When will I stop being so hungry?

Hi there,

I recently started trying to lose 10lbs on a 1500 calorie diet, and I am hungry all the time.

I am trying to eat the right foods, high protein, high fiber, a little treat here and there so I don't binge, etc., but I am still so hungry.

How long does it take for the body to adjust to a lower calorie intake? I am chewing lots of sugar-free gum and drinking lots of water to try to curb the hunger for now.

Thanks for any input.

I'm sorry, I don't have an answer because I'm right there with you! I am eating 1400-1600 and I feel like my stomach is perpetually empty!! Even meals that used to fill me up before don't work anymore! What's going on?? I try to raise my protein, but I am on the go alot so it's hard to find a healthy protein and I drink more water and chew gum as well! No help at all...

If you're hungry all the time, you may not be eating enough.  1500 isn't very much, especially if you are tall/active/have a lot of weight to lose.  Start at what you burn in total (with exercise) and subtract 500 from that, if you find that is too much food then knock off 100 calories and go from there.  Don't start at the absolute minimum, you're body's not used to it and if it is too little then you are just setting yourself up to binge and fail. 

If you're sure that it is enough calories, then look at what you are eating.  Sugar and salt make you hungry and help you retain water.  Fibre and fats fill you up, so make sure to get lots of fibre (veggies have TONS) and good fats (watch out for saturated fats, fats from animal sources are generally saturated).  Since it sounds like you eat lots of fibre and protein, fats may be the issue, foods with fat are what actually make you feel full.  Complex carbs, lean proteins and good fats are really the best way to get a lot of food out of the calories.  Stay away from fast foods and keep drinking lots of water.

Also, if you exercise more you will be able to eat more and still lose, so if you want to eat a bit more, exercise a bit more.

Good luck!

CC said I should eat 1300 a day. Yeah right.  I chose to workout 5 days a week and eat more calories. If you're hungry just eat more...there's other ways to lose. Also, my legs are so much stronger than they've ever been.  I feel better and I know I'm more tone then just cutting back calories.  I think that hitting the gym often will prevent "boredom" hunger.  I noticed I was a "snack 'cause I'm bored" eater. When I have structure and something to do I find I'm not as hungry as I thought I was.

Are you eating multiple small meals a day? I find spliting my breakfast (300-500 cals) into a breakfast and snack helps before lunch. I have lunch and save a part of lunch as a snack for later and (about 500+/-). and for dinner I snack while I cook and then eat.  I don't really get hungry at all (maybe just peckish for a snack, which I then give in to...no point pretending; in moderation it's fine).

Thanks for the input! I am in a weird place right now, we are moving to a new apartment (me, fiance, kitty) starting tomorrow, so we are trying to eat what we have in the house. Also, the moving is taking a lot out of me, so I have decided to up my intake 100 cals or so over the next few days.

However, most of the time I have a desk job that I leave the house for at 7:15 and get home at 5:15, and I am usually really tired when I get home to 20-30 mins or cardio/aerobics is all I usually do.

I figure 1500-1600 is about what I should be getting.

And i will try to up my (blech) veggie intake. I found a way of making green beans that I like, I like briccoli, carrots, and salads, so I will try to incorporate more of those.

I get a lot of good fats because I love olive oil and fish (haddock, tilapia, cod).

Thanks again!

I felt very hungry at the beginning of weight loss too.  I had to come up with strategies to deal with it.  I would have a cup of broth or salad or a popsicle or something really low in calories.  Hot drinks helped me a lot, as well as the gum.  It helped to at least bridge the gap a little between meals.  I also was drinking a gallon of water a day.  I was on 1200 calories.  Good luck!

1.  Try a vitamin supplement in the morning.  It will probably help curb any cravings stemming from vitamin deficiencies. 

2.  Try a cup off coffee with a tablespoon of fiber (5-10grams) in it.  It will slow down digestion throughout the day making you feel "fuller" with less food.

I've combined these two things and it works for me.

Vitamin pills and coffee .... no.  Here's a very timely article on the benefits of soup to a person trying to lose weight.   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8 068733.stm

Food blended with fluid means the stomach empties a lot more slowly.  And if you add plenty of delicious, low-calorie vegetables to the (home-made) soup then you kill two birds with one stone.  Eating a lot more vegetables is the only realistic way to make fewer calories more filling.... If you don't eat many of them you'll constantly struggle.  Start loving a much bigger range of vegetables and weight-control becomes a lot easier.

