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

[Anonymous]

If you are in a calorie deficit, it is normal to experience some hunger. The important part is to make sure you are in a calorie deficit but that it is not so big that sticking with it becomes unsustainable.

I recently started a new diet that focuses on tracking macronutrients - protein, carbs and fats. A coach set numbers for each: P: 136, C: 148, F: 57, which comes out to 1649 calories per day. When she set this number I thought it would be way too high to lose weight, but in three and a half weeks I've lost about 5 lbs. I get a little hungry but I'm not ravenous and lightheaded, like I've been when I've been on other diets in the past.

If your calorie intake is set to something like 1200 you aren't eating enough calories and the diet will be unsustainable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eat whenever you’re hungry, but only what is healthy. Often I’ll think, “I’m starving a need to grab some chips, cookies, candy, etc.” If I offer myself the choice of eating a can of green beans, a bowl of plain broccoli, maybe some plain chicken breast, etc., I generally decide I’m not that hungry after all. If I do opt for eating the healthy choice, I realize I was actually experiencing hunger, but I haven’t ruined my diet, I’ve given my body the nutrition it needed.

I do this too. If my choices are a bowl of veggies or nothing, 9 times out of 10, I’d rather have nothing. I hate raw vegetables. So I’d have to be nearly starving to voluntarily eat them.

[Anonymous]

A cup of black coffee (decaf if it's late in the day) can really calm your stomach.

Stomachs get used to eating too much, so even if you're only in a small calorie deficit, it will still make you hungry. After a couple of days though your stomach gets used to the new routine.

[Anonymous]

Cheese stick or nonfat Greek yogurt with a bit of honey, as others have said, protein is helpful for staving off hunger.

[Anonymous]

A cup of oatmeal helped me if I was starving. Also, your body will adjust after a week or so, so you won’t feel the hunger pangs so bad.