Hunger!! Help!!!

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pdandy
pdandy Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Help!!! The last 2 days I've been hungry! I've been fairly faithful to staying on track and logging everything. But last night I got up to have some cheese and crackers... I was starving! Mind you, I go to the gym in the evenings. What's a good way to curb the hunger pains without getting off track???
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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    My general tips for hunger:

    1. Make sure your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Way too many people cut down to drastic calorie levels who don't need to and their body is trying to tell them something important. Don't skip this step. If you're exercising and using MFP's setup for calories, this means you can/should be eating back at least a portion of your exercise calories.

    2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer.

    3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

    4. Get plenty of rest. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

    5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

    6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to wait it out and be hungry for a little bit while that happens.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    eat less calorie dense foods. Salads with grilled lean meat and without nuts, cheese, croutons, and dressing (or low cal options) are a great choice. You can eat a MASSIVE salad if you are careful with toppings for less than 3-400 calories.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited October 2014
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    Hunger usually comes in waves. If you wait half an hour, it usually goes away whether or not you eat.

    There are tons of low-cal things to snack on. Berries - strawberries are pretty filling and you can a lot of them for very few calories. If you use the white, hard parts of a head of lettuce lettuce in place of chips and scoop the salsa with them, there's some yummy and low-cal snacking.

    If you're hungry all the time, you may need to reevaluate your calorie goals. Also, if you don't eat much fresh food, you might want to switch some of your food to more low-cal, healthier options.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    TOM perhaps? When I'm hungry, I drink water, wait 15 min and if I'm still hungry I eat.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    You're probably not eating enough. Can you open up your diary?

    That or you are too carb-heavy, which can make it difficult to stay full.
  • guineverantha
    guineverantha Posts: 26 Member
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    Add more protein. Whey protein powder is a great way. Try to find one with 3 carbs or less per serving, but 7 carbs per serving isn't bad either. Try that protein powder in some water or unsweetened almond milk and wait half an hour or so (especially within 45 minutes of going to the gym to feed your muscles). If you're still hungry after that, try some low glycemic fruits (berries, apples, maybe a pear), or some veggies with a tiny bit of peanut butter (like 1 tsp). Hope this helps.
  • pdandy
    pdandy Posts: 38 Member
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    @dianne, your first point was something that I've been a bit leery of... Eating my calories burned... I do occasionally but I try not to make a habit of it. There was a day or two where it wouldn't let me complete my daily entry because I had too few calories so I'd have a snack to top up.
  • pdandy
    pdandy Posts: 38 Member
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    I opened my diary.... I think I've been eating enough. I think it's that I haven't been having anything after my workouts?
    ana3067 wrote: »
    You're probably not eating enough. Can you open up your diary?

    That or you are too carb-heavy, which can make it difficult to stay full.

  • pdandy
    pdandy Posts: 38 Member
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    I never considered having a protein only drink after working out! I had a protein bar (Vector chocolate) today afterwards but now I think I'm going to try a protein drink instead tomorrow!
    guineverantha wrote: »
    Add more protein. Whey protein powder is a great way. Try to find one with 3 carbs or less per serving, but 7 carbs per serving isn't bad either. Try that protein powder in some water or unsweetened almond milk and wait half an hour or so (especially within 45 minutes of going to the gym to feed your muscles). If you're still hungry after that, try some low glycemic fruits (berries, apples, maybe a pear), or some veggies with a tiny bit of peanut butter (like 1 tsp). Hope this helps.

  • pdandy
    pdandy Posts: 38 Member
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    Awesome suggestions! I've been staying on track pretty good and keeping up with the gym and everything. So I've been so paranoid with overindulging. If you look at my diary I've had the occasional ONE chocolate from Bernard callebaut's lol... One has done the trick with curbing that craving! Having the few triscuits and cheese last night sent me into a bit of a panic though, because I've been on a roll and I don't want to sabatoge myself.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    edited October 2014
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    pdandy wrote: »
    I opened my diary.... I think I've been eating enough. I think it's that I haven't been having anything after my workouts?
    ana3067 wrote: »
    You're probably not eating enough. Can you open up your diary?

