When you’re on a diet are you just constantly hungry?

[BlueSlice]

I have at least a stone to shift and have tried to moderate my food intake in a few different ways in the past but I always fail for exactly the same reason: I can’t stand feeling hungry.

I find the feeling really uncomfortable and it’s so distracting. I can hardly concentrate on work etc. It also puts me in a miserable and snappy mood. I’m really unpleasant company when I’m dieting.

Is there anything I can do resolve this?

What diet are you doing? When I want to shift a few pounds I do 1200 cals and yes, I am hungry and irritable most of the time! There are other options though if you’re struggling, Slimming World maybe? I find coffee suppresses my appetite a little until next meal.

I’m not doing anything specific at the moment but when I do it’s mostly calorie counting using a tracker like MFP.

I’ve never really considered SW or WW an option because I got the impression they suggest you eat processed snack bars and muller lights, etc. I want to lose weight to be healthier and I don’t really see that eating a load of sugar is helpful in that sense. But to be honest I might need to get over myself because I’m not succeeding so far!

Lost a stone on WW in the last 5 weeks. Not bought a snack bar nor a Mullerlight yoghurt yet.

Yes I get hungry - usually about 30 to 60 minutes before a meal time. I cope by drinking a glass of water and knowing I will be eating soon.

I have breakfast around 8am (exercise 7.30-8). Exercise again at 10am.
Lunch around 1pm
Supper around 7pm.

No snack (not denial - just don’t think of them). 2-4 litres of water a day. Big glass of red wine 3 x a week.

That’s good to know Yellow. I can cope with half an hour or so. It’s feeing hungry pretty much the whole day and then going to bed hungry that I can’t cope with.

Eggs are amazing. So filling and only about 80 calories (hard boiled). I've started hard boiling a batch and then putting them in the fridge to eat on it's own or with a meal.

Way more filling than eg a packet of crisps and fewer calories.

But yes I feel your pain. Basically losing weight is having to be hungry a lot and it really sucks.

I find that if I eat breakfast, I get hungry by lunchtime, but if I don't eat breakfast, and just drink hot drinks all morning, I can last longer before starting my eating for the day. Only eating in a 1pm-8pm window really helps me lose weight - I've lost 5lb over the last fortnight doing this.

But today, because I had a medical appointment mid-morning, I had a yog with some oats and walnuts for breakfast. By lunchtime, was hungry. Also ate dinner (and a Bounty...)

Very low carb diets are perfect for this - once you get into ketosis (about 3 days in) you just do NOT feel hungry.

No, I don’t and if you do, you need to have a look to see where you can modify your diet so that it turns into a long term healthy lifestyle. If you’re starving, you’ll go back to eating how you did and the weight will come back.
Eating more protein is a good idea as it’s filling. Low carb makes me feel terrible personally but others have had good success, although it’s the fat rather than the protein that gives energy and satiety there.

Eating less calorie dense foods is a good idea. Salads, roasted veggies etc will bulk out your meals without adding calories.

Have a look at your calorie count. Most women need more than 1200 on a diet. It’s very little and will leave most people starving. I have lost 26 lb in 14 weeks by eating 1700 cals a day. I am 5’6’’ and a half and have quite a large frame. I’ve been losing 1-2 lb a week on this. My TDEE is 2,350, so it’s a good deficit.

Exercise! It does make a difference, promise. It makes several hundred calories of difference to my TDEE so it’s essential if i want to eat properly. Nothing fancy, just a bit of yoga and 10,000 steps a day, sometimes through jogging. 100% I wouldn’t have been able to lose this weight without exercising.

I am eating and moving the way I plan to continue to eat and move forever once I have hit my goal. No fads, no cutting out food groups and no starving so there is no diet to ‘come off’. I will just gradually add back a few calories when I am at goal and keep a close eye on my eating for a while

Agree that after a lifetime of dieting low carb suits me best, because you can fill up with cheese, cream, avocados etc you don't feel you are missing out on treats and you feel 'fuller'.

