To think you need to go hungry on a diet?

[username30473]

I didn't want to use the word diet it was just for the title. The last couple of years my diet has been appalling to say the least. I have always been a size 10 but now a size 12 touching 14. From the way I have eaten I actually think I could be a lot larger.
Anyway I am now trying to change my diet back to what it used to be and lose weight.

I actually started on Boxing Day so I am a week in and I am hungry all the time. I am not massively restricting myself either. Yesterday I have had yogurt/fruit for breakfast, beans and scrambled eggs on toast for lunch, fruit for afternoon snack and steak and chips for dinner with a couple of Jaffa cakes for dessert. I just think I am so use to eating so much now I just have to get use to be hungry until my body gets use to less food again.

Do others find this to be the case?

apps.apple.com/ie/app/calorie-counter/id444924121
I have this app on my phone and input everything I eat. I try to keep under 1500 calories Monday to Friday and then relax at the weekend. It works really well for me. As long as I get my 10,000 steps in every day I’m able to lose gradually. The way I avoid cravings is to have plenty of protein in there.

"I have a friend who is a dietitian, and she is relatively young and very up to date, and she does not agree with low carving."

Considering the obesity epidemic, I don't set much store by dieticians.
That doesn't mean I think everybody should be low carbing though.

Yes. I think any kind of change to your diet, especially when it comes to portion, makes you feel hungrier than "usual".
As a family of 5; I don't think we eat particularly poorly; I just need to work on my portion control. I always make soo much pasta and potato, for example.
My DH and I have practically yoyo-dieted for the past 5 years. Eating really healthily until the Christmas period sets in. Then it's all about the cheese board and red wine 😬🤦‍♀️
The thing is; in our opinion we don't want to eat healthily during Christmas. We want to indulge. I don't think we'll ever get out of that habit. With the new year tho; brings back my passion for cooking more healthily.

No definitely not. I do WW and I eat so much better and a lot more food when I’m on it and still lose weight.
There’s no need to be hungry. Just fill up on “free” foods such as veggies, salad, fruit.

@Joystir59

I also echo what others have said about carbs- I've naturally found that I really don't want them when I'm slim, I want protein and vitamin rich food, I am lucky in that I genuinely love fruit and veg and make sure I have lots of them in the house.

But fruit and veg are carbs aren't they?

What kind of diet are you on? I'm on slimming world and I never feel hungry. Its all about breaking the bad habits and finding new ones. Eat more vegetables and proteins and actually cut down on the fruit- do you realise how much sugar some fruits contain!-.
You will get there its all about lifestyle choices and changes.

@ MmeSosostris
A small amount of whole meal or rye bread
No pasta
No rice
A couple of roast potatoes (for Sunday dinner only)
Lots of veg, but root veg are higher in carbs than veg grown above ground
I used grated cauliflower or broccoli to replace rice, and “protein” noodles
Breakfast is the hardest thing - bacon and eggs are fine, but I don’t have time before work, so tend to have Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries.

@Suzypoo10

Great, thanks

This is a really filling 'stew' I just made which only took a few mins:-

(I know a parsnip is a bit high cal if you're trying to be really low cal- it was filling though. Feel free to change for anything else.)

1 cooked Parsnip (It was a frozen one and I tried to microwave defrost, but cooked by mistake.)
half a courgette
half a medium onion
Half a tin of Napolina lentils
1 cal Fry spray- 10 sprays. You could skip that if you're bothered.

Fry the onion a bit, then fry the courgette for a bit. Add a bit of water and your parsnip. Add the seasonings:-

1 lamb stock cube
Worcestershire sauce
Pepper
Mixed herbs
Little bit of garam masala.

Cook for a bit then add your lentils and cook for a few minutes more.

Serve, ideally with fresh coriander as a garnish (I had that lying around, that's why I put garam masala in lol.)

Of course you could use different seasonings.

