What are your tricks for avoiding hunger?

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.

You don't need to eat below your BMR...you BMR is the calories you burn by merely existing...you would burn them in a coma.

Personally, I never saw any point in having such an aggressive weight loss goal as to be hungry all of the time.

I agree strongly. Undereating like that can only be done under perfect conditions (lots of sleep, no stress, no temptation etc). You are far more likely to fail. Plus you risk losing too much LBM in the process.

Carbs = Hunger. Cut the carbs, cut the hunger!

scottyxxx wrote: »

Hi everybody!

I am looking to loose some weight - I am about 81kg and 5ft 2, this puts my BMR at 1488 calories. I am eating in a 200 calorie deficit below this level, putting me at 1200 calories a day.

I have been on and off on this for about a year, but am really looking to focus and loose some poundage.

Anyway my question is, how do you stave off hunger when on a diet? I am feeling super hungry in the mornings and mid afternoon, and so far have refrained from snacking but I fear as this continues, I will only get weaker and cave.

What can I do to minimize my hunger? What are your techniques?

I feel hungry in the AM, but am actually thirsty. YMMV.

Protein and fiber keeps me full.

Like others have said, use your TDEE not your BMR.

Or you could just put your stats into MFP.

Start my day with a protein rich omelet and something hot to drink. That usually staves off my appetite for quite a while. If I become hungry or just want to eat out of bordem, I chew peppermint gum, drink coffee, drink cold water (with flavor drops), Greek yogurt mixed with nuts and a chia/flax seed blend. I don't do these all at the same time, but some days I have to try several things.

Stay busy! The more your mind is occupied on other things the less you will/should notice hunger. Also drink water/tea all day. The fuller your stomach is the less hunger signals will go to your brain.

What everybody has been saying about your calorie target being too low is right on. You're eating several hundred calories a day less than your body would need to function even if you just laid in bed all day without moving. Even with a desk job, getting out bed in the morning, moving yourself to work, walking here and there burns several hundred calories on top of that. So you're probably experiencing a level of hunger that it isn't possible to just push through easily for most people.

Eating at a more reasonable deficit, one that takes in to account your actual expenditure, might make a huge difference. Remember, a more moderate goal that you consistently achieve is better than an extreme one that you don't!

Once you've recalculated your actual needs and goal, you may find hunger isn't much of a concern. I'm smaller than you and eat ~1650 calories a day, lose steadily, and hunger above and beyond "time to eat a planned meal now" is not a frequent issue for me. When it does happen, I use some of the tips above (stay busy, eat something small and reduce calories elsewhere, chew gum, drink water). Other techniques I find helpful are:

Going for a walk to increase my daily calorie allowance so I can eat something else (particularly when I'm really craving something specific and I know it's probably not about real hunger but I can't stop thinking about it).

Remembering that as a well-nourished, slightly overweight first world person with access to plenty of food, my hunger is not an emergency, and that I can safely wait it out for an hour or two. Generally, either the sensation passes, especially if I distract myself with an activity, or it becomes time to eat again. Or it intensifies and lingers and I know that it's real, and I eat something.

I agree on several small meals throughout the day. I'm totally in favour of mindless snacking...on celery, cauliflower, baby spinach, etc. I'm BIG on soups and protein such as meat, eggs, and lentils. Diet jelly is my hero. And I drink copious amounts of tea.