How to curb the hunger?

alimarie53

A few months ago I dropped ten pounds, going back to school, buying my first house and a whole bunch of no-good excuses later I fell out of routine. I'm looking to get back in to it now! I've started back tracking my meals and I am trying to find a good workout plan...here is the problem. I'm ALWAYS hungry now!

It can't be because I don't drink enough water... I'm on my fourth bottle now.

I ended up having to eat my banana (my afternoon) snack for breakfast because my yogurt opened while I was on the way to work. I don't want to mess up on my first day and I'm doing everything I can to not get to the vending machine!

micheleb15

Eat. Pack more filling foods. Is a banana your only afternoon snack? I'd be starving. I'd have a slice of Ezekiel bread (my preference) with PB or almond butter and a banana, then probably a yogurt within the next two hours. I have to constantly eat. I basically eat something every two hours.

alimarie53

Thanks for the advice, micheleb15. Yea, a banana, a piece of fruit, sometimes almonds, celery and hummus would normally be my afternoon snack. I've never had the ezekiel bread or almond butter so maybe I'll give that a go. Maybe if I make my afternoon snacks bigger I wont be so grumpy lol.

micheleb15

Yeah, almonds would never hold me over. It'd have to be a ton of almonds which would kill my day calorie wise. Protein helps keep you full longer. Don't limit yourself either for snacks. Sometimes my snacks are sandwiches and popchips which keep me full until dinner.

Lizzy622

If the vending machine has almonds or peanuts, it would not throw you off completely and you won't be absolutely starving. Sorry about your yogurt. I try to keep a packet of oatmeal in my desk for such occasions.

alimarie53

Lizzy622 I work with all military guys and they raid my food stash constantly! ::shakes head:: what's worst is they never replace anything!

I did end up going to the vending machine... I got some pretzels. Blah. Just means I better work out today for sure!

allshebe

One of the vending machines where I work typically has pints of milk - another doable choice if you're not lactose intolerant (depending on what's in your machines). Chewing gum might also work, though I doubt it would work well enough to avoid a potential binge situation when you get home - which is the biggest issue with letting yourself get too hungry.- it might be better to eat something a "little bad" now if it will help you avoid a "bigger bad" later.

knityoupants

Yeah, eat if you're hungry! If you focus on just making a calorie deficit, you shouldn't be afraid of the vending machine... hopefully it has nuts, but even pretzels or sandwich cookies/crackers sometimes have a nice enough calorie/nutrient/satisfaction ratio to get me through the day.

Most important: always have healthy snacks on hand! Peaches (packed in water, not syrup) and various nuts are pretty much permanently in my office.

LoosingMyLast15

A few months ago I dropped ten pounds, going back to school, buying my first house and a whole bunch of no-good excuses later I fell out of routine. I'm looking to get back in to it now! I've started back tracking my meals and I am trying to find a good workout plan...here is the problem. I'm ALWAYS hungry now!

It can't be because I don't drink enough water... I'm on my fourth bottle now.

I ended up having to eat my banana (my afternoon) snack for breakfast because my yogurt opened while I was on the way to work. I don't want to mess up on my first day and I'm doing everything I can to not get to the vending machine!

was the yogurt supposed to be your breakfast and the banana your afternoon snack? if that was my breakfast and afternoon snack i'd eat my arm off. breakfast for me was 2 eggs, 1 slice of toast; morning snack greek yogurt and a banana. lunch turned out to be a variety of random stuff: 2 oz whole wheat spaghetti, grapes, homemade granola bar and a few slices of mango. my afternoon snack will probably be (if i'm hungry) another greek yogurt.

try a cliff bar (if your vending machine carries them), peanuts, pretzels (i don't like them), crackers. maybe bring in snacks for the guys and snacks for yourself. if you have a refrigerator hummus, veggies, yogurt, string cheese, chicken breast all great handy snacks, tuna in a can.

good luck.

benchenryce

high protien food keeps you full longer. or to me at least.

MightyDomo

Do some cardio! Running, Jogging and Cardio Dance Routines can call curb your appetite.

In addition so does eating complex carbohydrates and high protein foods. They last longer in your stomach and also help to keep your body from getting hungry again sooner.

As you are already doing water does help but so does drinking an herbal or non-caffinated tea and both are 0 calories while giving you the feeling of 'fullness' if you have had enough.

