Did you feel less hungry after a while eating in a deficit?

For me its less physical (stomach growling) hunger and more "I want to eat", which is how I got fat in the first place. That can be difficult, but I keep fruits and veggies around and try to leave wiggle room for snacks in my daily plan.

For me it was ramping down the frequency. I first started out eating 3 meals plus 4+ low-cal snacks a day if I could fit it. Now, I can eat slightly larger, more protein filled meals with minimal snacks a day and be satisfied. I found adequate/regular sleep patterns plus scheduled meal times really helps with the cravings. For example, it took 2 weeks to retrain myself to be less hungry after work because I workout from 6-7ish and don't eat dinner until around 9. I can't workout on a heavy stomach, and my 3pm snack doesn't hold over enough in replacement for what I body thought should be meal time. Around 200 calories of a small protein shake works wonders now and no longer do I get hit with Snackzilla.

SezxyStef wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if people actually know the difference between hunger and appetite?

Hunger is not a requirement for weight loss...I think that is one of the reasons people often fail.

Too few calories and too little protein to help keep you feeling fuller longer and the fats for satiety that lots feel are "bad"...this is what causes the problem

I mean to say you are "ravenous" or "hungry all the time" seems well...not a good thing.

For me, I was never truly hungry because I always ate before I felt it. I get hungry now and eat when it happens. I'm not hungry all the time. The "ravenously hungry" was only for a few weeks while my body got used to such a large drop in calories. I could easily eat a large pizza to myself and then follow it up with some brownies. This was after a 1,000 calorie breakfast. Going from that to 1,300-1,500 daily made me STARVE in the beginning.

Hunger is absolutely a part of weight loss because we aren't eating at the levels we used to. If I continued to eat without ever feeling hungry, I definitely wouldn't lose anything. I start to get hungry at lunch time, so I eat. I'm good until dinner time and then get hungry again, so I eat. It took a bit to recognize the difference between hunger and cravings. Also a struggle to learn it's okay to get hungry. I'm not going to die if I don't eat in the next 30 seconds.

I find exercise helps me control really bad "hunger" cravings particularly moderate intensity (brisk walking, gardening, stationary bike)
I also use peppermint tea and miso soup to control those hunger pangs.
Good luck

The body takes a while (it is different depending on the person) to adjust to new calorie intake levels; When you are used to just eating whatever whenever then start restricting yourself, your mind and stomach tend to say 'hey, wait a sec ... I normally eat more by now, so lets feel hungry". There is a very big difference between those little hunger 'pangs' and true Hunger - I have, in the past, been in a situation where I was barely eating enough to survive (not through an ED, but due to being on the cusp of nowhere to live and having no money to actually buy food - only charity from a person I was renting from kept me going). That type of hunger is pervasive - a feeling of almost 'hollowness' in your stomach and a feeling of weakness, no matter how little you do. And then, when you finally eat, finding that it disappears so fast you don't remember eating. The pangs from changing your diet go away with time and, as long as you maintain a 'healthy' (varies depending on body type, weight, metabolism, etc) intake you will (as hard to believe as it may seem when the feelings hit) be fine. If you are within your goals for intake then 'wean' yourself off the cravings with small snacks now and then (something low cal and filling or at least something crunchy to tell your brain 'hey, im eating').

Note that it is different for everyone - if you start feeling weak then stoke the furnace, don't let losing weight cause you to ignore the body's danger signals.

SezxyStef wrote: »

mudonthetires856 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

I sometimes wonder if people actually know the difference between hunger and appetite?

Hunger is not a requirement for weight loss...I think that is one of the reasons people often fail.

Too few calories and too little protein to help keep you feeling fuller longer and the fats for satiety that lots feel are "bad"...this is what causes the problem

I mean to say you are "ravenous" or "hungry all the time" seems well...not a good thing.

For me, I was never truly hungry because I always ate before I felt it. I get hungry now and eat when it happens. I'm not hungry all the time. The "ravenously hungry" was only for a few weeks while my body got used to such a large drop in calories. I could easily eat a large pizza to myself and then follow it up with some brownies. This was after a 1,000 calorie breakfast. Going from that to 1,300-1,500 daily made me STARVE in the beginning.

Hunger is absolutely a part of weight loss because we aren't eating at the levels we used to. If I continued to eat without ever feeling hungry, I definitely wouldn't lose anything. I start to get hungry at lunch time, so I eat. I'm good until dinner time and then get hungry again, so I eat. It took a bit to recognize the difference between hunger and cravings. Also a struggle to learn it's okay to get hungry. I'm not going to die if I don't eat in the next 30 seconds.

