How hungry are you, most days? Are you comfortable being hungry?

gothchiq

For the first several months I was always hungry. Then my doctor told me to eat more protein and fewer carbs, and to never eat a carb without a protein paired with it. (within calorie allowance, of course.) Once I started doing this, I stopped feeling hungry all the time. The purpose was to keep my blood sugar stable. It does that well and helps avoid energy crashes during the day.

TaurianDoll

At the beginning, I was hungry all the time. I would inhale my meals in like 5 minutes. But eventually my body learned to do more with less. Now, if I try to eat a huge plate of food, I'm struggling at the end with a lot of food still left.

When we ordered Indian food, I could eat the entire container full of food in one night. Now, it takes me three days to finish a dish. I prefer to eat when I'm hungry and it's usually a little bit here and there with lots of water in between. You will get used to it and you will feel better, less weighed down.

Soopatt

I have been meaning to pick up almonds.. love them

nyponbell

When I plan out my meals and make sure that I have food that will be tasty and nourishing and make me feel full, I don't generally feel hungry (it might also depend on my activity level over the past few days and how much I've slept, as I get hungrier then). But when I eat without a plan, and log after the fact and realise towards the end of the day with several hours left to go that I'm hungry - but I've not got enough calories for a "proper meal" and I try to eat the best option available, I can and do sometimes feel hungry.

Which really means that I should plan out my days better, all the time!

CSARdiver

I used to feel hungry; however most of this was eating out of boredom. Since I started logging and aware of what I'm ingesting I rarely get hungry, except after long workout sessions.

Sunny_Bunny_

I have been running a 20-30% deficit consistently for 6 weeks and have no issues with hunger. Most of the time I have to purposely add calories to not be too low. MFP has even warned me of eating too few calories and wouldn't let me complete my diary for the day until I ate more food. Which I do when I get that warning. That tends to happen when I'm preoccupied most of the day and not paying attention to what I'm eating and only eating once I do feel hungry.
There have been times I've gone over my goal, but it's never due to hunger. And even then, I'm still technically in deficit, just a slight one. It's mostly been due to eating at a restaurant or weekends when I want to have drinks.
I have found the way of eating that works for me because it's no struggle at all to keep calories low and my average loss of more than 1lb a week is working out just fine for me.

brendak76

abatonfan wrote: »

brendak76 wrote: »

I've had to do some medical testing for my insulin pump over the last few weeks to make sure my rates are set correctly. The testing involves eating a low fat meal and then not eating anything for 11 hours. No caffeine even. Water and diet sprite and sf jello only. I've had to do this multiple days and I've learned a lot about hunger. The "hunger" I experience on a daily, 3 hours post meal basis is real, but very very mild. The real hunger starts at about 7 hours after eating and it is so consuming by hour 9 that I can't function (dizzy, weak, shouldn't be driving kind of bad). Hats off to those who do regular fasting. I'm trying to learn to be ok with the mild hunger after experiencing the crazy hunger several times now.

FINALLY! Someone understands how much of a pain in the butt basal testing is! I'm in the process of resolidifying my basal rates, and I'm really tempted to sell my basal testing diet as a new detox -the sugar free jello and diet coke/sparkling water detox.

Unfortunately, I'm retesting the overnight segment tonight (and might also bang out the early morning segment if I don't experience another 2:30AM hypo), and I'm not looking forward to it what-so-ever. At this point, I don't care if my dinner is high in protein -if anything, the high-protein meal might cause my 12AM starting number to be slightly higher.

From what I've noticed, I also tend to get super hungry if my BG is above 160-ish. It's gotten to the point where I need to test myself to see if I'm hungry because I'm high, I'm low, or if it's not related to my BG what-so-ever.

I started pumping in September and haven't done official basal testing until now - with my new endo. All I have left is the 12-5pm segment. It's ruining my summer but it's so valuable. It took me 4 tries to get the evening rates right. My diabetic 15 year old I'm sure will never basal test after watching me go through this!!! Good luck tonight. I went to the dr yesterday and weighed a few pounds less than I did on her scale a month ago. We should market this as the basal detox diet.

nooie19

Since starting MFP in January, I have not felt hungry throughout the day. But I have felt what you are feeling many times in the past 25 or so years of dieting on and off. Here's my list of what has been most helpful:

-Eat mindfully. Read the book Eating Mindfully. It makes a huge difference when you start to eat slowly, mindfully, without distractions.

-Reduce sugar/simple carbs/alcohol. All three mess with my blood sugar levels and make me feel hungry and cranky (hangry). Trying to eliminate completely just increases my cravings so I have just learned to limit the amounts.

-Increase fiber/protein/water. Protein especially helps reduce sugar cravings and hunger in general.

shrinkingletters

I'm only ever hungry right before my usual meal times. As soon as I lost at least 5lbs and was working out more than I started, I adjusted my calorie intake so I could have the energy I needed to not be exhausted and hungry.

That being said. I eat plenty of protein and fat to keep me satieted, and eat plenty of veggies, which can be pretty voluminous.

allaboutthecake

I eat a boatload of protein so I DON'T get hungry. I highly recommend doubling your protein macro. I also tend to be ravenous after cycling. So, I eat a majority of my calories right then and there. Sometimes I save some cals for later, sometimes not. The bottom line tho, is protein packed foods will keep me from gnawing out the fridge walls.

