How to deal with extreme hunger all the time...
MissElvira88
Posts: 6 Member
This is me all the time, even prior to my lifestyle change, not deprivation diet... How do you stop it? My doctor just said it could be a number of things and that was it.
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Replies
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I personally opt for more nutrient dense food (and drinking a big glass of water before every meal) if i'm feeling hungry and that's usually enough. Everyone is different, though.0
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Embrace the hunger ... it's a good thing. It is OK to feel hungry. I like feeling just a little bit empty.
Also, have you been tested for stomach issues? Sometimes that can cause stomach pain that feels like hunger.
And have your blood sugar levels been tested? I tend toward low blood sugar, so what works for me is to eat often. I have a small snack about every 1.5 hours. I can still stay within my calorie limit doing that, but eating more frequently just makes me feel better.1 -
I find that protein helps me. Two scrambled eggs or an ounce of cheddar cheese, a handful of roasted almonds. A slice of bread with mashed avocado or tuna. A bowl of brown rice and black beans. Half a banana with some peanut butter. Drink lots of water, to avoid dehydration and fatigue. (And just as an aside: Man, your doctor is a loser.)1
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Change your goal to a less aggressive one. 1 pound per week or even half a pound per week.6
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Are you bored all the time? That is my issue and learned to drink water when hungry and keep myself busy on the computer when home. I like to study / play games to keep my mind occupied. My wife doesn't seem to mind it so much since building a mobile desk on wheels. I can stay busy and still spend time with her.1
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I've added more fat and foods high in fiber, really helps.
For instance my breakfast smoothie contains flax meal - high in fiber & good fat
Lunch will be something like beans (high in fiber) and I'll drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over them
Dinner might be an omelete with salad (olive oil)1 -
I'm definitely no expert, but my suggestions are to always have a glass of water in hand (I drink water pretty well continuously throughout the day) and to not let more than 3 hours go by without eating something.2
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I think maybe get a second opinion to be on the safe side. From your other thread, it seems like your doctor is more reactive than proactive, and if there *is* an underlying medical condition that's causing your hunger, you definitely want to know ASAP.
If you rule out any medical conditions and it's just plain old hunger, there are a couple of things you can try:
1. Stay busy - be active: exercise, do a hobby, go shopping, run errands, do chores around the house, etc. Stay entertained and avoid completely sedentary/not engrossing things like sitting and watching tv. The bonus is that the more active you are, the more calories you burn. If it's psychological hunger, being distracted will make it go away. If it's physiological hunger, being distracted can sometimes make you forget it (and ideally your body begins to adjust to fewer calories.)
2. Sleep more - it's kind of depressing, and it's not the best long-term strategy, but going to bed earlier and sleeping in a little later means less time that you're hungry. I think it's helpful when you first start eating less to give your body time to adjust, and certainly being sleep-deprived will increase your appetite. It's not a great strategy long term because again, it's a little depressing, and your body burns fewer calories sleeping than being awake.
3. Experiment with meal composition - you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight as long as the number of calories you eat is less than the number of calories you burn. However, in my experience, if I were to eat a 1200 calorie slice of cake and use up all my calories for the day, I'm going to be starving and miserable compared to if I had eaten 1200 calories worth of lean meat, dairy, vegetable, grains, etc. I don't know what you're eating now, but consider swapping out calorie-dense foods for lower calorie foods you can eat in larger quantities. How much protein are you eating? I find protein to be more satiating than carbs, and it's fewer calories per gram than fat so you can eat more food per calorie.
4. Experiment with meal timing - some people do best eating a small snack every two hours. Some people like one big meal. I like "intermittent fasting" which for me means I delay breakfast as long as possible and have my first meal late in the day. I might get a wave of hunger in the morning around breakfast, but generally it passes in a minute, and once it's lunch time or so I pretty much don't have to feel hungry the rest of the day.3 -
I would change your foods. What you are eating isn't working for you. Hunger is not maintainable.
