To ask those of you who've lost weight and kept it off...

[Notplannedforthis]

do you feel constantly deprived/hungry?

I've found whenever I've had periods of weightloss, in order to maintain that loss I end up thinking about food all the time and never fully satisfied. Are those my choices? Be fat, but feel satisfied or be slimmer and healthier, but never fully satisfied?

I also find if I try to eat certain foods 'in moderation' as people recommend, I just don't stop or I feel like I'm depriving myself if I do stop. To feel 'full' I have to have eaten enough to feel sick/uncomfortable.

Please tell me it's possible to lose weight, maintain the loss and not feel constantly hungry. If so, how?

Please be gentle, I'm feeling quite delicate about the whole situation at the moment.

In my case, my appetite dropped as I got slimmer, but I needed to acclimatise to not being full after eating. What helped me was intermittent fasting. Basically eating nothing all day (well, maybe a few coffees and the odd banana) and then having most of my calories in a short period later on.

I preferred having a big pig out later on rather than wanting more after every meal - also found it easier not to eat when I knew I had a big munch coming later. It willwillaso teach you to recognise when you're really hungry, which a lot of people have lost touch with. If you don't eat all day and have a moderate meal you will feel fuller than usual as you're going from genuinely starving to satisfied.

Exercise helped me a lot too, specifically weight lifting. Allows me to eat heartily without getting fat. I 100% don't have the discipline or desire to do it just by diet.

My friend has done this. She is quite petite went from overweight to a size 6. She followed a diet/new lifestyle called Metabolic Balance. A cheaper version is from a book called the Human Being Diet. I think she has kept it off because she still follow the principals. Likes being slimmer more than eating and her blood sugar levels are stable so she isn’t hungry. She also exercises a fair bit and enjoys she can do more now she is slimmer. She has kept it off for at least 2 years.

Another vote for intermittent fasting here. The act of stopping eating - at your own choice and at the time of your choosing - is really freeing.

I eat anytime from 11am until 3pm and that works for me. I also can have a day off and not undo the work. I usually have one or two per month if I want them.

Thank you for your reply. Do you find that you've got to a place where you don't have to think about it all the time?

So far, I've found when I'm losing weight or slimmer (I can lose weight well, but have never maintained for long) food is constantly at the forefront of my mind.

Low carb is your friend. Never hungry.

I lost 3 stone with slimming world to get back to size 10. It doesn't deprive me of anything - I can plan out my week and have some treats. For me it was a lifestyle change.

The problem you have is not with your diet, or your body, but your mind. You’ve said it yourself. THATS what you have to adapt. THATS what needs to change. I’d recommend looking up someone like Team RH fitness, or RebelFit, or James Smith - who can help you to reframe the way you are looking at things to help you towards your long term goals. Good luck!

I think it ultimately depends what you want your maintenance weight/size to be. Maintaining an 8 is different to maintaining a 12 etc.

I think you've hit the nail on the head Sherlockdeerstalker I'll look at those. Thank you.

I tend to yo-yo between size 12 and 18 and at 5ft4 have not had a healthy BMI for as long as I can remember.

Have any of you been yo-yo dieters and eventually overcome it?

When it gets to hard I think "fuck it, I'd rather be fat and happy", but then remember that I'm not happy when I'm fatter as I ache all the time and can't move as well.

Another vote for intermittent fasting. I lost 3 stone, but I felt a bit gaunt so stopped. I put a little back but my clothes size is a comfortable 12 and has been stable.
I eat smaller meals and don’t crave sweet things.

To feel 'full' I have to have eaten enough to feel sick/uncomfortable.

This doesn't sound happy...

What do you eat? I am currently losing weight nd certainly don't feel deprived or unhappy.

You need to think about why do you aim to make yourself feel sick and why do you not feel saitisfied otherwise.

I completely agree with the PPs - it is your relationship with food that needs the biggest focus, and also intermittent fasting is your friend here as it gives you the power of self control.

I recently lost a bit of weight and when I started I swear I was actually grieving for the food I couldn't eat. I persevered through this initial grief phase and I was surprised at how quickly I adjusted to not eating what I wanted, when I wanted and I loved regaining control.

