Struggling with Appetite...any tips?
NannersBalletLegs
Posts: 207 Member
Hi, MFP'ers!
I'm back, yet again, and trying to lose weight and get healthy after a long winter and a lot of sit-down graduate work. Because I have a tendency to "eat my feelings" when I'm stressed, I find that I've usually doubled my daily calorie intake by the time I finally start logging food and exercising again after a long "break." Because I'm short, I have to eat pretty low-cal to see any real results (1200 after exercise calories are figured in), but I have trouble getting past the feeling that I'm starving during the first week. I have a few low-calorie snack tricks up my sleeve—eating popcorn, drinking tea or broth, eating low-fat cottage cheese, snacking on baby carrots—but sometimes these aren't enough. I can't sleep when I'm hungry, and I always get hungry late at night. I kind of wonder if it isn't my stress levels triggering my appetite or something. (I tend to stew over all of the things I still need to do when the day is winding down.)
Anyway, I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for getting past the inevitable hunger pangs that crop up during the first three days to a week of calorie reduction. Once I'm over that hump, I'm fine. I'm just really having trouble getting over that hump this time.
Thank you all for any tips or suggestions you might have.
I'm back, yet again, and trying to lose weight and get healthy after a long winter and a lot of sit-down graduate work. Because I have a tendency to "eat my feelings" when I'm stressed, I find that I've usually doubled my daily calorie intake by the time I finally start logging food and exercising again after a long "break." Because I'm short, I have to eat pretty low-cal to see any real results (1200 after exercise calories are figured in), but I have trouble getting past the feeling that I'm starving during the first week. I have a few low-calorie snack tricks up my sleeve—eating popcorn, drinking tea or broth, eating low-fat cottage cheese, snacking on baby carrots—but sometimes these aren't enough. I can't sleep when I'm hungry, and I always get hungry late at night. I kind of wonder if it isn't my stress levels triggering my appetite or something. (I tend to stew over all of the things I still need to do when the day is winding down.)
Anyway, I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for getting past the inevitable hunger pangs that crop up during the first three days to a week of calorie reduction. Once I'm over that hump, I'm fine. I'm just really having trouble getting over that hump this time.
Thank you all for any tips or suggestions you might have.
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Replies
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I find that drinking more water helps me. Try to make the snacks you have more protein based. That might help too.0
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When it comes to calorie reduction you don't have to go from eating anything you want to such a restricted diet. It is ok to reduce a little at a time; take it in steps so you don't have to be so hungry. So let's say you were eating 2000 calories per day (to make it easy on me
) You could start by reducing your calories by 200 a day. When that is easy, reduce by 200 more until you reach your goal of however many calories per day you are needing. This way you won't feel like you are starving yourself and you will more likely be successful. 0 -
NannersBalletLegs wrote: »Hi, MFP'ers!
I'm back, yet again, and trying to lose weight and get healthy after a long winter and a lot of sit-down graduate work. Because I have a tendency to "eat my feelings" when I'm stressed, I find that I've usually doubled my daily calorie intake by the time I finally start logging food and exercising again after a long "break." Because I'm short, I have to eat pretty low-cal to see any real results (1200 after exercise calories are figured in), but I have trouble getting past the feeling that I'm starving during the first week. I have a few low-calorie snack tricks up my sleeve—eating popcorn, drinking tea or broth, eating low-fat cottage cheese, snacking on baby carrots—but sometimes these aren't enough. I can't sleep when I'm hungry, and I always get hungry late at night. I kind of wonder if it isn't my stress levels triggering my appetite or something. (I tend to stew over all of the things I still need to do when the day is winding down.)
Anyway, I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for getting past the inevitable hunger pangs that crop up during the first three days to a week of calorie reduction. Once I'm over that hump, I'm fine. I'm just really having trouble getting over that hump this time.
Thank you all for any tips or suggestions you might have.
i totally understand what u r goin thru what i di was turn my eatin routine around i tried eatin minnie meals first then tried eatin like my heavy or cheat stuff early in the day that way i still had time to exercise and burn it off i tried avoid soda or at least cut down more water more veggies and never go to grocery store hungry and i try not to buy stuff like junk food and buy more veggggies and yes oh yeah popcorn helps0 -
Bostonbee79 wrote: »I find that drinking more water helps me. Try to make the snacks you have more protein based. That might help too.
You know, I had kind of forgotten about the role water plays in feeling full, and I am most certainly not getting enough. Thank you for the reminder!0 -
When it comes to calorie reduction you don't have to go from eating anything you want to such a restricted diet. It is ok to reduce a little at a time; take it in steps so you don't have to be so hungry. So let's say you were eating 2000 calories per day (to make it easy on me ) You could start by reducing your calories by 200 a day. When that is easy, reduce by 200 more until you reach your goal of however many calories per day you are needing. This way you won't feel like you are starving yourself and you will more likely be successful.
Thank you for the tip. I had wondered if I should taper my calorie intake more. I have a tendency to be kind of all or nothing, so maybe this could be an opportunity for me to work on that.0 -
NannersBalletLegs wrote: »Bostonbee79 wrote: »I find that drinking more water helps me. Try to make the snacks you have more protein based. That might help too.
You know, I had kind of forgotten about the role water plays in feeling full, and I am most certainly not getting enough. Thank you for the reminder!
Thanks for the tip! You're so right about the protein issue. It's very easy to forget these things when you "fall off the wagon."0 -
i totally understand what u r goin thru what i di was turn my eatin routine around i tried eatin minnie meals first then tried eatin like my heavy or cheat stuff early in the day that way i still had time to exercise and burn it off i tried avoid soda or at least cut down more water more veggies and never go to grocery store hungry and i try not to buy stuff like junk food and buy more veggggies and yes oh yeah popcorn helps [/quote]
Yep! It's amazing how many of these common sense kind of things we overlook on a daily basis. Thanks for the tip and for the friend request.
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I'm a stress eater too. Fast food is my down fall. I try to eat no fast food at all because I'm addicted to it. Since I've adopted a relatively high good fat diet I feel fantastic and have zero hunger with a lot of energy. Feel free to friend me and you can see my bad diet going back 2 years and my new diet now. Good luck.
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I'm a stress eater too. Fast food is my down fall. I try to eat no fast food at all because I'm addicted to it. Since I've adopted a relatively high good fat diet I feel fantastic and have zero hunger with a lot of energy. Feel free to friend me and you can see my bad diet going back 2 years and my new diet now. Good luck.
I'm glad that you've found a system that works for you! Maybe some avocados or something are in order for me. 0 -
When appropriate adding cinnamon or ginger or turmeric to your meal really helps curb hunger. They also have a Ton of other health benefits! Google it & check it out! I put them in my smoothies & cinnamon apples makes me feel like a kid again yum! Try making some healthy dishes of Indian or Thai food. They've know about the healing powers of these spices for centuries and incorporate them in most their dishes. Plus the food is soooo good! I ate like a queen in Thailand for 3 weeks & lost 10lbs!!
You could also talk to your DR about trying a natural supplement like garçinia or maca that help suppress the urge to constantly eat.0
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