Ravenous hunger in the afternoon

Are you actually starving or just can't help but eat? Sometimes we eat for other reasons than being actually hungry. If you are hungry do you eat meals throughout the day at all?

Are you getting enough calories in during the earlier part of your day? I know if I don't have at least 600 calories in by 3pm I am ravenous, too. I manage it with high protein / veggies and fruits during the earlier part of the day.

What would I do? I'd fill up on a big bowl of veggies. If you fill up on veggies you won't have room to eat junk. Try raw unsalted almonds with a big spinach salad packed with carrots, bell peppers and some fat free feta. (try not to use dressings, use an acid like lemon or vinegar and a little oil). also make sure you are getting adequate calories in the earlier part of the day.

Popcorn (air-popped w/ spray butter) is my go to snack, when all I want to do is eat. High volume/Low cal

I eat pretty light through the day so I can have a really big dinner. I know a lot of people on this site swear by a huge breakfast and/or not eating at night, but night is when I'm hungry.

1 ounce of nuts is can be part of a healthy diet as long as you don' go crazy and eat more. I find that an ounce of pistachios (unshelled, about 45 is in an ounce!) helps me. I can munch on them between meals. Almonds is a great alternative too but you don't get as many in an ounce. Have higher protein low fat snacks like greek yogurt. Some people (me included) can't go off of three meals a day, i HAVE to snack mid morning and mid afternoon!

The middle of the day might be your hungry-time.

It is for me.

Try allowing yourself to eat slightly more in the afternoon (i.e. change your goals up a bit) and a smaller dinner. That worked for me. For me trying to eat less in the afternoons just led to massive blowouts. Now I allow for a 4-500 cal snack like a sandwich or something when I get home at 3, and I'm consuming less overall than I was.

Snacking actually doesn't work for me either. They just make me more hungry unfortunately. Eating a whole pot of veggies also did not help me. Seriously, I could eat a whole bunch of greens and still be hungry. What worked for me was finding a multivit that worked for me. I guess I was missing some micronutrients that my diet was just not meeting. I really wish I was open to multivits, when I was younger.

i was thinking of taking frozen fruit bars (like 70 calories each) because it is better than what i'm snacking on at work. i also plan to buy a food dehydrator and try that out.

If you're eating a good amount that you think you should be satisfied, try drinking tons of water to keep your tummy full and chew some extra dessert delights gum That's what I do when I feel like binging on some potato chips.

If none of the above timing tweaks resolve your issue, it's possible you may have nutritional deficiencies - vitamins, minerals, protein/aminos, even sodium if you're aggressively restricting it. If you have these deficiencies you will crave food even though you're getting enough calories. (The cliched pregnant-woman cravings have their basis in the same phenomenon.) I know someone who compulsively ate ice (pica). It turned out that she was severely iron-deficient and a six-month obsession disappeared within hours of proper supplementation.

Pica is obviously an extreme example, but to rule out more minor issues make sure your macros are in-line with sensible minimums, take a decent multi-vitamin, and pay careful attention to eating complete proteins if you're veggie/vegan. Eat a couple grams of salt (unless a doctor has specifically told you not to already). Generally increasing the variety in your diet can't hurt, either.

just a random thought, but wasn't there a study done some time ago about women naturally being "snacky" in the late afternoon?? Maybe it was on Oprah or something?
Not sure and it is no excuse to stuff my face I was just trying to remember where I had heard it. I too am an afternoon snacker and I eat plenty of protein, veggies and drink lots of water but some days I just can't keep on top of the hunger! I will say that almonds are my go to snack and just a few makes a ton of difference!
I also like vanilla greek yogurt with a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips stirred in!

Eat 6 times a day about 200-250 cal a meal that way your metabolism will speed up and your body won't be hungry...eat every 2-3 hrs as well...and go to bed 2-3 hrs after u finish your last meal;) Also drink half your body weight n water;)