How do you handle legit hunger pains while trying to lose weight

[Anonymous]

very very low carbs and plenty of fat.

[Anonymous]

I’m probably not the right person to answer this, but I was severely anorexic when I was in HS. I’m totally fine now and am an early when you’re hungry type person, but I took me years to reset my metabolism and really learn how it feels to be actually hungry and not just cued to eat.

Reframing is totally right - you feel hunger pangs as pain/suffering now, but reframing them as simply a sensation in your body is the key. Meditation type exercises may help with this - you notice the feeling and do not assign it any value. It is simply noticed. Then really think about what you are truly experiencing and tap into that. I learned to feel actual hunger from comparing like how you feel when you go on a big long hike and are actually physically tired and really actually hungry - that is hunger. Identify what that feels like and compare it to the feeling of like 3pm mild hunger but more boredom and wanting a hit of something positive.

Then, if it’s truly hunger, eat. If it’s nothing and you just want to feel good, protein and low calorie veggies all the way. I love no sugar beef jerky for this, also salad, mushrooms, even low calorie cereal or popcorn, something that will take a while to eat basically so you can enjoy it over a 20-min period but won’t add a bunch of extra calories. I used to drink a ton of coffee, seltzer, and diet soda for this too, but I actually think that backfires. It’s like your body expects/craves the seeetness even if it’s not real sugar and it’s a downward spiral. Lots of water is always good though.

Good luck!! Eventually, you will learn how you feel when you are actually hungry and your body will reset and this will be simple. Promise.

[Anonymous]

Protein and fat. Not carbs and sugar

[Anonymous]

Someone else mentioned this but apples absolutely kill my stomach, esp if they’re not paired with protein. If I just eat an apple as a snack, it feels worse than if I had nothing at all! It took me years to realize this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Protein and fat. Not carbs and sugar

I need some grains to feel full. Just protein and fat leaves me so hungry, even immediately after eating. Eating balanced is best

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow, guys/gals. Good luck keeping that weight off in the long run if these are your "tools" for handling hunger.

Best advice you will ever get: EAT when you feel hungry.

This whole discussion feels like a PSA about anorexia from middle school health class. A bunch of white girls with feathered hair sit on Jenny's flower-print bed, exchanging tips for curbing your appetite so you can fit into your prom dress. Tracy is really disturbed by this conversation, so she tells her mother, Susan. Susan calls the other moms, Linda and Jackie, and tells them her concerns. Mother-daughter talks ensure. Everyone cries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow, guys/gals. Good luck keeping that weight off in the long run if these are your "tools" for handling hunger.

Best advice you will ever get: EAT when you feel hungry.

This whole discussion feels like a PSA about anorexia from middle school health class. A bunch of white girls with feathered hair sit on Jenny's flower-print bed, exchanging tips for curbing your appetite so you can fit into your prom dress. Tracy is really disturbed by this conversation, so she tells her mother, Susan. Susan calls the other moms, Linda and Jackie, and tells them her concerns. Mother-daughter talks ensure. Everyone cries.

Except this is a bunch of overweight middle aged women who have been over eating for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ghrelin be a biatch, no? SO, you trained you body to crave food at certain times. You are not actually hungry that much, but your brain sends the signals that you are. Do a whole day fast, so, don't have breakfast and do not eat until dinner for a day. The repeat for a week on alternate days.
You will kill the hunger pangs after two days of this, not kidding. So, if you start on Monday, by Thursday, you will no longer have these pangs.

I've read stuff like this for years and it isn't true! Unfortunately, trying to eliminate the hunger by eating 10 almonds never cuts it for me either. You just have to embrace the hunger and realize it is your body trying to stay fat. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

I eat a slice of deli meat. It’s low calorie, and I can eat a few if I’m still feeling pangs.

If it’s really close to bed, a small spoon of peanut butter and a bit of banana works well and doesn’t eff with my sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ghrelin be a biatch, no? SO, you trained you body to crave food at certain times. You are not actually hungry that much, but your brain sends the signals that you are. Do a whole day fast, so, don't have breakfast and do not eat until dinner for a day. The repeat for a week on alternate days.
You will kill the hunger pangs after two days of this, not kidding. So, if you start on Monday, by Thursday, you will no longer have these pangs.

I've read stuff like this for years and it isn't true! Unfortunately, trying to eliminate the hunger by eating 10 almonds never cuts it for me either. You just have to embrace the hunger and realize it is your body trying to stay fat. It sucks.

It is true. I do not eat anything, but drink tea, coffee, no milk or anything in it, and I am not hungry at all. I can go 48 hours and at the end of my fast I am forcing myself to it.
I am going with you never had a will power to actually see it through.

[Anonymous]

Some drinks that curb hunger: a tbs of coconut oil, with lemon, and some himalayan salt.

Water with him salt also keeps hunger at bay..

[Anonymous]

I’ve never lost weight without feeling mildly hungry day to day. Starving about to pass out is different but to lose weight you want to feel that occasional empty feeling. I try to eat my larger meals earlier and lighter at dinner, so I feel my hunger in the evening and the solution is to just go to bed.

[Anonymous]

Do you not get headaches!? Or is that another “pang” LOL.

[Anonymous]

Protein Shake.

I prefer Huel powder.

[Anonymous]

I carry a peanut butter sandwich around for those occasional times in the afternoon that I get really hungry.


If I eat it, I'm not hungry for dinner, but I eat something anyhow.

It's never caused weight gain.