I'm hungry all the time

How many calories are you eating?

What are your height, weight, and activity level?

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.

TavistockToad wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

How many calories are you eating?

What are your height, weight, and activity level?

All of this

Yep.

I'm 5'8 as well and have 6 or 7 pounds to go before I reach my goal weight. I eat around 1350 calories a day now, but started at the dreaded 1200 calorie a day and worked my way up to 1350. The weight is coming off slower but I think I have a better chance of keeping it off that way.

But like I said - without seeing your food diary I have no clue why you're so hungry.

TavistockToad wrote: »

barbrafitin15 wrote: »

I'm new to nutrition, grew up on hamburger helper. I try to eat fresh raw or steamed veggies and salads, whole grains, & fruit smoothies, really thought I was doing good considering past habits.

So little to no fat or protein... There's your answer then!

Eat fewer grains.
Eat more meat/fish/eggs/ beans/ nuts.
Eat more fats and oils like nuts, olive oil, salad dressings that have oil, avocados, hummus, butter, . . .

It's best to eat a whole fruit than to blend it into a smoothie if you want to stay full for a longer period.

Also try to spread your meals .for example; have 5 meals of 400 calories instead of 3 meals of 650 calories. I spread my meals in the day and set time whe I have to eat every meal, Even when I'm not hungry I still eat at that set time. I never get the hungry feeling throughout the day because there is constantly food being digested in my stomach.

KingofWisdom wrote: »

I appreciate all the responses. I've been struggling with this too. I'll do everything, I'll eat more, I'll increase my fiber (I love to snack on blackberries), I'll drink water, some days I'm just always hungry.

Change your calorie goals to one half pound a week. Cut back on bread and similar carbs to find calorie room for lots of veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, bell papers, green beans, swiss chard, kale.
Remember that beans are great. Oil and fats are too.