What do you do when you feel hungry?

fawntyre
fawntyre Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Sometimes I feel hungry in between meals and I'm given the choice between just sitting down and having an early meal (usually dinner) or having a "light" snack. Problem is, my "light" snacks are never light since once I start eating anything I just can't stop (I will pretty much bulldoze through any food supply in sight). Sometimes I'm not even hungry and I just feel like eating stuff.

So my question for you is, what do YOU do when you get hungry?

Replies

  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Eat something filling and sensible...like popcorn. (No butter) Plus a big glass of water.
  • jac_84
    jac_84 Posts: 128 Member
    when Im hungry I always make to sure to eat but I found my trick is to keep hearlty food around me. I keep cut up veggies and dip, v8 cans, fruits all handy and at close reach that way if I am hungry that will be what I eat first and I wont feel guilty about it! :)
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Eat. The. Food. :wink:
  • wonderwoman234
    wonderwoman234 Posts: 551 Member
    I eat 5 small meals a day now, so I'm eating frequently enough that I am never starving.

    However, if you are "plowing through" food and eating when you aren't even hungry, as you say, then you are likely eating for emotional reasons. Until you get that under control, it will be hard for you to sustain healthy, normalized eating.
  • fawntyre
    fawntyre Posts: 7 Member
    Eat. The. Food. :wink:

    What kind of food? And when do you know to stop? I'm still in college (on a meal plan) so in between meals I don't have as much random food around me (usually fruits that I take from the dining hall) but when I'm at home there's so many different kinds of snacks that I eat anything and everything in sight. I don't like recording in my diary on the weekends because 1. A lot of foods I eat aren't exactly in the database (restaurants around here too delicious) and 2. I've sometimes consumed 200-300% my TDEE in a single day XD
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Eat. The. Food. :wink:

    What kind of food? And when do you know to stop? I'm still in college (on a meal plan) so in between meals I don't have as much random food around me (usually fruits that I take from the dining hall) but when I'm at home there's so many different kinds of snacks that I eat anything and everything in sight. I don't like recording in my diary on the weekends because 1. A lot of foods I eat aren't exactly in the database (restaurants around here too delicious) and 2. I've sometimes consumed 200-300% my TDEE in a single day XD

    I eat whatever fits in my calories.
  • Eagle_Bee
    Eagle_Bee Posts: 4
    I'll just chew on gum. It usually helps distract me from the hunger, and hten I'd have a glass of water. But if I'm really hungry, I set up a timer for an hour or so until I can have a small meal and just chew on nuts or something until then.
  • Windsor81
    Windsor81 Posts: 2 Member
    I eat. However, I have designated snack foods that are prepackaged or easy to grab. Once a week I cut up a bunch of veggies, split them into single serving tupperware, and put them in my fridge. I have easy to grab string cheese, and if I buy cottage cheese I divvy it up into individual containers as well. I always have easy to eat fruit on hand (apples, oranges, bananas - quick to grab and not a lot of prep needed), banana chips, almonds, and protein bars. If I'm eating veggies or fruit, I try to make sure to couple it with a protein or a healthy fat to make sure my appetite is satiated.

    Basically, I make it as easy as possible to grab a single serving of something and eat it. Because I know its a single serving I know that when I'm done, I'm done. If I grab food out of a bag its easy to underestimate how much you've eaten, or to keep eating after you've consumed what you should. And I know that for myself whenever I have to prepare a meal I'm more likely to snack a little here or munch a little there in the process of making it. I just eliminate that problem as much as possible.
  • CocoLaMocha
    CocoLaMocha Posts: 26
    It really depends for me.
    If I am really hungry, and I'm within a hour and a half of my meal, I just eat my meal early and tell myself I can eat a snack later if I am hungry. Most of the time, I fall asleep before I get hungry again lol.

    If I'm not that hungry, then I grab a filling fruit (e.g. pear, mango, banana, grapes) or low caloric meal like a serving of oat bran or cream of wheat (its only about 120 cal!) and drink one or two cups of water with it.

    If I am craving, I go for the nuts (peanuts, pistachios, almonds). Watch out though, they're filling but calorie dense. So I would suggest counting them and put only that amount on your plate with a glass of H20.

    Hope this helps!
    p.s. always buy healthy food or snacks you LIKE to eat.
  • LeahFerri
    LeahFerri Posts: 186 Member
    I try to build snacks into my days--I almost always preplan--specifically for this reason. I generally eat small things every few hours during the day and then reserve most of my calories for dinner/dessert (which makes for an interesting time when I do a workout just before dinner, but that's life). I shoot for small, high-protein snacks. Beef jerky. Edamame (just discovered steamer bags of it at Costco and am temporarily in love). Protein bars.

    Because I plan it out this way, it usually means I'm able to eat when I'm hungry. I already have a thing on my list. Check out my diary if you'd like.
  • Snarkist
    Snarkist Posts: 37
    coffee
  • sonyawhitehead
    sonyawhitehead Posts: 8 Member
    When I'm hungry, which is usually mid-afternoon or in the evening, I use to start eating something healthy but followed it with anything and everything in the house. Not good! Now I go to my water pitcher and pour myself a glass of water to tie me over till dinner. In the evening a cup of hot tea usually will get me to bedtime. Otherwise, have those healthy snacks on hand; fresh veggies, pre-counted bags of rice snacks or fat free pudding.
  • belllam
    belllam Posts: 7 Member
    chew gum (3.5 cal a piece and avoid the ones with sugar, obviously) or drink water. the best would be to drink something hot like hot tea, because drinking something hot makes us even fuller. try to think about your goal weight and how you will be happy when you get there.
  • Rochester_mom
    Rochester_mom Posts: 100 Member
    I chew gum or drink coffee with skim milk.
  • scottYBRIDGEWATER
    scottYBRIDGEWATER Posts: 206
    Sometimes I feel hungry in between meals and I'm given the choice between just sitting down and having an early meal (usually dinner) or having a "light" snack. Problem is, my "light" snacks are never light since once I start eating anything I just can't stop (I will pretty much bulldoze through any food supply in sight). Sometimes I'm not even hungry and I just feel like eating stuff.

