How do you deal with hunger?

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  • CindyMarcuzAdams
    CindyMarcuzAdams Posts: 4,006 Member
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    When I eat enough protein, I am not hungry during the day in between meals.

    Are you getting enough protein in each meal? Are you just bored? Are you thirsty? If you are really hungry after answering these questions then eat something. Ziploc bags with pre measured snacks is the best way to keep yourself in check.
    The the boy Scouts say be prepared...
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    Edit: wrong thread!
  • revnevbwfc
    revnevbwfc Posts: 6 Member
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    I think I sometimes mistake feeling hungry for needing a drink... so I down a big glass of water and often (not always) - I then feel more comfortable...
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
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    First, I try to stave off the hungry feeling by drinking water, diet soda, or zero-calorie/low-calorie flavored waters. Once in a while, if it's very hot, I'll have a Powerade Zero. People often confuse being thirsty for being hungry and I'm no different. If I'm truly hungry and my brain is not telling me I'm hungry because I'm bored or because I'm thirsty, I will eat something. It might mean moving a meal or adding in a snack, but there's a reason my body is telling me it needs fuel. I try to be very careful with meal timing and protein grams consumed at each meal because of my diabetes and sometimes the shuffling can get annoying if I've used up too many carbs, but what I'm doing seems to be working for me.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
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    First i get a drink and if not i start reaching for the fruit bananas apples oranges all hang out on the counters at my house plus we have canned peaches and fruit cocktail in the cabinets
  • sunburntgalaxy
    sunburntgalaxy Posts: 455 Member
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    My first thing is I drink some water because I know sometimes I can mistake thirst for hunger - this usually is the case at work when I am busy and not drinking as much as I normally do. I eat early and have a late lunch (breakfast when I get to work at 7:30, lunch at around 2 if I am lucky, but usually a bit after that) so I know I will be hungry if I don't have a bit of a snack in there at some point. So I try to have a small snack about 10:30-11 (if I remember) so I can avoid that feeling. If I am home and get hungry I try to have some veggies to keep me full until my next meal.
  • mandaboo8758
    mandaboo8758 Posts: 2 Member
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    There are times when i wake up starving like i havent eaten all day. Sometimes I'm able to just turn abck over and go to sleep and other I just cant. So I make sure I have low calories and fat free snacks at hand. Its still not good to eat in the middle of the night but at least i
  • BeardedYoung
    BeardedYoung Posts: 229 Member
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    I'm having this issue right now! I want to empty the fridge and slap it between bread cover it in mayonnaise and devour it.... Aghhhh!!! So... I guess I'm dealing with it by venting on MFP
  • PrimalSasha
    PrimalSasha Posts: 11
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    I experience a lack of control with traditional high-carb diets. Last year my mother-in-law kept feeding me the whole plant-based diet lingo (vegan). I cut meat and processed food drastically, ate a ton more vegetables, fruit and grains. It gave me massive carb cravings that were NEVER satisfied. It also gave me constant bloating despite nice regularity. I can easily overeat on beans/rice/fruit, despite eating a ton of green vegetables/salad too. My weight kept yo-yoing up and down on the same 5 lbs...and when I cut back on calories the cravings just got worse. I loved eating this way but I finally had to come to the conclusion that it plays havoc on my appetite/blood sugar swings.

    I got fed-up and went to Keto/low carb cycling with intermittant fasting. Works beautifully by normalizing my appetite. Ive lost 20 lbs in 3 months, slow but steady so far. I Only get a craving once in awhile and I try to allow myself one higher carb meal at the end of the week (within limits, like low carb cocoa cake, etc.) . This helps if I am just craving a certain taste that I am missing. I find that an 80/20 or 90/10 attitude helps a lot to keep binging urges away. I don't feel deprived now, whereas I did on the high-carb, despite overeating.

    I still try to keep eating mainly unprosessed foods, but now I just concentrate on moderate protein/high fat/low carb choices. So the vegetables are still there in the diet, but the meat and fat stop the cravings for carb bombs now.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    About once a week I get the urge to eat everything in sight. I try to make the healthiest choices during that time but always end up going over calories and it's significantly hindering my weight loss. I'm not eating too little calories on an average day. This has turned into a weekly cycle and I'm sick of stalling my weight loss goals.

    How do you stick with your diet and prevent yourself from eating during weaker moments? Do you pre-calculate the calories in a snack or count as you're eating? Thanks!

    that's not actual hunger...

    I would also ask what your calorie goals are...my guess is that they are pretty aggressive. maintaining a more reasonable calorie deficit often results in better overall adherence.
  • dvdlover
    dvdlover Posts: 719 Member
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    mm
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    I eat.... *shrug* :ohwell:

    Me too.

    Only thing is, when this happens on a frequent basis and I'm going significantly over, it can be a sign that I've gotten into a rut with my nutrition and bored of the things I normally make. For this reason I try to figure out new low calorie snacks and treats that are satisfying to me on an on going basis.

    Also I find that with my snack selection, it can help if some time must elapse between thinking about the snack and eating it. Like occupying myself with something to look forward to. Example if I want a tasty apple I might slice it very thinly, spray some Pam on a cookie sheet and bake the apples sprinkled with sugar + cinnamon @225F for 45 minutes. So long as I'm actually willing to wait for a snack like this, that's 1 hour making the snack itself, another hour being lazy before getting up to cook it, and maybe another hour being satisfied after eating it that I'm not getting up to raid the fridge for something else
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
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    One thing that is nice is that after a few months of maintaining a diet you appetite will gradually adapt to it. If your diet was VERY unhealthy before. Like thousands of calories above your maintenance and you suddenly go into an aggressive deficit. Then you are gonna be one hungry hungry guy or gal.

    The good news is that if you fight and keep it up that state of affairs will not last forever. Try to find stuff to keep you busy so you don't have time to feel hungry.

    This is from my own personal experience btw. I used to regularly polish off large takeout pizzas in 1 sitting.

    Now the very thought of doing that makes my stomach groan.
  • fittyinthemaking
    fittyinthemaking Posts: 126 Member
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    i pre plan so i know im within my calories, if i have a weak moment i keep reminding my self why i'm doing this
  • LACan35
    LACan35 Posts: 2
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    This has been a Godsend for me http://naturalweightlossninja.com
  • walleymama
    walleymama Posts: 174 Member
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    I keep myself busy doing something engaging.

    Have you ever had a day where you got so caught up in something - gardening, housework, a design project, a work assignment - and suddenly realized you had skipped lunch?

    Yeah, that.
  • justianne82
    justianne82 Posts: 10
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    It is better to have 5 small meals per day, you will not get hungry if you follow this but make sure to count the calories and be careful of what you are eating. Fruits snacks are the best alternative for the unhealthy snacks and in between meals. When I'm hungry I drink water first and grab a cup of yogurt or bowl of frozen fruits, a 100 snack pack is a good alternative too.

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