Feel like I'm starving!

llbates

Eat more Vegatables, you want foods low on the glycemic index, they will not cause your blood sugar to spike and therefore leave you feeling full longer, plus most vegatables are very low in calories

janesmith1

Have to chime in on the nuts!

If you're using them appropriately, ie portion controlled (I buy a 1kg bag of almonds and take an ounce for snacks some days) the bag goes a long way. 35 days of snacks from that one bag. AND my snack is 160 calories. So my snack costs me $0.31 show me a chocolate bar that has 160 calories and costs under $0.50 and tastes good.

If you're snacking on nuts in place of a high calorie low value "processed food" item then go to town, just watch amounts.

My point isn't that you should eat a choccy bar. It's that nuts are high in cals. Notice that I've lost almost 7 lbs in less than 3 weeks. I posted the amts of how many cals from several different types of nuts. I understand you might want them, but there are definitely lower cal snack foods out there, and I've posted what they are. Agree that nuts are better than choccy bars but there are definitely a lot lower cal foods out there. Thanks for your response.

janesmith1

I forgot another snack

Go-Gurt yogurts in the tubes (Simply Go-Gurt is made with real sugar) available everywhere and at Costco, is just 70 cals a tube. They tend to be a bit high in sugar so if one has sugar issues it's not the best thing. Otherwise...yum! And easy!

jrbb0309

I'm going to give a huge thumbs up to nuts as well. I have 12 whole natural almonds each morning as my snack between breakfast and lunch and right after my morning workout. That's roughly 84 calories and it leaves me full and satisfied and makes it easy for me to make it to lunch which is a little later than I'd like. I honestly think protein is the way to go and if you can control yourself with nuts and portion them out, they're a great snack.

dawnemjh

I would like to add about nuts: the good thing about them, especially almonds which are lower in calories than other nuts (1almond=7calories) is that if you pair them with a fruit,( like I usually have an apple and then 7 walnuts for a snack), then your body doesnt have a spike in the blood sugar from the sugar in the apple. The combo of the fat and protein in the nuts counteracts the glycemic response of the apple, which helps you feel fuller, longer and decreases cravings.

readytoshredlbs

I think you guys are all NUTS!!! LOL...Great thread...Thanks everyone for posting, a lot of good info...

dwarfer22

Have to chime in on the nuts!

If you're using them appropriately, ie portion controlled (I buy a 1kg bag of almonds and take an ounce for snacks some days) the bag goes a long way. 35 days of snacks from that one bag. AND my snack is 160 calories. So my snack costs me $0.31 show me a chocolate bar that has 160 calories and costs under $0.50 and tastes good.

If you're snacking on nuts in place of a high calorie low value "processed food" item then go to town, just watch amounts.

My point isn't that you should eat a choccy bar. It's that nuts are high in cals. Notice that I've lost almost 7 lbs in less than 3 weeks. I posted the amts of how many cals from several different types of nuts. I understand you might want them, but there are definitely lower cal snack foods out there, and I've posted what they are. Agree that nuts are better than choccy bars but there are definitely a lot lower cal foods out there. Thanks for your response.

Understandably nuts are a high cal food. But in that small amount of nuts is alot of protein and heart healthy fats that are good for you and fill you up. Given these benefits, they are still a better snack than carrot sticks or yogurt or crackers or anything else pretty much.

nerual13

I've just started eating fresh green beans with 2oz of hummus, surprisingly satisfying with the crunch and the flavor from the hummus. I am not a veggie lover, so green beans have been a surprise to me

caroline1851

I started a month ago and the first week I was hungry all the time. i think it was because i was used to eating soooo much more and feeling really full more often. I try to eat every few hours and that seems to be working. plus, getting used to not feeling full helped. I keep carrots and cucumbers around all the time to snack on...keeps the edge of the hunger. Maybe you need more calories? I'm not sure about that. i eat 1500 or so, but sometimes up to 1700 and i've been losing 2lbs/week. with an hour or so of exercise a day.

jacque1109

I'm surprised no one has hit this hard--- WATER!!! I've been drinking 10-12 glasses a day and it's really helped curve the appitite

dwarfer22

According to a documentary I saw recently water is not that great a filler. They showed a MRI of someone drinking water and it goes right through. Even if you chug it to get that full feeling it quickly passes out of your stomach. So maybe the fullness you "feel" from drinking the water is more your own willpower kicking in.

ems152

1) Are you eating your exercise calories halfway back? If you don't eat at least 1/2 of them back your body will be getting less calories then it should and be in starvation mode.

