Hungry every couple of hours

Nenny1985

I generally eat fairly well, eating lots of fruit veggies, protein etc, I don't eat junk food often, but find I am often hungry every couple of hours so I snack a lot. And even though I generally snack on good foods, it can add up, particularly if I'm having a hungry day.
And i try to exercise most days.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Nutella91

yep. that's how life works.

jk, black coffee and lots of water!

HealthyVitamins

I drink hot tea, the warmth makes me feel full and its comforting.

JakeBrownVB

depends how many calories you are doing.. please god dont say 1200... so fed up of that number

Nenny1985

Thanks. Don't do coffee but might the black tea and water

TavistockToad

I generally eat fairly well, eating lots of fruit veggies, protein etc, I don't eat junk food often, but find I am often hungry every couple of hours so I snack a lot. And even though I generally snack on good foods, it can add up, particularly if I'm having a hungry day.
And i try to exercise most days.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

how many cals do you net on a typical day?

Nenny1985

Nah not 1200. I'd be starving. Haha. It's 1400 without counting exercise so usually more

Nenny1985

Probably eat about 1500 - 1600 cals a day when I don't get a major hungry attack

Nenny1985

Thanks for the tip about the tea

egwene1977

Are you getting enough protein and fat? They keep me feeling much more satisfied than carbs ever did.

Nenny1985

Protein pretty good but could possibly work on the fats. Thanks

tigersword

Hunger is a hormonally driven response. It becomes "trained" to your habits. Eat once a day at the same time, and your hunger signals will start kicking in at that time. Eat 6 times a day, and your hunger signals will kick in at all 6 times you usually eat. If you change your eating habits, your hunger signals will change to match them.

This is why you constantly hear about all these people eating so few calories (>800) but never feeling hungry. Their hormones have adjusted to the intake, or, in extreme cases, there aren't enough nutrients to create the hormones in the first place, so the entire hunger signal system shuts down.

Thirst, on the other hand, is a purely physical response to a change in fluid balance. This is why I always find it silly when people give the advice to drink constantly, not waiting to feel thirsty, but only to eat when you feel hungry, because that's the exact reverse of how it should be.

Nenny1985

Thanks

khannickwechanged

I like to eat every three hours. Spreading out my calories helps keep me comfortably satisfied but not overly full or hungry all day.

As for snacks to keep you full, try trail mix or nuts, peanut butter & banana, avocado, cheese, things that have healthy fat. Fat is really satiating. My favorite is trail mix. You just have to portion it out beforehand to avoid taking in a ton of calories from it.

Nenny1985

Thanks.

emilycarr71404

I am still pretty new to this site (5weeks in and 17.9 pounds later) and I find the same thing. I eat 1520 calories a day plus exercise calories. I eat every few hours to get my metabolism burning. I eat smaller more frequent meals and that is really working for me. I would try the tea trick too because it works.

Nenny1985

Thanks. Afternoon snacking is the worst for me, once i start i cant stop, haha. so gonna try having breakfast then a mid morning snack then having a decent sized lunch mid arvo, having no arvo snack then having tea

EyeOTS

Sometimes the body confuses 'hungry' with 'thirsty'. Drinking water when you think you're hungry (but are actually thirsty) sometimes works.

lee91356

you may consider then spacing out your meals and eating smaller meals and thus avoiding snacking. It was suggested by my nutritionist to do that. There are two benefits - 1) its better planned out and your less likely to go over on your calories since your planing for the in between meals/ snacks, 2) if you dont wait to eat till your "hungry" your less to overeat. Since you said its been an ongoing thing for the last few days/ weeks try to eat every couple of hours - along with your water and see if it helps any.

lee91356

or try adding protein drinks or shake

RHSheetz

Sometimes the body confuses 'hungry' with 'thirsty'. Drinking water when you think you're hungry (but are actually thirsty) sometimes works.

THIS...

And, are you sure it is hunger or is it Stress eating, Habit or other such trigger to eat. So, I suggest a process call Stop. Challenge. Choose.

When you think you feel hungry, Stop before you eat, Check to see if you are Hungry (your stomach is empty and rumbling), or are you board, frustrated, upset. If you truly are hungry, your stomach is empty, then choose a healthy (good) snack, rich in protein or healthy fats. If your stomach is not empty, then do something to change your focus, take a walk, clean off your desk...