Appetite Issues
 

My problem is often eating when I'm not hungry, just because I know it tastes good. Recently I've been fighting this and I've been much better but still succumb occasionally.
What I was wondering is- is it still ok to snack when I actually feel hungry?
And if so, are there any snacks that are nutritious AND filling?

I eat tonnes of fruit and yoghurt but these never seen to satiate my hunger!!

What is ok and what is not ok is for a doctor and for you to decide... but I would say that when you are hungry you have to eat, and when you are not really hungry, you have to learn not to. As to what to eat, I think there is a long list of healthy snacks in this very site. As a snack I like nuts, fruit or yoghurt. Good luck!

For me fruit and yogurt make me hungrier.

One of the things I have found is that I do much better by if I am hungry and the normal delays dont help (water, coffee, distraction, exercise) then I eat a MEAL. It doesnt matter if it is not meal time. Snacking for me was an endless road of hunger.

For others the snacks help. It really depends on YOU and what works for you.

Trans-fat free peanut butter and an apple.
A serving of almonds and an apple.
A banana and a glass of skim/soy milk.
Air popped popcorn. (Very little calories, lots of fiber!)
A few slices of lean deli turkey meat.
Single serving of high fiber, high protein, low fat cereal.
A slice of whole wheat bread with a serving of peanut butter.
A hard boiled egg.
A can of tuna (watch out for mayo! preferably without) and a few crackers.

Those are some snacks that I would have before when I lived on my own. I used to eat fruit and yogurt often but got very tired of it. I would say it's definitely okay to snack! When I am trying to hit that 5 or 6 "mini meal" I often consider my snack one of my mini meals.

Good luck :D

Fruit and yogurt also makes me hungrier, I'll only have that to tie me over if my next meal is only 30 mins away...

Like Ennay, I like to have a meal when I'm hungry if I know that it will be a few hours away...Carbs, protein and a veggie....

If it's 30 minutes I usually just tough it out - I gave birth to 2 kids, I can do ANYTHING for 30 minutes (I also say that the last 30 minutes of every race).

I think the only time I snack is if I have a compelling reason to NOT have a full meal. i.e. I am meeting friends at the restaurant in 1.5 hours and no way can I tough it out that long. Or, yoga is in 2 hours and nothing feels worse than full yoga. :p

I get cranky when I don't eat sometimes :lol:

Well, are you feeling stress? Could it be boredom?

Keep away from surgary/carb heavy foods that burn off quickly...if you're going to eat/snack pick something with fiber or substance that'll be more likely to cause you to feel full and hold that feeling for a while.

Drink water...that will often curb your appetite, and many times when we think we're hungry, it's our body saying it's thirsty (you'd think we'd know the difference).

I'm not sure if you're trying to avoid certain foods but I'm really loving the Fiber One bars. 90 cals and 5 grams of fiber. I have to really focus on them when I eat them or else they will be gone before I've even gotten to enjoy them.

I'm on a low carb due to diabetes, but my nutritionist has me on 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. Her theory for how I'm eating is simpler than calorie counting which overwhelms me. I watch what I eat within her parameters, but I don't focus on the amount of calories (because everything within her parameters is low cal too), but she says that if I'm seriously hungry then I'm not eating enough and if I'm stuffed then I'm eating too much. I'm learning to recognize the signs of my body a little bit better. I find that to eat smaller meals I do need the snacks. Plus I have blood sugar issues, so I need them anyway.

I'm still working on a range of snacks because I get bored with things too and I can only do so much yogurt. Here are some things that I do:
1. Mott's bag of apple slices (I'm lazy) and a cheese stick.
2. Nuts, Trader Joes makes individually wrapped nut packs. Totally convenient.
3. Hummus and Veggies. There are actually little hummus snack packs in the grocery store that come with pretzels and it's low calorie and low carb and totally filling.
4. Chobani - I prefer Greek yogurt now because it has more protein in it. But the carb count is a little higher so I only do this every now and then.

First try drinking water and if that doesn't work, eat something high protein or high fat (but healthy fats like nuts, avocado). That will hold you over. Fruit will not (unless paired with a high protein/high fat item).

I'm snacking now. I find I have to eat every 3 hrs or so cause then I get SO HUNGRY! I'm having fat free cottage cheese with strawberries and a handful of Kashi Lean Crunch just to give it some texture. It's super yummy and filling! Naturally my body wants to eat throughout the day it just happened that way....so I eat protein to curb the hunger. A handful of unsalted almonds or pistacio nuts help, I will eat half a protein bar, if you like yoghurt why not try greek yoghurt it's packed with protein and curbs the hunger too. I also mix the plain greek yoghurt with berries and some Kashi Lean Crunch cereal (which is also high in protein!) Give that a shot.

I personally feel that if you are actually hungry, you should always eat. Hunger is your body telling you that you need to eat. I agree that you should try drinking water first, sometimes you feel hungry when you are actually dehydrated. So drink water first, wait about 10-15 minutes, if you are still hungry, then eat. Sometimes also you may feel hungry when you are just bored, so waiting 10-15 minutes is what I try to always do before I eat snacks. I try not to go more than 3 hours without eating, because once I get hungry it is all over, I have no self control.

For snacks, maybe try adding a handful of nuts to your fruit and yogurt?
I like celery and/or an apple with peanut butter. I find it insanely filling and quite sweet, so it gets rid of sweet cravings better than anything else I have tried.
A small handful of almonds followed by a couple drinks of water is very filling as well (water causes the fiber to expand in your stomach making it seem like a higher volume food).