Advice On Dealing With Hunger?

HalcomMeganM1998
HalcomMeganM1998 Posts: 1 Member
edited December 19 in Motivation and Support
So I'm very new to dieting and although I know dieting isn't supposed to equal going hungry I've been having a really hard time with staying full throughout the day. I end up accidentally going alittle over my daily allowed calorie intake and I really just don't know what to do. Any advice on curbing hunger (expecially at night) would be greatly helpful and appreciated, thank you.

Replies

  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Drink more water. I know it sounds dumb, but it's really easy to mistake thirst for hunger.
    Try eating foods with more protein and/or fiber. For many people, these foods keep them fuller, longer.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited February 2019
    In addition, make sure your deficit isn't too aggressive. Did you choose 2 lbs per week? How much weight do you have to lose? Are you eating back some of your exercise calories?
  • andysport1
    andysport1 Posts: 592 Member
    Drink water, black coffee but once you are hungry it's too late, just eat. Try making better choices, tomorrow be more prepared, drink more fluids to stave off hunger, have good food choices available.
  • TravisJHunt
    TravisJHunt Posts: 533 Member
    Also remember you might go a little over a day here and there. Its not 100% an exact science either so 50 cals one way or the other isn't going to blow the whole thing up, unless of course you're always on the over side.
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    edited February 2019
    How hungry are we talking here? You shouldn't necessarily need to be "full" all day but you shouldn't be getting too hungry either. When you're too hungry it can be hard to make sensible choices and getting too hungry a lot can lead to just getting fed up with the restriction and eating everything. And that can be the start of a nasty binge-restrict cycle.

    The Hunger Scale is a decent way to rationalise your hunger levels. If you find yourself around a 1 or a 2 regularly then you'll need to look at eating more and losing more slowly.

    Finding foods with higher volume for lower calories can be helpful (if you're sure your calorie goal isn't too aggressive), or messing about with macros to see if you do better with higher protein or fats. I personally need as much volume as possible to feel my best so I eat a lot of vegetables and include protein in every meal. It's a learning curve to find what kind of food you do best on.
  • NayaYTeague
    NayaYTeague Posts: 6 Member
    Drink water, and tea (coffee if you like it). Most importantly eat foods that will feel you up, and are lower in calories. Foods that are high in protein are really great at keeping you full!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I agree with others about drinking water and making sure your deficit isn't too aggressive...also agree with eating back some of your exercise calories, at least when you feel hungry that day.

    For me meal timing and size is hugely important. I like a small breakfast and larger lunch and dinner and I don't eat in the evening. I don't snack. If I do smaller meals and snacks instead, I never quite feel satisfied/full, and I think about food constantly.

    I know people who are totally opposite of this and feel most satisfied eating 6-8 mini meals each day. Or people who like 1-2 very large meals and kind of "fast" for long periods but find that works for them. Play with these until you figure out what works best for you.
  • hunnahs26
    hunnahs26 Posts: 288 Member
    So I'm curious here... My hunger sparks and I eat, for example I would eat a chicken breast and some greens. ABout a half hour later though I'm hungry again, or I'm still hungry after I eat. What are some things I can try to keep me fuller longer?
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
    edited February 2019
    hunterstump2 wrote: »
    So I'm curious here... My hunger sparks and I eat, for example I would eat a chicken breast and some greens. ABout a half hour later though I'm hungry again, or I'm still hungry after I eat. What are some things I can try to keep me fuller longer?
    Some people find that adding fat to their meals helps them stay fuller longer. Others swear that adding fiber helps them. Some people say that adding more protein to every meal helps them more. You’ll have to experiment and find out what’s right for you.

    Sometimes the beginning of a weight loss period is a big adjustment, and it takes a few weeks to mentally and physically get you and your body used to smaller portions.
    You might stop feeling so hungry after a few weeks of adjusting

    But If you’re experiencing constant hunger an hour every after meal, day in and day out, more than a month into your weight loss plan, you might want to reevaluate whether your deficit is too aggressive.
  • marcvb35
    marcvb35 Posts: 291 Member
    I am somewhat new to dieting and have always over eaten. for this reason I have chosen to have a few unlimited food available at all times. I stuff myself full at every meal. todays lunch was 210 calories of green beans or 3.25 pounds. I know some people can not eat like this but my point is there are plenty of foods out there that can be combined to make a truly filling meal that is low cal. I do like feeling very hungry when I start a meal.
  • wearefab
    wearefab Posts: 69 Member
    Is it really hunger ? Are you very active?

