What do you do to battle random hunger?

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  • bspringer544
    bspringer544 Posts: 155 Member
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    Great job on the weight loss! If I were you I would slow it down, though, especially if you're hungry. You might still be starving your body even though you're reaching your macros. I know it can be frustrating when you're losing so fast but it's really the better way to go.

    I would save calories for apples. Every time you get a craving or feel hungry grab a couple slices of those, down a glass of water, and go for a couple spins on your stationary. Exercise is really great for curbing hunger.
  • texasf1ght
    texasf1ght Posts: 70 Member
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    This seems to be my biggest battle... trying to stay under my calorie limit. I feel like I'm always hungry. I know how to portion control, I know how to count my calories and macros, my nutrients. I've been at this for a couple of years now and successfully lost weight, but I still want to lose more.

    Lots of people have told me that I'm not eating enough, but I sort of quit counting everything for about 3 months and just tried eating however much I felt like I needed of good, whole foods. I stayed within the same 2-3 lbs during that time, and did not lose more weight. I wasn't as hungry, which was nice, but I also wasn't reaching my goal. I workout 5-6 days a week with a combination of strength training and cardio. I do a boot camp style workout and it is never the same. I'm SO lost as to what to do next.

    Every time I eat, I'm only taking away the hunger, I never ever feel full (which I know is not necessarily a bad thing). I can eat something loaded with fiber and be hungry again within an hour. When I see people around me continuing to lose weight and being completely satisfied with 1,200-1,500 calories per day I start to wonder what the heck is wrong with me and my appetite. :neutral:
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,645 Member
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    I'd first try water, or hot herb tea (regular tea or green tea is fine if the caffeine is OK at the time), distraction, or short activity (exercise). If I felt hungry out of habit (if there was some situational cue that was making me feel like eating), I'd try to find a new response to the trigger.

    But if the hunger persists, I'd eat.

    At times like that, I would usually pick something with protein and fat, in a reasonable portion size - like half an ounce of nuts, a snack size individual cheese, an ounce of crunchy chickpeas or dry-roasted soybeans, or some lowfat cottage cheese. Or, if more hungry, and apple with some peanut butter on it. Sometimes higher-volume, lower calorie additions to the fat/protein help (jicama, cucumber, broccoli, cabbage, etc., or even grapefruit or tangerine).

    (P.S. I'm saying "would" rather than "do" here not because I'm being theoretical. It's because I'm now very near maintenance weight, and it isn't particularly an issue for me anymore - I'm describing what I did when it was a more common event for me.)

    I don't think avoiding fruit is necessary or desirable. For me, eating fruit has helped derail cravings for empty-calorie sweets.

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