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?

Drink loads of water or diet fizzy drinks if you can manage that. I find coffee ideally black fills me up too! Basically just drink drink drink!!
I'm the opposite I hate the feeling of being full!

So much great advice! Thanks so much! Looks like WW or low carbing could be worth a try so I’ll look into those.

@HowFastIsTooFast I totally agree with you. But, honestly, you would hate to meet me when I’m dieting. I really do become the most miserable, snappy person. So if I can avoid that I’d like to!

@Fatted I know a stone doesn’t sound like much but it’s changed how I feel about myself. Now I have back rolls and my thighs rub together and I feel like crap. We already do eat quite well but I think I’ve got used to eating too much and ‘treats’ are a regular occurrence. Definitely could up the exercise.

I spoke to DP who suggested that we do this together, which should help.

Are you hungry or just thinking about food all the time? I did slimming world successfully and still revert to it the odd week or two to keep me on track and it really fills you up if you do it right. But. It doesnt stop me thinking about food all the time!

I do 16:8 and only eat 10-6, so I eat enough to make sure I'm not hungry in that. I get a few 'pants' in the morning and sometimes at bedtime if I've stayed up too late, but drinking water or a hot drink with no milk is enough to curb them. I find it easier to get into a routine so I know which times of day I'm likely to be hungry and can prepare for that.

Eating fibre has really helped. I track on mfp along with calories and aim for 25-35g a day.

Pangs not pants

One of the reasons low-carb high-fat worked for me - I lost three stone and have kept it off - is because I didn't feel hungry on it. Fat is satiating, and tasty, so you get to eat enjoyable food that fills you up whilst losing weight.

It honestly feels like a miracle. But it's a WOE rather than a diet - if I go back to regularly eating carbs again I'll put the weight back on. Now I'm maintaining I'll occasionally have a roast potato or a slice of crusty bread, but I'll never eat carbs as a large component of my diet again.

Also try slimming world , if you follow some of them online they eat loads and still lose . I follow it but just don't have that appetite but it's def an eaters diet!

Thanks for explaining low-carbers! I’m the opposite. I feel like shit when I don’t eat carbs but I think everyone is built differently.

@Shedtheload I don’t know if this helps but I read on the NHS website that you’re likely to feel terrible for the first few days of low/no carbing then feel fine again.

’Initial side effects can include bad breath, a dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and constipation from cutting out carbs’

Thanks BlueSlice I’ve tried it longer term than that and the side effects don’t go away for me, especially the constipation thing. I also really enjoy rice, potatoes and higher carb veg so I know it wouldn’t work for me (plus I have concerns about the environment and the sustainability of eating so many animal products).

Has anyone managed to do low carb but also low fat?

I am hungry all the time and feel like low carb might help me, but I am required to eat a low fat diet because I have genetically high cholesterol and don’t have certain receptors to correctly manage fat levels in my blood.

It seems to me that low carb is always fairly high fat?

I do try to eat as much protein as I possibly can to reduce the amount of carbs, but this gets difficult, again especially with avoiding fat.

For example if I ate only 30g of carbs a day and 20g of fat, then I would need to eat 225g of protein for a 1200 calorie diet. I don’t think it would be possible to meet these levels (maybe if I pretty much just ate processed protein powder!).

I am thinking of joining WW online. What is the best way to join initially to try it out? I would like to hear success stories to motivate me!

I think you need to do high fat if you’re doing low carb I’m afraid. Otherwise your body wouldn’t get enough energy.

I don’t agree with low carb. I know it works for others but I just don’t believe it’s healthy. I don’t eat a lot of pasta or rice, but I do like bread.

My only advice, based on personal experience, is to ‘tough out’ a couple of weeks of being hungry and irritable. I was a miserable snappy bitch for the first couple of weeks. Now I honestly rarely feel hungry. It’s past 6pm here and I’m only on 500 calories so far, and am honestly not hungry.

Also, lots of leafy greens. I had a huuuuuge spinach salad for lunch. I was SO full.

@eeeeeeeeeek

I don’t agree with low carb. I know it works for others but I just don’t believe it’s healthy.

Why on earth would you believe this? There's lots of evidence that it's actually a healthier way of eating than if you go low fat/high carb.

Why is low-fat/high carb the alternative? I never said anything about high carb.

Are you actually hungry ? I've cut down a lot lately , and I try to think before I eat if I'm bored or thirsty. I have had cravings for sweet things but this does seem to ease.
I've had success in the past with WW.
It's bloody difficult though , good luck.

I’m hungry a lot and it definitely sucks. I’ve lost 1st 7lbs and am finally below 10st 🥳🥳 I agree with the tips here but if I’m honest all I want is a KFC or some fish and chips 😂

@eeeeeeeeeek

Why is low-fat/high carb the alternative? I never said anything about high carb.

It's an alternative. Sorry - wasn't trying to put words into your mouth!

I eat a lot of plaint based but with healthy proteins. Just not cutting whole groups of food out. It’s great that people are having success but I’m not 100% sold that it’s definitely healthier than a more balanced diet. I think a high consumption of fat and animal products coupled with limited fibre can have a bad effect on the digestive system even if your weight may be low. It’s also not sustainable for the planet for everyone to eat like this. Anyway, each to their own and it’s good that people have found something that works.

Is the 800 calories for 7 days diet recommended? Just started it as I need to get rid of my mummy!

Low-carb is very effective. I lost weight, moods stabilised, slept more deeply, had more energy....however all I could think about was crusty bread, crisps and creamy bars of chocolate. I hated feeling like cravings and carb obsessions were taking over my mind.
I could only low-carb for so long before i would have massive (delicious) binges.
I would say it’s worth a try, maybe it will work for you. I just love carbs so much and depriving myself made me more miserable than carrying a couple of extra pounds did.

I'm on slimming world, I've lost 6 stone. It's hard work and easy at the same time and it's an investment emotionally but I don't eat muller lights, I don't buy their, I do buy their lunch pots but only because I need something easy at lunchtime and I don't have time to mess around with batch cooking.

I feel you have to get your head in the game and invest in your weighloss. Ofcouse you're going to feel hungry at times, if you don't then you wouldn't eat or you'd over eat and not lose weight.

Exercise is my toner and helps me to keep emotionally sane but I sometime's lose more the weeks i exercise less because as the sayings go, you can't outrun a bad diet.

If you want to do it then you will do it. If you expect it to happen quickly then it may but it won't be sustainable.

Good luck.

I don’t believe in diets. Overwhelming evidence is they don’t work, long term.

Check out intuitive eating - Susie Orbach, Paul McKenna, loads more. Works by tuning into your body, eating mindfully. Nothing is restricted/banned, no going hungry- it’s a long term way of life. And yes, you do lose weight if you need to (I have!) and it stays off - and just wonderful to NEVER feel deprived.

I’m always a bit surprised it isn’t mentioned more on MN tbh.

specialkitten I agree with you that diets have a terrible rate of success. Personally, I have to stay away from completely intuitive eating at the moment because I had binge eating issues that caused the weight gain. However, I eat a relatively high amount of calories and am focused on health more than aesthetic goals.
I think that unless you’re going to enjoy eating like this forever, it’s not going to work. That’s why things like Cambridge, Exante etc have a very low success rate. So does SW and WW (and low carb!). I am hoping to eventually move into a more intuitive way of eating but it’s only been just over three months since I binged so I need to keep an eye on it for the moment by logging my food. My body intuitively wants to self-destruct which isn’t helpful!