How do you deal with hunger?

rl1133

I'm 45 male trying to lose about 10 to 15 pounds. MFP gives me 1500 calories a day.
I'm having trouble dealing with feeling hungry. I don't eat processed carbs or sugar so I don't feel like I'm wasting calories at meals or snacks.
My wife says just drink water or eat some veggies if I'm hungry. That doesn't work for me. Water does nothing for my hunger and when I eat a serving of carrots I actually feel more hungry afterwards.
Anyway, what do you do to deal with feeling hungry when you don't really have any extra calories to spare.

SuzySunshine99

1500 is the lowest recommended amount of calories for a male. What did you select as your rate of loss? With only 10-15 pounds to lose, you should select either 1 or .5 pounds per week and see if it gives you more calories. If you are exercising, you should also be adding at least a portion of those calories on to your goal.

rl1133

MFP has me losing 1 pound per week

SuzySunshine99

How long have you been eating at 1500 calories? Have you lost weight and how fast? It's very low for a man, and it's very likely you could eat more and still lose weight.

rl1133

I just started 3 days ago, haven't lost anything yet but it's early days. I just wondered how others deal with hunger because i really don't like the feeling and I can see myself caving in at some point.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

I redistribute my calories. At 1500 calories I can eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and have about 150 calories as an afternoon snack between lunch and dinner and another hundred calories to have around 8 pm to get me to bed without being hungry.

Danp

MFP doesn't have you doing anything. It just takes the information you've given it and performs calculations.

When you entered your details you selected to lose 1lbs per week and MFP produced a calorie target based on that (and other factors like height, weight, activity level, etc).

Change your rate of loss to 0.5lbs per week since you're only trying to lose a small amount of weight and you'll find that it will more than likely bump you up above the safe minimum.

As for feeling hungry there can be quite a few reasons you're feeling this.
1. It could be that you're not eating enough as you've chosen too aggressive a rate of loss. The above will correct this
2. It could be that you're eating foods that you don't find physically satisfying. Some people get 'full' from protein, others from fats, some from carbs/fibre. Some only feel full when they eat in large volumes. Mess around with your macros and see if you can work out what keeps you fuller, quicker and longer.
3. It could be that you're restricting yourself from foods that you find mentally satisfying. Make sure you're eating foods you genuinely love and crave and not just foods you think you should be eating. If you're hungry for something sweet all the carrots in the world aren't going to satisfy that hunger.

G'luck

gothchiq

Stuff like green beans, spinach, herbal tea.... things that take up space but have minimal calories.

rl1133

I changed the settings to lose half pound per week instead of 1 pound. It bumped my calories to 1690 so hopefully that will help some.

deannalfisher

at 10-15lbs - i would set your rate of loss at .5lbs a week and remember that MFP doesn't include purposeful exercise, so it expects you to eat back aportion

Mov3mor3

You may be really insulin resistant like I am. Your hormones control hunger. You may need a stricter diet of spaced meal times or fewer carbs to control them. Have you been checked for diabetes?

cwolfman13

rl1133 wrote: »

I'm 45 male trying to lose about 10 to 15 pounds. MFP gives me 1500 calories a day.
I'm having trouble dealing with feeling hungry. I don't eat processed carbs or sugar so I don't feel like I'm wasting calories at meals or snacks.
My wife says just drink water or eat some veggies if I'm hungry. That doesn't work for me. Water does nothing for my hunger and when I eat a serving of carrots I actually feel more hungry afterwards.
Anyway, what do you do to deal with feeling hungry when you don't really have any extra calories to spare.

You're getting 1500 calories because you've selected a target rate of 2 Lbs per week which is too fast if you only have 10-15 Lbs to lose. I am also looking to drop 10-15 Lbs of winter weight...I'm shooting for 1 Lb per week, but that's still pretty aggressive for the weight I need to lose and hasn't come to fruition...calorie wise I'm eating for about 0.5 rate of loss at the moment.

tcunbeliever

I like hot tea or a bowl of broth as a filler if I absolutely can't have any more calories.

If I have "some" calories to spare then egg drop soup (that broth with an egg scrambled in) or a bowl of salad works well...I can make a huge salad with 50 cals or less and using salt/pepper instead of dressing...

canthony3505

This is a totally non food/calorie answer, but I try first and foremost to keep busy. It helps just to get my mind off being hungry if I keep myself occupied and distracted.

rl1133

cwolfman13 wrote: »

rl1133 wrote: »

I'm 45 male trying to lose about 10 to 15 pounds. MFP gives me 1500 calories a day.
I'm having trouble dealing with feeling hungry. I don't eat processed carbs or sugar so I don't feel like I'm wasting calories at meals or snacks.
My wife says just drink water or eat some veggies if I'm hungry. That doesn't work for me. Water does nothing for my hunger and when I eat a serving of carrots I actually feel more hungry afterwards.
Anyway, what do you do to deal with feeling hungry when you don't really have any extra calories to spare.

