Beginner/ I just want to eat!

MountainMinimizer

Is that normal as I am trying to watch the calories for the first true time? I’ve ate healthy snacks, but just want to eat! Maybe habit, maybe calorie cutting...idk but it is hard and I am “thungry” as my grandma used to say. You just think you’re hungry.

Diatonic12

Thungry. I like it. Your grandmother was a wise woman.

kimny72

If you have drastically changed the foods you eat, or your eating schedule, it can take a few days/weeks for your body to acclimate.

If you've cut out all your favorite foods, you might be craving them. Keep in mind that you don't have to eat all "healthy" foods, so if you can fit some treats in your calories, that's perfectly fine.

It's also possible you're under-eating if you've chosen too aggressive a deficit. How much weight do you need to lose, and how many pounds per week are you aiming for?

If you have a monthly cycle, many women find that at a particular point in their cycle they are unusually hungry. I ate maintenance for 2 days every month when I was losing weight because of that!

ChelleDee07

Sounds like you already know this is mental and not a true hunger... simply with you referring to it as THungry as your grandmother did. Making a lifestyle change like this takes a lot of dedication and determination, but you certainly can do it. If you know you are truly not hungry, try to find something to focus on and get your mind off of food for a while. Go for a walk if the weather allows. You might want to push a little more water if you can too. You Got This!

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Hunger is a highly subjective and situational. You can feel hungry one moment, then you get distracted by something and forget all about it later. When you first go on a deficit, you will notice it more, but it bothers you less over time.

So, do your best to spread your food out over the day. Drink herb tea and plenty of water. Do your best to stay busy. Clear your house of snacks.

fairytale_babe

Try drinking water between meals like a litre, so almost 3 litres a day. It helps. And keep busy find a chore or something to do. Protein helps with hunger so ensure you have a filing meal at lunch

ConfidentRaven

If you find that this happens around a specific time, activity, or inactivity try changing what you are doing if possible. If that doesn’t work review your way of eating, what makes someone feel satiated is different person to person. Maybe you need to up fats, carbs, or proteins during certain meals or change your snacks. Just because something is healthy that doesn’t mean it’s filling.

girlwithcurls2

It could be any of the above. You'll need to find out what it is in you. For me, I was not used to feeling the slightest bit hungry, so telling myself that being hungry was OK was something to get used to. Drinking water is the LAST thing to make me feel full. It's never worked for me. But eating part of my lunch as a snack works wonders. I pack a cut up apple and a million carrot sticks to munch on in the late morning. The other thing I do is to pre-log my food. Doesn't matter when I eat it, as long as everything I eat is logged.

kimny72

girlwithcurls2 wrote: »

It could be any of the above. You'll need to find out what it is in you. For me, I was not used to feeling the slightest bit hungry, so telling myself that being hungry was OK was something to get used to. Drinking water is the LAST thing to make me feel full. It's never worked for me. But eating part of my lunch as a snack works wonders. I pack a cut up apple and a million carrot sticks to munch on in the late morning. The other thing I do is to pre-log my food. Doesn't matter when I eat it, as long as everything I eat is logged.

ITA! If I'm either hungry or craving food, I could drink water till it was coming out my ears, and I'd still be hungry but now I'd have to pee too. Sometimes I just need to taste something for some reason, and then a flavored drink might do, but that's psychological and has nothing to do with water or hydration.

misclaire81

Lots of fluids help, and having protein with every meal, as protein curbs hunger. Also learn about which fruits and veggies are more filling. for example, pineapple is a lot more filling than apple, for example. make some healthy snacks and have them on hand

LyndaBSS

You have to figure out what works for you and what your triggers are.

For me, if I snack between meals, I am much hungrier throughout the day than if I don't.

I eat my heaviest calorie meal at breakfast, lighter at lunch and lighter still at dinner.

I have my dinner at lunchtime. So, I'm fueling myself most when I'm most active.

When you first start focusing on staying in a calorie deficit, it makes you think about food all day long until you get the hang of it. Thinking about food makes you want to eat.

I started filling out the food diary a few days in advance. That helps me focus on things other than food.

Good luck with your journey!

Roza42

LynnMarieHasler wrote: »

Is that normal as I am trying to watch the calories for the first true time? I’ve ate healthy snacks, but just want to eat! Maybe habit, maybe calorie cutting...idk but it is hard and I am “thungry” as my grandma used to say. You just think you’re hungry.

You have to figure out when you are truly hungry and when you aren't. For me, if I am hungry for chicken breast and willing to eat it straight out of the fridge, then I eat cause I know I'm hungry. If I just need to chew on something I have baby carrots and celery in there.

