is hunger an indicator of diet working?

Sadly, it isn't

I'm rarely hungry on my current weight loss plan and im losing exactly as I am supposed too. I do have days every once in awhile when im hungrier than normal, I eat some extra to accommodate for those days, but I've surprinsgly never gone above my maintenance calories, there are days that I work out alot or went hiking for several hours and am too full to eat my all of my excerise calories, so I wouldnt say that hunger is a good indication of if your plan is working.

Hunger is not an indication of anything specific other than your body, or your mind, wanting food. I never used to feel actual hunger pangs until I started counting calories. I believe that feeling hungry before it's time for your next meal is OK as long as you aren't ravenous and make a bad choice from that. Feeling hunger all the time probably means one should up their calories a tad.

There is no correlation between hunger and the weight you lose/your diet being effective -- except that if you are hungry, you will be more likely to not be able to sustain your eating habits over the long term. (You will get hungry, want food, and likely eat more as a result.)

Learning what makes your body feel full is one of the things that will make your food choices more sustainable, rather than a harmful and ineffective 'crash' diet where you push too hard and burn out. That's highly personal -- what makes you feel full might be more fat, or more protein, or more fiber, etc.

If bread and potatoes make you feel full, you should absolutely include that in your diet. Weight loss happens because you eat at a caloric deficit: there are no 'bad foods', and demonizing certain kinds of food and beating yourself up for eating them is a good way to develop an unhealthy relationship with food or give up because you've made the foods you like best into temptations that you can't have.

Include the things you like to eat in your diet, just make it work within your caloric limit. If you love a piece if bread with dinner and it makes you full and happy to eat it, budget some calories for that. If you used to eat four slices of bread with dinner and you know that's not going to sustainably contribute to you losing the weight you want to lose, maybe cut it down to just one slice instead.

It's strange and unfortunate that people associate eating within your recommended caloric intake so strongly with feeling deprived and hungry. In my experience, it's when you DON'T feel hungry or deprived that your eating habits are most realistic and sustainable.

snickerscharlie wrote: »

TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »

Foods higher in protein and fiber will make you feel full longer. Keeps hunger away longer.

Not necessarily. Things that people find satiating vary with the individual.

Exactly. I need carbs to satiate my hunger.

I think that often, for overweight people attempting to lose weight, that hunger is a poor indicator of either a diet working or indeed the need for food. I also think that the reverse is true in that, for some, not feeling hungry is not a sign that they do not need to eat.

To re-educate/re-connect with a "normal" (rather than weight gain) diet/eating pattern/volumes it is often sensible to track their eating and weight for a period of time and that is where MFP can be more useful than some other "diet" plans.

I like to feel a little hunger once a day. I fast until 12pm or 1pm. I just feel more focused when I'm a little hungry but you don't have to feel hungry to be losing weight. If you eat the right things then you should be able to stay satisfied enough not to get super hungry.

I find that when I'm in a calorie deficit, sometimes I am hungry later at night so I try to do things like push lunch to later and later so I can also eat dinner later. Fiber, fat and protein help keep hunger away but sugars and "white" carbs really kick my hunger into gear like a bagel or white bread will make me feel hungry 2 hours later.