Dumb question but...

How can I keep from feeling hungry? For example, I ate a reasonable sized homemade salad for dinner this evening (appx 3 cups of salad mix, w/ light dressing), which included a drained can of tuna, and 5 hours later, I'm already hungry again. I just started dieting if that affects anything... Is this just a "suck it up, stop whining, and live with it" thing?

Doesn't sound like a reasonable amount of calories especially if it was low fat dressing and tuna in springwater or brine so no oil. You might need to add more healthy fats into that meal and don't be scared of carbs either. You just have to hit your calorie goal for the day. How many calories are you on net?

It maybe because your new and adjusting to changes. What you can do is try it out for a few days and if these feelings persist slowly increase your daily intake by 100-200 kcals.

Hopefully you will find a number that works for you and allows you to loose a reasonable amount of weight in a reasonable amount of time.

To help keep you feeling full for longer increase the dietary fiber - such as grains and whole meal bread etc. you consume and also drink plenty of water for fluid.
As pointed out above that 5 hours is not a short time to be feeling hungry again, but if this is not a norm for you then I would give the above a try.

INBOX/ADD me for any other help or support you may need.

Good Luck, don't be disheartened.

N x

couple great places to get started and learn some stuff

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

How can I keep from feeling hungry? For example, I ate a reasonable sized homemade salad for dinner this evening (appx 3 cups of salad mix, w/ light dressing), which included a drained can of tuna, and 5 hours later, I'm already hungry again. I just started dieting if that affects anything... Is this just a "suck it up, stop whining, and live with it" thing?

Hi Playful!

I see you're new on here... don't worry - I think most of us had quite a few "dumb questions" when we started out :-) Okay, so... first off I must say that the salad you described would probably only keep me feeling full (or maybe not even "full" but just not hungry) for maybe two hours, max, so don't feel bad about getting that hungry feeling.

If you're new to eating these smaller portions, you will feel hungry more frequently the first several days as your stomach shrinks. And, there will be times that you feel hungry even after that... but don't worry, feeling hungry isn't the end of the world :-)

If you are wanting to eat such small meals as the one you described, you should probably also supplement with having healthy snacks a couple times a day to curb the hunger. Crunchy veggies (cucumber, carrots, celery, jicama, etc) with hummus can be great snacks! Just remember to measure the hummus so you don't accidentally eat many hundreds of calories of it.

I have been eating small meals lately, but I pretty much always carry with me a snack-size ziploc bag that contains 20 almonds, 1/4-1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, and a very small amount (less than an ounce) of chopped up dried fruit. The high protein and fiber content of this little mix makes a few bites of it very good at curbing my appetite! I also love both salty and sweet things, and this combo meets both. I allow myself one of these little baggies a day, as well as munching on veggies when I'm near them. With the baggie, having one per day helps me with portion/calorie control throughout the day... I just eat what I need from it when I want to :-)

I'm happy to help answer some of those "dumb questions" that I'm sure will come up for you as you embark on this healthy lifestyle journey - feel free to add me as a friend!

~ Lacey

I think as suggested above, you need to be hitting your calorie target and personally when I eat makes a big difference.

I'm never hungry when I wake, so I always leave it a couple hours until I have breakfast. Usually about 0930. I then have lunch approx. 1230-1300. Afternoon bite about 1500-1600 then dinner around 1930. I then go to bed on average 2230.

That way I find I'm eating regularly enough to keep my metabolism going, I'm eating on average every 3-4 hours during waking time, and most importantly for the evenings sat on the sofa when I think it's easiest to crave foods, I don't have my evening meal too early. If I was awake 5 hours after my evening meal I'd certainly be hungry. Certainly don't eat just before bed, I'd suggest 3-3.5 hours approx.

Eating every 5 hours (or less) is normal....

Including plenty of protein and fat in your meal will keep you satisfied. Your meal was low in fat!

I grew up thinking fat in = fat on (self)... It's kind of hard, even now to break that, even though logically I know that fat is simply a more compact storage medium for calories...

Noooo!! fat is great for health, and keeps you satisfied.

5 hours later?! OF COURSE you'd be hungry 5 hours after eating some leaves and a tin of tuna! It's time for another meal, so why wouldn't you be hungry? If it was an hour later then the question would be more valid, but that amount of time is normal for you to feel hungry again.

Sorry! I took so long to post that I didn't see that you had posted. Growing up, I ate when I was even slightly hungry, so I never really figured out that 5 (now 6) hours was too long between meals...

So did I so completely understand, I eat every 4/5 hours so breakfast, lunch and then dinner is usually 5/6 due to me being at work. But I'm always famished by the time dinner comes around. Obviously try not to snack (alot harder this time of year) but sometimes a 6 hour gap is a bit too much!!! x

Eating every 5 hours (or less) is normal....

Including plenty of protein and fat in your meal will keep you satisfied. Your meal was low in fat!

I grew up thinking fat in = fat on (self)... It's kind of hard, even now to break that, even though logically I know that fat is simply a more compact storage medium for calories...

Hi and welcome to MFP .... keep reading and learning and logging and you will do fine.

It maybe a compact storage medium for calories, but fat is also has a very important nutritional use. There have been studies done (google ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15277161) that show you do need some healthy fats with your salad, or your body will not be able to absorb or utilize many of the nutrients that are in your typical veggie salads.