is hunger an indicator of diet working?

I know it sounds silly but bear with me...started off my diet very restricted, eating complex carbs proteins and a bit of fibre
typically: weetabix for breakfast
asda prawn salad lunch (400cals)
chicken breast with more veg dinner
however I felt hungry quite often with this so I upped my diet and added more wholemeal bread, potatoes, and paired it with a curry obviously not overdoing it on the slices, to cut it short I calculated I'm within calorie deficit but don't feel too hungry, does not feeling hungry = not losing weight?
«1

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Sticking to a correct calorie intake = losing weight. Hunger is mostly irrelevant.
  • donhuzayfa
    donhuzayfa Posts: 13 Member
    thanks
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    Foods higher in protein and fiber will make you feel full longer. Keeps hunger away longer.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,218 Member
    Sadly, it isn't :(
  • Shron123
    Shron123 Posts: 221 Member
    For me, the hunger went away when I upped my healthy fat intake. Fat helps us feel full longer and helps us absorb many minerals, vitamins etc. Our brain recognizes we have eaten when the fat button is pushed where a meal of carbs might have the brain requesting more intake. Dehydration can mimic hunger and if the body is missing vital important nutrients it can keep telling til it gets them.
  • laurenebargar
    laurenebargar Posts: 3,081 Member
    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.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
    By estimation i used to eat maybe 4000-5000 calories and was often ravenous. I was eating a very carb heavy diet back then
  • SiegfriedXXL
    SiegfriedXXL Posts: 219 Member
    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.
  • donhuzayfa
    donhuzayfa Posts: 13 Member
    thankyou for the info guys!
  • EJBarner
    EJBarner Posts: 68 Member
    edited July 2017
    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.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,953 Member
    I can eat twice my maintenance calories and still be hungry, or eat very low calorie and be quite satisfied. Hunger cues are basically useless for determining whether you're in a deficit or not.

    As others have pointed out, however, staying hungry can lead to poorer choices, so it shouldn't be your aim or its likely to backfire.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    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.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,581 Member
    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.

    And I need carbs and fats. :)
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    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.
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    Somedays when I've been exercising hard I can end up 1200 cals net and not feel hungry, sometimes on the weekend when I'm slobbing around I can eat close to 1000 calories over maintenance and still be rooting around the fridge. So I don't think so. x
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,344 Member
    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.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Somedays when I've been exercising hard I can end up 1200 cals net and not feel hungry, sometimes on the weekend when I'm slobbing around I can eat close to 1000 calories over maintenance and still be rooting around the fridge. So I don't think so. x

    My experience also. I think that, for some people, this is where a weekly target works well.