47Jacqueline

If you have never experienced hunger, you probably have always been eating too much. People should get hungry. It's normal. It takes about 4 hours to digest a meal. If you haven't eaten anything else since the last 4 hours, your stomach is empty. Hunger, not appetite happens when that happens.

_lyndseybrooke_

I'm in a permanent state of hunger whether I'm cutting or maintaining. I'm a hungry girl.

If I'm honest with myself, it's not always actual hunger - I just love to eat. I eat when I'm happy, sad, bored, stressed, sleepy, excited, neutral, etc. I eat at home, work, on the go, etc. I'm always up for food. That's why pre-logging and tracking in general is so important for me if I don't want to weigh 600 lbs.

In reality, I'm never so hungry that my stomach is growling and I feel like I'm going to die if I don't eat soon. However, eating high-volume meals/snacks as often as possible keeps me pretty happy throughout the day. I can always eat more, but I know I shouldn't if I don't have the macros to spare, so I don't. I do have actual hunger more often when cutting, and that's totally normal and expected. It all comes down to self discipline as long as you're not depriving yourself too much in the first place. If you're hungry because you're only eating 1000 calories per day, you need to eat more. If you're eating at a moderate deficit and losing at an acceptable rate, it's up to you to ignore a few hunger pangs here and there.

When I'm actually hungry and my body really does need food, I get cranky (or hangry, if you must). That's how I know it's real hunger versus something else. If I'm in a crap mood, my husband is always there to say, "we need to get some food in you, now." I only get that way maybe once or twice a week during maintenance, and that's usually because I like to put off breakfast on weekends so I have fewer hours to fit all of my macros into - therefore, bigger meals. Sometimes I put it off too long and my mood takes a nosedive until I eat.

insearchofcheese

If I eat a high protein breakfast, that seems to be the key to getting my day started right. The only time I'm so hungry I could eat my arm is the week before my period. Then it's like all I can think about is food, food, food and often end up eating most of my days calories well before dinner time. Somehow I make it through without blowing my deficit, usually by allowing myself whatever it is I'm craving, macros be damned.

Lounmoun

Soopatt wrote: »

Does anyone not get hungry, eating at a deficit? I can't see how that would work. If you were having enough, I imagine you would be eating at maintenance, not a deficit. The very nature of a deficit tells us that we are eating less than our body would like to, which is why we are tapping into our reserves and losing weight. Not quite enough (necessary for weight loss) means hunger is a natural and expected part of it? (I dunno, I am asking)

I don't like being truly hungry all the time and I don't think it is necessary for weight loss to feel that way all the time.
I've been doing this for 8 months and have lost 24 lbs. It has been pretty comfortable. In the first weeks, I think I did feel like I was hungry more often though. A lot of times I would just drink water or chew gum and wait 20 minutes to an hour and the feeling would go away though so it wasn't real hunger but more thirst or just habit. I probably switched to choosing more filling foods (protein, fiber, fat) as well.
These days I get hungry at my regular meal times. Otherwise I really am not hungry most of the day. I pre-log my whole day and plan 1-2 snacks usually for the late afternoon or evening. I eat a portion of my exercise calories.

DeterminedFee201426

Iam comfortable with feeling hungry 5 days of the week. It's like there's always 1or 2 days where iam more hungry and not comfortable in a week

unrelentingminx

I tried the 5:2 feast/fast diet a few years back and on the days I was only allowed 500 calories I was miserable. I would have a small breakfast and then nothing but water until dinner. But I did find that although my stomach would hurt and grumble and complain, those hunger pangs would come in waves and would eventually pass. I was miserable on it because I enjoy food and I enjoy cooking and it took so much effort and planning for the fast days that neither was fun anymore. And even on the feast days I still wouldn't gorge myself and would still hold back anyway.
I much prefer eating what I like so long as it fits in with my macros and since I have been strictly weighing and logging everything my weight has finally started dropping again

harmar21

Yup I think realizing that being hungry isnt a bad thing. I used to never let myself feel hunger. Which is how I ballooned up to 350lbs. Now if I actually feel full, I feel like crap. I now hate the feeling of being full.

WeddedBliss1992

being hungry used to bother me alot, but now i try to listen to my body. sometimes i truly am hungry so i will eat, but most of the time, i think i am probably thirsty and will drink water and the "hunger" will go away. i have also started to think about others who are truly starving, and i have decided to be thankful for the food that i have in abundance by giving back to a shelter or food bank. hunger doesn't have to be a negative thing. it can be used in a positive way to drive us toward something good.

callsitlikeiseeit

I'm hungry all the time LOL

the difference between now and then.... I know if I'm REALLY hungry or just want to eat- because theres a HUGE difference. I can eat all day long. thats how i got to 250 pounds LOLOLOL. now... i dont do that

generally speaking, i eat 3 meals a day, though sometimes i skip breakfast. I often (meaning usually LOL) have a beer or small piece of chocolate/cookie at night.

cwolfman13

I'm currently cutting but have a very modest deficit so not really that hungry and by the time some actual hunger pangs begin to present themselves I'm usually at my next meal or close to it. It was more of a PITA cutting back on my snacking and deserts and whatnot than actually dealing with hunger pangs...that stuff is just habit though and a couple weeks in and I don't really think about it much.