Tips for controlling your appetite???

Well, despite having bought a treadmill and jogging 5x a week for the past month, i have effectively gained weight. While my target calorie goal is 1,700 per day, i tend to go over daily and consume closer to 1,950.

How do you curb your desire to eat? Is there something you do to keep your appetite under control?

A friend suggested it’s just habit. I tend to agree with her. I have formed a habit of eating after dinner. It would be hard to eat less. I dont want to feel hungry or deprived. But i am also tired of being overweight. :(

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Replies

  • podperson1
    podperson1 Posts: 207 Member
    If you are feeling genuine hunger pangs in the evening then it could be worth looking at your daily meal plans and seeing if you can add/switch in some more protein heavy options to keep you feeling full. A lot of the time though I find it's not my appetite I need to control, it's my bad habits - especially when it comes to evening snacking. I won't actually be hungry but I'll still feel the need to 'munch' on something either because it's habit, or I'm bored, stressed etc.

    I think it's a lot about finding what works for you. You could try juggling your daily allowance, so you might have a lower cal breakfast/lunch, leaving more evening cals left over, combined with looking at more healthy snacking options.
    Or you could look at ways to try and break the snacking habits themselves. I find distraction is the best thing, doing something that keeps either my brain or my hands busy makes me much less likely to head to the kitchen. For me, these include going for a quick walk, painting my nails, doing some sketching/doodling, trying some knitting etc. but I'm sure you can find other ideas.

    Personally, I try the distraction options first and if I'm still craving something then I have a variety of fairly low cal options.
  • joyanna2016
    joyanna2016 Posts: 323 Member
    Caffeine.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 652 Member
    I do best when I eat several small snack/meals spread out between breakfast and lunch, then a larger dinner. And drink a glass of water. Just happened to me yesterday where I was feeling really hungry for lunch around 9am, so I drank some water instead of reaching for another snack. Bam, hunger disappeared until actual lunch time. Of course, that only works if I'm not actually ready for food but it's a good indicator.

    And yes, it sounds like you're not hungry after dinner, but used to the habit. You can either embrace it and save a few extra calories for that late night snack, or fight it by giving yourself a different habit (go for a short walk, meditate, check facebook, whatever will distract you really).
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    Save some calories for a night time snack.

    A lot of night time eating can be purely habit or boredom I find - last summer I started using IF (16:8) to keep my calories in check - I've gotten used to not eating anything at all after 7pm apart from drinking tea or water. It wasn't easy for the first few weeks but now I don't even think of snacking I'm so used to it. It made me realize a lot of my eating was out of habit rather than because I was actually hungry.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited February 2021
    A couple of things to unpack here..

    First, as everyone said above, if you can make smaller meals or meals that are less calorie dense during the day, you can save more room for calories in the evenings.
    It also helps to find what is satiating to you. Are you a volume eater? For very few calories, I can eat something and warm up and entire bag of steamed broccoli to go with my meal. It has very few calories, but since we also eat with our eyes, it's visually satisfying. If I add a serving of lowfat cottage cheese in, too, I get even more and it's a nice extra hit of protein as a low calorie side! Despite what people are saying above, I honestly never can recall having to sit around and be hungry while losing weight. Usually that "hunger" was mental.

    That leads me to the next point..think about why you are wanting to eat so much in the evenings. What is the true reason for the snacking? Are you truly hungry, or is something else? Do you sit around and think about things in the evening, for instance, and find yourself emotional eating for comfort? Are you eating because it's there and something to do? Eating out of boredom is definitely a thing, especially moreso now since people have been confined at home for long periods of time. Is it an ingrained habit to snack while watching TV? If you can nail down the reason, and it's something other than hunger, then you can act accordingly to address the issue. Maybe you just need a hobby or something to distract you in the evenings, or strategies for breaking a TV habit. I've learned that if lay on the couch to watch TV, my cats will both pile on me and fall asleep. They're so peaceful that I'd feel guilty waking them up, so thats pretty effective as a snacking deterrent for me. 😂🥰
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    edited February 2021
    Accepting that part of it is mental is a big part of it, I think.

