To think that to stay in the healthy weight range I'm going to be hungry 70% of the time for the rest of my life.

[AliceAbsolum]

I've tried eating when I feel hungry, I put on about half a stone a month. Bmi is about 22.

I eat a balanced, protein rich diet based on lean fish, loads of veg, etc. But about an hour after eating each meal I'm generally hungry. Don't drink alcohol, try to avoid processed foods. Don't feel overly stressed, don't smoke etc etc.
Drives me mad.
I run 5 miles most days just to be able to eat an extra 400kcal!
Urgh.
Anyone else?

@CampaignToo

I maintain a healthy BMI and I win local running races. Why are people determined to tell me my diet is all wrong?

Because this thread isn't about you?

@OneAugustNight

I’ve always been slim but I’m permanently starving. A friend pointed out to me recently that I’m always saying I’m hungry which made me realise I am.

This is a good point. There's nothing wrong with feeling hungry several times a day. It's natural and healthy. But I wouldn't want to feel hungry after eating a main meal because of not eating enough.

I agree higher fat lower carb will satiate you more. I get starving all the time if I eat carbs. If you're already lowish carb then add more fats to your meals (avocado, olive oil, hummus etc). Keeps you feeling full for hours.

Nobody needs to be on a 1200 cal diet to stay a healthy weight for goodness sake. That's absolutely rubbish.

What an aggressive response! I also have to stick to 1200 - 1300 calories a day just to maintain. I am 5 ft 5 and 55 years old. I don't know why some posters have such difficulty in understanding that other people's experiences/bodies aren't the same as theirs

How old are you OP? I suspect you need to get used to being a little hungry some of the time, but after a week or so your body should adjust to having less food.

@redtulip12

I stopped cardio other than my daily dog walk and started lifting weights. I can now eat so much food it's ridiculous. I eat more than my dh and don't put on weight. I do drink alcohol but cut out all biscuits/cake etc.

I know. Weight training is the best and it makes you feel so good all day long.

I tried so many diets over the years with little success, and a low carb high fat way of eating is the only one that has worked for me. I'm never hungry and some days struggle to hit my 1300 cal goal, which is something I never thought I would say! Books that really helped me change my mindset were The Obesity Code, and Why We Eat (too much).

I think there's a lot of emotions tied up with food. I've had a (mercifully short) period of my life where I really didn't have enough money which meant I didn't always have quite enough food. Then I went through a period of redundancy and its equally miserable run-up period where I was desperately saving money, and where a bag of crisps for £1 from the supermarket was a cheap way to cheer myself up. Plus I got into the habit of snacking when I'm bored, which I used to do a lot when I was in the office 5 days a week.

WFH helped the latter because if I'm bored I can browse MN find something more interesting to do as a break, but I've started also questioning why I want a snack or a larger meal. I feel better if I have small meals, and I started snacking on a bowl of radishes/cucumber/pepper if I really was hungry. I guess I'm doing a lot more thinking about what I eat, how much and why.

Generally I've found that I'm eating less overall, and what I do is mostly fruit- and vegetable-based. And, as PPs have said, I don't think it's a terrible thing to be a bit hungry a lot of the time. Our evolutionary instincts interpret this as "I'M GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH" but our brains haven't caught up with our modern lives yet, where we know food is coming later.

I would go and see an endocrinologist who specialises in weight management. I saw one privately and it has been invaluable!

I think you need to know whether it’s hunger or whether it’s just ‘not full up.’ But yes to stay a good weight you do get used to the difference between the two.

If your putting on muscle your going to gain weight but it's not a bad thing
If you want to maintain your weight it's all about finding the right balance in diet and exercise

Have you tried one of the apps like my fitness pal or Cronometer?

If you are hungry quickly after a meal I would make sure your drinking enough and also I find fiber keeps me fuller for longer
I'm on a plant based diet and when I'm being good eating whole foods plenty of veg and grains I'm not hungry

I would not use your BMI as a goal tho personally I would look at my body decide what I want to change and work from there and not worry so much about the weight especially if you can see your body is changing for the better (muscle, tone)

This sounds like an emotional/ habitual response. Craving carbs is a bit of an addiction, really, as it's all broken down into sugar.

“Good” carbs are energy. I don’t crave carbs but I am hungrier sooner if I don’t have any with a meal. I eat twice a day usually starting between 11 am and 2:30 pm and stopping between 6pm-8 pm because those are when I feel like eating. I’m not big on sweets or crisps and mainly eat whole grains, fruits, veg, nuts, and some lean meat (when I crave it). I don’t drink alcohol nor smoke. I eat on dessert size plates and bowls because I know I can always get seconds if I’m still hungry. Will admit it took years of getting the “clean plate” mentality out of my head when I’m not controlling the portions.

I’m a healthy weight and have been about the same size for almost 20 years (and through two pregnancies) and my diet is mainly carbs. I was constantly told growing up that I would get fat from eating so many carbs (love carbs and veg but not obsessed with meat) usually from family members who were overweight themselves.

My husband and I had our DNA tested to see if there were any tweaks we could make for it to be better and the results came back for me for a high carb, low fat diet (what I already do) and low carb, high fat for my husband. We were already cooking our own meal options anyway so not much change other than him trying to curb his snacking.

*My dad was always slim and once I mentioned it; he shrugged and said "you have to get used to being a little bit hungry most of the time."

