How Do You Stop Hunger Pangs?

[damepeanutbutter]

Yes, losing weight is all about will-power, I understand that. I am doing massive amounts of exercise (three outdoor circuit classes each week plus another two hours of either walking, cycling or swimming) and I have lost some weight (around a stone) due to exercise and controlling calories. But some weight is starting to creep back on.

I really want to break some bad snacking habits, but I feel soooo hungry at times and it is almost impossible to ignore the pain. What diversion tactics do you use (aside from the inevitable 'drink a glass of water') to stop yourself eating extra calories between meals and to stop yourself thinking about food?

damepeanut You take a look a I Can Make You Thin by Paul Mckenna I reached my target weightloss with it and I am maintaining ;Iam NEVER hungry because the rules state that you EAT when you're hungry BUT you eat\chew really slowly and consciously (not in front of a screen, and sitting at a table) and when you feel full you STOP. Yes you also have some water and or herbal tea before you eat in case it's thirst not hunger.

There's a good support thread on here.

You just have to train yourself to realise that 90% of hunger pangs come from your brain not your stomach.

It takes a while but eating high protein food and having 5 and 10 hour gaps when you eat nothing at all gets easier each time you do it.

Consider going caffeine free, sounds weird but I was so used to topping up my energy levels with sugar after a caffeine crash.

What time do you get hunger pangs?

Hunger pangs at around 10.00 whether I've eaten breakfast or not, Timeforabiscuit (apt user name for this thread btw!) and then I'm fine after lunch until around 4. The next time I start feeling ravenous is late evening.

ppeatfruit is the thread about the Paul M book? Thanks

I hate hunger pains. I've started eating apples when I get them now, and it seems to stop them.

I would say if you physically feel hungry eg stomach growling etc you should eat. There's a big difference between this and craving food. I have recently lost 2 stone and if I felt hungry I ate something and drank plenty of water. I haven't followed any specific diet but listened to what my body needed.

Yes the thread is about the book there are other books but I reckon I Can Make You Thin is the best. (silly title though ) I'm happy being a loose vanity sized 10, so not thin, slim.

P.M. also helps to conquer cravings.

I agree about giving up caffeine too Timefor After doing that (and eating fruit before a meal) or FOR a meal I lost a stone without extra exercise and even meaning to.

Oh believe me the irony of my username is not lost !

Those sound pretty normal (at least I had them the same times!). Do you vary what you have for breakfast or is it pretty much the same? I've found wheatabix the best for seeing me through till lunch with porridge being the absolute worst, felt like my stomachs collapsing in on itself.

With the afternoon, I can usually ignore that one as I'm usually getting dinner ready for six and I'm running about.

Its sounds like your doing a fair bit, can you talk through your exercise plan with the trainer to give you some pointers?

What do you eat for breakfast? Could you eat something more filling?

Why don't you allocate some calories for a 10am snack?

Okay breakfast varies:
It is either a mashed banana with chopped apples, some chopped dates, 3-4 prunes in juice plus a sprinkling of mixed seed and chia (this actually is the best one as it fills me up for ages)

Or I soak 50g of no-sugar muesli overnight in 200ml almond milk, then top with some natural yoghurt (one desertspoonful) and 3-4 prunes in juice.

The problem is more of boredom I think. Just thinking that I need to eat something because I am bored at work (for instance) and then cannot think of anything else until I eat my lunch early at 12.00. I do drink a lot of tea so should think about giving that up, or drinking less. I also like the idea of having an apple when hungry.

Today we had a roast chicken lunch, but not a huge meal. A piece of carrot cake for pud. Then I had a handful of dates and prunes at 4 because I felt hungry. I am now waiting until 7 when I will have two rice cakes with cottage cheese and tomatoes and will try to get upstairs early to bed to watch tv so that I don't start nibbling at 10.00. I am sure a lot of this is in my head, but it is useful to get all of your ideas. They are inspiring me and making me think about how I can change some of my behaviours.

I'm thinking that protein is good for satiety, so perhaps swap the yoghurt for fat-free Greek yoghurt? Or add protein powder? Your fruit and seed breakfast won't be the most filling of breakfasts. You could try eggs?

I'm not sure how drinking less will help with hunger. Drinking water and lemon helps me not comfort eat (e.g. from boredom).

The dates and prunes will be very high in sugar (double check the label tho) - so you may just be surfing the sugar waves.

If you've got a sweet tooth teapigs liquorice and peppermint have been brilliant for sating a sweet urge.

When I get the evening nibbles I go for a large mug of hot chocolate which tastes nice and indulgent but doesn't hurt too much calorie wise.

How do you feel about pepper strips, carrot and celery for snacking at ten?

)))))fat free yoghurt((((
Full fat normal is only 4% fat without all the weird stuff they do to replace the fat

OP
there is a lot of sugar in your diet - all that fruit is high sugar, as is the cake

you need more protein - eggs are great, as is fish
and nuts are an excellent snack
increase the veg and cut down on the fruit and sugars

sugar and snacking are what make you permanently hungry

Also lots of exercise does make a lot of people hungry- building new muscle takes protein, so try nuts/ meat type snacks instead of fruits?

Thank you all. Only ever have full fat Greek yoghurt, TP. Learnt that trick long ago (don't eat the low fat rubbish). Or I have Alpro soya yoghurts. Not a great red meat eater.

Yes, need to eat more veg. I take raw carrots into work, but probably need to make some veg sticks for the fridge so that I can nibble on those. Will prepare some tonight.

I'm just a greedy pig who likes eating and finding the willpower to ignore my greedy brain is my failing.

I'm going to take a hard-boiled egg to eat after circuits tomorrow to see if that helps.

I looked at the Paul McK thread and I am going to try some of those simple rules.

)))))fat free yoghurt(((( Full fat normal is only 4% fat without all the weird stuff they do to replace the fat

Really? What bad stuff do they add to fat-free Greek yoghurt TP and OP?

www.onken.co.uk/our-range/fat-free-blueberry-elderberry/
No fat but 14% sugar .....
Don't really want locust bean gum in my dairy foods

That's not Greek yoghurt.

(I don't know why it keeps doing that with an 'h' - it must be me).

www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=264672976
Except its NOT fat free : its 1% fat
and 5% sugar

Do you mean they add sugar because it's fat free (or practically)? I can't see where to find the ingredients.

I'd think that with yoghurt being a dairy food it would naturally contain some sugar.

The point is that the less processed a food is, the better it is.
Fat is an utterly essential part of the diet.
It is not clear how they get the milk to turn to yoghurt when they have spun all of the fat out of it. Some incredible very industrialised process basically.

Hmm. This has been really interesting. I'm a huge fan of fat-free Greek yoghurt because it's such a great protein source for the calories. I didn't realise that it had loads of additives and I agree with you, locust gum doesn't sound great (and I'm someone who happily eats chocolate everyday!).

Anything that is 4% fat or less is considered low in fat. So 'full fat milk' and 'full fat yoghurt' are actually low fat but the fat they have got is good fat and possibly where the Vit D is found (am I right?). I'm not an expert, but I do remember reading an article about this ages ago and it convinced me to for the flavour version (full 4% fat). Your body doesn't store fat, it stores unused sugar which it turns to fat so there is no point going for low fat versions of dairy produce (or anything else for that matter as they only stuff processed sugar in to flavour it once they have taken the flavour/fat out).