Some find more fibre, protein or fat helps. Others, like me, find cutting carbs and sugar really reduces the appetite.
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You haven't told us what your daily intake of macronutrients is, but I'll guess that you consistently are high in carbs.2
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Drink more water! I'm generally lethargic when I don't drink enough water. I have no idea what your sleep patterns are but that can effect your energy levels as well. Light stetches throughout the day will wake up your muclses too.
I'd listen to uplifting music if I'm extremely tired: usually happens after a long night of cramming for a test lol. Hope this helps 1 -
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If there's something wrong with you medically, you should have that fixed. Yes, it can be a nunber of things, but that isn't helpful. But if you are indeed healthy, your doctor can't do anything for you anyway, so check out other possibilities as well:
If you are healthy, a feeling of extreme hunger can be caused by your diet, or your expectations/what you are used to, or a combination.
If you get in enough calories - which is either enough to keep your weight stable, or causing no more than a 1% loss of body weight per week, if you are overweight or normal weight - you're not eating too few calories. But you have to get in proper nutrition - quality, not just quantity. This is the reason for the "nagging" about 5-a-day, balance and variety. If you track macros (fat, protein and carbs), and hit MFP's default, a lot of ground will be covered. If you eat well every day - a suggestion can be 2 portions of fruit, 3 portions of vegetables, some dairy, meat/fish/eggs/beans, whole grains/starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds, butter and oils, and switch it up - you will get in proper nutrition. You don't have to cut out anything, but it can be a good idea to reserve snacks, sweets, soda etc for special occasions.
If you are well fed, and healthy, the hunger you feel, is normal, good, and to be expected. You can ignore hunger if you want to, and just eat appropriately. But if you pay attention, you will start to notice that hunger isn't static, it fluctuates through the day, it gets stronger before a meal, and a little weaker some time after you've eaten. You will learn that what you call hunger, is often appetite or cravings. If you're busy doing something, you may even forget to eat. You can experiment with meal timing - maybe many small meals, or a few larger, is better for you. You will learn that hunger isn't an emergency. If you have a good meal waiting, it can even feel good to wait for it.0 -
I agree with what others have said. You can lose weight without being hungry all the time. Play around with your macros. You may need to increase protein and fat while reducing refined carbs. Just make sure you still get plenty of fibre as this is also quite filling. Play around with food timing. Some cope better eating smaller meals frequently while others do well eating all of their food in 6 hour period. Drink more water and get more active. Exercise will give you more calories to eat. Change your goals so they are less aggressive. If you have put down a 2 pound a week weight loss, reduce it to 1, or if it is 1 reduce it to 1/2. It took a long time for most of us to get get to the size were are/were but we want a quick fix. These quick fixes are more likely to result in yoyo dieting while slow and steady, eating foods that we can stick with for life make a long term lifestyle change which will keep the pounds off.2
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More Fruit and Veg, Nuts, a little full-fat yoghurt and make sure you're getting enough protein. If you're exercising, make sure to log it correctly as this earns you more calories. (it's better to exercise more and eat more than to do no exercise and eat less.) You 100% do not have to feel hungry whilst losing weight. I'm losing 2lbs / week and never feel hungry except when it's time to eat.2
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MissElvira88 wrote: »This is me all the time, even prior to my lifestyle change, not deprivation diet... How do you stop it? My doctor just said it could be a number of things and that was it.
you didn't ask what those things were?0 -
Do you have heart burn or reflux issues? When I forget to take my meds a lot of my heart burn masquerades as feeling ravenously hungry, the type where your stomach hurts and the only way to get rid of it for a bit is more food ... I feel far less hungry when I remember my medication which is so weird0
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I also think you should get a second opinion from a different doctor.0
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MissElvira88 wrote: »This is me all the time, even prior to my lifestyle change, not deprivation diet... How do you stop it? My doctor just said it could be a number of things and that was it.
