Help with hunger

I've recently started counting calories as I was over eating and I've noticed that I'm still hungery after meals. How do you deal with it?

Replies

  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
    Drink coffee or tea.
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
    in a word: vegetables. high volume, low calorie, packed with fiber and vitamins. You can add them to any meal or dish, roasted or steamed with just a bit of butter or oil, or plain. Herbs and spices also add flavor variety. Also broth-based soups are very filling and low calorie.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    What's your height and weight and your calorie goal, and do you hit your calorie goal?
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Drink water. Distract yourself with something else.
  • aftertheendtimes01
    aftertheendtimes01 Posts: 5 Member
    What's your height and weight and your calorie goal, and do you hit your calorie goal?

    I'm 6'2" im 256 my calorie goal is 2466 a day and I hit it or come just under.
  • GoCleanGoLean
    GoCleanGoLean Posts: 71 Member
    What are you eating? What are your macro (protein, carbs, fat) percentages for each meal? Is it high carb, low fat or low carb, high fat? How much protein are you eating in each meal? Are you getting enough micronutrients (fruits and vegetables) in each meal?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    What's your height and weight and your calorie goal, and do you hit your calorie goal?

    I'm 6'2" im 256 my calorie goal is 2466 a day and I hit it or come just under.

    That sounds like a good amount for you.
    You may have to alter your diet, depending on what/how you're eating now and what satisfies you. Track fat, protein and fiber; balance your meals (always have fat, protein and vegetables, for instance); aim for food variety; experiment with meal timing; drink enough water.
    Make sure you are getting sufficient sleep and rest.
    You also have to get used to not being full all the time. It's normal. It's not going to kill you.
    You may have to distract yourself - just thinking about that you're eating less, can make you feel hungry. Or are you eating food you don't like just because they're thought to be healthy? Don't do that. Eat food you like. You may have to reduce portions of some foods, and maybe you'll find some other foods you like, but losing weight and gaining health should not make you feel miserable.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    not much help but its something you should realize, Hunger is not bad. Itl help alot for you to become okay with being hungry sometimes.

    That being said im super jealous of how much you get to eat XD

    As people have said bulk your meals out with veggies, Add water maybe try to balance your macros- everyone finds different macros satisfying the most helpful thing i think you could do for yourself long term is throw away pre conceived notions and diet myths and focus on what foods make you feel satisfied- For me its carbs i eat ALOT of carbs and most people tell me carbs are bad and make you hungry, If i tried to go low carb is be starving and miserable. Some people like fat more others protein. Just reflect internally how different foods make you feel and eat more of the satisfying ones.
  • missmagnoliablossom
    missmagnoliablossom Posts: 240 Member
    Find foods that you find satisfying and also fit your calorie goals, and eat those.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    What's your height and weight and your calorie goal, and do you hit your calorie goal?

    I'm 6'2" im 256 my calorie goal is 2466 a day and I hit it or come just under.

    That sounds like a good amount for you.
    You may have to alter your diet, depending on what/how you're eating now and what satisfies you. Track fat, protein and fiber; balance your meals (always have fat, protein and vegetables, for instance); aim for food variety; experiment with meal timing; drink enough water.
    Make sure you are getting sufficient sleep and rest.
    You also have to get used to not being full all the time. It's normal. It's not going to kill you.
    You may have to distract yourself - just thinking about that you're eating less, can make you feel hungry. Or are you eating food you don't like just because they're thought to be healthy? Don't do that. Eat food you like. You may have to reduce portions of some foods, and maybe you'll find some other foods you like, but losing weight and gaining health should not make you feel miserable.

    lots of good tips here

    alot of people find they stay fuller longer if they try to up their protein and fat and lessen the carbs, you don't have to go "low carb", just try to focus more on the other macros.

    Also try playing with meal timing, some people find eating a nice big breakfast fills them up until lunch, I prefer to skip breakfast and wait several hours to eat and am much happier that way.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    I'm 6'2", weigh about 185, work out 5 times a week fairly intensely for up to 1.5 hours at a time, and maintain on somewhere around 2500-2600. Are you losing weight at that calorie goal? Just curious.

