Is hunger really avoidable?

I am successfully losing weight. Success in my case is the result of successfully managing my hunger.

I've been told by one person that it's not necessary to feel hungry. I'm a little skeptical about that. If it were possible to lose weight without being hungry, wouldn't everyone be thin? I do believe that there are things we can do to minimize hunger. At one point, I came to the realization that I was TOO successful at eliminating fat from my diet and it made me ravenous. I read that we need about 6 teaspoons of oil every day to maintain body functions. When I made sure I was getting that (and no more) it seemed to make a difference. Maybe it was a placebo effect (I expected it to work so it did) but I don't care. It still worked!

I work in a home office and I'm usually hungry when I'm here. I have on some days consumed 90% of my daily caloric allowance by lunch time and then just toughed it out the rest of the day. Other days I've spread it out, but I'm still hungry. But if I simply leave the house and go out and do something, I'm not hungry.

My point is that hunger seems to be as much psychological as physical. Don't get me wrong. My hunger is experienced as 100% physical. It is real. But I can't explain how I can be hungrier when home (and close to the kitchen) than when I'm away from home, any other way.

Is there anyone here who is losing weight and can say that you are NEVER hungry? I'm concerned that if we set that expectation, and it's unattainable, that we discourage people. They expect not to be hungry ever, and then they are.

For me, it's better to know that I will be, and then overcome it. Does that make sense?

I use the calorie counter on this site to see what nuts are best. What I usually do is mix (unsalted) sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts and raisins together (and eat them as a snack).  I hear people recommending almonds a lot… check out the calorie counter and see what works within your calories in the day.

You could eat celery stalks all day, but that would be yucky.  Instead, do what you can to satisfy your hunger by having tons of vegetables, cooked with lots of seasoning (including, if you like, a little meat or cheese - I use both strong sausage and pungeant cheese to season my food - a little bit goes a long way).  The veggies, properly cooked, will keep your stomach full longer because of all the fiber, and the little bit of fat will help your brain feel more satisfied with the food itself.  Like I say, a little bit goes a long way, but is very satisfying.  As to never being hungry, it's not natural to never be hungry.  The human body is designed to start feeling hungry when the last meal is almost finished digesting.  This warns the prehistoric cave human (who doesn't have access to food stored in a fridge or restaurant) that he should go russel up something to eat soon. The way the body is designed it expects to wait a couple of hours before the food is actually forthcoming.  Unless you have blood pressure issues there's no reason hunger should be so scary.  It doesn't hurt.  It's not really unpleasant, and if it becomes unpleasant, by all means, eat something healthy and above all yummy.  You'll never stop eating if all you ever eat is celery  - unless of course the celery is filled with cream cheese.
BTW  I myself lost 130 pounds and have kept it off by gathering little tidbits of info just like this one.  I am putting together a blog about my experiences as we speak.  Check it out: http//:getalegupforlife.blogspot.com

I can honestly say that I have lost around 25 pounds and have not found hunger to be an issue.

The bigger issues for me are controlling impulses/urges/cravings and knowing when to stop (ie portion control).

The only times I am hungry throughout the day are about the 30 minutes leading up to having a meal or snack (I have 3 meals a day, and 2 or 3 mini snacks), and when I go to sleep at night (i really hate sleeping on a full stomach).

But this kind of hunger I'm talking about is not extreme uncomfortable unbearable hunger. It is a normal physiological body signal saying "I am hungry" but is in no way difficult. I disagree with your statement that 'if it were possible to loose weight without hunger wouldnt everyone be thin?' I think a lot of the time it's less about hunger and more about having the right nutritional knowledge, the ability to make healthy choices, not overreating and controlling portion sizes, and being able to stay within a healthy calorie range each or most days.

You CAN loose weight without being (too) hungry - that's what I believe anyway :)

Edit: I agree with you though, I definitely think more about hunger when I am stuck inside all day ;p