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?

Eating sweet things is fine, but best after a meal or paired with protein/fat. I love the glucose goddess on insta - she shows how just changing the order we eat things can impact how our bodies respond to what we eat.

@SkeletonSkins That doesn't sound evidence-based to me. It's effectively a variation on 'food combining' which has been completely debunked.

I'm a qualified personal trainer with a specialism in obesity management, so I do know a bit about it.

Agree. There’s nothing wrong with a little hunger to be ready for our meal.

@Grilledaubergines Yep, I don't think it should be hours (plural) though. I can be looking at the clock for about an hour before a meal, but IDK if I'm really hungry.

I have my tea at 5pm BTW. That's just how I was brought up so it's natural to me, but I know most people eat later.

@SallyWD Were you able to lose weight with 16/8? I’ve been doing it for a few months and no change, which is annoying as I find it easy to do.

Bet you wish you hadn't asked now, OP

Really though, make small changes, eat what you want within your calorie allowance, and aim for as normal an eating plan as possible so that you're eating the foods you enjoy. Work around your current routine and lifestyle to do what works for you, what fits into the time you have, and what is most convenient.

Making radical changes, suddenly cutting out the foods you enjoy, considering them to be forbidden, trying to sccomodate the time to fry up eggs and veg first thing if this isn't part of your usual morning routine, and so on might work for other people and their lifestyle but if they're not currently part of yours then you're just going to get frazzled and it's not going to be sustainable long term.

Nope. I followed a low carb diet (the Mumsnet Bootcamp) and one of the rules is to eat when you're hungry and to eat to satiety. I lost 30lb in five months.

When reading the comments it’s pretty surprising that very few people are talking about getting wholesome nutritious food. Sure eating less you might lose weight, but continue to eat processed food which is lacking in nutrients then you are likely to end up with ill health later in life with heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and dementia. All of these conditions have a diet related component. Eat simple, cook yourself, eat the rainbow & monitor how many calories you eat to live a longer healthier life.

@SofiaMichElf

Definitely agree with those saying reduce carb intake.

Carbs added to most meals are almost a complete waste of time in that if you ate the same meal without the carbs, you'd be no more hungry a few hours later than with the carbs, so the carb calories are a waste.

Scrambled eggs on toast? Why not lose the toast and have some spinach (dead easy using frozen) and maybe a bit of cheese?

Calories about the same but you'll definitely be less hungry 3 hours later, despite feeling to not have eaten as much.

I tried this this week

Had a three egg omelette and salad for lunch instead of two poached eggs on toast

I was hungry within 2 hours. With the toast, I would not have been hungry for about four to five hours.

@me4real

Eating sweet things is fine, but best after a meal or paired with protein/fat. I love the glucose goddess on insta - she shows how just changing the order we eat things can impact how our bodies respond to what we eat.

@SkeletonSkins That doesn't sound evidence-based to me. It's effectively a variation on 'food combining' which has been completely debunked.

I'm a qualified personal trainer with a specialism in obesity management, so I do know a bit about it.

Hm that’s really interesting as she is very evidence informed but I’m interested to hear if it’s not actually correct. These are the studies she refers to -

· Alpana P Shukla et al., "Food order has a significant impact on postprandial glucose and insulin levels." Diabetes care 38, no. 7 (2015): e98-e99, care.diabetesjournals.org/content/38/7/e98.

· Kimiko Nishino et al., "Consuming carbohydrates after meat or vegetables lowers postprandial excursions of glucose and insulin in nondiabetic subjects," Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology 64, no. 5 (2018): 316-320, www.researchgate.net/publication/328640463_Consuming_Carbohydrates_after_Meat_or_Vegetables_Lowers_Postprandial_Excursions_of_Glucose_and_Insulin_in_Nondiabetic_Subjects.

· Alpana P Shukla et al., "Food order has a significant impact on postprandial glucose and insulin levels," Diabetes care 38, no. 7 (2015): e98-e99, care.diabetesjournals.org/content/38/7/e98.

· Domenico Tricò et al., "Manipulating the sequence of food ingestion improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients under free-living conditions," Nutrition & diabetes 6, no. 8 (2016): e226-e226, www.nature.com/articles/nutd201633/.

· Alpana P Shukla et al., "Effect of food order on ghrelin suppression," Diabetes Care 41, no. 5 (2018): e76-e77, care.diabetesjournals.org/content/41/5/e76.

You're prob hungry because you trained yourself to eat more previously so now when you ate physically eating less your body is moaning. It gets easier and guyr tummy shrinks and you'll find it hard time at the same amount without feeling sick. I find coffee and sparkling water takes the edge off

The thing is any "diet" will usually work to lose weight if you stick to it - whether it's 16:8, lower carb, low fat, Paleo, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Cambridge style shakes/soups. The issue is keeping it off years later and if you are constantly thinking about eating during a time when you aren't "allowed" or craving foods that are "forbidden" on the diet, then that is less likely to happen imo. Most people can usually be determined for a few months or even a year if we really want something, but doing it for life can be harder, especially if it is a dramatic change of lifestyle.

