Sometimes, when I'm out of calorie allowance for the day, but I still *feel* hungry, I just try to repeat an "I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry...." mantra to try to push myself away from eating more.

Does anyone else do this kind of thing? What do you do? Do you eat? Do you not? What do you do to try to remind yourself that you've already eaten your fill??!

It depends on what the hunger is. If it's true hunger, then yes, I'll eat. That usually means my blood sugar is too low. If it's boredom hunger, which it usually is, then I'll try to push through. My best way to push through is to get my mind on something else!

I agree with Eliana - if I'm truly hungry, I'll eat a healthy snack. One way I determine if I'm hungry or if it's a craving is to imagine eating something healthy. If that sounds good, I'm usually hungry. I also drink a glass of water and see if that fills me up (my body mixes up hunger and thirst ALL THE TIME, bleh).

Also, I've figured out a system of meals and snacks that keep me full all day. It's all about the timing, honestly.

I usually say "my body has had the fuel it needs to get me through this day" which feels better to me than "I'm not hungry" which might feel like a lie. Plus, it reminds my mind and my body that food is fuel. And I'll usually have tea. Or if I check my numbers for the week and am running at a big deficit due to a lot of activity I'll have a piece of cheese or an egg.

I don't eat.
I drink hot coffee.
I have a bath.
I play a ludicrous computer game.
I check out 3fc - as in now, this very second I could eat a horse but I'm not.
I make sure that almost the first thing I log for today is a mug of milky coffee, which I'll have in about an hour. The calories are already accounted for, it's my favourite treat, and knowing it's coming will hold me a bit longer yet.

If I'm truly hungry, I'll eat some filling baby carrots, otherwise I chew a piece of gum and do something to get my mind off of it. If it's late, I'll just go to bed.

I get the same way sometimes too.
Depending on my day: how I'm feeling, stress, activity level, I can't help but sometimes give in. (And everyone caves).
Normally, its a sign of thirst for me. So I try and make sure I drink as much water a possible throughout the day. It really fills your belly.
So drink some water first and see if that helps, if not, grab a snack-your body is saying feed me.
And if you feel like eating something, the easiest/best thing to grab is something low-cal. I usually grab either some fruit, a veg, a hard-boiled egg, or some crackers to munch on.
My thought is, if its less than 100cal, I'm OK for the day.

First I have a cup of hot tea and that usually takes care of it. If feeling hungry continues I try to find a way to distract myself. Play on the computer, talk to my husband, play with my daughter and usually I forget about feeling hungry pretty quick. I never eat extra calories.

If I'm truly, truly, truly hungry - not just that I *feel* like eating something or I'm in the mood to eat, I'll try first try a hot cup of tea or a 20 calorie hot chocolate. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll eat something light. . About 100 calories worth. A yogurt, a 70 calorie bag of popcorn, an apple, a bowl of soup.

Luckily that is rarely, rarely the case with me. I make certain that every precious calorie that comes in my mouth is very voluminous, satiating and filling. I can spend no calories on nutrient sparse, hence empty calorie foods for that very reason. Avoiding hunger is a big priority for me.

If it's the other kind of hunger - I just *feel* like eating... I will definitely turn to self talk and then I'll get myself busy... Being productive and accomplishing something is a great distraction for me.

Does this work? Just wondering because it seems like you are putting a lot of energy into focusing on how hungry you are, seems like it would make it worse?

I just distract...I"m really hungry now. It's lunch time. But, I'm feeling too lazy to cook. ha. sooner or later I"ll get around to it. :P

Could it be that you are eating too little?

Some hunger is to be expected, but if you find yourself frequently feeling really hungry, you might not be eating enough.

Or, you may be eating enough, but not enough filling foods. Try for low-calorie bulk, like vegetables, lowfat cottage cheese, more protein.

Or, you may be eating enough, but not leaving yourself room late in the day to have a snack if you are hungry. It's not hard to "save" a couple hundred calories to have a snack in the evening if hunger strikes.

I hope you can work it out!
Jay

I DO use mantras...when I am walking - positive messages. I try to remove the "NO", "NOT", "DON'T" kind of talk. For example, people say "don't forget" but a more positive message is "remember". Maybe if you change your mantra to a positive statement like "I feel full".

Also, review your calorie use pattern for today so this doesn't happen again.

One of the exercises in the Beck Diet Solution book really spoke to me about this issue. One of my great fears is to be hungry (even though I've fasted up to three days for religious reasons). I know that when my BG is low, I get "grumpy" (my family would use another term). For years, I've used food to self-medicate. With my insulin resistance, that's why I was never satisfied with higher-carb plans... I'd eat and eat and still be moody and hungry.

Anyway, that's why I'm so afraid to be hungry. I carry snacks in my purse. I plan my travel around food.

So this exercise helps you face hunger, so you can actually recognize it. You eat a normal breakfast, and skip lunch. But not just skip it... you look at how you feel, and rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10. You realize that the memory of hunger, and the fear of it, makes you think it's going to be an 8 or 9... but it doesn't really get much above a 4 or so. It was eye-opening to me.

So when I'm hungry and it's not yet time to eat, I seriously consider whether I'm really hungry (8+) or just "snacky" (3-7). When I think about that, I can almost always say to myself, "Yeah, I could eat. But it's almost dinner (bedtime, lunch). So I'll wait."

It's been liberating!