Six Tips to Keep from Going Hungry on Your Diet

I am a 32 year old woman, trying very hard to get back in shape and lose weight. I am following a 1400 calorie diet and hope to lose 45 pounds by the new year. The problem is I am constantly hungry. Sometimes I give in to the hunger and ruin my calorie limit for the day. Even if I don't, it's always on my mind and very hard to live like this. Is there some way to combat the hunger so I can stick with this weight-loss plan for the next 6 months? Will my body eventually get used to this calorie level so my life can go back to normal?  Thanks, Winnie K.

Hi Winnie,
I have a few tips that may help you: Try them all out and see what works best for you. 


1. Be sure to eat all the food that's allowed on  your diet plan. Sometimes people get super-motivated and skimp on the calories they're allowed. This will obviously keep you more hungry, so eat all you are allowed.


2. Eat Breakfast! Even when you aren't hungry in the morning, your body will definitely appreciate the energy you feed yourself. It appears to prevent hunger later in the day and reduce the amount of food people crave all the way until bed time. Try to include some whole grains for fiber, and lean protein to stave off hunger pangs well into the morning.


3. Fill up on Low Calorie Foods: Keep carrot and celery sticks cut up in a dish of water in the fridge (this keeps them nice and crisp), zucchini sticks, apple sections, whatever your favorite fruit and veggie snacks are. Filling up on high-fiber foods that also contain a lot of water keep your body from nagging you to eat more.


4. Stay Hydrated. Sometimes your brain signals you to drink and you interpret it to "eat". Your first line of defense when a hunger craving hits is to have a glass of water. It will give you the satisfaction of putting something into your digestive system, even though there are no calories.


5. Keep a healthy balance in the other aspects of your life. Many things signal us to eat, most of which are not the need for nutrition. Sometimes we need sleep, water, a walk or a distraction. Stress, sleepiness, anxiety and boredom can all trigger the craving to solve the problem with a snack. Instead, think about what you really need each time hunger hits. Aim to put off eating for 15 minutes while you go for a walk, call a friend, check your email or just stretch and zone out for a minute. After 15 minutes, give yourself permission to have something--you will often find by that time you've forgotten about it and the craving has passed.


6: One of my favorites, from the author of The Beck Diet Solution: "Remember that hunger is not an emergency." It's an urge like many others that come and go during the day, many of which we must choose to ignore. After all, you don't give in to other impulses that are less-than-acceptable, such as napping at work, scratching certain itches, or hauling off and smacking an annoying, smart-mouthed colleague :)   If you ignore the hunger and continue with what you were doing, nothing bad will happen and the urge will soon pass.

How Can I Tell if it's Real Hunger or Emotional Hunger?

I'm trying to start eating sensibly: Paying attention to when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm full. But how can I tell when I'm hungry whether it's real or whether it's just emotional cravings?  Laura B.

Hi Laura,
Good moves you are making to start eating sensibly! And good question. There is a difference between hunger and appetite. 


Hunger is when your body sends signals that it's time to refuel: It might be your stomach growling, a headache, or a light headed feeling you get when your blood sugar starts to drop. Hunger prompts the question, "Can I get something to eat?"


Appetite is when your senses of taste and smell signal there is something that you would enjoy eating. Appetite begs the question, "What would I like to eat?" Appetite comes when you see a juicy steak, smell fresh cookies baking, or when someone brings out the birthday cake. Even after you are stuffed full from a satisfying meal (ie, not hungry), someone can offer you a slice of apple pie and suddenly you realize you would love one. That's appetite.


But it's still more complicated than that. Recent studies show there are hormones that signal you to have an appetite based on your usual eating times. If you regularly have lunch at 11:30, you'll start to sense "it's time to eat" just around that time. If you always have a snack at 9 pm, you'll notice a nudging feeling that it's time to find a snack each night at that same time. Evidence suggests you can break these habits as well. Trying to reduce your snacking? Ignore the signals you're getting and in time your body will readjust and stop telling you to think about food when you'd like it to be the last thing on your mind.


The bottom line is, feeling like you want to eat something is annoying and uncomfortable, regardless of the underlying reason. It can be distracting no matter why you're having a craving. And nothing terrible will happen if you ignore these signals. You simply do not have to eat every time you feel like it! Take a walk, call a friend, have a glass of water, choose healthy foods at mealtimes. Learning to say 'no' to those pesky feelings will actually make them go away faster.

I'm Trying to Lose Weight, But I'm Always Hungry!

First of all, be sure you are not depriving yourself of all the calories you can have, while still being able to lose weight. There is virtually no one who needs to be on a diet lower than 1200 calories, and it's nearly impossible to get the nutrients you need if you're eating less than that. Figure about 10-12 calories per pound is what you need to maintain your weight (eg if you weigh 200 pounds you are burning approximately 2000-2400 calories a day). Of course this varies greatly depending on your age, gender, and activity level, and there are websites to help you estimate your needs a little more closely.

Take 250 to 500 calories away from this number (now your range for weight loss if you are 200 pounds will be between 1500 calories and 2150) and you can expect to lose one-half pound to one pound a week. True, if you eat 800 calories you can lose 3 pounds, but it's not worth it to starve yourself and be miserable for an extra couple of pounds, is it? The fact is, you can learn to eat an 1800 calorie level for the rest of your life on most days and then you will never have to 'diet' again!

So, now to address the hunger issue. Think about how you feel when you say you are "hungry". Is your stomach growling, are you lightheaded, or do you just feel like eating more food because it tastes good? If you just like to eat, you will have to develop some strategies to distract yourself after you've eaten the proper portion at each meal and snack. Leave the table, have a cup of tea or a hard candy, go for a walk, call a friend, listen to music--whatever you enjoy that will distract you from the idea of eating more.

Some tips to help keep you from feeling empty:

1) Eat all the food allowed on your meal plan. Don't skip a meal, don't skip a serving of vegetables. You'll stay more full during the day when you eat consistently

2) Enjoy a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. There is a book called "volumetrics" that explains how to eat a lot of food volume without taking in a lot of calories.

3) Mind calories taken in from foods that will not fill you up at all: simple carbs like pretzels and crackers; hidden fats like melted butter and cream sauces; and one of the worst culprits--sweetened beverages like soda and sweet tea.

4) Before a party or a meal, have a handful of nuts--just about 10 or 12. They send a chemical message to your brain within about 30 minutes that says you are not hungry!

Hang in there, and take it slow and steady. Enjoy the food you do eat, and find other things you like to do to keep your mind occupied.

Let us know what strategies work for you!