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How to beat mental hunger
Replies
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Distract, distract, distract!0
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I was a big boredom eater. I keep 100 cal jiffy pop around, unsweetened fruit cups, and celery and salsa.
Crunchy helps.
Mostly I notice we are same in dieting time. 77 days for me. I took a few days and ate more. I didnt gain but didn't lose. Really remotivated me. And my better attitude got rid of those types of thoughts.
I think the cake I ate did me a world of good. Back to disciplined today.0 -
vivmom2014 wrote: »vivmom2014 wrote: »vivmom2014 wrote: »If you're new to this, you may be going through a bit of transitional "mourning" for not being able to eat with abandon.
Then again, your calorie deficit may be too severe. How much weight do you have to lose?
I'm 75 days in, and I've lost about 16 pounds and have about 14 to go. I have my calories set to 1350 (1.5 lb / week weight loss), but end up eating several hundred more than this due to exercising daily.
With 14 pounds left to lose, adjust your rate of loss to .5 lb/week. You will get more calories to work with. That should help a lot, combined with all the other suggestions you've received here.
This is a good idea, and probably a very healthy thing to do — but I'm anxious to get to maintenance and have been working so hard that I think I would be discouraged by not seeing as much progress now. Maybe I will adjust down to 1lb and see how I feel though.
My advice is: don't be anxious and don't rush. You want your efforts & results to last.
You'll get there!
This is really good advice. Congrats on your impressive success so far! Since you have lost 16lb in just over 10 weeks, it appears you have your numbers nailed. You will feel better and increase your odds of long term success if you dial your deficit back as vivmom suggested. Your results the past 10 weeks shows you have the accuracy needed for hitting a smaller deficit. Best of luck!0 -
MarcyKirkton wrote: »I was a big boredom eater. I keep 100 cal jiffy pop around, unsweetened fruit cups, and celery and salsa.
Crunchy helps.
Mostly I notice we are same in dieting time. 77 days for me. I took a few days and ate more. I didnt gain but didn't lose. Really remotivated me. And my better attitude got rid of those types of thoughts.
I think the cake I ate did me a world of good. Back to disciplined today.
Thank you for this advice, and how cool that we are in the same time frame! Maybe you're right — I could use a "reboost" type event. I'm going away this weekend and am going to be with my friends. Maybe instead of obsessing all weekend about keeping things within my calorie goal, I relax a little bit and let Monday be a fresh start. Also I'm all about texture too, so having something crunchy like celery with salsa will be a good snack to try! Thank you for the advice.0 -
vivmom2014 wrote: »vivmom2014 wrote: »vivmom2014 wrote: »If you're new to this, you may be going through a bit of transitional "mourning" for not being able to eat with abandon.
Then again, your calorie deficit may be too severe. How much weight do you have to lose?
I'm 75 days in, and I've lost about 16 pounds and have about 14 to go. I have my calories set to 1350 (1.5 lb / week weight loss), but end up eating several hundred more than this due to exercising daily.
With 14 pounds left to lose, adjust your rate of loss to .5 lb/week. You will get more calories to work with. That should help a lot, combined with all the other suggestions you've received here.
This is a good idea, and probably a very healthy thing to do — but I'm anxious to get to maintenance and have been working so hard that I think I would be discouraged by not seeing as much progress now. Maybe I will adjust down to 1lb and see how I feel though.
My advice is: don't be anxious and don't rush. You want your efforts & results to last.
You'll get there!
This is really good advice. Congrats on your impressive success so far! Since you have lost 16lb in just over 10 weeks, it appears you have your numbers nailed. You will feel better and increase your odds of long term success if you dial your deficit back as vivmom suggested. Your results the past 10 weeks shows you have the accuracy needed for hitting a smaller deficit. Best of luck!
Ah, thank you for your kind words! I have taken the advice of you both and others and relaxed my deficit a little bit. We'll see how the next few weeks go! Barring any major gains, I think I could stick with a slightly higher deficit
. Thank you for your time & advice! 0 -
Thanks for posting - I think this issue is more common than we think.
