THE HUNGER
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angelamwoodruff
Posts: 7 Member
You guys, I'm so sad I am 36 and have been eating huge portions my entire life. I am counting calories and feel hungry ALL THE TIME. I'm trying to treat it like a headache or sore legs.... if it were a headache, is it bad enough that I would take Tylenol or something? Usually the answer is no, its just annoyance and lifelong bad snacking habits. Hunger doesn't have to be listened to 24 hours a day, right? I won't die if I feel a little hungry.
I have eaten so much raw celery/carrots/cucumbers/sparkling water the past few days to try to combat it.
I have eaten so much raw celery/carrots/cucumbers/sparkling water the past few days to try to combat it.
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Replies
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I don’t think it’s going to kill you. You can find a way to use your calories to make you not hungry. Everything is hard at first but you can do this.5
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You have to separate hunger and cravings and deal with them differently.
Is it hunger? What's your height and weight, and your calorie goal? Are you hitting it daily? Do you exercise, do you eat back exercise calories?
Do you eat balanced and varied meals? Raw vegetables alone does nothing for you. Are you getting in food from all the food groups every day? How is your macro split, if you track macros?
Do you eat food you like, or do you force yourself to eat diet food? Do you envy your friends and family who can "eat anything they want"? You can eat anything you want, too, you just have to not eat too much over time.
Are you well nourished, and just want something in your mouth, a taste, something to chew on, are you bored, or sad, or upset? Then you can ride the urges. Try to pay attention, what do you really want?12 -
I have days where I have to remind myself that it really won't kill me to go to bed a little bit hungry - and by morning it will have vanished and I'll be thrilled I didn't cave. As you get used to eating less, your appetite will adjust. You shouldn't be ravenously hungry all the time after a week or two. If you do find you are really struggling though, maybe increase your calories a little bit and see if that helps. How much of a deficit have you set for yourself? Also give yourself a day every now and then where you eat to maintenance. Note this is NOT all you can eat - still track everything you eat and make sure you aren't exceeding maintenance. I find this helps me not feel deprived.2
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are you eating enough fat/protein/fibre?
is your calorie goal appropriate or too large a deficit?7 -
Did you go from eating large portions to sudden calorie control? Maybe it would be easier if you gradually reduced your intake down to your calorie goal.6
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I find nutrition a little like exercise
If you have never run before, you dont just get up out the bed and go run 10k .. you build up to it ... run/walk 1k .... build up to 5k etc etc.
same with nutrition ... go from eating 3000kcal of fastfood, sodas, packet products etc and try to drop to 1700kcal of lean meats and salad and it will kill you.
Perhaps you need to start slow. Go back to eating how you were but remove all the soda ... next week half the amount of potato/rice and bread you give yourself
ALL the time logging what you eat
over the period of a few month you will slowely fall in to line3 -
How many calories are you eating? How long have you been trying, and how long have you been struggling with hunger? Are you close to or hitting your protein, fat, and fiber goals?0
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Presuming you are eating at a sensible level you may just have to suck it up for a while.
Fundamental change sometimes necessitates suffering but leads to a better place. It will get better.0 -
@diannethegeek has a great list of general tips for hunger. Maybe she will chime in. The first one though, and this really is the most important, is taking the time to make certain your calorie goal is appropriate. If you are attempting fast weight loss with an inappropriately large deficit, it will cause hunger and basically doom the whole effort. Not sustainable no matter how strong your willpower or how mindful your eating habits.
How much do you have to lose, OP? And what is your intended daily deficit?
BTW, I feel like I'm balancing it well if I feel a little hunger an hour before meal time and maybe a little at bedtime. Weirdly, when I go to bed hungry, I wake up fine and feel good with only coffee until 10 or noon. When I go to bed full, I'm famished in the morning. Can't explain that.
ETA: This book has a good discussion on (1) rating your hunger on a scale, (2) discerning cravings from hunger, (3) managing cravings.
https://www.amazon.com/Beck-Diet-Solution-Train-person-ebook/dp/B007PRZN4Y4 -
A tiny bit of hunger is a sign that you're eating less than you used to--it's a good thing!2
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You might find some ideas here. These are my really general 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. Try different macros. A lot of people 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. Others feel better with high volume, higher carb diets (I trend this way during my period, personally). That's okay, too. See what makes you feel best.
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.6 -
TavistockToad wrote: »are you eating enough fat/protein/fibre?
is your calorie goal appropriate or too large a deficit?
Right, I'm only hungry right before meals so @angelamwoodruff I suspect you are running too large a calorie deficit for the weight you need to lose and/or are not eating foods that satiate you.- Some people do get full on high volume/low calorie foods like the veggies you mentioned.
