I am hungry, like real painful hunger

von_valentine

I drink more than enough water, eat a lot of protein, always meet those goals..
But I am hungry even after a large meal. I wait, and it doesn't pass.
I am not diabetic, was just checked.
I haven't lost any weight in weeks because I cant keep my calories low enough
I make it to like 1600 most days but I cant lose unless I eat 1400 or less. Which is hard.
I am able to go all morning/partial afternoon eating light, or fasting half of the time. By night time I get bored. I live in a tiny home, middle of no where. Its partially boredom, but I am truly hungry too.

julanig612

I have the same problem. I have the capacity of a horse. I'm not sure if this is good advice but what has helped me a lot is to drink a hot drink with every meal. It helps my stomach feel like I've had a bigger meal than I actually had. I have also for a treat bought myself mocha coffee sticks that are surprisingly low in calories and make you feel like you've had a treat. Especially after dinner, which is generally my worst time. Milk-less drinks have fewer calories and will possibly have the same effect. Worth a try.

ceiswyn

Just because a desire for food is extreme and painful, that doesn't make it hunger. One of the things that has been key for me in my weight loss has been discovering that what I thought was a physical sensation of hunger is actually entirely mental.

You've tried 'waiting', but have you tried getting completely engrossed in something else that distracts your mind entirely?

psychod787

Now, while I will agree that "head" hunger does not help things, the research highly suggest an increase in hunger during and after weight loss. There are people here who have lost weight, maintained it, and state they never have had the problem. That's not the case for many people. I think the literature suggest that some people may be wired to have a higher appetite. Its also been shown in humans and animals that the body fights to maintain an energy homeostasis. That's does not mean weight loss is hopeless. I think with the right interventions, its possible long term. There are studies that allude to what helps make this possible. I will not go into then here. If you are interested in what I think and others think helps. Send me a message. If not. Peace be the adventure.

nighthawk584

I've always had a huge appetite, and I found I was extremely hungry when I started with lower carbs. I wasn't KETO or anything but carbs were below 100 g's a day. Lost my first 50 lbs this way but I was miserable during a lot of it. Now I consume around 150-250 carbs and also losing at a slower pace, and much more satisfied. Still losing weight, at around 78 lbs down now.

neugebauer52

My grandmother would have said: "worms...."

springlering62

LMAO. My mom would have said the same.

I find keeping my hands busy helps. If I do needlepoint, it seems to help, versus reading or just watching TV.

gemiller87

From a weight loss program I am working through by my health insurance company the key four methods to overcoming cravings (which is probably more accurate than hunger in this description) are:

1. Delay and distract - When the urge comes on, set a timer for 5 minutes. During that time, try to figure out what’s going on emotionally and record it in a journal. Next, distract yourself with a different activity, like walking or calling a friend.
2. Ride the wave - If distraction isn’t working, face your craving head on. First, review your personal motivators to remind yourself why you want to stop giving in to cravings. Next, accept that while you don’t choose to have this craving, you can choose how to react to it. Last, recognize that the feeling is only temporary.
3. Get off the clock - If you always have chocolate around 3 pm, it’s no wonder cravings strike at the same time each day. While it’s okay to have a treat every now and then, avoid having it at the same time or in the same place so you break the habit of eating by the clock.
4. Call in a substitute - If you crave potato chips, French fries, milkshakes, chocolate chip cookies and other foods with lots of sugar, fat, or salt (or all of the above), try to sub in a better option. Fruit can hit the sweet spot, or the smoothies and treats in your Real Foods Nutrition Guide. These snacks may not be as yummy as the real thing at first, but your taste buds will adapt — just give it some time. Soon, foods you used to crave will seem too salty, too sweet, and too greasy.

The only one that I haven't found a way to utilize really was get off the clock, but i'm not a very regimented person for snacking so I didn't have a lot to adjust on it. Just some food for thought here.

etherealanwar

This sounds like an appetite issue more so than 'true' hunger and I suffer from it as well. I just try to focus my mind on something else and power through.

cmriverside

I've been at my goal weight/in Maintenance for many years. To stop nighttime eating I had to start eating breakfast later and going to bed soon after dinner. Two largish meals and a midday snack is the way I deal with it. No snacking. Logging every bite.

One thing that helps me is to stay away from wheat unless it's served with lots of protein and some fat. Wheat seems to trigger my hunger/appetite in a way that no other food does. I can easily overeat by several hundred calories of wheat products and still want more. You may have some trigger foods too. Start noticing what you've eaten and how it makes you feel.

The trick for me is to know how much food I actually need, then telling myself, "You're good. You've eaten the right amount of food today." If I feel a compulsion to eat, then I've likely missed some important nutrient - usually not enough protein.