I had this insatiable feeling because of PCOS (increased hunger, but diabetes, pre diabetes or poor/not enough sleep can have this effect too) and IBS (if I feel too hungry I get bad stomach cramps), things that help are increasing protein (but also eliminating trigger foods), small deficit and exercise (both cardio and strength). The exercise also helps me two fold, it alleviates the symptoms and I earn more calories to eat. There are also other reasons you might feel hungry when you're not such as mental health issues or boredom. But noone can diagnose you over a forum. x
I really think you need to get your doctor to explore the reasons why, in the meantime I can't recommend exercise enough for earning some extra cals. xxx0 -
It's hard to really know where the problem may lie without additional information. I can say though, that I have this problem all the time and I *think* it has less to do with what I'm eating but rather the amount I'm eating (could be not enough - I've been trying to figure out just how much I need based on my age, activity, etc. I've also been in "diet mode" for so long - I don't think this is good for the body over the long term. I also don't sleep well and until the last couple of years probably had an over-production of cortisol (long story short, I slept very little, had a stressful job and commuted more than 20+hours a week), which ALSO doesn't help.
so I think you have to take a good honest look at what you are eating, when and if it's enough and also do NOT go for aggressive weight loss goals. this is a lifelong venture, it's not about "as fast as possible". I would also recommend getting blood work done - a raised cortisol level or deficiency in some vitamins and minerals could add to the mix. And be as active as you can and try to get enough sleep.0 -
I'm always hungry if I don't do strength training. It certainly does something for me. Not sure what, but it keeps constant hunger at bay. Might be something hormonal. Hey, why not try and see if it works for you? Just a bodyweight programme with a few upper or lower body exercises. Not done for speed but slowly, well controlled and such that it's somewhat difficult for you.0
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alwaysbloated wrote: »I'm always hungry if I don't do strength training. It certainly does something for me. Not sure what, but it keeps constant hunger at bay. Might be something hormonal. Hey, why not try and see if it works for you? Just a bodyweight programme with a few upper or lower body exercises. Not done for speed but slowly, well controlled and such that it's somewhat difficult for you.
I don't know what it is about exercise, but if I do intense cardio, I'm starving. If I just walk, I'm not hungry. I used to stuff myself with food after going to the gym.
Yes, but I'm not talking about cardio but slow strength training. Cardio uses much more energy than strength to start with, thus it's not surprising you're hungry afterwards. This odd effect that I'm noticing only happens when I do strength training, not cardio. It doesn't matter if I lift weights or do something fairly easy as the first week of You are Your own Gym.1 -
An orange or grapefruit a day helps keep appetite away
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Low carb/high fat diet. Havent been hungry yet and meeting my weight loss goals. Increase your protein and healthy fats (eggs, chicken, salmon, avocado etc). Apart from that, keep busy. Get out of house and find ways to get your mind off the whole eating less thing0
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My advice is to eat when you're hungry--carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc. Low calorie foods. I'm also hungry all the time, and I keep a bag of sliced carrots and celery in the refrigerator so I can just grab, weigh, and eat.
Also, as others have said, make sure you're getting enough protein and fat in your diet. Being low in either of those can cause hunger, and they're better for keeping you full than carbs.0 -
The only time I ever felt like I was hungry 24/7 was when I was not eating enough.0
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Lots of great comments here but wanted to add my two cents worth. If you are just starting out your body is not used to smaller quantities of food yet and will eventually adjust. If you have been at this awhile you may have made the mistake I sometimes make and gotten lazy about veggies. Whenever I find myself hungry all the time I can trace it back to not enough roughage. I love shredded cabbage so often add it to salads or instead of lettuce in tacos etc. Steamed broccoli with dinner really helps me feel satisfied. Watch the starch intake as many of us find that increases hunger. Particularly white flour. I don't mean you can't ever have it just don't eat too much of it. Protein and fat tend to keep me full longer coupled with the roughage in fruits and veggies and I am satisfied most of the time. Good luck.0
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