When will I stop feeling hungry?

[CaptainBeakyandhisband]

Caught sight of myself in a photo recently that I didn’t like, combined with the way that the scales are creeping up and up means it’s finally time to do something. I’m 5’3ish and weigh 64kg, I’ve never really lost the baby weight but have been under 60kg since the kids, although I’d like to get closer to the 55kg I was before kids.

I downloaded Noom (thankfully paid the minimum as I’m not sure I agree with it completely, and it seems to be Slimming World in disguise). The calorie counting aspect is useful though, it’s eye opening to see the random unaccounted calories I’m scoffing between meals.

I’ve had a pretty good day with nutritious meals and a couple of healthy snacks, but I’m starving!! Will I get used to the lower food intake? Any top tips?

Takes me 7-10 days to loose the all the time hunger it's hard because you're food focused and it's a constant battle inside your head, takes a while but you do get there

Thanks - and thanks for being realistic, I’d rather know it will be a week or two than a day or two. Problem is that I really really love food. I don’t necessarily eat particularly unhealthily, I just eat too much. I’ve got away with it until now but since lockdown my metabolism seems to have really slowed.

They give too little food.the amount is always way too low.if your hungry your not eating enough.simple as.you don’t need to restrict and go hungry to get healthier.you need to add in health promoting behaviours and your weight will do what it will from there. Then it’s proper health.it’s sustainable and not just a need to be thinner which is a societally shit betrayal of woman’s lives all over the world. Why thinner.who told us thinner was better:best.fat phobic society we live in which has nothing to do with health.
noom is just another money grabbing dieting platform in disguise.full of shit.not helpful.pretend they are thinking of you emotionally whilst giving you more food gripes,more disorderly food beliefs.

Thanks - completely agree with you about Noom, but annoyingly you can’t really observe it without signing up. I don’t really agree with their philosophy of filling up on foods that don’t contain any macronutrients, so don’t suppose I will follow their plan long term. But it’s good to see what I’m actually eating.

and I completely agree about fat shaming society, but I felt healthier at a lower weight and didn’t have this colossal mum tum. My weight now is probably closer to 9 months pregnant than pre-kids now!

You will feel fuller if you eat less carbs, especially in the mornings. Eat more veg and some protein.
Try eating something savoury for breakfast, not cereal etc.
Eat more slowly.

Thank you - this is where my hatred of eggs lets me down but perhaps avocado might work

I agree that reducing carbs (especially bread) helps feel less hungry

More protein
More water
More veg

Can you ease yourself into a calorie deficit vs a big jump?

and lastly, once you start seeing a change it does get easier

My big problem seems to be reaching for the biscuit tin in the afternoon. I reckon if I can break that habit I’ll be doing a lot better in general.

The 16:8 can help with hunger as it resets your thinking about when you eat, so you get used to not eating during the specific 16 hours. Recently I've been amazed that by focusing on eating lots of fiber I'm not hungry, but i mean LOTs of fiber!

Ah good shout about combining this with 16:8 - I last did t

Oops. Last did that when my youngest was quite small but found I took it as a bit of a challenge to see how much I could eat in 8 hours! But I do remember not being especially fussed about food outside of the eating window.

Most important things with calorie counting I have learnt:

Cravings last 20 mins. Drink some water and set a timer, if you really want it after eat it but track it and get on with your day.

Protein is most important. Aim for 0.7g of protein per pound of body weight. It'll help keep you full, which veggies won't (although they are good for bulking meals out)

Avocado is delicious and full of nutrients but is quite high calories. If you can fit it in, do, but don't count on it to keep you full.

@CaptainBeakyandhisband , I eat a big lunch, and have a cut off time for food.
For example, no nibbling after 4 or 6 pm. That stopped the 'I'll just have one (biscuit or whatever)' when i got home from work. If I am definitely in need of food, I pick something that I know I'll be satisfied with just a little bit.

Don't eat between meals. A biscuit or cake or bag of crisps won't cut it. If you want a nibble make it something like a piece of fruit or some nuts. Keep the food plain and simple - like natural yoghurt not fruit/sweet ones, plain nuts not salty or flavoured ones

Not all calories are equal. A bit of fat and protein make you feel fuller - just don't go overboard. Avoid high-GI foods, because they tend to give you false hunger.

Eat food you like. If you desperately want something, have it. e.g. you really crave chocolate have it, not eat something else. That way you will have eaten it and won't be thinking about it.

Intermittent fasting, aka 16:8

Avoid carbs, especially bread, pasta, rice, etc
Eat mostly protein and vegetables, plus some fruit
Exercise - a great motivator and you'll feel less hungry
Don't drink calories but do drink a lot: water, tea, Robinson's, etc
Chew gum or brush your teeth if you feel hungry.
Always have a melon or cantaloupe and apples or pears in the fridge to snack on.
And for your sweet tooth I recommend mangos!

Thanks all, I opted for an evening snack in the end. Took me slightly over my calories for the day but I was really hungry and I have a nasty cold at the moment anyway.

I have quite a few issues with fruits (I have oral allergy syndrome and as a result of what I assume to be digestive irritation they can sometimes make me hungrier) so will likely have to stick to veggies as much as possible.

And this morning I seem to be 0.8kg down on yesterday. Which must be some kind of a fluke/natural variation but I’ve not seen a number with 63 in front for a while.

Eeekkkk don't weigh yourself daily, you're setting yourself up for an immediate fail there

You need to reach a point you're not obsessing this is the only thing that worked for me; instead of feeling you're missing out and not having the things you want you need to tell yourself you're making valuable lifestyle changes that will benefit you and your body, long term

OP could I ask what size are you? I'm your same height but I look super skinny at 55kg. I'm currently 66kg and although I agree I need to get as low as 60kg I wouldn't be completely disappointed to remain the size and shape I currently am. I'm a UK size 8 btw, and at 55 I hover between 4 and 6. I just find it fascinating how we all carry weight so differently.

So I’m a 10-12 at the moment and would like to go back to being an 8-10. I have broad hips though, and only really have a bit of spare on my thighs, quite a big mum tum/hips and a bit of weight on my upper back to lose. I’m probably quite slender apart from being a classic pear.

@Cait73 yes I agree but that is the Noom instruction 🙄

I have very similar numbers to you and started about eight weeks ago after creeping >60kg. I'm now at 56kg, no calorie counting. It took a couple of weeks for my stomach to adjust to the new lower food amount and not snacking all day long. Surprisingly something that worked well for me was sticking to three meals per day, and still eating unhealthy snacks, but adding them to my meals rather than in between meals. I only wanted 1-2 biscuits when eaten with my lunch rather than having 5-6 mid-afternoon. I realised that my 'feeling hungry all day' was actually craving sugar all day.

Another thing that helped was waiting until I was feeling hungry before eating, which sounds really obvious, but if I was tempted to snack, I'd think - am I hungry? No? In which case I will eat this with my next meal.

Just to add, that all sounds like a lot of hard work written down, and at first it did require attention and effort. However, 8 weeks in it's now my new normal and takes very little effort or attention to maintain.

@CaptainBeakyandhisband WHAT?? Delete that lol

But I’ve paid a whole pound to use it 🤣

@OldGreyAppleFence thats really reassuring, thank you! And yes you’re probably right about putting something sweet into a meal being better than scoffing a bunch of biscuits mid afternoon