    Also, as far as feeling hungry I had to make some major changes to the things that I ate. These changes made for more volume and less hunger for me:

    1) Switch things like pork sausage to turkey sausage.
    2) Eat leaner meats. No more 80/20 hamburger unless you rinse off the fat afterward well. Stick with 92-96% lean hamburger/beef.
    3) Eat more chicken, turkey, lean pork (like tenderloin). Stick with leaner cuts of beef. Less fat = less calories = you can eat more.
    4) I switched from 2% milk to almond milk. The vanilla varieties taste good and are still half the calories of milk.
    5) I switched the types of bread/buns/etc. I ate to lower calorie, high fiber versions.
    6) When I want a snack I generally go for no sugar added stuff, like ice cream. Less calories
    7) As suggested, try to eat a steamed or lightly seasoned/sauced vegetable as a side with every meal. You can eat 2x as much of this as long as you don't prepare it with a ton of oil/butter. It helps with overall volume of food and it helps with your fiber.
    8) I eat a potato, usually microwaved or baked with just about every dinner/supper meal. It helps with volume, can be easily made and helps with fiber, and overall volume of food.
    9) Learn to eat more protein if possible, I try for 150-160g/day minimum. I usually can go way over this which is fine as long as you stay within your calorie goals.
    10) fat, believe it or not, helps you from becoming hungry but it's higher in calories (a little over double) than carbs or protein. So keep it in moderation, but don't eliminate it all together.

    Hope all that helps.

    My day usually looks something like this:

    Pre-Workout - coffee or pre-workout low or no calorie
    Breakfast (after my workout) - Bran Cereal/Shredded Wheat, Almond Milk, Protein Shake
    Mid-Morning Snack - Low calorie multigrain muffin with egg, cheese, and turkey sausage
    Lunch, usually leftovers from the night before, or tuna salad/lean protein using multigrain bread, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.
    Dinner, lean protein, potato or sweet potato, veggies
    Late Snack, if needed/wanted, Ice Cream, no sugar added, etc.

    I used to eat differently.. no breakfast, snacking mid-morning, huge lunch, huge dinner, full of carbs, fat, sugars, butter, snacking after dinner with chips/etc. Time to break those habits.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    What's your height and weight and your calorie goal, and do you hit your calorie goal?

    I'm 6'2" im 256 my calorie goal is 2466 a day and I hit it or come just under.

    That sounds like a good amount for you.
    You may have to alter your diet, depending on what/how you're eating now and what satisfies you. Track fat, protein and fiber; balance your meals (always have fat, protein and vegetables, for instance); aim for food variety; experiment with meal timing; drink enough water.
    Make sure you are getting sufficient sleep and rest.
    You also have to get used to not being full all the time. It's normal. It's not going to kill you.
    You may have to distract yourself - just thinking about that you're eating less, can make you feel hungry. Or are you eating food you don't like just because they're thought to be healthy? Don't do that. Eat food you like. You may have to reduce portions of some foods, and maybe you'll find some other foods you like, but losing weight and gaining health should not make you feel miserable.
    []

    Awesome point, Eat the foods you like because you already know they satisfy you, Just compromise. Like burgers? eat one and instead of fries have like green beans or something. if you cut out all foods you love your mind will be miserable and rebel saying your hungry because cravings :p
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    What the others have said:
    • Watch your macros. It varies with person, but a lot of us crave more food after starchy stuff and feel more full when we get more protein, fat, fiber.
    • Bulk out your meals with vegetables. The extra volume & fiber will make you feel fuller and vegetables have very few calories. An easy way is to dump some frozen veggies from a bag onto a baking sheet, drizzle some (preferably known weight of) oil, sprinkle some parmesan cheese (preferably weigh canister before, after) & seasonings. (The oil & cheese will add some calories - they are calorie dense, but not too much compared to the volume of veggies unless you go overboard on the amount of oil/cheese, and will make the veggies a lot tastier especially if you are not used to eating them). Bake/roast at 375°ish for 30ish minutes.
    • Drink lots of water. It's easy to confuse thirst and hunger cues.
    • Possibly alter your eating schedule - different people fare better with different eating schedules.
    • Keep busy. Some of us who are used to snacking when bored can confuse hunger cues and boredom.
  • ashleyg2688
    ashleyg2688 Posts: 29 Member
    I am almost always hungry after I eat my portion size meal. I chug water or brush my teeth. It helps