When you are done but still hungry?

W A T E R :drinker:

I try to always leave about 100-200 calories after dinner just in case this happens. They make pop corn for 100 calories. Or I'll just have a small snack and a whole bottle of water. Fills me up.

I may be bias, as I'm always under my goal... However, if I'm hungry, I snack on something very small (like grapes!) and find that it curves my hunger quite quickly. So no matter, I would snack on something healthy, and not a whole lot of it. As that sick hunger feeling is a pain in the butt.

So, for me it's either: A few grapes, a strawberry, some edamame beans, or raw cucumber. Or chew a piece of gum!

I go for a run and then when I get back if I am still hungry I eat back whatever calories I just burned!
Most of the time after a run, Im not hungry though!
Also, I used to just drink water, lots and lots of water and it would fill me up.

Or brush your teeth! I have done that before and I never want to eat right after brushing!

I agree with the peanut butter, but for a lower calorie, lower fat snack, I microwave a big bowl (2-3 cups) of frozen veggies. I season with Mrs. Dash. Very filling, good for you, and low calorie!

I agree with what's been said

-save some calories
-drink water
-line up a couple go-to low-cal snacks so you don't end up stalking the pantry

but also, it could just be boredom or habit. Just a thought.

I pretty much try to ignore it until bedtime. I have started trying to front-load my calories in the day, so I'll have most of them throughout the day and be left with nothing (or not much) by the time dinner is over. I find I can convince myself that I don't want a snack in the evening....so far, so good. It's tough though. If you have to have a snack, just try to make it healthy. Like a yogurt, or carrot sticks....or as jb_2011 said, water.... I find that I have to get up a few times in the night to pee if I do that though.

I actually find that when I eat around 1500 calories a day I do alright, I'm around 200lbs right now. When I was doing 1200 a day I was *always* hungry. How many calories do you have for the day?

I try to figure out why I'm hungry (or more accurately, IF I'm really hungry - is it head hunger or tummy hunger?). More often than not I'm tired or bored - so I go to bed.

Try to eat more complex carbs and fiber during the day. Drink a lot of water too.

Good luck!

either drink a lot of water or exercise to burn off calories so you can eat a snack.

I drink the water

May I suggest that you take a look at what you are eating at try to re-evaluate. Perhaps you can switch out certain food items for similar food items that have few calories, less carbs, more protein and/or less fat. One of my tricks is to drink a no/low carb whey protein isolate shake around 10:30 and/or 3:00 (these are often the times when I am starving!). If I have planned my day well and have enough calories to do so, I might add in 1/2 of a banana and 1 TB. (or less) of raw peanut butter to the protein drink. This will usually keep me satisfied without having to sacrifice too many calories. Then, by dinner time, I don't feel as though I need to eat a horse. This is just an example of one trick you can try. When you find some tricks of your own, make sure you share =] Good Luck! Lauren

For the folks who say, drink water and ignore it. If that works for you, that is fabulous. But for most people who struggle with weight...being hungry is not a long term solution. And this is all about a long term solution. For most of us, if we go to bed hungry too many times, by week three, we start to feel deprived and a binge just might sneak out! And then, we'll feel bad, and quit. So...I'd advise trying to figure out a long term solution.

First, diagnose your hunger.

Are you really hungry? Or just knoshy? If just knoshy, I eat low calories snacks. My favorite is cucumber with salt. However, if I'm actually hungry, cucumbers just make things worse...

Are you the kind of person who feels better with low volume but high satiety foods? That's me. So, if I eat low fat, sugary foods, even if they are "the right" amount of calories, I inevitable end up HUNGRY. A small handful of almonds will kill my hunger pains while buckets of fat free yogurt will just make me hungrier (and slightly nauseous)...

But some people will only feel "full" with enough high volume foods that literally fill up their stomachs. If you are one of those people and are finding yourself hungry, you are probably "wasting your calories" on high calorie but low volume foods like nuts and cheese...or twinkies. Which have tons of calories, but have low volume. If this is you, you'll want to make low calorie but "bigger" foods a larger part of your diet...primarily vegetables and fruit (people talk about how filling grains and beans are, but they are pretty high in calorie, so eat them if you already are, but don't increase your intake).

And, of course, as one poster said, you may be hungry because you simply aren't eating enough. Calorie counting isn't always exact for all kinds of reasons..and MFP seems to recommend 1200 for a lot of women (I'm 4'10, not muscular and *I* lost at 1200 when I was at 125 lbs)

I know you asked for snack ideas, but if being hungry is not just a random event, I encourage you to figure out why. You really shouldn't find yourself regularly hungry--not true, physical hunger. Even at a calorie deficit.

Water. If still hungry, I'll eat something.

Try to eat more complex carbs and fiber during the day. Drink a lot of water too.

Good luck!

2nd this one!! Avoiding processed foods which break down quickly in your system will help. I think someone up there mentioned water....not sure though. So, just in case....water. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies - fiber will help fill you up and keep you full.