Is there a trick to ease hunger pains? So far, I have just been drinking tons of water but most of the time, it doesnt help too much. Maybe a fiber supplement?
1900 calories at them moment. I was eating around 3000+ before the diet started. I realize that is a huge drop, but I like the amount of weight I am losing from it... I just wish I could ease the hunger pains some.
Well, first of all, how many calories are you eating? That can determine if you should be eating more or finding tricks to suppress hunger.
^I AGREE^ ... gee, I was just talking with someone else about this same subject a few minutes ago. If you aren't eating enuff or getting enuff nutrients in each day, drowning yourself with tons of water or fiber pills won't take the hunger away.
"True hunger" is a sign to you that your body is asking for some more of "something". It may be just "more food" or more protein or more fat or more vitamins or minerals or iron, or whatever. Make sure you are eating enuff each day, esp if you are active and/or doing a lot of exercise each day. Don't be afraid to eat more; the weight will still come off.
Eating veggie soup, fruit, salad, more raw & cooked veggies, veggie juice, and more lean protein can help you feel less hungry. I learned this the hard way myself. I added more of these in each day and I feel a lot less hungry now.
EDIT TO ADD: focus on "nutrient-rich foods" more, and maybe even add in a tsp or more fat a day can help too (like olive oil).
Last edited by Justwant2Bhealthy; 08-14-2012 at 01:48 PM.
It might not be sustainable to go that low at your weight, especially if you are exercising (remember, walking at your weight burns way more calories than someone at 150 pounds).
But, I found, for me, that limiting the amount of simple carbs helped ease hunger pains. Typical breakfasts are very carby. Switch out bread and jam for eggs and sausage or a slice or two of bacon. Instead of banana for a snack, eat some nuts, or a low carb, high protein snack bar. Sugars raise your glucose levels and then they crash down - causing you to get hungrier faster. Fats and proteins keep you satiated longer without ever spiking your blood sugars which disallows blood sugars from crashing.
Carb intake and hunger are directly linked for me. The more carbs I eat, the hungrier I am (even eating 6,000 calories of high-carb leaves me hungrier than 1,000 calories of very low-carb - NOT that I'm recommending going that low... just saying for me carbs and hunger are linked for me).
When my doctor recomended low-carb he warned not to "go too low," but admitted he didn't know what that was. I had to experiment to find out.
On "too low" carb (and why low-carb diets had always left me feeling ill) I have no hunger (well no symptoms I recognize as hunger). The first noticeable (to me) sign of hunger is getting an intense headache, feeling nauseous, dizzy and about to faint. Hubby notices signs that I need to eat before I do (I get very irritable and even rageful). To me it just seems like I'm fine until I'm suddenly not.
It's great to feel no hunger, and even "forget to eat," but the unpleasant effects aren't worth it, so this level of low-carb is "too low" for me.
Too high and I have irresistable food cravings all day, and even if I eat until bursting at the seams and uncomfortable, on some level I still feel half-starved and driven to keep eating.
Finding the carb-balance that puts hunger in balance is a bit of a balancing act, but worth it.
Volume doesn't have a lot to do with my hunger, but I do feel more emotionally satisfied with slightly larger than average portions, so I add a lot of non-starchy veggies to my meals. While fiber is a carb, it's a non-digestible one, so it doesn't aggravate cravings like other high-carb foods do.
Not everyone has the same degree of carb-triggered hunger (and some may not experience it at all), so reducing carbs (especially high glycemic carbs) may help you, and it may not.
Adding bulk with veggies though, is another potentially helpful strategy, as is including protein and healthy fat at every meal/snack.
Not everyone finds the same strategies helpful, so you have to experiment to see what works best for you.
I agree with berryblondeboys and Kaplods - high carb diets make me hungrier too.
I've done calorie counting/low fat in the past, and constantly felt starved, even on 1700-1800 calories a day. Yes, I lost weight...but when you always feel on the edge of pigging out on the nearest food you see because you just never feel satisfied...it's really not sustainable.
Lower carb/high fat and protein has worked wonders for me in that regard so far. If the hunger pains are that bad, adding more fat and protein/eating fewer simple carbs could definitely be helpful for you
Kaplods: I sometimes forget to eat, or sometimes just don't have time to prepare something before running out the door, and so far, I always end up the same way. I'm pretty sure it's low blood sugar, not just hunger. Not the best position to be in, especially if you keep ignoring it, or don't have an opportunity to get food.
I agree with the others about adding more protein/fat to keep you fuller longer.
I have been lowering my carbs, adding more protein/ fat and i no longer feel like i am starving myself. I always fail if i feel too hungry, it gives way to binging so mix up your nutrients and see what happens! Good luck.
Kaplods: I sometimes forget to eat, or sometimes just don't have time to prepare something before running out the door, and so far, I always end up the same way. I'm pretty sure it's low blood sugar, not just hunger. Not the best position to be in, especially if you keep ignoring it, or don't have an opportunity to get food.
Yes, 9 times out of ten it's is low-blood sugar (I've tested with my hubby's diabetic testing supplies), however I've noticed that (less frequently) it can also happen with a technically normal blood sugar if my blood sugar drops quickly.
This was harder to figure out because when I would feel the typical headache/nausea combo and would test my blood sugar, sometimes the blood sugar would be in the normal range. (Usually on the lowish side, but still well within my own comfort zone in previous tests). I eventually realized that it usually happened several hours after an unusually high-glycemic carb meal.
Since my blood sugar numbers were technically normal, I was stumped (at first) and then learned (by testing my blood sugar more frequently during the day) that a sudden drop in blood sugar could cause the symptoms even if technically the blood sugar levels didn't drop to a low-blood sugar level.
It has made me much more conscious of combining carbs with fats and proteins, and carrying a protein bar with me when I'm going to be away from home for more than a couple hours, because otherwise the resulting insulin spike is followed by sudden drop in blood sugar (even if it doesn't technically drop to the hypoglycemic range it still makes me feel icky).
Killer hunger pains?!?