Enjoy

Protein is key! Honestly, aim for a decent portion of protein at every meal and snack, and drastically reduce sugar and bread. Don't worry too much about portion size for a week, you do not have to be hungry. You WILL crave sugar at first, but that will pass. Your day might go something like.... 2 eggs and half an avocado for breakfast, carrot sticks and a spoon of no added sugar nut butter (snack), chicken salad with plenty of chicken, lettuce, beetroot, tomatoes, carrot, pickles, sprinkle of cheese and olive oil (lunch), slices of ham, some Greek yoghurt (snacks) a jacket potato with beans and salad(dinner), an apple. You will not be hungry, you might just crave your usual sweet foods for a week, but that will pass. Also, hunger is not a bad thing. Once I realised hunger wasn't something to panic about, and it wasn't going to kill me, I could cope with a few hunger pangs!

I do think people get used to eating large amounts - and the more you eat the more it will take for you not to feel hungry. I don't know if your stomach actually 'stretches' but it's definitely a thing. So yes - if you've got into bad habits and eating more than you need, you will feel hungry if you suddenly start eating less.

I don't think that's a bad thing, as many PPs have said it's probably normal and a good sign if you're trying to change your habits - but you will adapt and start to feel less hungry on less food.

It always amazes me how much food some people do eat. Some of the family pubs we eat in serve the most enormous amounts of food, especially if you opt for a 'big plate' or whatever. DH is a big bloke and does manual work - but we shared a big plate meal in the summer and it was too much for the pair of us! People just get into the habit of expecting too much I think - and then things escalate. The more you eat, the more you need, etc....

(That said - I'm no sylph myself..... But I'm a grazer - I can't eat big meals. But I do like junk so although I'm rarely hungry, I also have some very bad habits...... We all have things we can work on.....)

I did the FODMAP diet due to IBS and I was never hungry but lost a lot of weight.
Might be work checking out.

You can still eat the same volume of food- most people end up doing so.

So the trick is to eat mainly low energy density/high volume foods containing lots of water (some of which have some protein and fibre too.) This makes a plan and habits you can follow for life. Which is what people need or they'll just gain it all back.

It always amazes me how much food some people do eat. Some of the family pubs we eat in serve the most enormous amounts of food,

@Teenagehorrorbag I think they think people will think it's good value if they get a lot for their money. And not feeling like you've had enough food after a meal can be pretty lame.

I stuffed my face during a long lockdown (and since last baby) had about 25 kilo's to lose (50 pound?) I changed my diet in June 2021 to whole food plant based, no oil and gluten free. I have eaten as much as like, often heaps, and not been hungry. I have lost about 20 kilo's in 6 months so I am pretty happy and almost out of overweight. So for me a less calorie dense, high carb, full of veg wholefoods, including whole fats diet (so avocados and nuts etc not oil) diet has made me feel amazing. I think the trick is to change your diet not go on a diet, if you focus on calorie deficit and are hungry you will reset your metabolism and just put the weight and more straight back on when you go off your diet. I know my diet is too restrictive for many but any change will help. Maybe try and fill up on vegetables? Or snack on lower calorie things etc? Anyway I am in the hunger causes suffering camp but don't mind food limitations of type, not quantity.

I'm in the same boat in terms of being used to being a size 10 and now I'm a 12 to 14. I'm five days in and haven't felt hungry yet outside of mealtimes but I'm trying to keep as busy as I can in between meals. Today I had Weetabix and blueberries for breakfast, a salmon salad for lunch and chicken breast boiled potatoes and loads of veg for dinner. I've done 20,000 steps today aswell. I'm drinking loads of water before and after meals and that seems to help but I do miss eating other foods. I was used to being able to eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight but metabolism has caught up with me so had to make a change. Best of luck with it ❤️

@me4real

You can still eat the same volume of food- most people end up doing so.

So the trick is to eat mainly low energy density/high volume foods containing lots of water (some of which have some protein and fibre too.) This makes a plan and habits you can follow for life. Which is what people need or they'll just gain it all back.