Machafin

How much do you work out? I had a similar problem with eating too much. I increased my excerise to 6-7 days a week and it compesated my extra food intake well and I continued to lose.

How long have you been dieting? It takes a while to get accustomed to the change in caloric intake. You say you drink enough water, but how much? Make sure to eat plenty of vegetables and leafy greens as they contain low calories for the volume they have, it can really make a difference.

Good Luck!

psychod787

here is an easy experiment I have done. Cook up 3 lbs of plain steamed, slightly crispy broccoli. No salt, no butter, nothing.... if you eat it, then you are hungry, if not, your most likely not.....

cmriverside wrote: »

I've been at my goal weight/in Maintenance for many years. To stop nighttime eating I had to start eating breakfast later and going to bed soon after dinner. Two largish meals and a midday snack is the way I deal with it. No snacking. Logging every bite.

One thing that helps me is to stay away from wheat unless it's served with lots of protein and some fat. Wheat seems to trigger my hunger/appetite in a way that no other food does. I can easily overeat by several hundred calories of wheat products and still want more. You may have some trigger foods too. Start noticing what you've eaten and how it makes you feel.

The trick for me is to know how much food I actually need, then telling myself, "You're good. You've eaten the right amount of food today." If I feel a compulsion to eat, then I've likely missed some important nutrient - usually not enough protein.

Is that whole grains or flour products?

kimny72

von_valentine wrote: »

I drink more than enough water, eat a lot of protein, always meet those goals..
But I am hungry even after a large meal. I wait, and it doesn't pass.
I am not diabetic, was just checked.
I haven't lost any weight in weeks because I cant keep my calories low enough
I make it to like 1600 most days but I cant lose unless I eat 1400 or less. Which is hard.
I am able to go all morning/partial afternoon eating light, or fasting half of the time. By night time I get bored. I live in a tiny home, middle of no where. Its partially boredom, but I am truly hungry too.

What is your height and weight?
How much weight had you lost before this became such an issue that you stalled?
How many grams of protein, fat, and fiber do you typically get?
Are you exercising?

Absent that info, if you are hungry right after a large meal, it is either psychological or you have an undiagnosed medical condition. If it's psychological, the key is to keep your mind busy and keep food out of sight. It does take practice. You might see if drinking tea or diet soda, or chewing sugar free gum might help as well.

cmriverside

psychod787 wrote: »

here is an easy experiment I have done. Cook up 3 lbs of plain steamed, slightly crispy broccoli. No salt, no butter, nothing.... if you eat it, then you are hungry, if not, your most likely not.....

cmriverside wrote: »

I've been at my goal weight/in Maintenance for many years. To stop nighttime eating I had to start eating breakfast later and going to bed soon after dinner. Two largish meals and a midday snack is the way I deal with it. No snacking. Logging every bite.

One thing that helps me is to stay away from wheat unless it's served with lots of protein and some fat. Wheat seems to trigger my hunger/appetite in a way that no other food does. I can easily overeat by several hundred calories of wheat products and still want more. You may have some trigger foods too. Start noticing what you've eaten and how it makes you feel.

The trick for me is to know how much food I actually need, then telling myself, "You're good. You've eaten the right amount of food today." If I feel a compulsion to eat, then I've likely missed some important nutrient - usually not enough protein.

Is that whole grains or flour products?

Wheat...do you eat just plain whole wheat with no other ingredients and/or without it being processed into a flour?

LyndaBSS

Are you depriving yourself of foods you love? If so, your "hunger" might just be your lack of satisfaction with your food choices.

maxiem7

Here is something a wise person told me to distinguish real hunger from head hunger. When you get that I am starving feeling offer yourself some green beans. If it is not hunger you will be saying yuck if really hungry you eat them and get a lot of fiber that will make you feel full.

steph2strong

How far along in your weight loss journey are you? is this the beginning? how did you start? did you make small gradual changes to your diet to get to the 1400 calorie/day guideline, or did you make a big switch from eating 3000 calories per day to all of a sudden eating 1400? did you drastically change the types of foods you were eating? did you make many large changes at once? In my experience, it is much easier to make small gradual changes and build upon those to minimize difficulty and hunger when eating in a deficit.

Things I do... drink a cup of herbal tea directly after a meal, then chew mint gum directly after a meal. Go for a walk, go play with my kids, clean. When I am eating I try my best to be mindful and slow in my eating process, no distractions (no tv, phone or computer) sit at a table, eat slowly, notice my food the tastes, textures and aromas, take pauses... essentially don't wolf the food down mindlessly while doing other tasks and then look down at an empty plate/bag and think "wait, when did I eat that?" It sounds fluffy, but it actually does help with recognizing body cues of higher and satiation. Also, I'm just generally used to stopping eating when not "fully full" and then doing other things.