2) In the very beginning I was hungry ALL THE TIME (even 20 minutes after eating a meal). It was because I had stretched my stomach out so far from eating huge portions that I had to give my stomach time to shrink because I was now eating smaller portions. It stopped after about 2-3 weeks. It will go away with time once your stomach gets used to a healthier portion size and not being stretched at every meal.

I found I was hungry all the time too! Once I got back 3 weeks I was fine! I think your bosy and stomach just need to adjust to having less food!

steacher24

When I get a little bit hungry, I just have a stick of string cheese. They're only 80 calories, and even one or two helps curb my hunger until the next meal.

dmolina12

I also feel like when I started eating smaller meals I was always hungry, but then I just got used to it, almost like my stomach shrunk? Whatever happened, it worked!... just stick with it, snack all day, just be smart with it!~!

ditto!!! don't give up.....there are so many great suggestions already in this thread...thank you all. I also keep no sugar added sweet pickels around as well as dill pickels.....my sweet or salt cravings can be quenched!

Oishii

I'm just a masochist! If I'm trying to lose weight, hunger should happen from time to time. I was less hungry with mfp though, because I had never calorie counted before, so probably ate too little when I lost weight.

For me a little hunger can make me feel brave, but a lot means I really should eat more that day.

sixpackgoal

Thanks everyone. lots of good suggestions. I am hungry quite a bit too.

becalee26

I eat every couple of hours and it keeps me from feeling hungry. I break my breakfast and lunch into two separates small meals so I get 4 meals during the day and then 2 snacks and dinner. Everytime my stomach grumbles I know it's time to grab a yogurt, banana, grapes, few crackers, string cheese, raw carrots ect.. The hardest time is right now at 9pm when I have a already ate all my calories for the day and I am really hungry. I might go to bed to avoid running to the kitchen!

jessit72

Wow, thank you all for ALL of the advice! It's so nice to see that there are so many idea's out there to kick the hunger. I have been slamming back the water (16glasses yesterday) which for me is triple what I usually drink and I went to the grocery store to find some high fiber, high protein snacks.

Today I am feeling better, I munched down some turkey slices and it helped a lot!

Thank you all very much. Best of luck to everyone, and feel free to keep posting. I'm always open to ideas!!

ms_april

I don't mean this to sound mean but at those calories you have to learn the difference between appetite and hunger. There is no way that you are experiencing physical hunger at that calorie level.

jessit72

I don't mean this to sound mean but at those calories you have to learn the difference between appetite and hunger. There is no way that you are experiencing physical hunger at that calorie level.

If not meant to sound mean, it was actually a bit on the rude side. You have to understand I come from eating probably over 3000 calories a day; so to me this is a HUGE difference.

As to everyone else, thank you for the advice and the ENCOURAGMENT

keepitoff99

Some ideas for you:

One cup of rice with 1/2 cup pasta sauce and veggies with a small bit of parm cheese. This keeps me full.

I find if I eat a large bowl of oatmeal for breakfast (using pre-cooked steel cut oats, 1 tsp brown sugar and 1/2 cup 1% milk), this keeps me going for a long time without feeling hungry at all.

Pasta usually does the trick for me for dinner.

Bagel for lunch with cream cheese (I don't use low fat, just 1 tbsp of reg cream cheese). I try a different kind of bagel most days so that I don't get bored..

English muffins are great toasted with a bit of butter and jam.

Have lots of low fat/cal snacks to munch on.
Carbs seem to work for me - I still lose the weight as I stay within calories and total carbs for the day....
Also need to eat veggies and fruit as well as other items to fulfill nutritional guidelines as well.
Key is to eat filling foods and stay within range. Save some points for snacking.....

