What do you do when you’re hungry

ellioc2
ellioc2 Posts: 148 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Besides eat, of course 😂 Let’s say you’re really trying to stick to your calorie budget but you’re just really hungry and can’t stop thinking about food. That’s been me all day for whatever reason. I have no idea why I’m so ravenous. I’m not working out today and I’m really trying to eat around 1200, no higher - yesterday I did go closer to 1400 since I hit the gym but I’ve been fairly sedentary today. I’ve chewed a couple pieces of gum and took a long bath. I’m trying to study right now but it’s really hard to concentrate. I’m craving a KIND bar, of all things but those are 200 calories and I only have 400 left for my dinner and the rest of the evening. Some days are so easy and my appetite is well controlled but on days like these I really just want to give into my cravings even though I know I shouldn’t.

Replies

  • Unknown
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  • Salixiana
    Salixiana Posts: 37 Member
    OP, you mentioned that you worked out yesterday, and you're extra-hungry today. I've learned that whenever I get extra exercise on one day, I add the exercise calories to the following day -- because that's always when my body seems to need them.

    Also, regarding hunger: I divide up hunger between the kind that's just a noticeable sensation, and the kind where I'm so ravenous that I can't concentrate.

    With the just-noticeable kind, I tell myself that it's a positive thing. I tell myself that this is the sensation of losing weight, and I'm doing it right.

    With the ravenous kind of hunger, I trust my body and go ahead and eat something -- even if it puts me over my 1200-calorie limit. Actually, that just happened about an hour ago, and I ate an ounce of cheddar cheese and a Kind bar. I think it's because I went on an uphill bike ride yesterday. Anyway, I can focus now.

    1200 calories can be tricky -- so I try to be aware of when my body really really needs fuel in order to function.
  • margbarco
    margbarco Posts: 128 Member
    edited December 2018
    I make sure I’m hydrated. And even if I am, I’ll still make a hot cup of black tea with lemon (my favorite beverage that I drink several times per day year round). I may have 2 squares of dark chocolate with the tea.

    If I’m truly hungry after that, I’ll eat something with a reasonable amount of protein and/or fiber. The closer I am to my calorie goal the less I splurge on snack or dessert type foods.
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    edited December 2018
    Drink water. I get 'munchies' without actually being hungry... Turns out I'm thirsty. If you FEEL thirsty, you are dehydrated.

    I'll also eat something, and try to plan my food better in the long run. Plan to have a snack or two during the day between meals. If you don't have it by when you finish dinner, HEY. Dessert. Doesn't have to be big snacks, but if you are genuinely hungry? Eat something.

    Apples are the love of my life. Or watermelon, omfg, I can't wait for summer for them to go on sale again.

    Go get carrots (baby or regular, just wash them). Grape tomatoes. Sliced mushrooms. Celery.

    There are plenty of low-calorie options to tide over your hunger until a meal of you are getting nibbly and don't want to spoil your appetite.

    (Edit: Skinny Pop Popcorn is on sale at King Soopers/Kroger, and is also included in the Buy 5, Save $5 promotion. Eat slowly, don't do what I do and just stuff your mouth full. It is a VERY bad habit to break...)
  • yukfoo
    yukfoo Posts: 871 Member
    I keep a 1/2 dozen boiled eggs on hand. Two or 3 whites and I'm good 'till dinner.
  • xXxSeriouslyxXx
    xXxSeriouslyxXx Posts: 72 Member
    Drink a whole lot of water.
  • ShayCarver89
    ShayCarver89 Posts: 239 Member
    edited December 2018
    There are 2 types of hunger for me. 'Eh' hunger. Where I can deal with it. Drink some diet Dr Pepper, play some video games, go to sleep. It won't bother me. Then there's 'I'll burn the house down if you don't feed me' level hunger. That's when I eat something. Like last night I just wanted a thin crust chicken, bacon, ranch pizza from Domino's at midnight, but I opted for an orange and some tuna instead. Calories? Yes. Did I die? No.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    Drink a glass of water, be patient and let it pass, and it will.

    Reflect on the progress made thus far as comfort and privately chant this: “My success requires desire, discipline, patience and perseverance.”
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Make sure you are getting enough protein, fat, and fiber. Make sure you are eating back some of your exercise calories, 1200 + exercise would be a recipe for disaster for a lot of people. Make sure you are logging accurately and consistently so you can see patterns in your diary of what foods lead to a comfortable day and which ones leave you hungry and eventually overeating. Make sure you aren't trying to rush weight loss due to a lack of patience and understanding of the process - hormonal cycles in women cause water weight shifts from one day to the next and from one week to the next that can hide actual weight loss on the scale for weeks.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    I think it would benefit you to meet with a dietitian, and outline what a reasonable meal and calorie goal looks like, considering your current activity, your past eating disorder, and your current relapse.
  • RealWorldStrengthLLC
    RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
    I find meal timing really helps me. Its not necessarily that nutrient timing is that important, I use it more as a method for hunger control. For instsnce, I find it much easier to be hungry and not care earlier in the day - so I have a protien shake around 9:30 am, I usually train around 2, and then I eat at 4, 6, 8, & 10:30.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    It's very hard to be calorie deprived at first. My first two weeks felt like torture. I concentrated on websites that showed my likely goal weight figure. Silly, but true. Try to realize that this feeling of discomfort is temporary and is a symptom of losing weight. Your body is crying out for the food it needs to maintain your current weight. You just have to say no! Then be proud of your will power. Do this enough days, and your weight will come down and your cravings will also reduce as you get smaller. It's not easy but is very rewarding in the long run.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I tend to eat.

    The foods I choose now do not tend to stimulate my appetite or cravings so if I am hungry, then it means my body wants more food.

    I tend not to stick too close to a low caloric goal. I do not feel there is a need to eat the same amount of calories everyday. As long as my overall average caloric intake is a deficit, I don't worry about eating more on some days and less on others. I think variation is more natural for our bodies anyways.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I'll eat if I'm very hungry, and can't stop thinking about food qualifies as very hungry. Try to eat something reasonable so I don't go too far over my goal. (I can still be at a deficit, my goal is based on losing 1/4 pound or whatever per week.)

    I also log it. Because sometimes flipping through can shed some light on why I felt so ravenous.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited December 2018
    acogg wrote: »
    It's very hard to be calorie deprived at first. My first two weeks felt like torture. I concentrated on websites that showed my likely goal weight figure. Silly, but true. Try to realize that this feeling of discomfort is temporary and is a symptom of losing weight. Your body is crying out for the food it needs to maintain your current weight. You just have to say no! Then be proud of your will power. Do this enough days, and your weight will come down and your cravings will also reduce as you get smaller. It's not easy but is very rewarding in the long run.

    If this isn't just an exaggeration, you were likely restricting too many calories too quickly, which is a common problem that happens to lots of people. Reason being is once they finally commit to losing the weight, they want it gone asap and tend to choose a higher weekly rate of loss than they can reasonably sustain. Because who *wouldn't* want the weight gone soonest? That's human nature.

    But honestly? Nothing about this process should be 'torture.' A reasonable caloric deficit - even though it will extend the period of time needed to actually lose the weight - isn't punitive and is way more likely to actually result in sustainable change. :)
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Eat something in the 2-300 cal range that you know will help feed the hunger. I don't know about you, but my body doesn't reset at midnight or anything, and doesn't really have any idea that I am not planning to work out today and is just sort of on a gentle continuum of requiring snacks and meals.

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