It always amazes me how much food some people do eat. Some of the family pubs we eat in serve the most enormous amounts of food,

@Teenagehorrorbag I think they think people will think it's good value if they get a lot for their money. And not feeling like you've had enough food after a meal can be pretty lame.

I agree with all these points. I'm not suggesting that we should all eat teeny portions! Just that the big plate meal we ate was HUGE - and DH can eat for England. So it must be far too much food for a smaller or less active person. It's the same in fish and chip shops - the portions have grown so massive over the years, it makes me wonder if people's expectations have also crept up to an unhealthy extent?

But of course - if it's a big amount of healthy veg, for example - then great! But chips and fried food - maybe not so much.....

@Mirimu Can you give an example of daily diet please or more info about it?
Also, by no oils do you mean no olive oil?

I follow the 16/8 plan and also Slimming World when I want to lose weight. Not everybody likes SW but it works for me and the premise is that you are never hungry. Most foods are ‘free’ so you can eat as much as you like - these include rice, pasta, potatoes. Other foods are eaten in moderation.

This seems to be a lot of food. Did you have vegetables with your steak and chips?

@DoctorSnortles

I lost three stone last year. I was sometimes bloody ravenous. I drank a lot of cups of tea, when ready to chew my own leg off, which seemed to help.

@DoctorSnortles your comment resonated with me and made me smile, thank you :-)

Being on a “diet” always makes me eat more and feel hungrier. Perhaps changing what you eat and the way you eat in a way that is more interesting would help. Instead of streak and chips lose the chips and have some interesting veg or salad instead. Protein seems to keep me going and stop me feeling hungry … eggs are great at keeping hunger pangs away, cut out processed carbs. Stir fry’s with no rice but huge mound of veg with the protein are filling as well. Trick for me seems to be giving the stomach something to work on and fill it without taking in excess calories and cabs, and crucially not being on a “diet”.

For those saying the OPs daily diary was a lot of food - can you provide an example of what you would consider a normal amount?

I see the trigger at the word ‘chips’ but it all depends on amount and how they’re cooked surely?

I do notice that slim people seem to eat bugger all and exercise loads (at least if they’re older than 25!). My mum has always never strayed over a size 14 (is tall) but when I look at her portion sizes. I do agree we’ve got used to bigger portions (no, thanks, USA) and our bodies expect to be completely stuffed after a meal. As I said upthread, I’m trying to listen more closely as respond as soon as ‘full’ hits, rather than continuing with ‘oh but it’s delicious!’
I’m embarrassed to say I apparently qualify for 12w free slimming world in my county, so I’m going to take advantage

When you put on weight you have stretched your stomach. It now needs to shrink back to what it was do after a while you won’t feel that hunger. That’s why things like weight watchers don’t work forever as you can eat big platefuls still do not shrinking your stomach. I’m struggling with this at the moment but to get back into a ten ( I’m exactly the same as you) will be worth it.

Think you may be consuming too many calories to lose weight because you’re trying to avoid going on an actual diet. I’ve done this in the past and then become frustrated that i’m Hungry with no benefit and just given up. Other posters have recommended diets that’ve worked for them so might be worth doing some research, choosing one and setting a date to start. Still hanging on to my own lockdown lard so know it’s never easy

Yep. On whole food plant based oil is avoided excluded. But I eat moderate amounts of nuts and seeds, including butters made from them (although if weight loss is goal rather than health you would go easy on them) and lots of avocados.
I might eat a big porridge for brekkie with dates banana hemp seeds and Brazil nuts. I might have a veg saute (water broth saute) with tofu with lots of chilli and spices on brown rice/brown rice noodles for lunch and maybe baked veg potato with salad and home made cashew cream ( cashew cream in moderate amounts) and avocado and salad etc. There are lots of whole food plant based fb groups and recipe books for ideas