    For the last couple of weeks I allowed myself to get into a routine of eating much more than I needed. I 'felt' like I needed that amount. Yet yesterday, I had a dental appointment in morning. I don't eat/drink before the dental appointment - and it so it was 9:30 before I had anything. I didn't feel hungry - because I had a reason to not eat earlier. And then my mouth was a little tender, so I started with a 140 cal/30g protein 'shake', followed a little later by a light lunch of chicken noodle soup (150 cals) and a normal dinner.

    If you know you like to eat in the evening, plan some calories for then. And perhaps don't eat in the morning. Unlearn the hype that breakfast is the 'most important meal'. If you don't want much for breakfast, that is one way to save calories.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I have a schedule, and I eat to that schedule. To figure out the schedule, decide when you want to eat (I realized snacking is unhelpful for me and tend to make me feel unsatisfied, so I decided I would eat only at meals, but then I get larger meals). If evening snacking is important to you, save cals for an evening snack.

    Much of the time when I was losing, I ate at 7 (right after working out), noon, and then around 9, since I worked to at least 7 every day, had a 45+ min commute, and then had to cook. I would often get snacky at work around 4-5, but I would remind myself of my delicious planned dinner and that it wasn't that far away (and maybe have some herbal tea if I really wanted something), and it was fine. I don't think a few hours of anticipating a meal is actually a big deal, so long as you know the meal will be satisfying.
  • ZahidaKhan144
    ZahidaKhan144 Posts: 5 Member
    Often times when we feel the urge to eat, your friend is correct, tis out of habit or something emotional. Eg. If you saw your parents eating after dinner, perhaps this could be the reason why you like to eat after dinner. You can trace this habit by asking your self question???

    When humans r hungry, oft-times, tis not food they crave but water 💦 I believe we confuse water thirst for food hunger coz mass media is constantly feeding us food images

    When you rise in the AM, chug a few glasses of H2O, drink H2O during the day and before a meal. We are ~ 60% H2O, the brain & heart are ~ 73% water, and the lungs ~ 83% water.

    If you feel the urge to eat after dinner, tis a habit which you can change. To change a habit requires 3 parts and the routine can be changed:

    CUE: feel like eating after dinner
    ROUTINE: eat after dinner
    REWARD: feel great 🥳

    You don’t want to deprive your self coz fighting against Will Power is a losing battle, therefore change your routine:

    Eg.
    1. Walk after dinner with a friend
    2. Do something you love 💕 to trigger a dopamine rush
    3. I personally drink Mint Tea after dinner as it’s soothing and has a digestive effect
    4. What can you do to change your routine?
  • Lynatea
    Lynatea Posts: 311 Member
    I play Animal Crossing NH to take my mind off it!
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    edited February 2021
    I’m rarely if ever hungry .... but regarding appetite - I can eat anytime. Being home more since the pandemic — I’ve had to find ways to stop browsing the fridge lol

    So I drink more water or tea and keep telling myself .. I’m not hungry. I just like to eat. Being mindful of why I am doing it has helped as well.

    Ps - I do also agree it has a lot to do with habit.
  • JulieKHN
    JulieKHN Posts: 1 Member
    Sometimes it is habit...at least it is for me, I like to eat in the evenings. Sometimes I find that if I haven't had enough protein early in the day I'm much hungrier later in the day, especially if I've had a good work out. Try a protein shake during the day - relatively low calorie and it keeps me from craving food later.

    Have you looked at the ratio of carbs/protein/fats? Everyone is different in what ratio works for them but that information could provide some insight for you (e.g. hungrier on days when you a higher percentage of carbs).

    Finally, while I'm trying to lose 10% of my body weight, I try to remember it's not all about the scale. Is your body changing - is it more toned and do you look and feel better?