Appetite Control??

BryonRamos

What's everyone's secrets?

This is my issue, and unless I'm in a situation where the amount I can eat is predetermined (like taking my lunch to work), I'll overeat.

I feel like my appetite gets the best of me, especially if I've had a good workout in the morning (which is my only time I can). When it does my mood can diminish quickly. I get distracted and short tempere.

BombshellPhoenix

Nutrient dense, low calorie foods were my savior. Honestly. I'm home all day and I have a trigger finger for the pantry, especially under circumstances of stress. Foods that you can eat in bulk for a lower calorie amount are crucial. Big bowl of oatmeal with fruit for breakfast, veggies, lean meats for lunch. Even popcorn isn't that bad in terms of satiety vs calories and has some fiber and protein to boot. Greek yogurt is another one I enjoy that you can typically eat quite a bit of without going too crazy on calories (if you pick the right ones, there are some with terrible macros but dannon, Yoplait, fage and chobani have some I enjoy). Basically, aim to find nutrient dense, whole foods for the majority of your day to keep you satiated, and save some fun stuff for evening snacks, etc. That's at least how I've done it. I'm sure other people have different methods.

Lasmartchika

Maybe if you pre log what you want to eat the next day, then you'll know if you stay within your macros and then prepare the food so that way when you feel hungry it's already ready for you to eat.

Chief_Rocka

Eating more filling foods like lean protein and veggies and drinking more water can help.

However, the bottom line is that if you're in a calorie deficit for long enough you're going to experience hunger at some point and it becomes an issue of will power. Sometimes the only thing you can do is suck it up and accept that you're going to be hungry for a few hours.

SideSteel

What's everyone's secrets?

This is my issue, and unless I'm in a situation where the amount I can eat is predetermined (like taking my lunch to work), I'll overeat.

Can you create that situation more often?

RAWR1202

- I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and drink a lot of no/low calorie liquids.
- I try to keep myself away from places where it's easy to just get up and go grab food for free (e.g. I often go study in a library).
- I always keep something with me to do. At the moment, I'm studying japanese in my spare time so I have a few apps on my phone that I use to keep myself distracted. If I'm still hungry after half an hour, then I just grab a small snack - usually a piece of fruit or some cherry tomatoes and a light cheese triangle.

extra_medium

However, the bottom line is that if you're in a calorie deficit for long enough you're going to experience hunger at some point and it becomes an issue of will power.

After a big workout I usually have a huge appetite, but it's really not like the feeling of being hungry-- I just want more food. It's almost like being drunk, when everything around seems like a good idea to eat :P. It's much easier for me to willpower my way through actual hunger than the giant appetite issue.

The only way I've really been able to succeed is either busy myself with something else to get my mind off of food, or like the OP said, to have something pre portioned out and as little as possible ready-to-eat food in easy reach.

silentKayak

High fiber foods like salads combined with high protein foods create satiety. Lunch today is going to be a whole can of tuna (yes, I'm a pig!) mixed with chopped veggies and half a chopped apple, eaten on a huge bed of lettuce (like, a whole plate of it) with low-carb crackers. I don't expect to be hungry again til dinner.

Simple carbs create hunger. For me, eating sugary foods triggers me to just keep eating more of them. Carbs for breakfast are the worst because then I'm hungry all day.

Cut down the amount you're eating SLOOOOWLY rather than all at once. If you're hungry all the time, you might not last long.

Exercise more to "buy" more calories.

Maybe you're "spending" your calories on the wrong things? I find that I really can't afford bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc because it doesn't leave me enough calories to have satisfying meals & snacks. I think that's why most people say that soda is a luxury you can't afford when cutting. A Coke provides tons of calories and no relief to hunger. Other calorie dense foods include cooking oil/butter, mayo, peanut butter, and cheese. You might not be able to/want to eliminate them, but maybe you can either substitute (greek yogurt for mayo or light cheese for real cheese) or cut down the quantities.

RodaRose

Two bags Romaine lettuce per day. Buy a bag or two of mini peppers. How about broccoli and cauliflower?
Buy portabella mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, snow peas and eat raw or put in water with onions, garlic for some soup.

bizarrefish

Obviously you want to budget for it calorie-wise; but the idea is to go for more fat and protein.
I'm not saying to go full-atkins/keto, but fat and protein is satiating, carbohydrates usually aren't, therefore: eat fat and protein = easy ride where you aren't fighting yourself all the time, whereas, eat carbohydrates = hunger a few hours later.
Steaks, avocados, butter-coffee, cauliflower-cheese(seriously, watch the calories on this one, but you won't be hungry afterward).

Avoid meals with little-to-no fat or protein, they work against you.

mariluny

From what I understand this is a problem mostly you are unable to prepare or log your food? Meaning restaurant? Friends house? Situations like that?

When I go to restaurant, like sit down diner style, I usually go with the rule of thumb that I can eat half of my plate. I will look for option like rice instead of french fries, or even better, steamed veggies. If those options are not available, I will try to make the smarter choice possible.Also I know what portions look like now (Meat is about a deck of card, fruits is 1/2c so what can fit in the palm of my hand or so, pasta is a cup so twice what can fit in my hand, rice is 1/2 c, etc...) and I just eyeball and be honest about it as well. If you just can't stop eating because the plate is in front of you, throw your napkin on top of it or ask the waiter to remove it as soon as you get the chance.
When it's chains restaurant, they often have nutrition info online, go through those before going if it's possible. Make sure you know what you want to order before even looking at the menu so you avoid temptation. Same goes for fast food.