I have the same sort of problem every now and again but I know it's down to being bored. The solution is to simply find something to do. For me, it's reading a book or cleaning the house (there is ALWAYS something that needs cleaning!), Sometimes I'll go for a drive or I'll have a cup of coffee. There are so many things you can do that isn't food related. It's very easy to get caught up in the process and overthink it, trust me I'm all too guilty of that. But distractions are vital :]0 -
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47Jacqueline wrote: »Mindfulness.
Hahahaha, this is the realest!!!!0 -
PinkPixiexox wrote: »Thanks for posting - I think this issue is more common than we think.
I have the same sort of problem every now and again but I know it's down to being bored. The solution is to simply find something to do. For me, it's reading a book or cleaning the house (there is ALWAYS something that needs cleaning!), Sometimes I'll go for a drive or I'll have a cup of coffee. There are so many things you can do that isn't food related. It's very easy to get caught up in the process and overthink it, trust me I'm all too guilty of that. But distractions are vital :]
This is helpful, thank you! & it's helpful to know other people struggle with this. I know you have recently gone into maintenance and we have similar statistics; did you reduce/relax your calorie deficit as you got closer to your goal? The more I think about it the more I worry that maybe I actually am hungry. I don't want to stop my progress though.0 -
Sometimes on days where I feel anxious about my weight loss journey, or for some reason can't shift my focus from food, it has helped me to go ahead and enter my meal plan for the day into mfp, mentally make a general eating schedule, and see where my calories will fall if I follow it. I make sure the initial meal plan is under my calorie goal so mentally I'm reminded I have room for more if needed and remembering that the schedule is flexible. I still check in when I eat and make any necessary adjustments, but this seems to reduce my anxiety that I might still be hungry, out of calories, and face yet another dieting failure. I also work to add some kind of activity, away from a clock, to fill any down time. Sometimes at work I do 4-6 minutes of 'chair yoga' at my desk from videos on youtube when I feel an overwhelming need for mindless snacking. Doesn't always work, but it does help most of the time.0
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PinkPixiexox wrote: »Thanks for posting - I think this issue is more common than we think.
I have the same sort of problem every now and again but I know it's down to being bored. The solution is to simply find something to do. For me, it's reading a book or cleaning the house (there is ALWAYS something that needs cleaning!), Sometimes I'll go for a drive or I'll have a cup of coffee. There are so many things you can do that isn't food related. It's very easy to get caught up in the process and overthink it, trust me I'm all too guilty of that. But distractions are vital :]
This is helpful, thank you! & it's helpful to know other people struggle with this. I know you have recently gone into maintenance and we have similar statistics; did you reduce/relax your calorie deficit as you got closer to your goal? The more I think about it the more I worry that maybe I actually am hungry. I don't want to stop my progress though.
Yes I reduced my deficit the closer I got. For the last 10lbs, I aimed to lose around 0.5lb's per week. I got to eat significantly more and whilst I was still losing, it was at a more realistic rate. The extra calorie allowance also prepared me for maintenance. I'm still on a very, very small deficit (we are talking around 50-100 a day) but I'm able to eat a lot more and I'm rarely hungry.0 -
I usually get late night cravings and I usually:
1. Brush my teeth
2. Drink a glass of water (I heard that sometimes hunger could mean you are just thirsty)
3. Remind myself of my goals
4. Go to bed early0 -
Sometimes on days where I feel anxious about my weight loss journey, or for some reason can't shift my focus from food, it has helped me to go ahead and enter my meal plan for the day into mfp, mentally make a general eating schedule, and see where my calories will fall if I follow it. I make sure the initial meal plan is under my calorie goal so mentally I'm reminded I have room for more if needed and remembering that the schedule is flexible. I still check in when I eat and make any necessary adjustments, but this seems to reduce my anxiety that I might still be hungry, out of calories, and face yet another dieting failure. I also work to add some kind of activity, away from a clock, to fill any down time. Sometimes at work I do 4-6 minutes of 'chair yoga' at my desk from videos on youtube when I feel an overwhelming need for mindless snacking. Doesn't always work, but it does help most of the time.
I'm with you, logging in advance is helpful. Sometimes it's helpful in letting me see that when I give in & snack it's not the end of the world. I want to try this chair yoga though! Adding that to my list!!! Love it, thank you. 0 -
I really only eat 4 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a late night snack.
