Controlling Hunger: any tips??

stephxfit
stephxfit Posts: 30 Member
edited November 11 in Health and Weight Loss
I've struggled with yoyo dieting for years and recently realized I wasn't eating enough. I would eat 1200 calories and within a few days end up ravenous and binge uncontrollably gaining all the weight back and more. I'm now trying 1500-1800 calories but still, after about a week my hunger will get the best of me. Eating adequate protein and fiber help, but I'm starting to wonder if I'll have to eat 2000+ calories and lose weight alarmingly slow :(
I'm 5'8" and currently 240 lbs if that helps.
Any tips or success stories about getting control of a big appetite??

Replies

  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    Well you put it on, presumably, " alarmingly slow", right? Over years and years (possibly decades?)

    Hmm ...
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Are you exercising to earn more calories?
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Open your diary for us.
  • thedarkwombat
    thedarkwombat Posts: 123 Member
    no more carbs. going on low carb killed my hunger.
  • Ainesilver
    Ainesilver Posts: 72 Member
    Eating smaller meals more frequently will help. Eat every three to four hours. Drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water will help also, since the liquid will help you feel full. A spoon of peanut butter isn't that many calories and can help control hunger.

    Depending on how much you are use to eating, you might want to ease into cutting calories more gradually. Figure out how many calories you normally eat, then cut that amount by 100 to 200 calories every 3 to 4 days or once a week if needed until you lower your calories to where you want them to be.

    It will take time for you to get use to eating less and some people do better by easing into it, rather than making radical changes.

    Good luck.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    thedarkwombat wrote: »
    no more carbs. going on low carb killed my hunger.

    Unnecessary.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ Check out the scooby TDEE calculator. You may need to increase your cals.

    Do you eat three meals a day with some snacking or more smaller meals throughout the day?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    These are my really general tips for hunger:

    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.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    With your stats you could be eating 2000+ and still losing.


    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • williamwj2014
    williamwj2014 Posts: 750 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    thedarkwombat wrote: »
    no more carbs. going on low carb killed my hunger.

    Unnecessary.

    simply stating it's unnecessary is unconvincing. I would say having alternate days where you allow yourself to have foods with carbs and then other days where you lower carb intake but what helps kill hunger is having meals high in protein. Things such as chicken, ground turkey, tuna, etc. Will help you feel full longer..
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I weigh 80lbs less than you and I was eating 2000 calories to lose up to a lb a week. Your goals are too aggressive, this is why you are hungry.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Ainesilver wrote: »
    Eating smaller meals more frequently will help. Eat every three to four hours. Drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water will help also, since the liquid will help you feel full. A spoon of peanut butter isn't that many calories and can help control hunger.

    Depending on how much you are use to eating, you might want to ease into cutting calories more gradually. Figure out how many calories you normally eat, then cut that amount by 100 to 200 calories every 3 to 4 days or once a week if needed until you lower your calories to where you want them to be.

    It will take time for you to get use to eating less and some people do better by easing into it, rather than making radical changes.

    Good luck.

    Eating small meals every 3-4 hours makes me hungrier. I actually felt fuller when I was dehydrated and eating fewer calories than I am now. A spoon of peanut butter IS quite a few calories for the volume, especially since you say "spoon" and not "18 grams" because a spoon can easily wind up being twice this weight, meaning 200+ calories; eating peanut butter has also never in and of itself made me feel fuller. So... basically YMMV, i.e. please don't tell people that variations in meal timing and water consumption will work equally the same for everyone.
  • ajff
    ajff Posts: 986 Member
    I agree with dianethegeek.

    I try and plan snacks into my calorie allowance; they help keep me going.

    I drink a lot of water; which I never used to believe made a difference, but it really does!

    When I am really hungry and have no calories left, I drink a 10-calorie gingerale or rootbeer (otherwise I NEVER drink soda); this tricks me into thinking it is a huge treat and the bubbles keep me full)!

    Protein - oh yes. Turkey slices from the deli. They are so filling!

    Or, in the early days here I substituted low calorie food for high calorie ones: an apple instead of a cookie (but 1:1 they have similar calories; the difference is you only eat one apple, but it is easy to eat multiple cookies), or the best thing on earth : PEA PODS. It takes a zillion of them to reach 100 calories and I think they must be filled with crack because I love them so much!!!!

    Set your calories to something that you can stick with and still lose weight. In the end, you don't want to be miserable!

    Good luck!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    More fiber from veg, including legumes and beans, helps me stay more full. (I like cabbage salads especially). Get it where you can - leave the skin on veg & fruit where possible. Add 1/4-1/2 cup beans or lentils into something every day (salads, soups).

    I'm less full when I eat multigrain or brown bread/rice/pasta than I am when I eat e.g. white pasta (which I still do anyway because I like it and kind of feel whole grain pasta is an abomination, but typically, my calories go up when I do).

