How do you beat hunger?

I have some really general tips for hunger that might help:

1. Make sure your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're so hard to stick to. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

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. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. 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 be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

Wow, congrats on 4 years without smoking!!!! You should be very proud of that.

As for the hunger, I don't have any miracle solutions, but a lot of healthy foods can help curb appetites. Foods that are high in protein can help you feel fuller longer. I'm not a dietician or health expert by any means, but I've found that eating things like Kind bars, almonds, or veggies and hummus in between meals helps a lot. Any my motto is, if it's healthy, it's ok to indulge! So eating "too many" veggies with hummus is ok in my book. If I'm eating something nutritious, it feels more acceptable to me to keep eating until I don't feel those hunger pangs anymore. Better to keep going back for more almonds than more potato chips, I say!

I also think a lot of it is mental. You overcame the urge to smoke, so you know you have amazing will power! I've never been a smoker, so I can't understand what you went through to get to this point, but I know sometimes giving something like that up can lead to taking on other habits, like over eating, to compensate for it. But you overcame one hurdle, so I believe you can overcome the other.

you already received excellent advice. more than anything, too many starches and sweets, not enough proteins and fat causes us to feel hungry and overeat.

AmigaMaria had some good advice too, except - salads I eat for the veggies, not to help keep me full. You'll have to try it to see if it works for you.

eat filling foods, beans and soups are great this time of year, peanut butter, cottage cheese,cheddar cheese, lots of protein and fiber

I found that for me, scaling back the calories bit by bit - a hundred calories every few days - helps my body adjust to the lower calorie count without feeling hungry all the time. I've also noticed that after a week of eating at a deficit, that hungry feeling subsides as my body gets used to the lower calorie intake.

Losing weight can be very hard, but I think the biggest block is a mental one. You can definitely do this!!

Calorie counting is 99%of the battle. The notion that almonds and raisins are "good" foods and potato chips bad is all wrong. For some of us, 1oz of almonds is a good snack, because it is very satiating for 180 calorie. But if you are sitting on front of the TV munching almonds, you'll hit 800 calorie by the first commercial and keep on gaining weight faster than you will with potato chips. Set a realistic calorie goal, be honest with yourself and experiment with what type of food and meal timing proviral maximum satiety. Finally, accept that hungry is not the opposite of full. I've lost 50 pounds in 4 months and haven't been hungry once, but I've also rarely been full.