How are you controlling appetite?

texasredreb

I eat a very small breakfast (coffee with creamer--130 cals) and small lunch (protein bar or drink--200 cals) and a very large dinner of whatever I want (800+ calories). This works for me. Dinner seems pre-diet normal and that helps me feel full and satisfied. If I'm way under on calories after dinner I have a beer or wine or a snack to take up the deficit.

HoneyBadger302

I don't like having breakfast, so I skip that. I generally have a small lunch and then a decent dinner with lots of veggies to help with volume.

Getting enough protein helps me feel more full for the calories, carbs and fats, while important, I find to be very unfulfilling for the calories involved, so I try to minimize those.

Beyond that, I simply have to accept that I am going to be hungry. My hunger cues have never adjusted to my reduced activity levels (I used to have VERY active jobs plus active hobbies, and now sit on my butt all day at a desk and while I'm trying to get back to some of my old hobbies, they're expensive, so not easy to get into).

Tracking keeps me honest, when I stop tracking I almost immediately go right back to what my body *thinks* it should be (which is about 20-25 pounds heavier than it should be).

hixa30

I don't have food visible at home. I need to search for it in bags and cupboards, it's not on display.

Hannahwalksfar

Pure will power

ahoy_m8

For me, the #1 most important factor is size of calorie deficit. None of the other strategies overcome a deficit that’s too aggressive or sustained too long.

If I get a minimum 25g fiber + 50g fat + 100g protein, I will stay full even if I’m off plan on other things.

Meal timing doesn’t make a huge difference to me, but I incline towards an 8-hr eating window roughly 11am -7pm. I’m hungriest in the afternoon and have a big chunk of my daily calories then. For some reason I’m able to tolerate hunger after dinner without caving. Weirdly, when I go to bed a little hungry, im not hungry the next day until noon, but when I go to bed full, I wake hungry. It doesn’t throw me off to deviate much from the eating window, although I really dislike eating late (and will be more at risk of overeating) and a high carb breakfast early makes me ravenous all day. Love, love, love oatmeal but best for me to eat as an afternoon snak. I do cardio at 6am in summer and late afternoon in winter, and workout timing doesn’t impact my meal timing. Fasted workouts feel great to me.

Pure will power is great when you have it, but it’s a limited resource and unreliable. Habits and discipline are much more reliable.

ETA: totally agree with @HoneyBadger155 in accepting hunger as a fact of life. I always would like to have a little more to eat (and drink) even though the math says more would be over maintenance. Intuitive eating doesn’t work for me.

Danp

I have two approaches depending on if my appetite is driven by hunger or cravings.

Appetite due to hunger: It helps me to eat most when I'm naturally hungriest. I'm usually peckish in the morning, really hungry at night and never really that hungry in between. so I have a light breakfast and then eat pretty much the rest of my calories at night.

Appetite due to cravings: I indulge those cravings in a responsible and controlled manner. If I feel like a burger, I'll make sure that burger fits into my calorie goal for that day. If I feel like icecream I'll make it fit somehow by perhaps putting it off for a day or two and save up the calories or I'll have it and make up the calories afterwards.

Godswordministries

I am an intermittent faster. I only eat during 8 hours a day. Split into two meals no snacks. Healthy fats are very satisfying. Eat olives or nuts and it will keep you feeling full longer I find.

lalalacroix

My diet is very satisfying to me. Here's why:

1. I eat grains at every meal because they are very satiating for me. I also eat a lot of fiber throughout the day which helps keep me full.
2. I eat a lot of vegetables. I mean a lot. This adds volume to my meals without adding many calories.
3. I have a reasonable weight loss goal so my calorie deficit is never more than 500 calories per day.
4. I am a very active person so I lose weight eating 1800 calories per day.
5. I do purposeful exercise which gives me a lot more calories to eat.

It took me several years to figure out how to not feel hungry all the time. I tried a lot of different macros and eating schedules before I figured out what works for me. I think what works for each person is very individual.

I always hate hearing that people are struggling with hunger when attempting weight loss. It sucks.

yungdragxn

Drinking a large cup of water before and after a meal. That, and eating plenty of fiber and protein.

try2again

kimny72 wrote: »

First, it's important to make sure you aren't trying to hit a deficit that is too large. Many users automatically choose 2 lbs per week, but that is really only realistic if you have a lot of weight to lose, 70+ lbs. So if your deficit is really aggressive, the way to control your appetite is to eat more.

Second, you should look at exercise. The MFP calorie goal expects you to eat back at least some of your exercise calories. If you aren't, you probably need to eat a little more.

If you are aiming for an appropriate amount of calories, it can take a couple of weeks for your body to get used to being at a deficit.

In general, protein fat & fiber are filling in some combo for most people. So if you are consistently low on any of those three, bringing the stragglers up to goal can really help.

If volume is filling for you, adding lots of low cal veggies to your meals can fill them out for hardly any calories.

Some people find caffeine is a mild appetite suppressant. Others say drinking lots of water is, but I never found that myself.

Play around with meal timing so that you are eating less calories when you typically aren't hungry, and more when you typically are. It sounds simple, but lots of people get stuck in an idea of when they are supposed to eat, and don't even consider changing it up!

If the problem is actually cravings, try fitting moderated portion of the foods you love into your calorie goal, at least every once and awhile. Satisfying your appetite is more than just eating enough sometimes

I would like to see this as an independent thread we could link to. (hint hint )

Lillymoo01

What works for me is eating 5 smalls meals a day which includes plenty of protein and plenty of fibre with a nice serving of fat thrown in. I also love my veggies so can eat a lot without heaps of calories to go with it.

What doesn't work for me is a low carb diet and IF. Doing these made it harder to stay on track. It does always amaze me on how different we all are when it comes to what works.