It doesn't entirely stop the occasional craving for a glass of wine or bar of chocolate but it's certainly the best way of eating that I've found. Great support on the Boot Camps on here.

When I want to lose weight I exercise more and count calories. I have a fit bit and log food on mfp (synced to fit but app). I make sure I have a 300-500 calorie defecit a day, I aim to burn at least 2500 calories a day so I can eat about 2000. I've never had any trouble losing weight as long as I stick to this.

I genuinely can't get my head around how anyone can get through the day only eating 1200 calories, it would make me miserable.

Low carbing definitely! It's not just about eating fat and protein, that's satiating - it's about keeping three key hormones in balance: leptin, grehlin and insulin. Hunger/appetite/satiation is controlled by these hormones. And when you keep your carbs low, it keeps these in balance.

I agree that very low carb is the only way for me to loose and keep the weight off. Any other diet plays havoc with insulin spikes, and I end up in a circle of starving, failing, gaining weight again

109% low carbing! I’ve been doing keto for 2 weeks now and the lack of hunger is quite possibly the best thing ever.

I used to plan my next meal as soon as I’d eaten, and constantly think about what I could eat. Now I’m not obsessed with food my mental clarity has been amazing. Food has become fuel rather than a reward or comfort or a way to relieve boredom.

8lbs down, 1.5 stone to go.

I follow the advice of www.low-carbs.co.uk

Low carb is the best way to not feel hungry like that.

If dieting is making you miserable OP and you only have a stone to lose, is it something you need to do? If you are concerned about your health, surely it is more healthy to eat properly and well, unprocessed foods, lots of fruit and vegetables, and do regular exercise? Instead of starving constantly?

People who do low carb, do you stay on it forever? Or do you add carbs back when you have reached goal?

I have been doing WW purple for the past 2 months and I have lost 1.5 stone but I am also breastfeeding. I have never been hungry once - I just eat something zero points if I am hungry (fruit/hard boiled egg etc).

Lots of other good advice from pps but also try and remember that feeling hungry isn't a bad thing. We forget that in first world countries sometimes! We know that intermittent fasting is good for our bodies as it gets our metabolism working etc, so while I understand that you find it uncomfortable, try and embrace it as a positive.

My other suggestion is to up your exercise where you can, the more calories you're burning per day, the more you can eat and the less hungry you'll be. Good luck!

@Shedtheload

People who do low carb, do you stay on it forever? Or do you add carbs back when you have reached goal?

I've been doing it for years. I don't have any desire to eat pasta, rice etc ever again. I love this way of eating

@Shedtheload

I’ve been keto for a good 3 years now. It really is the best way to quit the diet hunger hell, and actually lose weight.

I’ve been at target weight for 2.5 years and still stay very low carb. You realise how shit carbs make you feel and the quality of life you get is just worth so much more than a slice of pizza - mental clarity, balanced energy, regulated hormones, better moods, sleep, immune system (I’ve not been ill at all for all these years)

So do you stick to it forever? I do. But it’s nothing to do with weight loss. It’s totally about health and wellbeing.

And I don’t miss carbs. Ever.

I eat 1400-1500 calories a day.

I do feel hungry sometimes but get by with coffee or a small snack.

The weight loss benefits garden outweigh the hunger.

Far outweigh.
Not garden

I can't stick to no or low carbs I love fresh baked bread, pasta and rice!

I only would like to lose a few pounds which I can do in a week if I exercise, eat less and don't snack but of course I don't end up maintaining this. Lockdown hasn't helped as I'm less active and bored...

@Shedtheload

People who do low carb, do you stay on it forever? Or do you add carbs back when you have reached goal?

Well, if the carbs were what made you fat, it stands to reason that if you go back to eating carbs, the weight will go back on!

Once you reach your target weight, you can generally increase the amount of carbs you're eating - but you don't/can't go back to a high carbohydrate diet. So it's about finding the balance - what can you re-introduce/how many carbs can your body tolerate before the weight starts to go up again?

But this is like any diet - if you go back to doing/eating what you were before you started the diet, then the weight will go back on.