    So my question for you is, what do YOU do when you get hungry?

    I hop on the treadmill and watch sports or the news.
  • firewalking
    firewalking Posts: 335 Member
    I first determine if I am really hungry or bored...if I know that a full meal is right around the corner, I brush my teeth. Something about brushing my teeth keeps me from snacking needlessly.

    Also - I always keep baby carrots in the fridge...this really helps!
  • Jille0
    Jille0 Posts: 62 Member
    I am on medication for the rest of my life that makes me feel hungry a lot. I find that if I stick to regular meals higher in protein and with lots of greens my energy doesn't fluctuate badly. For between meals, if I have built it into my daily calorie allotment, I will snack on something like cottage cheese and a piece of fruit or hummus and veggies. If not, I drink lots of water or herbal tea to tide me over until my next meal. Sometimes a good piece of sugar free gum with lots of flavor, like Extra Polar Ice, can help out!
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    If I am genuinely hungry, as in, it is uncomfortable or would keep me awake, then I have a piece of fruit, cottage cheese, nuts, Greek yoghurt or a hard boiled egg. I tend to only have one main meal anyway and the rest of my food is comprised of the above snacks, when and as I need them. It works for me.
  • cheripugh1
    cheripugh1 Posts: 357 Member
    I take my Dr.'s advice and eat salad, as in just the greens not adding more except maybe onion, so for example a whole bag of Spring mix salad greens is 50 calories (check them out at your local market, those big bags often 2 for $4 or $5)

    I typically eat about 1/2 the bag and I then use (Great Value from Wal-Mart) White Corn and Black Bean Salsa... 4 Tablespoons is 30 calories and it adds yummy to that salad (great on baked potatoes too instead of butter and/or sour cream)

    If you eat the whole bag, and an additional 4 Tbsp. of salsa you still have only eaten 110 calories max. and you will fill full and it is great fiber so a total win!
  • cathylopez1975
    cathylopez1975 Posts: 191 Member
    I drink when I'm hungry. Sometimes the 'hunger signal' is really just that I am dehydrated and need water. I also do coffee, or a sugar free drink with lots of Sonic ice. Sometimes I just need something to crunch.
  • kyven21
    kyven21 Posts: 29 Member
    A lot of times I try drinking about half a bottle of water. Typically I no longer feel hungry because my supposed hunger pains were actually cravings for hydration. If that doesn't work then I eat a cup of yogurt or some healthy veggie chips and always follow the serving size. Now since I have already drank some water it helps me to be fuller and keeps me from over eating. It also helps to measure out a portion and put the remaining away so that you won't finish the recommended serving size and continue to eat more.
  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
    i cry.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    Sometimes I feel hungry in between meals and I'm given the choice between just sitting down and having an early meal (usually dinner) or having a "light" snack. Problem is, my "light" snacks are never light since once I start eating anything I just can't stop (I will pretty much bulldoze through any food supply in sight). Sometimes I'm not even hungry and I just feel like eating stuff.

    So my question for you is, what do YOU do when you get hungry?

    I eat when I am hungry. I plan for snacks between meals and space out my calories and drink lots of water throughout the day. My food diary is public if you want to gander
  • yuuen
    yuuen Posts: 114 Member
    16 ounces of chai tea or coffee with a touch of soy milk seems to be solving this problem for me recently. I struggle with this one too. It feels wrong depriving my body when it says it's hungry, but I just feel like a huge disappointment if I eat when I'm already over calories.

    ETA: If I drink the tea and I'm still hungry, then I eat. Not gonna starve!
  • IIIIISerenityNowIIIII
    IIIIISerenityNowIIIII Posts: 425 Member
    If I am hungry between meals I will make a bag of steamable spinach or broccoli and drink lots of water
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    Eat. The. Food. :wink:

    What kind of food? And when do you know to stop? I'm still in college (on a meal plan) so in between meals I don't have as much random food around me (usually fruits that I take from the dining hall) but when I'm at home there's so many different kinds of snacks that I eat anything and everything in sight. I don't like recording in my diary on the weekends because 1. A lot of foods I eat aren't exactly in the database (restaurants around here too delicious) and 2. I've sometimes consumed 200-300% my TDEE in a single day XD

    whoa, wait you have to journal even when you are "bad" or it leads to DENIAL and that is what leads to weight gain. Eat fruit when at college. WHen home, eat fruit or pretzels and peanut butter. popcorn, celery with salsa, greek yogurt, granola bar, etc.
  • IIIIISerenityNowIIIII
    IIIIISerenityNowIIIII Posts: 425 Member
    We have gone out to eat many many times in the last two weeks and I have tracked every one of those meals. It is doable!
  • ayumi_
    ayumi_ Posts: 50
    Eat something until I'm not hungry anymore.

    "Light snacks" don't work because when you're hungry, your body needs a certain amount of food (depending on how hungry you are). A 40 calorie cup of butter-free popcorn is not going to do trick your body into thinking it's had enough to eat. Volume =/= energy.

    It's possible to trick your body with warm drinks but that honestly isn't helping anything in the long run. You need to learn how to eat when you're hungry & stop when you're not anymore, otherwise you'll pretty much struggle with your weight forever.
  • fushigi1988
    fushigi1988 Posts: 519 Member
    I eat.

    Usually if I check what I have eaten, I figure out it was too little for my activities. If you are hungry all the time, you probably need to increase your calories.

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