Constantly Hungry

bugg811

So, I've gone vegan, and I'm loving it!! But I am constantly feeling hungry since I cut meat out of my diet! And I would drink more water, but unfortunately I get super nauseous if I drink even a tiny bit of water when I'm hungry.... Does anyone have a suggestion?? I'm sick of feeling hungry all the time!

diannethegeek

These are my really general tips for hunger:

1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

jofjltncb6

What aspects of it are you loving?

Ready2Rock206

Are you getting enough protein, fat & fiber? As a vegan you'll likely have to make a bigger effort to get enough protein in your diet.

Cheesy567

Eat more protein.

fishshark

sounds like you need more protein and probably more fat. I need fat to satiate me.

MakePeasNotWar

What kinds of food are you eating? For a time, I tried to centre my diet around fruit and non-starchy veggies with smaller portions of beans and grains and though my energy and mood were great, hunger was an issue.

Now I eat more starchy vegetables, beans, and whole grains, and I feel much more satisfied. I do need to eat several times a day but since I can't eat many calories in a sitting, I'm still eating well below maintenance.

If eating often doesn't work for you, adding more fats to your meals will bring the calories up to a "meal" sized intake, and make you feel fuller longer.

I do recommend watching your protein, iron, and calcium on MFP for at least 6 months or until you have a fairly stable food intake. It sounds like you made the change recently, so you might as well make sure the new eating habits you build will be healthy ones.