I am SO hungry!

I'm right there with you. I started tossing in whey protein shakes once or twice a day. It helps but it seems like I'm hungry before long. I tend to not feel satisfied.

You need to open your diary. Protein rich foods keep me fuller longer than high carb fare. But that's just me though.

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

1. Make sure that 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 having a hard time. 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. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

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.

Set your protein higher and carbs lower. I tend to be more hungry on days I eat more carbs than protein. Today, for example, I had a small subway turkey sub for lunch and was starving by supper.

I let myself eat up to 2,000 calories a day. In the morning, I usually eat eggs and yogurt. In the afternoon, a sandwich with some raw veggies and dinner is usually chicken with a veggie and salad. Also drink lots of water, I also snack. When I get hungry, I grab a piece of cheese, nuts, or raw fruits and veggies. This year I am determined to lose weight. I am 5'7 and 281 pounds, and I think the reason why I failed so many diets is because I was always hungry. Eat when you need too.

And remember that your body burns like 40% or something close to that number of protein in digestion and carbs are a really low percent. But don't let carbs scare you. People make them out to be a bad thing. You NEED carbs but make sure they're heslthy carbs,that is where you get your energy

Ok I'm 276 pounds and 5'4" and mine is set up to 1380 a day. I make sure I workout and add it then that bumps me up to 2206 calories that I'm allowed. Workout and add that and it should help. Plus eat fiber and protein foods to fill you up.

You can either exercise more, to earn more calories, or you can make your goal less aggressive. The winner here eats the most and still loses. What's the rush?

Are you exercising? That should give you the extra calories you need.

I'm 5'10" and 237 pounds. I'm set to lose 1 1/2 pounds per week at 1510 calories daily. However, with an extra 1-2 hours of exercise daily, I typically eat around 1800-2000 a day.

cbhubbybubble wrote: »

Set your protein higher and carbs lower. I tend to be more hungry on days I eat more carbs than protein. Today, for example, I had a small subway turkey sub for lunch and was starving by supper.

This works for me too. Definitely helps to tame the beast.

Commgirl1 wrote: »

Brian,

A) Thanks for begins so supportive :P

The first two days I just wrote down what I was eating normally; the last three days I was trying to stay at the roughly 1,550 mark and (as you so helpfully pointed out) coming in more around 2,000. But the hunger issue is the reason for that. I plan out my meals the day before and work it out so it'll be about 1,500 calories. I do fine right through dinner (which is like 6 lets say). But then I'm still starving and out of calories so I end up going over on snacks in the evening.

Are you actually "starving" and hungry or are you just used to mindlessly snacking/eating and eating out of boredom.

Also, getting in some regular exercise will give you more calories to work with. Further, keep in mind that 2 lbs per week is an aggressive goal...it doesn't sound like much, but it's roughly a 1,000 calorie cut from your theoretical maintenance...that's huge. Also remember that even if you go over your calorie goal, you are still in a weight loss deficit so long as you don't exceed it by more than 1,000 calories.

For satiety, look to protein and dietary fat and lots of veggies for volume. Grains, pastas, rice, starchy veggies, etc will likely need to be consumed in lesser amounts than normal considering they are calorically dense and really don't keep you satiated for long.

If you have no joint troubles, vigorous exercise can help blunt hunger. I've been jogging, and using 30 Day Shred as an interval program. I'm generally not that hungry, but if I've been really active (earned over 1000 calories in exercise that day), I eat an extra 200 calories to bring me up to 1400.

Hunger was the worst for me in the first few days. Tolerating the hunger helped my body to adjust to feel full on less food. Now when I get hungry (like after a splurge day) I remind myself that I can feel hungry, and hold on for just a day or so, and then my body will adjust and the hunger will go away.

Some foods make me feel like I don`t want to eat anymore, even though I like the taste. Brown rice and yogurt are examples (not together). If I was really hungry at the start of my diet, I would have a couple of tablespoons of either, and then I would be fine not eating. If that wasn't working, I would have a glass of water and wait 15 minutes. If that wasn't working, I would do something active, like chores or a workout, to delay the hunger until my next planned meal.

I've been very careful to hit my RDAs for iron and calcium this diet. I believe that staying away from a micro deficit has helped keep my hunger in check.

Good luck