If you go to someone else' house, it depend your level of closeness with that person? Know what a portion is and be honest about you watching what you eat. If you are uncomfortable saying that, I just say something like "I'm not very hungry today" if someone says anything about how much I eat.

Brandolin11

The two most important for me were:

#1A.) Finally facing, being honest about, and dealing with my emotional issues related to overeating (stress, anger, loneliness, depression)
#1B.) Cutting out all sugary treats and most items with white flour (I finally realized my insatiable "appetite" was really "cravings")

Then the rest followed that:

2.) Drinking lots of water

3.) Figuring out which times of day I was hungriest and making sure I ate my meals at those times,

4.) Allowing for small snacks as I felt hungry during the day

5.) Eating as much whole food as possible (meats, veggies, fruits, grains, dairy, etc.) instead of eating tons of processed carbs like I used to

6.) Exercising regularly (this increased the right hormones in my brain that helped me feel "satisfied" with life in general, and thus decreased my need to comfort myself with food)

I learned to work WITH my body instead of fighting it all the time. Creating that integration in my life was the best thing I ever did.

MKEgal

What's everyone's secrets? ... I feel like my appetite gets the best of me

Exercise usually diminishes appetite.

Eating more protein might help. Have some with every meal & snack.
Having a cup of nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt & a 3 oz peach gives you about 190 cal with 21 g protein.
Here's a blog post I did about the benefits of a high-protein diet, including links to several studies supporting the idea. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-08-09-high-protein-diet-685553

Have more healthy fat: avocados, nuts, olives.

Drink more water.

Brush your teeth (or use mouthwash) when you're hungry at inappropriate times.

Eat more fiber. (Have an apple handy for cravings, or a bag of baby carrots, or cauliflower...)

And if it's still a problem, your hunger is just always "on", talk with your doctor about trying an appetite suppressant for a month, see if it helps. Maybe that would be all it takes.
They're for people who are obese (by BMI standards), or overweight + have health problems due to weight.
I did a blog post about prescription appetite-control medicines. It has links to the webmd.com discussion of each medicine.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-07-21-prescription-weight-loss-drugs-679877
And for the inevitable haters, saying that drugs are a cop-out, someone just needs willpower, etc., would you say the same to someone who's in pain? Because the sensations are equivalent - a negative bodily sensation because there's something wrong.

lemurcat12

unless I'm in a situation where the amount I can eat is predetermined (like taking my lunch to work), I'll overeat.

I almost always create that situation. I make a specific amount for breakfast, based on the number of calories I want, either take lunch or buy one of a few specific lunches from local places I think have good/healthy food, and I make a specific amount for dinner, again based on what calories I want and what I think is a proper serving size. I always have a quite full plate at breakfast and dinner, though, because I eat lots of vegetables. Almost without thinking about it, I never end up in a situation where I just eat until I want to stop, but having planned portions that are filling results in me not ever filling deprived or like I want more food.

If I make extra for dinner (because I'm cooking for multiple people or intending multiple meals), I put the dinner serving on my plate and that's that. I don't eat seconds, period. Since it's not something I do, I don't have to fight with myself about whether to get more or not.

dlbaron

As others have said, first think about if you're truly hungry. I eat for many other reasons outside of hunger- boredom, lonlieness, procrastination, stress, being tired... Those are emotional issues that need to be dealt with separately.

In terms of true hunger, I have found that eating high protein breakfasts and lunches helps keep me full longer. I used to want I save up calories for dinner or snacks after dinner, and would go overboard. Eating most of my calories earlier in the day helps, and when my nighttime eating urge strikes, I am better able to resist because I know I fed my body properly throughout the day. Also I have to snack multiple times a day. Once you get too hungry, you scarf your meal down and your satiety signals don't quite catch up, so you overeat.

Pre-portioning, like you do with lunch, is an awesome idea for every meal! When I make a few big batches of different dishes that I can reheat all week, I can grab them knowing exactly how many calories are in each Tupperware container, and it leaves me no excuse to eat something unhealthy.

The foods that keep me full longest:
-Greek yogurt (unsweetened) with fresh fruit and nuts/seeds (usually almonds, chia, or flax)
-stir fries full of tons of veggies with a lean protein source and yummy but low cal sauce (easy to do if you use lots of spices and go easy on the fats. I almost always sautee my veggies in low sodium broth). Stir fry is crazy filing if you make it with a bag of shirataki noodles- only 40 calories a bag, and it's made from konjac root, which is fibrous and fills up your belly
-a can of tuna or salmon with a big salad. I like curry tuna salad with apples or raisins in it, and the other day I mixed my can of salmon with Dijon mustard, fresh basil, and some vinegar- it was delicious
-soups, especially ones with beans in them, like lentil soup, daal, chili
-protein shakes as a snack

PGX is a supplement you may want to look into. It is made from glucomannan (same stuff that's in shirataki noodles) and a couple other infredients that expand in your belly when you drink water. It helps keep you full and can regulate blood sugar so you don't have bad hunger crashes.

SEAFOODMAN

a bottle of water and an apple b4 each meal.....