- Others like plans like keto where they are getting the majority of their calories from fat.
- Others like programs like IF which limits their eating window and allows them to have bigger meals during the time they do eat.
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Often people drasticly change eating habits, which are quite hard to stick with at beginning. If you just started with a very restricking amount of food, you might just need a few weeks to get from where you were to your new goal.
Or the food you are eating if not satisfiying to you. For exemple to feel full I need to eat carbs and fiber, so that's what I concentrate on. Some people can have eggs and bacon for breakfast and be fine, after an hour I would be starving. But give mehigh quality bread and 1 egg and i'll be fine for hour. Try to switch up what you eat and notice when you are full longuer or hungry faster, try to find a pattern.1 -
The hunger is part of the process, try and get use to it/ adjust to it. You'll figure out on your own when your physically hungry vs physiologically hungry. You're use to eating large portions so it's just an adjustment process, try drinking water when you get hungry might help a bit.0
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Most people don't have to deal with hunger much once they get their diet dialed in. Typically a mix of protein, carbs, and fats will satisfy hunger for longer periods of time than just eating a single macro. Focus your meals on lean meats, vegetables and then a source of starch like rice or potato. The fats will be in the meats and then a little butter on your veg and starch. The best ratio of macros will take a little experimentation. Also, you could try intermittent fasting. I find that doing IF I'm only hungry as I get close to lunch. After that I'm fine all day.0
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angelamwoodruff wrote: »You guys, I'm so sad I am 36 and have been eating huge portions my entire life. I am counting calories and feel hungry ALL THE TIME. I'm trying to treat it like a headache or sore legs.... if it were a headache, is it bad enough that I would take Tylenol or something? Usually the answer is no, its just annoyance and lifelong bad snacking habits. Hunger doesn't have to be listened to 24 hours a day, right? I won't die if I feel a little hungry.
I have eaten so much raw celery/carrots/cucumbers/sparkling water the past few days to try to combat it.
The above don't work for me either. Protein, fiber and/or fat are filling components, but it's a different combination for everyone.
The above are fat-free, (almost) protein free....fiber. Instead try celery with nut butter or buttered cooked carrots, or substitute water with a glass of milk.
Make sure your weekly weight loss goal isn't too aggressive for you. Is your daily calorie goal 1200? This is the default minimum for women.
If you exercise, My Fitness Pal is designed for you to eat a portion of those calories back.3 -
The troll in your belly will scream for a while when first deprived, but it gives up after a while. (For me, about two weeks.)
I think it helps to eat on a schedule. The troll screams loudest when a meal is late.
Some people report less hunger if they drink 12-24oz of warm water with a teaspoon of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar before meals, particularly breakfast. (Before anyone jumps on me, this is just a suggestion. There is no science behind it that I know of. But I know one person for whom this was very helpful in terms of appetite control and has now lost >50lbs.)
I think it helps to eat adequate protein (at least 1g per kg of lean body mass) and go a bit heavy on high-quality fats (maybe 50% of total daily calories). The rest should be complex carbs (oatmeal, sweet potato, etc.). No sugar and limited fruit for a while. But: if you exercise you can eat most of those calories back as carbs.
It can also accelerate the process of adapting to a lower calorie intake by doing a fast day. (I still drink about 500cals of en electrolyte sports drink at mealtimes plus tea on such days.) You can do this once in a blue moon or as much as once a week.
Finally, I find that strategically timed cardio session can help with hunger.4 -
Do a test day. Just eat normally and track how many calories did you consume without restriction. Then lower that like 20-30%. Do that for a couple of months to get used to it. Then lower it some more. Don't expect fast results but that's the most sustainable way. Do what you're comfortable doing for years not just for one summer.
Do not suddenly lower 50-60% of the intake. Been there, done that, burned out...
Yeah and soda is a good point. If you like it just buy the ones with zero calories.
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Thanks for all the advice, people. And no, I’m not trying for 1200 calories- more like 1800! And when I say I’m eating veggies it’s because I’ve eaten all the protein and food for the day and am trying to not get some chips or a muffin at the work cafe. I went to a brewfest yesterday and ate/drank 6000 calories- I probably could have eaten more but went to bed. Fooooooood.
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I personally find that fruits and veggies don't keep me full for very long. Same with liquid calories. Try to find foods that are somewhat low in calories but more filling. Everyone is different, but for me it's meats, bagels, potatoes, etc.
Another thing I do is try to eat less for breakfast and lunch and while at work so I have more calories for the evening. I've found I can deal with the hunger better if I know I can eat more later, vs. being late at night and out of calories.
I've also found that your body will adjust over time if you are consistent with your calories, and you will feel less hungry as you get used to it.
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