Please let me know when you find out- I've been waiting for over 7 months for the hunger to stop!

Are you truly hungry?  Or do you just have an appetite that kicks in too often?

If I've just eaten and still "feel hungry" I know it has to be the appetite or cravings kicking in.

The trick is to try to find foods that satisfy your appetite, but are still healthy and low in calories.

Also avoid those foods and beverages which trigger cravings (for me it's refined flour products, sugars and sweets).

It's not easy, but it is possible to cut calories, lose weight and still not be hungry.

Another idea would be to increase your activity/exercise level, burning 300 or so more calories per days and therefore being able to eat that much more.

I just re-read your post and  noticed something:  you are eating sugar free products.

Sugarfree products always make me feel really hungry!

I read an article awhile ago which basically boiled down to: when your body tastes the sweet taste, it instinctively looks for the calories.  When it doesn't find any, it triggers hunger pangs.  So indirectly sugarfree foods actually cause weight gain because they trigger hunger pangs.

So the article said.  Anyway, I gave up diet beverages etc. and feel much more satisfied drinking water or carbonated water than I felt when drinking diet sodas.

Maybe you should try leaving out the sugarfree stuff for awhile to see if that helps.

lots of great suggestions here.

another thing to try is hoodia. natural appetite suppressant, no side effects if you get pure hoodia w/o caffeine and other additives.

Wow, thanks for all the great advice. I know I need to be more active and that 150 really isn't so bad for someone my height.

I will try the soup idea, I love to cook, and cutting out my suger free jello, which i will likely replace with a small piece of quality dark chocolate. And maybe I will start drinking white/green teas again.

Again thanks for the input :)

I work a desk job and the same hours as you.  Trust me, once you get in the habit of going to the gym after work it's not bad. I get bored not going after work now. I sit on my ass all day to come home a basically sit on my ass all night?  Not anymore...there's a will there's a way.

Original Post by gpm55:

I just re-read your post and  noticed something:  you are eating sugar free products.

Sugarfree products always make me feel really hungry!

I read an article awhile ago which basically boiled down to: when your body tastes the sweet taste, it instinctively looks for the calories.  When it doesn't find any, it triggers hunger pangs.  So indirectly sugarfree foods actually cause weight gain because they trigger hunger pangs.

So the article said.  Anyway, I gave up diet beverages etc. and feel much more satisfied drinking water or carbonated water than I felt when drinking diet sodas.

Maybe you should try leaving out the sugarfree stuff for awhile to see if that helps.

 I don't know if those studies have proven these sideeffects as facts or not, but I TOTALLY have that reaction to sugar-free products (ie diet sodas, 100 cal kettle popcorn...) I am always hungrier after.

With all the chemicals in diet products, I'd rather have the high cal stuff instead since it's all crap anyways and tastes better.

I'm surprised some find that chewing gum is helpful. I stopped chewing gum before I even started counting calories because I realized it made me more hungry than ever. I also found myself chewing it like it had something I desperately needed. Kinda like a baby with a pacifier. Not good, not good at all.

That's weird that you are hungry all the time on a high protein diet. I am on a high protein diet as well and really am not very hungry ever (until meal times that is)... Are you sure you are really eating 1500 calories and not less? What sort of foods are you eating? 

Things that do curb my hunger if I ever do in fact become hungry are sparkling water (flavored) or seaweed (nori or kelp noodles). I love mixing kelp noodles or yam noodles with tomato paste! ha ha! Always a good & healthy snack! :) 

PS: I chew sugar free gum all the time too and it doesn't make me more hungry or anything... everyone is different though so who knows about that... 

I am sure that I am getting enough calories. Today i had cereal and 1% milk for breakfast with a v fusion, lunch was brown rice and veggies, snacks were an apple, lite string cheese, and my jello, and for dinner i was a naughty girl and had teriyaki chicken, white rice, and red wine.

Its enough calories. The gum helps me trick myself into thinking I am eating :)

I will focus on being well hydrated and squeezing that workout in, I hope that the 20-30 mins I am doing a day is OK, its better than my previously sedentary state!

Original Post by gi-jane:

Vitamin pills and coffee .... no.

Why?  Neither are bad, in fact in moderation, both are good.

In moderation, yes drink coffee and eat vitamin pills.  But they don't help suppress the appetite, which is what you were suggesting. 

They help suppress mine.  :(
To each his own I guess.