CSARdiver

Hunger is the physiological need for food - brought on gradually, slowly over time and not specific.

Appetite is the desire to eat - quicker onset and triggered by behaviors, hormone changes, etc and more specific - salty, sweet, chocolate, etc.

Nearly every weight management program incorporates some manner of learning the difference. Drink a glass of water 30 mins prior to established meal times. Read a book, take a walk, etc. instead of engaging in an activity where you can mindlessly much - thungry - love that word!

Beyond the CICO you need to learn more about yourself - your habits and behaviors and change these when they don't fit your goals. You need to learn which food satiate you and which do not.

amy19355

LynnMarieHasler wrote: »

Is that normal as I am trying to watch the calories for the first true time? I’ve ate healthy snacks, but just want to eat! Maybe habit, maybe calorie cutting...idk but it is hard and I am “thungry” as my grandma used to say. You just think you’re hungry.

FInd something that is high in chew factor and low(ish) in calories and that you like the taste of, and keep some in the house at all times.

for me, it is sweet peppers - red, yellow or orange - and even if they cost $2.99, it's a better spend of my dollars than a bag of goldfish crackers, or a box of whoppers malted milk balls.

I eat the pepper like an apple sometimes, and other times, I slice it into strips and dip it in hummus.

If I need a seriously sweet sugar infusion, my go to is a handful of dried dates, sometimes stuffed with cashew butter.

Danp

I'm seeing a lot of advice in this thread on how to make a lot of pee and one to the point of potentially messing with your electrolyte levels in a detrimental way. I'm also seeing a lot of anecdotal advice which may work for you or may not.

You really just need to get to the reason behind why and that's going to take a bit of experimentation on your part.

To begin with pay attention to times when you've eaten but still hungry and times when you've eaten and feel satisfied. Chances are one meal will be biased towards a particular content. Some people are filled up by protein, others by fibre, others by fat. Me, I tend to be a volume eater so regardless of what I'm eating I need to eat a lot of it. Try and work out what makes you feel that satisfied feeling.

This may also be because you're denying yourself the foods you genuinely enjoy because you want to "cut out the junk" or try to eat "clean". If that's the case then you should probably look to try and incorporate your favourite foods into your eating (without the moralising). Taste buds need to be satisfied too so sometimes a bite of something 'bad' will be so much more satiating than a huge bowl or something 'healthy'.

In short, everyone is different but with a bit of time you'll quickly work out what works best for you. Then you're well on your way.

NovusDies

I think more water is a temporary fix and not a even a good one. I have tried it before in the past and it is very unsatisfying way to trick yourself into feeling full for a very brief amount of time.

I do think it is beneficial with meals if you are like me and eat too fast. Anything that slows down the process and makes me realize I am full before I have eaten more than I need is a good thing.

It is better to have a real food solution and it requires experimentation. It helps you know how to eat and how not to eat. I once loved just having a baked potato or two for a meal. I now know not to do that anymore because I get hungry again too fast.

kristen8000

First 2 weeks cutting calories suck. After that, it becomes much easier. I'm around 1300-1400 daily right now and I rarely get hungry. I think it's all mental. Before you cut, you could eat whenever, didn't even think about it. Then you change your habits and have a goal and can't just do what you want and it's limiting.

Just keep at it. Make sure you are at an appropriate deficit. Eat things that fill you and keep you full. Don't eat things that will make you hungry. Example. One Saturday morning I decided instead of 2 eggs and 2 bacon, I'd substitute the bacon for a 100 calorie English muffin and some a small amount of jam (about the same calories, maybe a bit more, but well within my normal). The time between breakfast and lunch I wanted to eat ALL the things. The muffin and the jam was enough "sugar/carbs" to spike my insulin (which I normally don't do in the AM) and my body was like "see what happens when you eat what you want?"..LOL

This is a learning and growing kinda thing...

MercuryForce

kimny72 wrote: »

If I'm either hungry or craving food, I could drink water till it was coming out my ears, and I'd still be hungry but now I'd have to pee too.

I figure that's how it helps with my hunger. If I have to get up to pee every 10 minutes, I don't have time to eat :-P

SammyGillham

Beginner here as well! Feel free to add me, looking for some motivational friends to keep me in line.

ldaratha

Interesting thread. I do find higher protein meals/snacks seem to keep me fuller. I also like to drink ice cold water - sometimes with cucumber slices, surprisingly helpful in reducing my appetite. There are days I want to eat more and days I don’t. Keep at it and good luck! ☺️

dcroffmfp

When you eat, whether a snack or a meal, be sure to have protein. Even if you have a carb for a snack, add some protein because the carbs will wear off quickly but the protein will last about 3-4 hours which will make you feel more satisfied.