Hungry all the time

diontre840

How do you stop hunger cravings. That is my main issue which is binge eating. How do I stop that cycle of binge eating.

cwolfman13

Start looking at the composition of your diet...figure out what makes you satiated. I prefer complex carbohydrates...things like oat, legumes, lentils, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc...some people find more fat satiating...myself, I could go through a block of cheese and still be looking for more to eat.

ETA: how aggressive is your deficit...if it's really aggressive, it could be one of the reasons you're binging.

GottaBurnEmAll

A few things... how aggressive is your deficit? Are you trying to lose weight too quickly?

When you binge, do you restrict to "make up" for the binge?

The only way I found out of my binge behavior was to log the binges and to stop restricting after them.

serindipte

Also make sure you haven't set your calorie goal too low. If you're going for aggressive weight loss and are restricting yourself too much, you're setting yourself up for a binge. If you need help figuring out where you should be set, you can post your age, height, weight and activity level here and may members will help you out.

diannethegeek

These are my really generic 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.

try2again

Make sure your weekly weight loss goal (if, in fact, you are trying to lose weight) is not so aggressive that you feel deprived. And like @cwolfman13 said, think about your meals and what will keep you personally satisfied the longest. Also consider meal size. When some people are trying to lose weight, they eat skimpy meals scattered throughout the day. This just leaves me hungry. I like fewer, more filling meals that stick with you longer.

shaunalepak

I'm guilty of this too. The key is to shop for items beforehand that are low calorie and literally fill your fridge. You can google low calorie options but here are some things I usually keep stocked to make sure my calorie intake isn't going too out of whack:

Basically any vegetable. Celery, carrots, cucumbers, salad etc are all very low calorie items that are also nutritious

Most fruits, but if you choose it or break it into smaller pieces you still get the same binge experience. Grapes are great for snacking, cut up apples and oranges, berries..

I also keep around Broth (very low calorie at only 5 per serving, and filling, but high sodium content so try not to overdo it.

Oatmeal is a freaking godsend for me. I love it with a few raisins and although it's not Crazy low cal, it's still pretty low and it fills you up so much it's totally worth adding as a snack or with breakfast to keep you full all day.

Jell-O is very low calorie, and sweet and delicious. They also make low calorie pudding packs as well that are great for desserts and if you end up eating a lot, again it's low calorie so it's not too serious.

Drink a glass of water before you give into your binge cravings and you'll likely eat less as well.

My state is recreational lol so I definitely get hungry more often than I would like to admit. Sometimes its just inevitable you'll cave. If you truly want to stop it will be a battle of willpower. Your will to stop will need to be stronger than your desire to eat. At any rate, definitely recommend keeping lots of low calorie snacks to reach for during times you feel weak (:

Francl27

Being hungry and having cravings is not the same thing at all. Cravings = wanting a specific kind of food type. Hunger = you'd eat pretty much anything.

spiriteagle99

There's also the question of how much exercise you're doing and do you eat back the calories? As a runner, after a long run, I get hungry. If I eat something soon afterwards, I'm usually okay for the rest of the day. If I don't, I'll overeat later.