What are the number one foods to eat to not feel hungry?

You mentioned combatting fatigue. At times yes, my brain does feel a bit fatigued. And when I have chocolate or something starchy like crackers, I usually feel energized again. What can give me the same boost that doesn't contain calories?

For me, exercise makes me feel more energetic. A good workout in the morning gives me a "buzz" for most of the day. Bonus, by the end of the day I am exhausted and fall asleep a lot more easily.

Just pay attention to make sure your fatigue is not because you ate too few calories that day.

You mentioned combatting fatigue. At times yes, my brain does feel a bit fatigued. And when I have chocolate or something starchy like crackers, I usually feel energized again. What can give me the same boost that doesn't contain calories?

crb426 wrote: »

For me, exercise makes me feel more energetic. A good workout in the morning gives me a "buzz" for most of the day. Bonus, by the end of the day I am exhausted and fall asleep a lot more easily.

Just pay attention to make sure your fatigue is not because you ate too few calories that day.

Another vote for exercise earlier in the day. I lost my job last year, but previously worked hard to create the habit of exercising at lunch time. This and a balanced lunch would prevent afternoon crashes and munchies, and make me more productive at work and through the evening.

Good point about under-eating causing fatigue.

Also, if lack of sleep is the issue, get more sleep. This may sound super obvious, but I personally have to work very hard at my sleep hygiene in order to ensure a good night's sleep, all the way down to what I read to get back to sleep if I've awakened in the middle of the night - it must be interesting, but not super engaging, which would keep me up. Rereads are best for me (if I remember what happened.) I can get to Wikipedia from my Kindle, and have often fallen back asleep to that. My ear plugs must be just right, etc., etc. I'm the Goldilocks of Sleep Hygiene, lol.

JulieH70517 wrote: »

I have a condition where if I drink alcohol my body processes it quickly. If I drink 1/2 a beer or mixed drink, feels like I had 3 full drinks. Had to stop drinking alcohol 20+ years ago. Now I was thinking, maybe that is what's happening with food. I can eat a balanced meal, about 350-400 calories and in less than an hour feels like I did not eat anything. Makes me go hummmm.

My breakfast is 300 calories but it includes 11 grams of fiber, which is a lot for that few calories.

What's your fiber goal and how well do you hit it most days?

I'm hungrier at dinner time, and plan for over 500 calories for that, but I can get away with one in the 400s if it looks like 100 g cooked chicken breast, 100 g cooked broccoli, 120 g potato, and a little fat. I need the protein from the chicken, bulk and fiber from the broc, and satiety from the potatoes and possibly fat. (I love fat but don't find it especially satiating.)

Do experiment with what macro mix works best to fill you up. Some people are satisfied while eating vegan and some while eating keto, which have vastly different macro mixes and amount of bulk.

I don't have a problem with hunger now, but I do still have a problem that my brain wants fat and carbs, mostly in the form of pastries and chocolate, and crisps. That in combination with me doing "intermittent fasting" and I ended up eating way to much (because I hadn't eaten all day I could eat an entire pizza! and cookies, and soda, and...). Training myself to actually eat normal meals took a long time and I still eat more in the afternoon because that is when I have most free time and have time to want food.

My solution was to buy stupid expensive and delicious ice-cream. And I could have a bowl of it for dessert if I kept to a healthy diet for the rest of the day. That and setting up a strict food budget and not going to the store everyday so that I didn't have the chance to "accidentally" get a family pack of crisps because it was on offer.

I will usually eat a snack at night since I eat dinner at 6 pm and go to bed around 1 a.m. A banana or half an apple and a slice of cheese work well for me. Sometimes I'll do a grapefruit or orange or a slice of wheat bread and butter. If I don't eat at night when I'm hungry, I won't sleep. Two or three hours later I'll get up and be absolutely starving, so I've learned to listen to the hunger cues that hit at 10 or 11:00.

Family teaches us initially how to eat. I was raised to eat very large portions, thanks to overweight parents and older brothers, and usually to eat seconds. We also always had dessert after dinner and usually with lunch, plus mid-afternoon snacks. I learned to cut down my portions and to skip eating seconds, but i still have a sweet tooth. I usually have dessert. That's fine when I include it in my plans for the day. The hard part was learning to resist the voice that wants a donut in the middle of the afternoon or a blueberry muffin or some other utterly unnecessary treat. I've learned to just put it off. I don't tell myself I can never have the donut, I do say I'll have it another day when I've got some extra calories from a hard workout, or I'll have it instead of my breakfast cereal or peanut butter sandwich for lunch. I'm a master procrastinator and that works to keep my extra treats to one every few weeks instead of the one almost every day I was doing when I was gaining weight.

You mentioned in a response to someone that you are working out "3 to 4 hours a day" Even though you are filling up with a lot of fiber and your stomach is "full" , maybe you are actually not eating enough, hence the cravings? How many calories do you eat a day and how many do you figure you burn working out? What is your rate of weight loss? Maybe you addressed this already and I just missed it.