If it's not one of those times, I don't eat (for the most part, there are always exceptions). I've retrained my appetite to only be hungry for those times. It will learn. See "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg: https://experiencelife.com/article/the-power-of-habit/
When I get the munchies, I plan out my evening snack. I think "Woah, gelato sounds amazing! I wonder how much of it I can eat later and still hit my goals!". I'm not denying myself anything, I just defer until it's time to eat. If I'm truly hungry, I'll have something. But that rarely happens.
I also keep busy, like other suggested.0 -
SingRunTing wrote: »I really only eat 4 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a late night snack.
If it's not one of those times, I don't eat (for the most part, there are always exceptions). I've retrained my appetite to only be hungry for those times. It will learn. See "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg: https://experiencelife.com/article/the-power-of-habit/
When I get the munchies, I plan out my evening snack. I think "Woah, gelato sounds amazing! I wonder how much of it I can eat later and still hit my goals!". I'm not denying myself anything, I just defer until it's time to eat. If I'm truly hungry, I'll have something. But that rarely happens.
I also keep busy, like other suggested.
Definitely good advice, and I respect the ability to stay within goals and not snack during moments of boredom. I'm going to read this article and really try to get to the point where I only feel hunger when I am actually hungry. I've gotten to the point where I can stop eating a meal when I am full, which is a HUGE victory for me (reformed member of the Clean Plate Club)! Now if only I can achieve that same ability for wanting to snack all day long! Thank you for your tips, and for the article! 0 -
YERRRRRRSSSSSS - TEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The genius of it is that it takes a while to make (boil kettle, let brew) AND it takes a while to drink (ouch...too hot....sip slowly).
It just keeps on giving in terms of boredom and those "I need a break from desk" moments.0 -
so much great advice! I am not OP but this post also really helped me!! thanks!0
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^ Haha, yes the problem is here at work we have Keurig. Not complaining, but it's pretty instantaneous!0
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Changing the way I ate got rid of most of my cravings. I still like to eat in the evening, so I often save a meal's worth of calories to eat then. If I haven't then I drink tea.
The biggest thing was changing my WOE because my cravings, which made me want to eat when I didn't need it, weren't mental.0 -
47Jacqueline wrote: »Mindfulness.
I can't relate to this. Are y'all talking about physical hunger or the munchies? I get the munchies when I haven't slept well, or haven't eaten satiating foods, which for me are too many carbs in relation to protein.
I get hungry right before meals. I'm hungrier premenstrually, and eat at maintenance for a few days.
I would be hungry if I was trying to lose more than a pound per week, but none of this has anything to do with boredom.0 -
I recommend redistributing your calories. You've been doing this awhile, so I don't think it should be much trouble. I was super hungry until I started eating 400-500 calories for breakfast...front-loading my calories, essentially. If you're hungry during the day, this might help.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »47Jacqueline wrote: »Mindfulness.
I can't relate to this. Are y'all talking about physical hunger or the munchies? I get the munchies when I haven't slept well, or haven't eaten satiating foods, which for me are too many carbs in relation to protein.
I get hungry right before meals. I'm hungrier premenstrually, and eat at maintenance for a few days.
I would be hungry if I was trying to lose more than a pound per week, but none of this has anything to do with boredom.
Ah, well I am quite jealous! This is something that has plagued me my entire life — I feel bored, and think, "Wouldn't it be fun to just eat a bag of chips right now?" Or I can't stop thinking about my next meal in excitement, when it's too early to eat another meal.
I'm glad you don't experience that though!0 -
I recommend redistributing your calories. You've been doing this awhile, so I don't think it should be much trouble. I was super hungry until I started eating 400-500 calories for breakfast...front-loading my calories, essentially. If you're hungry during the day, this might help.
Yes, good point. Recently, I've been eating very protein-dense foods for breakfast (oatmeal + peanut butter + honey, peanut granola, english muffin with egg + avocado + swiss cheese, english muffin + peanut butter, etc.). This has helped a bit and I've held off on eating until I'm at work (~8:20-8:30am), but I still gobble it up and then feel hungry again at 10:30. I eat right at noon, then feel hungry at 1. I eat a protein bar at 1, I feel hungry again at 2. Repeat until dinner time at which point I'm satiated. Until dessert.
I think you're right though and it really is time to up my calorie intake, as nervous as that makes me.0
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