I'm always hungry! Help!!

Porridge never really lets me feel full either unless I add protein. I do much better with eggs & veggies or avocado & toast, myself.

These are my really generic 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.

cmriverside wrote: »

I know, it's hard to make changes. You need protein and fats, though - they help with satiety. A half tablespoon of coconut oil or butter with your porridge (or nuts) will help.

Or mix in 1-2 tablespoon of peanut butter!

There's some pretty smart tips in this post on how to play around with your calories.

I would also vouch for the "meal timings" tip. I actually would recommend trying intermittent fasting (eating only within 8 hours each day, or basically skipping a meal). A lot of the times, if I eat breakfast, it just results in me getting hungry again in 3 hours. But if I skip breakfast and focus on doing work, I find that the hunger comes and goes.

If you are a volume eater and like salads as you said- be sure to add protein and a healthy fat to it- such as lean chicken or beef or maybe an egg- for healthy fat could add a few nuts, little avocado etc.