Honestly I rarely find myself hungry unless I have forgotten to eat a meal or two (and yeah, I do forget... usually after having an awesome run or working out cause I just don't get hungry!)

QuilterInVA

Protein has the most satiety and keeps you feeling full the longest, then fat and at the bottom carbs. I have protein with every meal and snack and never feel hungry. It's a myth that water makes you feel full. It doesn't stay in you stomach very long.

jenniferft1997

I have found since I have slowed down on how fast I eat, that a smaller portion does fill me up and lasts longer. I used to eat really fast, almost swallowing my food whole. Also, eating every 2 hours helps. I buy everything at the grocery store and take my snacks and whatever foods I need with me when I leave the house. I eat lunch at school before going to work out at the gym so I take my salad with me. I have learned on here that I can easily burn off 600-900 calories by doing the elliptical and bike at the gym for 45 minutes each.

What I am trying to say, is there is more than just eating within your calorie count. It is a combination of eating healthy, smaller portions more times a day, and exercise to help you get on track with being healthy. Always plan ahead so you don't end up hungry and having to grab something non healthy while you are out. I have recently learned that lesson

One last thing, I have also learned it is trial and error. One type food my keep one person full longer but leave another hungry in no time. Experiment. Keep a food diary and track what keeps you full and what does not. It is a lot of work, but once you get it figured out you will know from now on.

alimarie53

Thanks for the input everyone!

I prepared my breakfast to be a little larger so that will hold me off longer in the day.

I find that my biggest problem is wanting to binge when I get home so I'm going to try and plan my snacks to have more good fats and protein. Research, research!

shannashannabobana

I find that my biggest problem is wanting to binge when I get home so I'm going to try and plan my snacks to have more good fats and protein.

Great!!! I eat a piece of full fat cheese stick when I'm wanting a snack (I don't always snack, though) and it generally tides me over (fat and protein Stuff like yogurt (unless full fat greek yogurt) and pretzels would have me hungry all day.

sakuragreenlily

Do some cardio! Running, Jogging and Cardio Dance Routines can call curb your appetite....

Exercising used to help me not want to eat... At first. But since I've gotten seriously into running I'm ALWAYS hungry a few hours afterward. That's okay though, it burns a lot of calories so I don't mind eating them back. I just have to make sure I eat good, nutrient rich foods, with a decent amount of protein.

I agree with the previous poster who said eat something every two hours or so though. I snack ALL day on small things here and there. I just make sure the snacks are planned and pre-measured so that I can log everything.

Mommybug2

I used to try to go the "good" way and eat yogurt and bananas and grapes all the time and found myself hungry. This would lead to noshing on my kids snack once I got home and rummaging through the cabinets to find something I didn't need

I then started eating more filling things, things I had steered clear of because they had more calories then the yogurt and fruits. However I found that by replacing my low-cal breakfast bar with oatmeal I no longer wanted a snack before lunch. Then I replaced my nutrient dense lunch with a protein meal bar and found that while it seemed like so much less food it kept me full and I wasn't craving a snack 2 hours later. I also eat a protein snack bar as a late snack between lunch and dinner - which keeps me from sneaking Doritos from my daughter!

WHAT you eat makes all the difference - it took some trial and error to find the exact things that leave me full and yet satisfy me AND still taste good. Everyone has different tastes so just start experimenting until you find what fills you up

chloeobe

I go to the gym after work and always get the serious muchies before hand and tended to reach for a biscuit with my coffee to keep my energy levels up. But ive started to make a protein hot chocolate instead using Diet Whey Belgian Chocolate Protein Powder and Almond Milk. Its really sweet and really filling, and reasonably low calorie (i only use one scoop of protein and unsweetened almond milk so works out around 120cals for a big mug!)

CookNLift

I am much less hungry if I take the time to prepare my foods, and present them to look nice before I eat them. Then when I actually eat it I am almost satisfied from preparing it and plating it that when I actually enjoy it and am full even if it is a smaller portion. I try and put mostly veggies / protein in my diet so the extra veggies are low calorie and I can eat a larger portion of them while counting the amount that I eat.

katinachaos

http://blog.massivehealth.com/infographics/bananas_vs_cookies

Even the fruit you eat can differ as to how hungry you feel/whether you crash or not.