Have to agree with this a bit. I get hunger pains in my stomach but my head says, “you should think about getting some food soon” not “you have to eat straight away”. If my lips feel dry during this, I may be more thirsty than hungry so may grab a drink first and see what happens. If I’m working or doing something and close to finishing, I’m not going to immediately stop, I rather finish than eat.

I find both no and low carbs very difficult to do because I am mostly vegetarian ( v occ eat fish and chicken if I am out and can't find anything else). I don't feel satisfied unless I eat carbs, sadly, though I know they are terrible for menopausal women. Going to take up weight training soon.

I find that I feel full only if I eat a signifant amount of protein (tofu, lentils etc), carbs (rice, barley etc) and healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds etc). Veg does not help me to stay feeling full at all. As long as I choose healthy versions of these foods, I find that I stay a healthy weight.
I also TRY to do weights, and brisk walking, but that's hit and miss.

Are you sure it’s not just your body getting used to smaller meals?
I usually have breakfast at about 8 and start feeling hungry about 1pm. A few years ago I went on a cruise and stuffed my face every day to the extent that I felt that I was going to burst .
First day back I had my normal breakfast at 8 and by 10 I was absolutely starving. It actually took me about three weeks to get back to being satisfied on my normal size portions.

I agree, it gets so boring, as soon as I consume more than about 1400 calories a day, I get overweight. I don't eat that much but I'm officially overweight right now. BMI 27.
I feel like I constantly veer between addressing that and focusing on other things in my life. The last year I've been focusing on career priorities. It's only now that i've ''done all I can'' in that area (for now) that I feel my brain finding space for thoughts of what I eat. When I eat instinctively, I get fat.

So it's got to be conscious. It will always have to be conscious. Which is another thing on the to do list. Single parent, working ft, trying to keep a house tidy and stocked, it's a part time job staying slim and when I have a lot going on, i put on ten pounds.

Has always been the way. I'm self compassionate to myself now though. I'm not greedy, not over eating, it's just that at 5'1'' I need a lot less food than the ''experts'' believe. Have often read calorie guidelines recommended for a diet that would result in me putting on more weight!

I'm not deluding myself either. In the past I've falled down the rabbit hole of weighing everything and eatin gmy dinner with a calculator in one hand and myfitnesspal open in front of me.

It works. I lose weihgt. But I hate it.

Posters are talking about the need to feel full.

Why?

It's a very modern concept to eat at regular intervals.

Nothing awful is going to happen if you delay a meal by an hour or so and start to have tummy rumbles.

Most advice on eating well, says STOP eating before you feel full. It says you should always feel you have room for a lot more.

Your not eating enough calories, your body needs energy which comes from the fuel we eat

Honestly sack your bmi off , eat enough food but eat the right kind of food

I seen loads of people with a better bmi than me but not half as in shape or toned

I think the problem is with the belief that you should feel full and not feel hungry.

I have always been fairly slim and I expect to feel hungry about an hour before the next meal. So I have my breakfast at about 7.30am and unless I have a snack mid- morning my tummy will feel empty and rumbly by about 11am. It never occurred to me that I should try not to feel hungry, it's just that it's nearly lunch time. The trick is to not respond at 11am by eating cake and biscuits, but to use the hunger pangs to plan and look forward to a lovely lunch at 12.00.

@PixellatedPixie

I would go and see an endocrinologist who specialises in weight management. I saw one privately and it has been invaluable!

Have you got any recommendations, @PixellatedPixie?

Like a pp, I have thyroid disease that's affecting me negatively, and GP is just woeful. (Can't even get an appointment at the moment, they're 'not giving them out for thyroid', apparently.) I've been told to 'go on a diet' and 'eat less cheese'

I don't go hungry and I don't tend to put on any weight either.

I have found the most common reason for me putting on weight is sugar or refined carb consumption. If you cut these out completely it's much harder to put on weight.

PlanDeRaccordement I didn’t say they died at 40 I said they died not long after menopause. Menopause is around 50 so not that long after. It was a light hearted comment anyway about why when you get to mid / late 40’s you need to feel permanently hungry to be slim.

To the PP who says you don’t need to eat 1200 or less to stay slim and I’m talking rubbish, not only are you rude, but if you read the thread you’ll also find out you are wrong. Maybe YOU don’t but you are not everyone.

Intermittent fasting helped me too. I try to only eat between noon and 8 ish. I do cardio most mornings and weights. Am middle bmi so hardly model slim but agree from mid 40s onwards effort has to be made grrr

Quite frankly this is why I have stopped bothering about my weight.

I exercise, I eat when I am hungry.

I gained a stone and its stayed.

I've accepted thar this is the weight my body wants to be.

I've dumped all interest in BMI and weighing scales. The only thing I weigh now is ingredients when cooking specific meals.

Can't do with being hungry. If you are hungry then your body is telling you to eat. If you ignore that then you are potentially starving your body of nutrients it needs.

It's a very modern concept to eat at regular intervals

I find if I haven’t eaten I lack concentration, get irritable, can be prone to headaches and light headedness. None of which are conducive to my ability to perform or general feelings of wellness.

So I’ll take my new fangled modern day at of eating at regular intervals thanks!

I'm 36. 5'11 so pretty tall.
My BMR is 1400. 1400 to lie down for 24 hours. Seems a lot but then I'll have a dollop of mayo with dinner and that's 100kcal!

Interesting about genetic testing, maybe that's worth doing.

I'm not sure a few less or more carbs would make a lot of difference in the grand scheme. But I'll try more wholemeal options.