    I (141 lbs) would be miserable on 1200 or even 1500 or 1700. 1800 is pushing it. I would think that at your weight, eating at 2000 and exercising would have you both losing pounds and feeling more comfortable.
  • Holla4mom
    Holla4mom Posts: 587 Member
    OP, your diary is not open. It's difficult to assess your eating habits to determine what changes may be able to help you feel less hungry.
  • SandyBVTN
    SandyBVTN Posts: 367 Member
    How is your fat intake? I find fats pretty satiating and tend to do best when I go a bit over the mfp suggested numbers for fats.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    These are my really general tips for hunger:

    This post contains excellent advice.
  • Bnjoki
    Bnjoki Posts: 1
    My health practitioner said Protein helps curb appetite & also hydration.
  • tatagordo
    tatagordo Posts: 4
    :p im really trying last Wednesday i weighed 291 and yesterday i weighed 285 i was soo proud of my self and made me feel better and try harder.. i just have a little support problem at home going out to excersize.. any meal tips and excersizes. Thanks a whole lot. Good luck and God Bless
  • tatagordo
    tatagordo Posts: 4


    ] :p im really trying last Wednesday i weighed 291 and yesterday i weighed 285 i was soo proud of my self and made me feel better and try harder.. i just have a little support problem at home going out to excersize.. any meal tips and excersizes. Thanks a whole lot. Good luck and God Bless

  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    Eat more protein, eat complex (complex for your body to break down) food like nuts and whole grains, when all else fails, spend your time learning about nutrition. You can be successful if you will stick with your long term goal, like your lifetime. Keep at it and you will be logging a healthy weight loss at a fast pace. No quick fixes that last for life. I am cheering you on!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,994 Member
    I find I am less hungry with three bigger meals, and no snacking. For me it helps to limit carbs (especially high glycemic index carbs) to about 40g per sitting. If I have a carb heavy meal, it causes my blood glucose to spike, followed by an insulin spike. As a result, my blood glucose is too low a few hours later which makes me feel ravenous and crave carbs. I'll echo a lot of the previous posters about protein and fibre.
  • NikonPal
    NikonPal Posts: 1,346 Member
    I always plan for a few snacks, drink my water and even if I am eating a low-calorie meal – I keep it diversified and nutritious. There is a good amount of protein. To be honest, I have only been “hungry” a couple times throughout the past year.

    I'll add a lot of low-calorie food (ie: broccoli) to many of my recipes in order to bulk things up and keep me satisfied.

    I had to play around with things a bit way back when. I actually do better eating a lower calorie “nutritious” breakfast and building from there…this was my breakfast today:

    20150131_091346_breakfast%20blank_zpsrdwn6hvh.jpg


    GOOD LUCK!

    73641431.png
  • katherine_startrek_fan
    katherine_startrek_fan Posts: 425 Member
    At 5'10" and 231 pounds, I have been consistantly losing approximately 6 pounds per month while eating 1,800-2,000 calories most days over the past eight months. I tend to exercise most days, alternating between low and high intensity workouts.

    Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like. I've been pretty consistant with results, 50 pounds down since starting, and no foods are off limits.
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
    I find that eating a high-protein breakfast (0% fat Greek yogurt embellished with fruits and some coconut or chia seeds and vanilla, for example) and a lunch consisting of a low-cal soup and a high-protein item like deli meat (high-quality kinds without fillers) or a reduced-fat cheese or meat snack stick is a great way for me to keep the calories down and not be super hungry. Also eating plenty of low-cal veggies (with yummy dressings or sauces) helps. I also find that making room in my daily calories for a few cups of coffee with enough half-and-half to be nice and creamy tends to keep me from being very hungry for a few hours each morning and afternoon. I tend to eat a lot of low-cal soups and salads when losing weight, and try to avoid pasta, bread, and cookies just because they're not filling for the amount of calories they contain (and often carbs make me instantly feel hungrier).

    If you are hungry all the time, it could mean that you are not eating foods high in nutrients (I think that habits of eating too much low-nutrient "junk" food are a lot of the reason so many of us are/have been overweight, because our bodies crave larger amounts of food to get the necessary amount of nutrients). Or it could mean that you just haven't had time to adjust to eating less--if you've just started trying to lose weight again, it generally takes 2-4 weeks to adjust to the lower calorie intake and stop feeling starving all the time. It's just a matter of your stomach and brain getting used to the lesser intake. It is miserable for a time and then your body gets used to it; it's just something you have to struggle through when first starting.

    I am least hungry if I have a cup or two of coffee with half and half first thing in the morning, then eat a light, high-protein breakfast mid-morning, followed by a high-volume and high-protein lunch. I seem to need four meals a day, so I have a snack in the late afternoon and then a filling, veggie-rich dinner around 7-9 pm. I also usually exercise off 300 calories or so every day because I am not good at eating a really small amount and that amount of burn really helps!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories