Learning to be hungry

rebprest

I used to think the feeling of hunger was kind of like the feeling of pain: something to be immediately treated. Now I think it is kind of weird how low my hunger tolerance is. I'm just curious... do many of you think you should try to avoid feeling hungry during weight loss or have you learned to just accept feeling hungry during parts of the day?

snowflake954

I found, surprisingly, that using MFP I didn't suffer hunger, as I had on past diets. If you can get your calories and excercise calibrated correctly---you eat what you need to function---my body was satisfied with that. Now, I'm not saying that it is easy. You need to tweek here and there, especially at the end of your weight loss. In my opinion, being hungry is not necessary, and counter productive.

Liftng4Lis

With the exception of some rare days, I don't feel hungry. If I do, I eat. Make sure you're not over restricting yourself and getting lots of fats and proteins, for satiety.

arditarose

I don't really get "too hungry". If I'm hungry, it's because it's time to eat anyway so it's normal. Now I have some special days when I experience some extra true hunger, especially the day after I deadlift. Then-I eat. I'm not in a rush anymore. I log it and am prepared to see slower losses.

Camo_xxx

I find that as long as I am doing something to keep my mind and or body busy hunger is pretty easy to ignore for the first 24 hours after my last meal. If I am lazing around then bordome hunger is much harder to overcome. but yes, overall I have found that by being conscience about calorie counting and controlling my weight, Being hungry is accectable and I do not need to eat right away just to stop being hungry.

Whitezombiegirl

I'll get hungry when I'm stuck at work and it's an hour till dinner- I used to reach for the chcolate straight away. Now I just deal with and wait until I get home and cook dinner. If I really can't deal I have low cal snacks in my draw for those days. But if I know I have a meal waiting for me, it's a lot easier to ignore it.

999tigger

I dont feel hungry and its one of my first aims to avoid feeling hungry, the next is nutrition. I know many people feel its part of the process, but theres a bottom level on calories I cant be bothered to go below and would rather lose at a slower rate or do exercise. Lifestyle change etc.

Funny thing is if I fuel properly exercise doesnt make me hungry and keeps me away from food. I know for many it makes people hungrier.

ana3067

Yup, don't get hungry unless I go too long between meals.

DeguelloTex

I just accept that it happens from time to time.

ExRelaySprinter

I try to eat every 3-4 hrs (so that i don't get hungry).
I've always been like that.
Only now, i try to eat more healthier foods than before.
If i know i'm gonna be stuck somewhere without access to food, i'll bring snacks with me.

BigLifter10

I make sure to get a nice balance of protein, carbs, and fats at each meal and that has been HUGE for me. I also learned, over time, that I'm better off eating just before I start to get hungry - keeps me satiated and humming through the day!

cwolfman13

In losing 40 Lbs I rarely if ever had hunger pangs...and when I did it was usually shortly after waking up and needing breakfast. You don't have to starve to lose weight...I don't know why so many people think you have to go around being hungry to lose weight...it's sad.

sandryc79

I minimize my hunger, not avoid it. Keep my intake at a deficit but not so low I am starving, eat small satiating meals with protein and fiber. Drink lots of water. I still feel a little hungry but nothing like when I tried to diet by cutting back hard. I am losing between 1-2 lbs a week.

Francl27

Depends on the hunger for me. If it's hormonal, forget it, otherwise, yeah, I learn to deal with it.

jocelynkyork

If I haven't eaten very much or anything substantial in awhile, I don't let myself feel hungry for very long, but if I've been getting adequate nutrition, then I let it get to a real growl before I eat just to make sure it's not from boredom or just cravings. It's good to get yourself to the point of actually physically feeling hungry at times, but there's no reason to delay eating after you feel it - that's just deprivation IMO

DeguelloTex

Pu_239 wrote: »

rebprest wrote: »

I used to think the feeling of hunger was kind of like the feeling of pain: something to be immediately treated. Now I think it is kind of weird how low my hunger tolerance is. I'm just curious... do many of you think you should try to avoid feeling hungry during weight loss or have you learned to just accept feeling hungry during parts of the day?

If you're hungry, you're doing it wrong.

Can you show your work on that?

atypicalsmith

I'm rarely hungry. I used to be hungry all the time, but I truly believe it was emotional, not physical. Night time was the worst, so I changed my biggest meal for dinner and solved that problem.

zyxst

When I'm hungry, I eat. I know that when I don't eat in an hour of be being hungry (I get hunger pains - very mild cramps and growling), I will be in a lot of pain (about a 5) the rest of the day even if I do eat. I've also spent time being unable to buy food to eat and/or get to someone's house who would let me have some food. Being hungry sucks and I avoid it unless medically necessary.

If you can deal with feeling hungry, go for it. I can't so I don't.

Lounmoun

I don't walk around most of the day being hungry. I get hungry when it approaches my normal meal times. I eat and then I am not hungry. I plan out 3 meals and 1-2 snacks most days. If I have eaten and I feel hunger I might drink water or chew gum and wait 20 minutes to an hour to see if the feeling passes. If I still feel hungry I eat something.

I think if you are feeling hungry most of the time you should examine things. I don't feel that is normal. Is your calorie goal too restrictive? Are you eating some of your exercise calories or not? Are you getting enough protein, fats and fiber? Are you getting enough water? Are you short on sleep?

Chrysalid2014

I'm trying to use cognitive reappraisal to view hunger as a "good" feeling.