You're getting 1500 calories because you've selected a target rate of 2 Lbs per week which is too fast if you only have 10-15 Lbs to lose. I am also looking to drop 10-15 Lbs of winter weight...I'm shooting for 1 Lb per week, but that's still pretty aggressive for the weight I need to lose and hasn't come to fruition...calorie wise I'm eating for about 0.5 rate of loss at the moment.

My rate of loss was set at 1 pound per week and I was getting 1500 calories. I changed it to .5 pounds per week and now the calories are at 1690

quiksylver296

rl1133 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

rl1133 wrote: »

I'm 45 male trying to lose about 10 to 15 pounds. MFP gives me 1500 calories a day.
I'm having trouble dealing with feeling hungry. I don't eat processed carbs or sugar so I don't feel like I'm wasting calories at meals or snacks.
My wife says just drink water or eat some veggies if I'm hungry. That doesn't work for me. Water does nothing for my hunger and when I eat a serving of carrots I actually feel more hungry afterwards.
Anyway, what do you do to deal with feeling hungry when you don't really have any extra calories to spare.

You're getting 1500 calories because you've selected a target rate of 2 Lbs per week which is too fast if you only have 10-15 Lbs to lose. I am also looking to drop 10-15 Lbs of winter weight...I'm shooting for 1 Lb per week, but that's still pretty aggressive for the weight I need to lose and hasn't come to fruition...calorie wise I'm eating for about 0.5 rate of loss at the moment.

My rate of loss was set at 1 pound per week and I was getting 1500 calories. I changed it to .5 pounds per week and now the calories are at 1690 PLUS exercise calories.

FIFY

rl1133

After41 wrote: »

You may be really insulin resistant like I am. Your hormones control hunger. You may need a stricter diet of spaced meal times or fewer carbs to control them. Have you been checked for diabetes?

I have been checked and I'm not diabetic.
I know my body doesn't tolerate carbs and sugar very well. I get really tired after eating those and sometimes a headache and sometimes a little nauseous but not always. Not sure if that is insulin resistant or not, but the doctor says I'm not diabetic. He just says avoid foods that make you tired or feel bad.

NovusDies

What makes you think you are sedentary? People often assume they are if they sit at a desk at work but you can be active enough before and after work and on the weekends to need far more calories. Some days I see my final step count and I can't figure out how it got that high. Of course other days I see how low it is and have to get out and take a walk...

taparkinson

I chew sugarless gum when i feel hungry, the mentos gum has like 5 calories per piece i think but it works for me! i also drink lots of water.

Mov3mor3

rl1133 wrote: »

After41 wrote: »

You may be really insulin resistant like I am. Your hormones control hunger. You may need a stricter diet of spaced meal times or fewer carbs to control them. Have you been checked for diabetes?

I have been checked and I'm not diabetic.
I know my body doesn't tolerate carbs and sugar very well. I get really tired after eating those and sometimes a headache and sometimes a little nauseous but not always. Not sure if that is insulin resistant or not, but the doctor says I'm not diabetic. He just says avoid foods that make you tired or feel bad.

It's almost positive you are in at least a small way resistant if you are accumulating body fat. You may just need to limit carbs to somewhere around 60-100 to see results with hunger. You don't have to go to ketogenesis or 20g of carbs if you are a tiny bit resistant. That means you can still have starchy vegetables and a small amount of bread, oatmeal and such. I would really try to eat more nutritious carbs if possible, as anything devoid of nutrients tricks the body's hormones. I made a soup last night that filled my slow cooker to the top for 600 calories.. I'd like to see someone eat that whole pot.

lilawolf

I have several "tricks".
I drink a LOT of water, coffee (decaf if necessary), herbal tea, la croix or homemade soda water with a twist. Flavor for no calories and it takes up space

Increasing protein intake and lowering carbs other than fruit/veg. Make sure theres enough fat.

Sugar free gum

Hard candy. I like icebreaker sours better than traditional

Slim jim snack sticks. 40 calories of fat and protein that seriously cut my hunger for some reason.

Soup. I make my own or I add some extra chicken breast or other meat to progresso. More filling for the cals

Huge salads with light not fat free dressing

I try to eat at maintenance and get most or all of my deficit from exercise

I eat lighter through the week so that I can eat a LOT and drink some on weekends. I had pizza and an entire bottle of wine nearly every Friday through my successful weight loss. Look at my weekly calories/macros rather than daily

Fit in small (or large if you can!) amounts of what you are craving.

Try to up your NEAT if you can, get more walking/general activity, rather than JUST workouts. I find that an extra 600 calories burned through being "busy" all day ups my appetite a lot less than a serious workout. YMMV

Delay. I don't tell myself NO. I tell myself "later". I do this for food, alcohol, etc. Sometimes I'll be starving, but 20 minutes later I'm not. Or sticking to 2 drinks is a lot easier if you space them out then pounding them then saying no for the rest of the evening.

NEVER "punish" yourself for overeating by exercising. Just log it and move on. DO get excited about a workout that lets you eat pizza/wings/your desired whatever. Some people will disagree and say not to reward yourself with food, you aren't a dog, but for me the positive cycle of food I enjoy fueling activity I enjoy making me better, faster, stronger is awesome. Just gotta watch for the hate, guilt, grind, "failure" cycle that is the other side of this coin.