When I was younger I would hear about/see the same returners at slimming groups because the lifestyle changes were too dramatic or awkward to keep up for years and I personally didn't find nutritionists and personal trainers especially helpful (I was referred to all of these on the NHS as well as trying various ones privately because I was so overweight).

So I eventually cut out the groups and "experts" and decided on no special diets/special times to eat - and just slowly reduced the high sugar foods, white carbs, processed food and replaced with mostly lower sugar, more wholegrains, lean protein and more veg and fruit. BUT no food is banned or are there specific times to eat and I still have a "treat" or two daily as well as a takeaway or a higher calorie/less healthy restaurant meal weekly if I want one. This makes things like evenings out, parties, weddings and even holidays much easier as I'm not eating very differently from everyone not on a "diet".

It did take me nearly 10 years to slowly lose almost half my body weight using this method - but I've kept it off for over 3 years now, and even now I'm pregnant I'm trying to keep it up and only put on what's necessary.

I really hope @username30473 finds what works best for them as I did

When you get used to over eating your tummy gets used to the bigger amount and it now needs time to adjust. Definitely look at where you can swap out some processed carbs, drink lots of water because our brain often tells us we are hungry when we actually need fluid.

Try to get active in some way, and you will get used to eating less. One thing I do is make myself stop eating the minute I start feeling full - regardless of how yummy it is! A couple of Jaffa cakes is hardly gluttonous, fgs to the poster judging! You’ll do it op 😊

I think yes, you do need to be feeling a little hungry in order to lose weight. Not starving, but a bit 'I could eat another bag of crisps' kind of way.

But the feeling never goes - it's not true that if you lose weight, you 'get used to eating less'. I lost 3 stone down to a size 6-8 but I still have the same appetite I always had - i am just better at resisting and make a point to be more active now. But if I let myself go, I could easily eat as much as I did when I was 3 stone heavier.

@orangesandlemons3

I think yes, you do need to be feeling a little hungry in order to lose weight. Not starving, but a bit 'I could eat another bag of crisps' kind of way.

But the feeling never goes - it's not true that if you lose weight, you 'get used to eating less'. I lost 3 stone down to a size 6-8 but I still have the same appetite I always had - i am just better at resisting and make a point to be more active now. But if I let myself go, I could easily eat as much as I did when I was 3 stone heavier.

So do you feel hungry a lot of the time?

Drink more water. It really does stop hunger.

@SilverHairedCat

No, absolutely not.

Going hungry is pointless, it's not sustainable and is just starving yourself.

Fill up on better foods - raise the protein levels, add lots more veg to that diet, keep bread to one meal a day and you'll not be hungry at all.

Absolutely spot on. More fibre, from non starchy veg. Couple of pieces of fruit. Plenty of protein, this will reduce levels of the hunger hormone, grehlin.

Water really does not make you not hungry. I have only lost weight when I accept I will be hungry.

And you can fill your tummy with green veg, and still be hungry.

@RoyalFamilyFan

Water really does not make you not hungry. I have only lost weight when I accept I will be hungry.

Water really does make ME not hungry. Several other posters have said the same.

I can't speak for everyone's experiences and nor can you.

@Wannalivewithcommonpeople might sound obvious but you do still need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight on 16/8. People talk about it like the only change you need to make is eating within the window but of course you still need to be eating less than you already were. It’s just the window is supposed to help you do that.

@Butchyrestingface water quickly leaves your stomach. It may work psychologically, but that is all.
Soup can help fill you up though.

@Butchyrestingface water quickly leaves your stomach. It may work psychologically, but that is all.

I don't care HOW it works. It works for me and other people have said it works for them.

I agree with you on the soup though, I'm very partial to a plate of good soup. 😋

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@Butchyrestingface water quickly leaves your stomach. It may work psychologically, but that is all.
Soup can help fill you up though.[/quote]
If it works psychologically, that means it works. Like when people complain that something is just a placebo effect. Placebos work!

It is normal to feel somewhat hungry or unsated

.

@orangesandlemons3

I think yes, you do need to be feeling a little hungry in order to lose weight. Not starving, but a bit 'I could eat another bag of crisps' kind of way.

But the feeling never goes - it's not true that if you lose weight, you 'get used to eating less'. I lost 3 stone down to a size 6-8 but I still have the same appetite I always had - i am just better at resisting and make a point to be more active now. But if I let myself go, I could easily eat as much as I did when I was 3 stone heavier.

I think this is pretty spot on I lost 4 stone three years ago and have had to accept that I will always have to actively manage my relationship with food.