Hunger busting tips?

mzbek24
mzbek24 Posts: 436 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
I've recently lowered my calories back down after eating at maintenance for a while and also carb loading for my Marathon last Sunday, so understandably I have been eating a fair bit and about 400+ grams of carbs for 4 days last week.
But now, I'm struggling to stick to the calories big time. It seems like nothing!! Every day it's like a massive struggle to stick to them and my mind is saying "Oh maybe I can eat one more thing and be good tomorrow..." but then it becomes more often that this happens. It used to be pretty effortless for me to do 1637 cals.

What can you do/eat to try and feel more full and stop craving so much more food when you can't have it?

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    "what's wrong with feeling a little bit hungry"

    - best comment anyone ever made to me when I first started out

    - made me stop and analyse the hunger .. have I just eaten, is it real hunger, give it 30 mins if I'm still hungry then I'll eat something

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    ^^ Yeah, that.

    Don't believe everything you think. (Our brains fool us all the time.)
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Make sure its not thirst, so try drinking soemthing and waiting a short time to see if the hungers still there. Dont woprry about tomorrow, just implement your plan well today.
  • Mizz_Mo
    Mizz_Mo Posts: 64 Member
    Your body will send hunger signals when it's thirsty as well. Drink a pint of water then wait and see how you feel.

    My Mom swears Chia Seeds help. She would eat a spoonful and drink water. Said it staved off the starving feeling (she had 50+ to lose).
  • Jodiec92
    Jodiec92 Posts: 25 Member
    I agree with the above, it probably is just your mind convincing you that you need more.
    Try eating more slowly/mindfully, add more high-volume foods to your meals (lots of veg, salad etc).
    I sometimes find adding beans or chickpeas helps to keep me full for a lot longer.
    Do you drink green tea? If I'm in the mindset of wanting to 'eat-for-the-sake-of-it' I always find green tea or any herbal teas to curb this (I love the taste of green tea though so drink about 4 cups a day haha).

    Hope this helps. It might just take a little while for your appetite to regulate! :)
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
    If you need to cut calories, Chia is kind of a mixed bag so to speak. For them to be really good for hunger staving, you have to soak them, and probably need at least two spoons of it. On a limited calorie budget, Chia actually is going to be a hefty thing... a full serving of Chia is 150-180 calories afterall. It's a great supplement for fiber and other nutrients, but definitely not something you can just add without consideration to your day.

    I definitely support the idea of water consumption. Always 12oz or so of water when you feel hungry and you think you shouldn't. Carb loading or high carb diets, from my experience, simply leave you in withdrawal after, and it can help you to cut fiber and up protein for a few days.
  • juleszephyr
    juleszephyr Posts: 442 Member
    "what's wrong with feeling a little bit hungry"

    Totally agree with this... Make sure you aren't thirsty. Then if you know you are eating correctly just do something to distract yourself until the next meal time.

    Your body is adjusting to the new lower calories / carbs and having a bit of a hissy fit - tell it to get back in the box!!!
  • David_2015
    David_2015 Posts: 231 Member
    If you can spare c. 200 calories, I always find a slice of wholemeal toast and 15g of peanut butter does the trick!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited May 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • 89Madeline
    89Madeline Posts: 205 Member
    David_2015 wrote: »
    If you can spare c. 200 calories, I always find a slice of wholemeal toast and 15g of peanut butter does the trick!

    Agree with all the above. Often drinking water and the habit 'shouldn't I be eating something'. The bread with peanut butter works for me as well, or half an apple with peanut butter.

    If it's not about hunger but the habit of nibbling on something, I like to have cherry tomatoes or baby carrots on hand. Never hurts to eat those.

    Obviously, don't starve yourself but also learn when you do and don't need to be eating :) It really is a habit for most people, including myself, to snack continuously.
  • tinascar2015
    tinascar2015 Posts: 413 Member
    If I feel hungry and can't stand it after an hour or so, boiled shrimp always does the trick. As little as 2 oz is all I need. So I buy more shrimp now, and it isn't cheap, but I chalk it up to being a low cost of sticking to my plan.
    .
    A couple tablespoons of plain almonds is 90 calories and also switches off the hunger too, but the shrimp has even fewer calories. If I need more protein to fit my macros, I have the shrimp. If I can fit the fat and extra calories into that day's plan, I have the almonds.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    tinascar2015 wrote: »
    If I feel hungry and can't stand it after an hour or so, boiled shrimp always does the trick. As little as 2 oz is all I need. So I buy more shrimp now, and it isn't cheap, but I chalk it up to being a low cost of sticking to my plan.
    .
    A couple tablespoons of plain almonds is 90 calories and also switches off the hunger too, but the shrimp has even fewer calories. If I need more protein to fit my macros, I have the shrimp. If I can fit the fat and extra calories into that day's plan, I have the almonds.

    I lived most of my life in southern Louisiana and was able to catch and boil my own shrimp. Those were the days . . .
  • cblue315
    cblue315 Posts: 3,836 Member
    For me it helps if I almost double the amount of protein and cut the carbs as low as I can (50 - 70) The protein sticks with me longer.
  • groomchick
    groomchick Posts: 610 Member
    Couple of tricks no one has mentioned: Cardio...go for a FAST walk for 20 minutes.Also...brush your teeth!
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