Last thing, every one is an individual and you might have to experiment with different timings of food/meals, different composition of foods/meals and what not to figure out what works for you. Many people find delaying food and eating the majority of their food in the afternoon/evening helps with adherence to a deficit. However, for me, I need to eat the majority of my food and calories before 1 pm, I eat about 1500-2000 calories before 1 pm and then I can cost throughs the evening without feeling hungry. When I try and skip breakfast I die and end up eating way more than i need to later in the day and never reach that satiated feeling. It was something I had to learn about myself after many years of starving myself in the mornings and overeating at night.

lgfrie

I second all the suggestions to eat something that's tolerable and filling but not really what you want, if you're "starving". I've done this as the "carrot test" many times. Starving? Here, here's a big, fat carrot. Oh, don't want it? Guess I wasn't starving then.

Boredom has a whole different solution set than physical hunger.

psychod787

cmriverside wrote: »

psychod787 wrote: »

here is an easy experiment I have done. Cook up 3 lbs of plain steamed, slightly crispy broccoli. No salt, no butter, nothing.... if you eat it, then you are hungry, if not, your most likely not.....

cmriverside wrote: »

I've been at my goal weight/in Maintenance for many years. To stop nighttime eating I had to start eating breakfast later and going to bed soon after dinner. Two largish meals and a midday snack is the way I deal with it. No snacking. Logging every bite.

One thing that helps me is to stay away from wheat unless it's served with lots of protein and some fat. Wheat seems to trigger my hunger/appetite in a way that no other food does. I can easily overeat by several hundred calories of wheat products and still want more. You may have some trigger foods too. Start noticing what you've eaten and how it makes you feel.

The trick for me is to know how much food I actually need, then telling myself, "You're good. You've eaten the right amount of food today." If I feel a compulsion to eat, then I've likely missed some important nutrient - usually not enough protein.

Is that whole grains or flour products?

Wheat...do you eat just plain whole wheat with no other ingredients and/or without it being processed into a flour?

Just wanted to Clarify. Many people when they say "wheat" they mean flour based products. I personally think bread is very calorie dense and offers little satiety to me. Interesting. Its just wheat? Not say, oats or barley?

Roza42

psychod787 wrote: »

here is an easy experiment I have done. Cook up 3 lbs of plain steamed, slightly crispy broccoli. No salt, no butter, nothing.... if you eat it, then you are hungry, if not, your most likely not.....

cmriverside wrote: »

I've been at my goal weight/in Maintenance for many years. To stop nighttime eating I had to start eating breakfast later and going to bed soon after dinner. Two largish meals and a midday snack is the way I deal with it. No snacking. Logging every bite.

One thing that helps me is to stay away from wheat unless it's served with lots of protein and some fat. Wheat seems to trigger my hunger/appetite in a way that no other food does. I can easily overeat by several hundred calories of wheat products and still want more. You may have some trigger foods too. Start noticing what you've eaten and how it makes you feel.

The trick for me is to know how much food I actually need, then telling myself, "You're good. You've eaten the right amount of food today." If I feel a compulsion to eat, then I've likely missed some important nutrient - usually not enough protein.

Is that whole grains or flour products?

I do the same with baked chicken breast. If I feel like I'm starving and I eat it, I know I was.

kshama2001

cmriverside wrote: »

psychod787 wrote: »

here is an easy experiment I have done. Cook up 3 lbs of plain steamed, slightly crispy broccoli. No salt, no butter, nothing.... if you eat it, then you are hungry, if not, your most likely not.....

cmriverside wrote: »

I've been at my goal weight/in Maintenance for many years. To stop nighttime eating I had to start eating breakfast later and going to bed soon after dinner. Two largish meals and a midday snack is the way I deal with it. No snacking. Logging every bite.

One thing that helps me is to stay away from wheat unless it's served with lots of protein and some fat. Wheat seems to trigger my hunger/appetite in a way that no other food does. I can easily overeat by several hundred calories of wheat products and still want more. You may have some trigger foods too. Start noticing what you've eaten and how it makes you feel.

The trick for me is to know how much food I actually need, then telling myself, "You're good. You've eaten the right amount of food today." If I feel a compulsion to eat, then I've likely missed some important nutrient - usually not enough protein.

Is that whole grains or flour products?

Wheat...do you eat just plain whole wheat with no other ingredients and/or without it being processed into a flour?

I can have issues with bread made from wheat flour that I do not have with bread made from sprouted wheat. Ex: brands like Ezekial or Alarado St Bakery.

I can definitely overeat regular pasta if I don't have it with a good serving of protein and veggies. As a matter of fact, am having pasta, sausage, meatballs, and broccoli for dinner tonight.