I’m HANGRY!!

MichelleinNC70

Hi everyone 👋🏼 I’m new here and just starting my journey of losing 75 lbs. My problem is that I. Am. Hungry. All the time! I realize that getting used to the new, smaller portion sizes will take time, but how long will these cravings and not feeling full last? TIA

Lietchi

So how fast are you trying to lose? If you've chosen a fast rate of loss, the trick might just be to choose a slower rate of loss, either temporarily (until you get used to the new portions) or just as a long-term strategy to manage hunger while losing weight.
As for cravings: did you make major changes to the way you eat? If you did, I would suggest making the changes more gradual - most people don't do well trying to overhaul their diet in one go and losing all of their familiar foods.
I lost weight eating most of my usual foods, but in different portions and proportions (and I intentionally chose a slower rate of loss) - I wasn't particularly hungry and only occasionally got cravings.

Corina1143

Check out "volume eaters thread". Oldie but goodie.

AnnPT77

Good advice above.

Simple change of habits can trigger appetite, i.e., our body acts as if it wants the usual foods in the usual portion sizes for a while. How long? Probably will vary individually, but I'd expect improvement within a couple of weeks to a month, maybe, if it's habit-related.

(If your selected weight loss rate is too extreme, that's different. IMO, too many people select MFP's 2 pounds (or 1kg) per week weight loss rate. Some of them would be more successful more easily if they took a more moderate approach.)

Also, notice times (or whole days) when you feel less hungry or more hungry. Think about what made the difference. If you were less hungry than usual, take a few days and repeat the thing you think triggered that relatively better fullness. If that change helps, keep it. If it doesn't, try something else. Same thing in reverse, if you feel relatively more hungry than usual. DON'T repeat that, for a few days. Better? Keep that change, if it's sustainable for you.

Different people find different things filling.

Many (maybe most) people find so-called "whole foods" more filling than "highly processed foods"/"refined foods". That's worth considering, if you're not already eating mostly whole foods. (This doesn't need to be taken to 100%, necessarily. I meant the "mostly".) Also, if overall nutrition is not great, working on that may help a person stay full.

Beyond that, some people find protein filling, some find fats filling, some need carbs to feel full, some people find particular specific foods especially filling (oatmeal and whole potatoes are common examples of specific foods quite a few find filling, but that's not universal).

Some people need high volume food to feel full. That can be large portions of low-calorie veggies, but that's not the only option. Someone above mentioned the "volume eaters" thread. Here's a direct link:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10563959/volume-eaters-thread/p1

Also, eating timing (or nutrient timing) helps some people feel full more of the time. People here have said they do well on anything from one meal per day (OMAD) to all-day grazing on many snack-sized meals, and anything in between. Some people like 5:2 fasting, where they eat maintenance calories 5 days a week, and very low calories (like 500) on the other two days. Some people have a slightly bigger calorie deficit on weekdays, and eat at maintenance calories on the weekend. Some women find they do better if they eat maintenance calories during certain days in their menstrual cycle.

Like I said, consider how you feel on different days that may have different routines. Beyond that, try some different routines that have worked for other people, for a few days - see if there's improvement. It can be helpful to run those experiments.

Also, consider whether the hunger could be a manifestation of something other than the need for fuel or nutrition. Some common triggers for appetite are low hydration, boredom, stress, sub-ideal sleep quality or quantity, excessive exercise, particular types of exercise, emotional factors, totally eliminating tasty foods that a person could moderate (within calorie goal), habit, etc. If the real root cause of appetite isn't fueling/nutrition needs, then dealing with that root cause directly is best.

I know this sounds complicated. In a way it is, but it's a thing you can kind of chip away at gradually. As Lietchi said, you could even go with a slower loss rate temporarily, or even logging but eating at maintenance, while you figure some things out. Why?

Losing any meaningfully large amount of weight is a long-term thing: Weeks, months, maybe even a small number of years if a lot to lose. IMO, it's worth investing some time in figuring out how to make it as easy and sustainable as possible.

On top of that, keeping the weight off long term depends on figuring out new eating/activity habits that can continue almost on autopilot forever, at times when other parts of life get challenging. Figuring those habits out during weight loss can be really helpful.

Best wishes!

csplatt

When I need to cut, it takes about 2 weeks to adjust. If you're still starving at that point, I would add some calories back and see if you can still lose while eating a little more.

Hobartlemagne

csplatt wrote: »

When I need to cut, it takes about 2 weeks to adjust.

Definitely the same for me.