How do you deal with hunger?

mrschwarten

I know this is probably not what you want to hear...but you mentioned above that this is day 3. So, you're quite early in your journey. You're uncomfortable, because you made a change in your life. Unfortunately, that's part of this process...change, and the unsettling feelings that come with it. As suggested above and you're already trying it, play around and find out what works. But there will be some discomfort along the way, particularly if you are trying something new/adding something/taking something away. If it was easy and painless, we'd all look like supermodels and superheroes!

lemurcat2

After41 wrote: »

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.

Huge numbers of regular posters here had fat to lose and yet lost easily without going down to 100 g or less of carbs and without being hungry, so there's something wrong with your claims here.

Also, lots of fat people (and OP doesn't have much to lose, anyway) are not IR.

Not sure why you are trying to tell people how they should eat when you don't even know how they are currently eating. It's really presumptuous and unhelpful "one size fits all" advice.

(I typically read such advice as you talking about whatever your issues were, but assuming everyone overweight, or simply desiring to lose some weight, shares the same issues or eats like you used to is, again, presumptuous.)

bmeadows380

I'm with lemurcat - I was diagnosed as insulin resistant when I was diagnosed with PCOS, but I've lost 100 lbs and my carb intake is 50% or better and that's because carbs are what satiate me best.

To the OP: the only thing I can add is to start really paying attention to yourself and learn to differentiate real hunger from "head" hunger. This isn't always an easy thing to do, I know, but its been a big help for me, knowing when the drive to eat is because my body is needing fuel and telling me so, or the drive to eat that is coming solely from my head. Your brain is used to seeing a portion size being what it is, or using food for any number of mental drivers, and it can be like a whiny toddler being told no when it wants something now - that drive for immediate gratification is a bear to fight against!

If its truly your body that is hungry - you feel weak, light-headed, etc, etc, - you need to eat and that also means you need to re-evaluate your goals as they could be too aggressive wanting too much too fast. But slow down and pay attention to yourself and try to learn when you reach enough so that your body is satisfied, even if your head keeps telling you to eat. Some people can do this naturally, others, like me, must use food scales and manually set my portion sizes because our brains instinctively want more than what we actually need. Of course, this is only part of the war, and it can be difficult to learn to control the mental drive, but its a huge step in winning the battle when you know who your truly fighting against. I don't always win against my head drive to eat, even when I know my tummy is content, and I've learned to compromise with my brain. For me that means keeping as open a selection and variety as I can and working in sweets and treats and fast food and whatever else my brain would fixate on otherwise, but also learning to make healthier options, such as choosing grilled not homestyle chicken, dropping the condiments, or even throwing away half the bun, coming up with other ways to satisfy my sweet tooth such as making a fruit crumble, and in reducing the portion size of what I get - go for the smaller size, cut it in half, etc.

If you try to hard-knuckle your way through and are constantly fighting yourself, your chances of winning are pretty bleak; the best way to success is to be reasonable with yourself, be patient, and be able to compromise with yourself so that both you and your brain can be satisfied; balance out the need for instant gratification with that goal for long term success.

Also, I've heard it said that sometimes your body will signal you that you are hungry when you are really dehydrated, so I've heard it suggested that when you are feeling hungry, try getting a drink first and see if the craving calms. I've never really had this problem, though, so I can't attest as to whether it helps or not.