know it you're eating everything in sight.

Take it one day a time...habits take some time to change.
I am still batteling my own cravings, it takes time.

Good luck :)
 
What is your goal in working out? Do you wish to lose weight or gain bulk? Each requires a different method of working out and dieting.
 
I think if you're that hungry then you're not eating enough.

What's a normal day's food for you?

Personally I'm learning to listen to my body, when I feel properly hungry I eat, but I eat slowly. When I feel full I stop. Dieting isn't suppose to be about going without or only eating lettuce leaves and air. Its got to be lifetime achievable for it to last and for people to stop the yoyo-ing.

Can you not create your own version of the Wendy bacon thingy? With loads of fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, grilled lean bacon and a wholemeal roll? Should be moist enough with the veg to avoid the need for sauce.

Just an idea :)
 
I eat three 400 calorie meals spaced about 5 or 6 hours apart. A good balance of protein, carbs, and veggies. When I inevitably get hungry between I allow myself three 100 calorie snacks. So adds up to 1500 calories.

Many sources say 1500 is the bare minimum a man should eat. The reason I didn't up it is because I want to compensate a little for the calories that fly under the radar. I acknowledge that its easy to go a few hundred calories over what you intended.
 
Since I started drinking a gallon of water a day, I just don't feel hungry between meals. Sometimes the only reason I know it's time to eat is if I see that 4 hours has gone by.
I also add soluble fiber to a meal if I think I might get hungry later.
If I DO ever get hungry, there are several things that have worked for me to take my mind off things:
--First off, I might just decide to just eat something since I'm hungry. lol. I might eat something super small like an apple or something like that.
--I brush my teeth (the mint taste makes me not want to eat)
--I may chew gum (preferably mint. same reason as above.)
--I might dive into one of my hobbies since it occupies my mind for a while
--Maybe I'll do Homework (As a college student trying to become a scientist, there is no shortage of homework)
--Since I eat several meals throughout the day I rarely have time to get hungry anyway.
--Eating enough protein in each meal usually prevents getting hungry in the first place.

I usually just feel satisfied all day though mostly because of drinking so much water.
 
Last edited:
Ando3242

They reckon that the body's signal for thirst is very similar to the body's signal for hunger and that it can be difficult to distinguish the two. What we interpret as hunger may sometimes actually be thirst.
Often people are simply not drinking enough water (I do not know how much water you currently drink).
Therefore, the suggestion is to drink more water and see if that quenches this feeling that you interpret as hunger.
I would also suggest not to drink at the same time that you eat (body gets confused as to what it is trying to process and therefore what digestive enzymes to release).
Also, try drinking water half an hour before you are scheduled to eat and you may find that you are less hungry when you do come to eat.

This seems to tie in with Emerald's real life experiences.
 
Ando,

I work with a lot of diabetic clients (not to say that you're diabetic) and one of the things that is said by all of the practitioners that I work with (nurses, dieticians, etc) is that you should never go more than 5 hours between meals (and this is only in cases where you really have no choice but to wait), except when you are sleeping. The reason being that after this much time, your blood sugars have been depleted to the point where you start to feel.... HUNGRY! And usually not just a little hungry... very hungry. You're body functions best when given steady amounts of fuel (food) over the day... this is why it's suggested over and over again that we should be eating 5-6 smaller meals per day spread 2-3 hours apart. Eating in this pattern helps keep your blood sugar and insulin levels more even throughout the day, leaving you feeling less hungry. This also helps to let your body know that you are going to give it more fuel soon, so your body is less likely to store excess calories after each meal.

Another thing for you to look at is the combination of food that you have at each meal. Having some form of protein (lean meats, egg whites, nuts, seeds, etc) with your meals & snacks can really help to keep your blood sugar & insulin levels even... again helping you feel less hungry between meals & snacks.

It might be helpful for you to do a little research into low GI (glycemic index) foods. Try incorporating lower GI into your diet more than higher GI foods. For example, compared to a fruit like bananas, apples are considered to be lower GI, meaning that the sugar in apples is broken down & released into the bloodstream more slowly than the sugar in bananas. Eating more lower GI foods should, once again, help to keep your blood sugars and insulin levels more even, making you less hungry.

I agree with a couple things that were said in previous posts... the first being about caffeine... Basically, the more caffeine you drink, the more hungry it makes you feel. Also, I agree that drinking lots of water is important, not just for helping to curb hunger, but for many, many, other health reasons as well.

I hope that helps!

P
 
Thanks for all the input. I had done the 5 or 6 meals 2-3 hours apart thing and it helps. But, only problem I had in the past was it is kind of inconvenient. I don't have a job right now so there is no excuse for me not to do this, so I will.

Also, like a lot of you said I should drink more water and drink less caffiene. I never really thought about these as much as I drink only 0 calorie drinks. But, some days I go completely drinking diet soda. Drinking water is just something I forget to do. It is also an easy thing to do that helps a lot. I will make sure I get my water in from now on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top