    If you are tired or thirsty then the brain sends signals that get confused with hunger. So make sure you are in bed 8 hours a night. And drinking heaps of water.

    If you are very active then you can genuinely burn through food fast but burning through a chicken breast in half hour is ott rapid.

    Hunger is in the stomach. Quite often people feel and hear their intestines gurgling and mistake it for hunger. Have a look online and location of organs in body and consider where your hunger is coming from.

    Do you have a medical condition such asdiabetes or pcos or depression? Medical conditions can make you feel like you need to eat or hunger.

    There's a big difference between hunger and appetite and sleeping well, hydrating, eating fibre fat and protein with every meal, should help.

    From what I've read here very few people stick to 1200 a day. That's pretty low. Especially if you exercise.

    Go well.
  • nbrady001
    nbrady001 Posts: 60 Member
    I struggled with this all week and have decided to up my calories by 200 so I can sleep at night. Some hunger means the diet is working but feeling faint and growling hunger all night is a bit much. Also eat a lot of veggies and drink lots of water.
  • lin_be
    lin_be Posts: 393 Member
    Pre plan your entire day so at night you have that snack you love to look forward to. I do this with cookies and ice cream. I save 200 calories a night for a treat and it fits my goals. Also remember that your deficit to lose weight is probably 1000 (2lbs/week) - 250 (.5lbs/week) cals. If you go over by 100, you’ll still lose weight albeit a little slower.
  • bobthecoolsmileyface
    bobthecoolsmileyface Posts: 12 Member
    HalcomMeganM1998 wrote: »
    So I'm very new to dieting and although I know dieting isn't supposed to equal going hungry I've been having a really hard time with staying full throughout the day. I end up accidentally going alittle over my daily allowed calorie intake and I really just don't know what to do. Any advice on curbing hunger (expecially at night) would be greatly helpful and appreciated, thank you.

    To be honest I'm dealing with the same thing at the moment. I'm at work for the whole week so when my lunch break comes around and I only eat a small amount I find it helps distracting myself with going into different shops and having a little look around. So my answer to your question is to just distract yourself as best as you can: maybe by texting someone on your phone or looking into different shops or just chatting to someone. Hope this helped
  • hunnahs26
    hunnahs26 Posts: 288 Member
    gallicinvasion wrote: »
    hunterstump2 wrote: »
    So I'm curious here... My hunger sparks and I eat, for example I would eat a chicken breast and some greens. ABout a half hour later though I'm hungry again, or I'm still hungry after I eat. What are some things I can try to keep me fuller longer?
    Some people find that adding fat to their meals helps them stay fuller longer. Others swear that adding fiber helps them. Some people say that adding more protein to every meal helps them more. You’ll have to experiment and find out what’s right for you.

    Sometimes the beginning of a weight loss period is a big adjustment, and it takes a few weeks to mentally and physically get you and your body used to smaller portions.
    You might stop feeling so hungry after a few weeks of adjusting

    But If you’re experiencing constant hunger an hour every after meal, day in and day out, more than a month into your weight loss plan, you might want to reevaluate whether your deficit is too aggressive.

    Thanks for the advice!
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Are you "hungry" or "thirsty"? Maybe a nice cuppa will help.
  • dechowj
    dechowj Posts: 148 Member
    I find that chewing gum helps me when I'm hungry and looking for a snack.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    In addition, make sure your deficit isn't too aggressive. Did you choose 2 lbs per week? How much weight do you have to lose? Are you eating back some of your exercise calories?

    x100
    many people go on diets greatly under eat thinking it's the only way to lose.

    for me I like to eat "volume" so look at foods that are low in calorie density to increase volume I can eat. But this makes others hungrier as they need more fat in their diet ot feel full. (and to be honest, I've had to switch to include more fat in my diet as I was eating too low fat which is NOT good either).
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