The bolded part is not always part..might have been for you due to your large drop in calories but that wasn't necessary that was your choice.

I didn't gain weight fast it was a slow process that happened with a few pounds here and there so for me to lose weight I consumed 1600 calories a day to lose 1lb a week then switched to 1800 a day...keeping it filled with protein and fats...

even now I maintain on about 2200-2400 calories and I might get a little peckish right before meals but not what I call hungry....even remotely close.

I think we are just looking at the word "hunger" differently. Hunger to me doesn't mean stomach grumbling and wanting to eat everything in sight. Just my body telling me it's time to eat. Not starving, not ravenously hungry, just time to eat. Also, I never meant for it to be an "everyone is this way". I was speaking to the OP's situation and in this case, yes, hunger (in my meaning of the word) is a part of weight loss. What I was trying to portray is that the OP has to learn the difference between being hungry and just wanting to eat. I may not have worded it correctly.

For the OP, I was trying to make the point that the beginning is harder while your body adjusts and the hunger (or peckishness) will get easier over time. They struggle with the feeling as did I.

I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of your maintenance. The large drop in calories was a necessity for me because I gained pretty quickly after I dealt with some stomach issues and have a much lower maintenance. However, even though my drop was large, some people still struggle with a small deficit because either their mind or body needs to adjust.

My macros are split pretty evenly with some days being higher in fat, some days higher in protein. I'm satisfied most of the time, so I consider my hunger manageable.

longstocking wrote: »

mortuseon_ wrote: »

I really think it is something to do with the eating disorder. I am more in control of my hunger cues now (4 years recovered, bulimia), but getting hit with sudden, ravenous HUNGER still occasionally happens. I don't think people quite understand that it isn't just 'having an appetite', it's a huge, sudden, consuming urge, one that used to cause me to eat things like entire cheesecakes (and more) in one go. I will say that it has levelled out a bit now after 4 years of eating what I want and including a lot of fruit and veg in my diet to satisfy the volume component. I know it's not very healthy, but I drink a lot of non-calorie drinks (like Diet Coke) and coffee (black, or iced coffee with almond milk is only something like 25 calories) to suppress my appetite as much as possible. I also eat more fatty food in the evening which tends to be when I get hungrier. It's not perfect, but those things might help if your hunger cues are weird like mine!

I feel like you're the only person in this thread who understands what kind of hunger I'm talking about. I think you are right and it is a consequence of my ED. It is, like you said, ravenous, and all consuming at times. It is different from regular hunger. Some days I can go without eating for many hours and my tummy is empty and growling, but it is easy to tolerate, it even feels nice in a way. But then other times, it's the crazy all consuming hunger where I can't focus on anything else. Sometimes it's sudden, sometimes it builds up for several days. But it's really hard to resist. This is where I often end up overeating.

I think that, like you, the longer I maintain healthy eating pattern, have normal suzed meals at scheduled times and resist overeating, the rarer I should have these urges. At least I hope so.

Is it related to your hormonal cycle? Because this is an exact description of my hormonal hunger on certain days. I'm ravenously hungry, and if not hungry it's the cravings, and if it's not the cravings there is this weird drive to eat, and if it's not that, it's food seeking behavior where I look at recipes, plan foods, think about food...etc. It's as if I have a brain transplant every month. I'm usually extremely well adapted to hunger, then suddenly I'm not. Unfortunately, this kind of hunger is consistent every month and did not go away after more than 100 lbs of weight loss. I just accept it like it is reminding myself that not all days are like that, and grin and bear it.

For me the issue is in being bored or idle. I had a screensaver on my phone that said "You are not hungry, you are bored!" Any time I would start thinking about eating something, knowing full well that I had enough to eat at my last meal, I would find something to do to take my mind off the food. That definitely cut out a lot of TV time

I found this thread because I searched "not hungry." I was curious because I haven't been hungry in 3 days, despite some significant exercise on days 1 and 2. Thinking about it, I have been getting plenty of protein, lots of high-volume/low-cal veggies, and not a lot of carbs, which in general has helped me avoid hunger in the past. But I'm not even hungry when I should be, like the morning after a 1,400-cal day during which I did about an hour of yard work.

I don't know--it's such a huge change because, though I have no diagnosed eating disorder, I have had some truly spectacular binges (e.g. $40 worth of takeout Chinese in one sitting) in addition to some other very unhealthy eating habits. My poor eating happens most when I am sleepy, bored, or stressed, and I've been fighting off the sleepiness by shoveling gravel and doing other intense yard-cleanup tasks. I think there might be hope for you though, OP, as your body adjusts to new routines.