    That or you are too carb-heavy, which can make it difficult to stay full.
    There is no need to eat after workouts, but everyone responds differently. Some people are nauseous if they eat post-workout, others are simply ravenous!

    But at your current weight, 1200-1400 is probably too low of an intake. Is your goal set at 2lbs/week? Lower it to 1lb/week and this will be far more sustainable. Eat back half or more of your exercise calories, and if you are losing more than 4lbs a month then increase your intake a little bit - just adding 50 calories might be enough to slow things down. Faster weight loss is tempting, but it's much harder to maintain and can result in more difficulties learning how to transition into maintenance. (although if you lose 5lbs a month sometimes that's fine).
    You may also want to increase your fat intake, as much as 60grams in order to eat about 30% of your weight in fat. Which I believe is the ideal minimum for health. It also does help keep you fuller.
  • Omanya
    Omanya Posts: 50
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    Several suggestions:

    * Eat more. You shouldn't be eating so little that you get this hungry.
    * Eat smaller meals more frequently. You could just be going too long without eating.
    * Adjust your macro ratios. How much fat and protein are you consuming? Make sure you're getting at least .5 g of protein per kg of total body weight, and try to work your way up to 1 g per kg. If you strength train regularly, you need to work on getting that up to 1.4 g per kg so your body can repair your muscle tissue better. I'd have to check but I'm pretty sure that you should be getting .4 g of fat per lb of bodyweight. Eat in carbs whatever is left.

    That might entail eating more meat, soybeans/tofu, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, full-fat milk, etc. Whatever it is, you need to do something because your body is.not happy.

  • Omanya
    Omanya Posts: 50
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    Re: there's no need to eat after your workouts

    There isn't nearly as much of a need after an endurance workout, but you should try to eat protein within 90 minutes of a strength-training workout. That's the period in which the body appears to be most receptive to taking in protein to repair muscle tissue.
  • AlanaTedmon
    AlanaTedmon Posts: 105 Member
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    If you eat plenty of meats you'll find yourself feeling hungry less often, I've noticed! It's better to eat something small than starve yourself.
  • Omanya
    Omanya Posts: 50
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    Omanya wrote: »
    Re: there's no need to eat after your workouts

    There isn't nearly as much of a need after an endurance workout, but you should try to eat protein within 90 minutes of a strength-training workout. That's the period in which the body appears to be most receptive to taking in protein to repair muscle tissue.
    People don't have to have protein within 90 minutes. Anabolic window is just broke science.
    I didn't say that anyone 'has' to. I said that the body appears to most efficiently repair muscle within 90 minutes of a strength-training session.

    "People have to eat protein within 90 minutes" is an entirely different claim.
  • Lovely_lm
    Lovely_lm Posts: 9
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    Eat frequently eat less eat more vegetables and protein.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    What are your stats? Height and weight? If you have your loss set too aggressively, then they give you lower calories. Some days you are only eating 1000 calories, so of course you're hungry. You can eat more and still lose weight, so why not try something a little more sustainable long term???
  • pdandy
    pdandy Posts: 38 Member
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    Im 5'1" and 202lbs... Some days I'm not as hungry at the end of the day. I do need to up my intake I guess, I just get so paranoid about overeating and messing up that I sometimes undereat in the process

    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    What are your stats? Height and weight? If you have your loss set too aggressively, then they give you lower calories. Some days you are only eating 1000 calories, so of course you're hungry. You can eat more and still lose weight, so why not try something a little more sustainable long term???

  • BadassBride
    BadassBride Posts: 28 Member
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    Try to remember that being hungry is OK. This is what gets me through my hunger pangs.

    All our lives, that feeling of hunger triggers this need to make it stop as soon as possible. It's not an emergency! It's a little uncomfortable, and a natural part of losing weight - nothing more. It's definitely an exercise in self-control, but nobody is making you get up and eat cheese and crackers except you.

    I try to see feeling hungry as a sign that my diet is working! If you eat every time you have a hunger pang you're probably not going to lose much weight.

    If I remind myself that being hungry is OK and that I am in control of what I eat and don't eat, I can handle the hunger. Mind over matter.

    Good luck!!

    Sarah





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