Hope some of this helps. Good luck with your journey. You will start to feel full faster and not feel hungry so much as you lose weight and eat less....sometimes it takes a bit of time.... :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

1FITmamaofTWINS

buy mini plain quaker rice cakes... top it with some zero calorie salsa and fat free shredder cheese.. SUPER filling and consist of healthy carbs and protein

LuckyLeprechaun

I am on 1200 calories a day and I drink lots and lots of water and nuts are good too. Try switching up your meals that helped me with my food cravings when I first started my journey a few weeks ago!!! Good Luck!:happy:

Have to disagree about nuts. Each nut is 30 cals. 10 nuts (about a handful) are about 300 cals. Love 'em but if I eat them (like I did the other day) I go WAY over....

NO. This is not true. I don't know where you got the idea that nuts are bad, or contain that many calories, but that is not true. Even the highest (calorically) nut (macadamias) are 200 per ounce. almonds are much lower, and nuts are full of the good fats that you need. Nuts, olive oil, avocadoes, these are the fats that you want.

I didn't say nuts are bad for you, but let's go and find out how many calories are in nuts shall we?



1 oz of nuts (see link)

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciq-handful-nuts.shtml

ALMONDS - 160 cals

CASHEWS - 160 cals

MACADAMIA - 200 cals

PEANUTS - 170 cals

PISTACHIOS - 160 cals

WALNUTS - 190 cals


So just a handful of nuts, IMHO, has a very high caloric count compared to other foods. However, as always, do what you want to do.......

right then, so what you're saying is NONE of them are 300 calories per serving? Got it!

craft338

i have the same problem. the biggest help for me (besides keeping busy) is to use protein powder. i have a chocolate one that's 60 calories a tablespoon so i add it to a coffee if i get really hungry. it REALLY works for me, it works right away and lasts for hours.

eating an egg every morning is also supposed to help you feel full throughout the day...it helps, on some days better than others, but it's something u might want to try.

fiber one bars are good too, they usually satisfy those sweets cravings, plus the fiber fills u up.

you should also try eating BEFORE you're hungry. if it's been a couple hours since you've eaten, have a fruit or something small so that at lunch or dinner you're not starving. i eat like 6 times a day, if i don't i'll go overboard at meal times

Leigh_D

Eat those exercise calories so you stay at 1400 _NET_!

That said, I find that chewing gum really really really helps me when I feel hungry but I have consumed (or am on track to take in) my daily calorie budget.

As far as filling/satisfying meals ... pretty much anything EXCEPT simple carbs! Do a search on "glycemic index" to find a list of ideas for sources of complex carbs that digest more slowly.

Avoid processed food. "If Nature/God made it, you can eat it!"

You can do it! :happy:

craft338

There is no way that you are experiencing physical hunger at that calorie level.

yeah...stop talking.

dearprudence1964

For breakfast, I agree that protein, esp in the form of hardboiled egg will keep me satisfied for several hours. For lunch or dinner try eating tabouli wheat salad or quinoa with vegetables. Both are extraordinarily filling (trust me, I'm a bottomless pit), taste really great, easy to make, and have lots of valuable fiber and protein. Quinoa is actually a super food. You can find them near the rice and cous cous in the super market.

PS - I'm all for nuts in moderation!

Unknown

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Leigh_D

There is no way that you are experiencing physical hunger at that calorie level.

yeah...stop talking.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

sidoniecolette

I love this thread!

One new thing that I didn't see anyone touch on: after/during my breakfast & dinner, I have a large mug of hot tea (green tea is best because it's full of antioxidants - I've been a black/chai tea person for SO LONG but there are green chai varieties out there...). As I relax with/slowly sip on my tea, it helps me realize the fullness of my belly if I did not think I was full after my meal.

Things I agree with: fiber, whole wheat/grains, brown rice/barley/cous cous/quinoa, nuts (haha), more fruits & veggies, soup, pickles, oatmeal, apple sauce, several small meals/snacking... DO make sure you eat enough!