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?

I agree , we have all lost sight of eating only when we feel hungry . We graze non stop because we have forgotten feeling hungry before meals is normal - I'm incredibly guilty of this .
I need to lose a stone this year so I am trying to get back into the normal way of thinking and feeling about food !

@Dontforgetyourbrolly

I agree , we have all lost sight of eating only when we feel hungry . We graze non stop because we have forgotten feeling hungry before meals is normal - I'm incredibly guilty of this . I need to lose a stone this year so I am trying to get back into the normal way of thinking and feeling about food !

It's also quick and quite painless to change when you get hungry, but this isn't made public by diet and food companies.

It has been a revelation to me that I get hungry just before I eat as often as I eat. So if I get in the habit of grazing all day I genuinely feel hungry all the day, whereas if I eat 3 meals a day I mostly get hungry just before meal times only and that that isn't a sign I'm not eating enough, just a sign that it's time for a meal soon. My body is so responsive that if I eat a bedtime snack a couple of days then it will start expecting food just before bedtime and send me those hunger pangs as a handy reminder not to forget my bedtime snack. However, if I push through a couple of days not having a bedtime snack I no longer need one. It's a great time to have a tea instead. So of course when changing your diet your hunger signals are all over the place, your body is adjusting to a change in eating habits. But once you get used to a new pattern of eating it is amazing how much change your body can adapt to. Of course there are other elements to diet such as emotional and social factors that play a big part. But the hunger pangs will settle down.

I do think we've got used to never being truly hungry though. I used to eat so much in the evenings that I never needed breakfast, for instance. Now I start to feel a little bit hungry 40-50minuted before a me time and feel properly hungry about 20-30mins before. I used to snack while prepping the food, but now I try to hold out knowing that my appetite will be more properly satiated. And if it's not? I can always have a yoghurt, a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts. Of all the things to fix, hunger is the easiest (assuming you have food available to you, ofc)

Try Slimpod, its less about losing weight quickly but more about moderating your whole mindset, feeling good about yourself, changing thought patterns, and as as a consequence, losing weight sustainably. I have never felt so good about myself, and I've hated myself for 30+ years!

I did slimfast a few years ago (1300 cals) and found that for about a week i was so hungry but then stopped after about 1 week xx

To those asking what I had yesterday. 2 rashers of grilled bacon with 2 hash browns, half a tin of Heinz tomato soup with one slice of seedy bread and butter. Not a healthy diet but I would normally have some fruit or veg but didn't feel hungry enough.

Try Joe Wicks' recipes, some of the portion sizes are massive but because it's healthy food it doesn't matter. What he suggests as one portion of his ham and minestrone soup will literally do me two lunches and I have a large appetite. It's mainly about what you eat to fill you up, but you might get some good ideas from Joe Wicks. Most of them can be found online if you don't want to buy the books at first.

@Rokerwriter

Try Joe Wicks' recipes, some of the portion sizes are massive but because it's healthy food it doesn't matter. What he suggests as one portion of his ham and minestrone soup will literally do me two lunches and I have a large appetite. It's mainly about what you eat to fill you up, but you might get some good ideas from Joe Wicks. Most of them can be found online if you don't want to buy the books at first.

But portion size DOES matter, regardless of how 'healthy' the food is. Some of Joe's recipes are great, but his cashew nut curry is 900 calories per portion. So yes, use them but adjust portion sizes to account for not being some with Joe Wicks metabolism or size!

Interesting to see the different views on hunger. To me it's completely normal to be hungry between meals. In the evenings, before dinner I can be very hungry but don't find it an issue. I'm not starving. Ive eaten during the day and it isn't harming me. It's just part of being a mammal. If I was to snack lots and not feel hungry for dinner, what would be the point?

I don't believe in cutting out foods e.g. Bread, potatoes etc. I'm sure for every study done to prove you should there are ones to counter, so what's the point? Just be cognisant of what you are eating.

Greek Yoghurt, eggs, oat cakes, hummous etc may be good between meal fillers but if you are hungry in the morning, I'd up the food. I had a Greek Yoghurt smoothie with banana, frozen berries and chia seeds. Sometimes I add some oats. Look for ways to improve food quality while maintain some of what you like.

You really don't need to go hungry on a diet at all! You just need to be clever and eat the right foods.

I struggled last year when I was dieting because my calories were too low (think 800-900kcal per day) and I needed to raise them but I was having huge meals and way too full to add more to my plate. This is coming from someone who is a massive eater!!

Do some research and be smart with it!

I think if you are on a diet you will never feel 'full' to the point of not being able to eat anything else. In the days before I cared about what I ate, I would eat until I couldn't eat anymore. The trick is to stop when you are not hungry but you're not full either.

You need to recognise your own body and the difference between hunger and a craving. I find eating anything sugary, chocolate, cake etc makes me feel more hungry and crave more, while I don't have these cravings if I don't eat it in the first place. Obviously that's unrealistic as you can't restrict yourself totally, but some people (myself included) find it hard to have one chocolate and not the whole box,

I think if you are on a diet you will never feel 'full' to the point of not being able to eat anything else

There's never any need to eat like this anyway. It's not healthy to fill yourself to the gills.

I never felt as if I enjoyed a meal unless I had to undo the top button of my trousers. I've put on weight since the menopause and am determined to lose it , this evening I had salmon with salad leaves , it was very tasty, my top button has remained done up and I don't feel hungry at all .

I've started tracking again, on MFP. 1,200 a day. The euphoria of staying within my allocation and seeing results is a far greater reward for me than eating as much as I'd like. I'm glad this is the case because I'm not sure I'd otherwise have the motivation to stick to this regime.

I do Slimming World, never hungry. Lost 3 stone in a year. Never eaten so much, and the recipes are fabulous.