Like a previous poster, I tend to eat little over the course of the day and have a normal meal in the evening. I really don't feel deprived at all anymore. And now I'm almost at target, I really don't feel like I'm now finished with the whole thing and that I can get back to normal - this is my new normal and I like it!

Yet another intermittent faster here. My weight is still on my mind a lot - I lost 24kg over 2 years - 3st 7ish - and I am very happy to be a size 10 and quite keen to stay that way! So I weigh myself each morning and if the scales go above my max weight (61.5kg) it's back to strict fasting. Otherwise I naturally tend to skip breakfast and do a kind of 16:8. I don't feel I'm missing out but will look forward to good meals and often think "I won't have [rubbish thing] now, I'd rather have [whatever tasty meal] later".

I don't think about food all the time and have a strong "I can have it tomorrow" mindset usually.

That sounds great bathtub I really hope to be in that place one day.

I'm currently low carbing and eating 1200calories a day, but then I have a tiny treat and before you know it, I've eaten all of the kids Halloween sweets and a loaf of bread.

@EssentialHummus put it much better than me... I really think it's that attitude to food that works. Interesting that there are so many intermittent fasters here saying the same thing.

Im another one who likes intermittent fasting - for me 16: 8 so I eat between 11 or 12 and 7 or 8 depending on the day's plan.

It makes it all feel easy as I eat three meals in that time so feel full most of the time - that may sound like a lot but it's really a large brunch - a plate of salad and bit of protein - and then supper

Agree with everyone saying focus on low carb - eating lots of protein and veggies and knowing I'm creating a healthy body really helps me.

And regarded hunger - I think that its your body's way of trying to get you to put the weight back on - it fades with time. So I have twice lost a lot and initially I am hungry, and then it just stops.

And the key thing to remember is that falling off the wagon one day - your kids halloween sweets - DOESNT mean you need to stay off it ... just get back on.

You're right - you won't be fat and happy - or even healthy... wanting to be fit for my kids (and grandkids when they appear) is a huge motivator.

Echo people above saying don't go for a mad weight just a healthy weight for your size and see that as a huge achievement. Check out the high end of "normal" for BMI and start by aiming there?

The first 7-9 months after losing are always the toughest - if you survive them it gets much easier

I am the odd one out here
I calorie count, not fast

Another vote for intermittent fasting.

Also, wha is helping for me is to realise hunger is only a nudge, you don’t HAVE to act on it.

I often feel a bit tired during the day, but I don’t instantly run off for a nap. I know I’ll be going to bed later, and I can sleep then. Fasting helped me develop that kind of mindset about food.

Schrodinger i do both TBH.

Fasting for the mindset, and then sometimes calorie count what I do eat to ensure I’m not overcompensating. Because I am a greedy pig. 🤣

Intermittent fasting is getting lots of votes on here! Do you find you're hungry during the fasting time or that you binge in the eating time?

@YouUnlockedTheGateAnd

Schrodinger i do both TBH.

Fasting for the mindset, and then sometimes calorie count what I do eat to ensure I’m not overcompensating. Because I am a greedy pig. 🤣

Tell me about it! Thanks to calorie counting, I realised that I was eating double portions...👀 if that ain't greedy, I don't know what is.

Good luck op

@YouUnlockedTheGateAnd... I bloody LOVE that napping analogy... Totally hits the nail on the head for me!

@Notplannedforthis - no, not anymore (at the very start, yes - big time. I was so hungry I didn't know what to do with myself). I definitely don't feel hunger with anywhere near the ferocity I felt it with before I started. And also, no, I don't binge really. Sometimes I'm a little indulgent, I suppose, but allowing myself that is kind of what helps it to feel easy and like I'm not depriving myself. My weight loss was pretty slow (took me 6 months to lose just over a stone) but it feels more sustainable this way.

5 stone off in 8 months maintained for 14 months so far on SlimmingWorld. Not hungry which is how I managed to stick to it, it works on basis of eating proper homemade filling food. I obviously have more treats now I’m at target. I don’t feel deprived feel much better for eating this way.

In my case, I had to just put up with feeling hungry until the first stone or so came off. I did that just with diet. Then I started exercising and I found that eating more protein helped me to feel fuller longer. But yes, at first, eating fewer calories meant I was hungry at first, until my stomach adjusted.