Diet help

Joseph10Ryan
Joseph10Ryan Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm currently dieting a bit under my maintenance calories, however my problem is that I have a huge appetite. I try to eat volume with all my foods (eg vegetables) and drink a lot of water. But I'm still constantly hungry. Does anyone have any tips? Maybe products that help with hunger.
Thanks(:

Replies

  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Are you getting enough fat, fibre and protein? They will keep you fuller for longer.
  • basiliscus
    basiliscus Posts: 27 Member
    Fat, fibre and protein are definitely a good tip - they slow down the digestion and improve satiety. Funny thing about drinking water is that it always makes me more thirsty and hungry, but that's a personal thing.

    With time you should get used to smaller portions. If nothing else helps, consider intermittent fasting.
  • JackieMarie1989jgw
    JackieMarie1989jgw Posts: 230 Member
    I agree with above posters about fiber fat and protein. But honestly it does just take time to get used to smaller portion sizes. When I weighed more I could easily put away wayyy more food than I needed (I mean, I still can) and when I started tracking, it took awhile to get used to more reasonable portions. Even if I was eating plenty of fiber and protein, still felt hungry until I got used to it. But your body will adjust. Part of it is mental but stick with it and it will get easier.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    These are my really general tips for hunger:

    1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. 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.

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