How do you deal with hunger pangs?

sammylou315

hehe I thought it was just ME that was ravenous after a workout, and always feel guilty for eating afterwards because it feels like I'm undoing all the hard work *has cup of tea in hand*

vestarocks

ummmm I eat.

Rocbola

Hi there, Im a newbie with an underactive thyroid, and I'm also vegetarian with intolerance to Quorn...seem to forever gain weight even when im actively trying to lose it and have had enough now!!

Anyway, was just wondering how you deal with hunger pangs. I've tried drinking water but it just makes me feel more hungry, done the cleaning teeth, eating sugar-free gum bit too but it just doesn't work for me. I HATE the feeling of being hungry and it makes me irritable too!

Sam

If you are hungry, EAT. (And drink lots of water) Hunger is your body asking for something. It might not always be calories that you need, so when you are hungry, eat nutritionally dense food and drink water. Nutritionally dense food= raw fruit and veggies.

awisegirl84

On the subject of tea and coffee though....who uses sweetners? There seem to be mixed views on this but to me it satisfies my sweet craving and I dont like the taste of tea without it, but I believe they can be bad for you.

And with regards to something like homemade soups...how do you go about logging the calories consumed on here when you're making your own and basically throwing loads of veg, stock cubes in etc?

Regarding the sweetener, I use honey in my tea. Yes it's "high" in sugar but in my opinion it's natural so it's not really a bad sugar. And a little bit goes a long way.

As far as the soup goes, I would create a recipe. Maybe on Sunday make the soup and measure all the ingredients and log them under the Recipe option. Maybe it makes 4 servings (which will easily last you a week) and when you get the hunger pangs and have the soup, just mark 1 Serving on your diary.

rcclcruiser

Eat watermelon.

LennyInFlorida

I would also suggest eating high volumetric foods (big foods, low calories). By incorporating foods with a low calorie density, you eat more food, feel more satisfied and still take in less calories. Veggies, Popcorn, sugar free jellos, there are lists online of low cal high volume foods.

itgeekwoman

I eat celery or cucumber to manage my hunger pangs. If it's in the evening I'll have extra veg with dinner. During the day it's always extra cucumber or celery though. Once in a while I'll add peanut butter to the celery if I need a protein boost.

LennyInFlorida

Eat watermelon.

This is definitely something I do lol, Watermelon is very volumetric, you can eat a half of a watermelon (if you could even do that as it's so much water) and it's only like 400 calories or something last time i measured it

rcclcruiser

Regarding logging calories for homemade soups, I just type in homemade vegetable soup and use the one most similar to the one I made. Most of the time, some of the veggies may be a little different than what I used, but it is close enough. Then I make a note at the bottom of the page of what I actually put in my soup. It still works because it is close enough.

BarbraP44

I will chew gum along with a bottle of water. I never sip water, I guzzle it down.

pollard775

On the subject of tea and coffee though....who uses sweetners? There seem to be mixed views on this but to me it satisfies my sweet craving and I dont like the taste of tea without it, but I believe they can be bad for you.

And with regards to something like homemade soups...how do you go about logging the calories consumed on here when you're making your own and basically throwing loads of veg, stock cubes in etc?

I use Splenda as a sweetener, I haven't heard too much negative about it.
Whenever I make homemade soups I have to add total calories from each item added and then divide by total servings from your pot.

bisland

I agree with other posts. I have not had any true hunger pangs. Eat health low cal & often. I eat my meals and usually a mid AM and afternoon snack. Cheese stick, yogurt or a handfull of nuts work great. The protien keeps me satisfied. For false hunger (I am bored so let's eat) I go for a walk or find a hosehold task to do. By the time I am finished I am no longer craving eating.

davidmcgowan1987

It depends... if ive got a headache im prone to eating a whole dominoes medium (or even large!) which makes my headache go away 9 times out of ten, (though now ive got some sumatriptan, i can just swap a headache for nausea... which i guess is better?)

if i havent got a headache i just drink ice cold water until its time to eat or sometimes i just relish the pangs as a sign that im not overeating today and feel good about myself...

johicks

Hi, I'm a newbie too. I have tried so many things to stop myself from snacking when I start to feel peckish and drinking water only occasionally helps. Do you think you are actually hungry when you get these hunger pangs? Or just bored? I know that I tend to eat when I am bored, so finding something to keep yourself busy with might help. Chewing gum tends to fill your belly with air, and that doesn't do much more than make you feel horribly bloated. What I have started doing to help myself is to eat six small meals a day rather than 3 larger meals. This keeps you feeling fuller for longer and keeps your metabolism running. Make sure you have a good breakfast that is going to keep you feeling full for a few hours. have a reasonable sized lunch and a smaller dinner. In between these meals have a small healthy snack such as a piece of fruit, a hand full of nuts or a yoghurt. This should keep you feeling full and stop those hunger pangs hope this helps!!!

I agree!! This is how I eat. Eating balanced small portioned meals and snacks from 100-200 calories.

You can do it!! Listen to your body, if it's hungry feed it. If it's something else (boredom, emotions, stress) then do something else- get up and go for a walk or a stretch. Breath in deep through the nose and exhale out the nose.

velloxal

Replace your serving plates, bowls and cups to smaller size. Visually you will feel fuller and eat fewer calories.

When you hungry you should eat something small because when your body will go to starvation mode you will start store more fat.

When I am hungry I snack fresh fruits, nuts (handful only), raw carrots or celery, yoghurt, fruit smoothies, freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juices, small chocolate bar but about 1 hour later I get in ever deeper starvation mode, so it's good to use it shortly before proper meal

I use brown sugar for years or honey to sweet my tea, coffee etc. etc.

You can create your own recipes, which you can use later for your food diary

neverstray

Ignore all advice about "listening to your body". Work towards that, but you have no idea right now how to listen to your body. Right now, you need to stick with a program, hungry or not hungry. It will take time to learn when you are actually hunry or not.

Try picking up hobbies. It's like when people stop smoking...they have all these rituals associated with smoking, and they have to immediately abolish the rituals otherwise, they slip back into the pattern. Change up what you do all the time. Make a new hobby. Don't sit in front of the TV. Do something else with your time. Pick up a new interest.

I find that when I am busy, I am rarely hungry. It's just when I sit down with nothing to do where all the sudden I'm completely starving to death. it's just in your head.

Fani2003

I keep Larabars around. They are vegan. A little high in cals (200 per bar) but they stop the 2 pm cravings I have.

SweetSammie

I eat. I really feel like if you are hungry, either you aren't eating enough cals, or you aren't using yours wisely. There is a lot of food and not many calories in a nice leafy salad...

LorinaLynn

If my guts are growling, I eat.

If I'm just bored, I do something.

lmelangley

You should join our hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism group. If you're interested, click on the Groups link above and search for hypothyroidism.

As the others have said, if you're hungry, eat something on the smallish calorie side. Something with protein is especially good as you won't feel hungry again as quickly. Whole grains are also good. The thing to remember is that lots of people fail at weight loss because they deprive themselves. You just need to try to eat as healthy as possible and stay within your calories as much as possible.