LilyBentley2013

I am pro-snacks, if you can make sure to not confuse the grazing with a free for all mentality. I have a sort-of friend who is anorexic and will refuse to eat and refuse to eat and refuse to eat, then, as humans are designed to eat, freak out and eat everything and blow over the fasting calories burned easily. I keep a banana or almonds in my car/bag, so that I don't reach that point because I used to do similar. People need food, not just air and dreams of a thin body. If you plan that you will get hungry like you eventually will, you can head off the need for a pastry and iced coffee (or whatever your personal snack downfalls are).

PeachyCarol

I had to relearn hunger cues, because I didn't have a sense of what true hunger was going into this initially.

Learning to distinguish what true hunger was was a huge step for me. I used to be a very fast eater, and I've slowed down a LOT. That really helped. For me, intermittent fasting (I do a 18/6 protocol) has also helped manage my hunger signals.

The other important thing I've learned to manage my hunger is to not skimp on protein or fat. When I first started cutting calories, I cut back on fat to have as much volume in my food as possible to feel full. That worked for a while, but it eventually caught up to me. I've since cut back on some of the volume calories and put those towards fat calories and I feel so much more satisfied with my intake now.

The bottom line is that if you're feeling hungry all the time, there are measures you can take to address it. The first is to make sure that you're not eating at too aggressive a deficit. After that, you can tweak some things like I did and employ some strategies that might work for you.

DeguelloTex

herrspoons wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Pu_239 wrote: »

rebprest wrote: »

I used to think the feeling of hunger was kind of like the feeling of pain: something to be immediately treated. Now I think it is kind of weird how low my hunger tolerance is. I'm just curious... do many of you think you should try to avoid feeling hungry during weight loss or have you learned to just accept feeling hungry during parts of the day?

If you're hungry, you're doing it wrong.

Can you show your work on that?

Don't feed the troll. He's just hungry.

I've been away for a while. The topics are the same but the players have changed.

Virkati

I can't tolerate hunger pangs for very long. It gives me a headache that's very different from stress or being tired. So I've learned to eat when I'm hungry. The biggest lesson I had to learn was being able to tell the difference from bored "hunger" and actual "I need food now" hunger. I don't do the lowfat stuff either. I've learned that I need the fat to help with my overall health and weight loss. Listen to your body, be willing to make changes that might seem counter-intuitive, and be patient. You'll figure yourself out and you'll know how tweak things as needed.

higgins8283801

I don't think I have ever made myself be truly hungry during the entire time I lost weight.

What I always attributed to be hunger was either false hunger due to needing water or my brain playing because I was bored.

I ate when I was hungry and learned to stop when I felt satisfied. Took awhile to learn it, but I got it down for the most part now.

maxit

It's ok to feel hungry - I made peace with it. I also attend to hunger, and eat to fuel myself and to enjoy the taste of food, too

rebprest

I am not starving myself! I'm trying to stay around 1,500 calories a day. I tried eating around 1,600-1,800 but I wasn't losing any weight. If I need to, I can go back up and try to fit in more exercise, but diet control seems more sustainable to me than ramping up my exercise.

There are really only a few hours out of the day that I'm hungry, usually right before lunch or dinner. I just used to feel like I needed to immediately eat when I was hungry, and now I'm getting more comfortable waiting, knowing that I will be fine and have lunch in an hour or two. Maybe that is "doing it wrong". I guess I'll find out.

azulvioleta6

I am hardly ever hungry unless I completely miss a meal and/or do more than 1500 calories worth of exercise in a day.

Getting lots of fiber, eating real food and being well hydrated seem to be the keys.

I am very tall and very active, but I feel fine on 1200 calories a day. Lately I've bumped myself up to 1400 calories and it feels like an enormous amount of food.

azulvioleta6

I took a look at your tracker for the last week. No wonder you are hungry!

--you are drinking a lot of your calories
--you are not eating full meals (wine and an apple is not dinner)
--you are barely consuming any vegetables at all, so you are missing out on filling fiber
--you are getting too many carbs and not enough protein--this will make you hungrier
--you are spending lots of calories on things that aren't going to fill you up, such as ramen noodles and sugar cookies

Be careful about accurate tracking too--I'm pretty sure that a sugar cookie with frosting doesn't have zero carbs!

LAWoman72

rebprest wrote: »

I am not starving myself! I'm trying to stay around 1,500 calories a day. I tried eating around 1,600-1,800 but I wasn't losing any weight. If I need to, I can go back up and try to fit in more exercise, but diet control seems more sustainable to me than ramping up my exercise.

There are really only a few hours out of the day that I'm hungry, usually right before lunch or dinner. I just used to feel like I needed to immediately eat when I was hungry, and now I'm getting more comfortable waiting, knowing that I will be fine and have lunch in an hour or two. Maybe that is "doing it wrong". I guess I'll find out.

I find this normal - to begin to feel hunger at some point before meals. It's not screaming, gnawing hunger, it's just the point between having eaten, and coming up to need to eat again.

I no longer feel the need to grab and stuff something the instant my stomach no longer feels completely full.

TimothyFish

I think it is good to feel hungry part of the time. It makes food taste better. I feel less hungry now that I'm closer to my goal weight, but when I started losing weight, I couldn't remember the last time I had felt hungry. I suspect that if you never feel hungry, it is a sign that you're eating too much.