How to Deal with Hunger while Dieting
Being hungry sucks.
Trying to lose weight while dieting means being hungry.
We’ve all been there.
The first month of the diet goes well. However, as the diet goes on longer, you’re finding yourself constantly fighting the constant pangs of hunger and fighting that urge to crush the entire bag of Doritos.
With only a couple hundred calories left to spare in your nutritional plan, you find yourself pacing back and forth in the kitchen weighing your options.
Chug water and get out of the kitchen ASAP
Eat an entire bag of salad while trying to convince yourself it tastes like cheese crunchies
Say fuck it, and eat the entire bag of Doritos
Unfortunately, being hungry is part of the process of leaning down. That’s how you know it’s working. It’s very easy to be tempted or even fall prey to it, especially when you’re surrounded by food at the office or home with your kids.
Hunger is the self-inflicted wound in the battle of dieting.
Hunger can make any food look appealing, even that two days old, stale as hell donuts left in the office over the weekend. Hunger gets you in trouble because you’ll eat anything that looks appetizing, even if it doesn’t fit your nutritional plan.
I know this because I’ve constantly succumbed to the hunger pangs, making me go over my calories over and over again. We have all been in this situation before and it straight up sucks!
If this sounds like you, then don’t worry as I got you covered. This blog is going to give you the necessary tactics, tools, and foods to fully combat hunger and your ravenous appetite so you can stay on track for weight loss success.
Hunger isn’t the Panic Button
Now, this is the point where I’m telling you hunger isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Let me explain.
How does your body burn body fat??
You know you need to be in a calorie deficit, yet how does your body actually burn the fat??
When you eat fewer calories than your body is burning, you are intaking less energy than what your body requires to maintain its weight.
This means your body is going to have to use its stored energy aka fat.
Remember that your body is much smarter than you. (#sorrynosorry) It doesn’t want to lose fat as it wants to maintain its homeostasis right where it is.
So what does it do? It starts playing mind games by saying,” Hey! you don’t have enough calories today so we need some more calories.”
This happens in the form of being hungry.
This is smart for surviving, yet not smart for losing body fat.
You must understand and realize that some hunger will be normal and expected on a diet.
Am I telling you to go starve yourself? Absolutely not,
However, that doesn’t mean a little hunger is going to be normal. You are intaking fewer calories than you are burning so your body is going to counteract that.
So, how hungry should you be then?
On a scale of 1-10, always aim to be 6-7 after finishing your meal. Your hunger cues should be between 3-4, 2 max!
Hunger is not a sign of panic. When it comes, just understand that it is normal and expected and you’ll need to deal with it accordingly from the tips and tricks I’ve laid out above. Plus, I’m going to give you the best foods to stay full on a calorie deficit.
Why Does Dieting Make Me so hungry?!
There are a few factors in play when it comes to dealing with hunger.
1) Hormones
There are a lot of hormones that play a role when dealing with hunger. However, two main hormones control our hunger and fullness.
Ghrelin: Also known as the “hunger hormone” and it is released when the stomach is empty. When our stomach is full, ghrelin is suppressed
Leptin: Also known as the “Fullness hormone”, yet It is a little more complicated than ghrelin. Leptin is directly correlated with fat cells as the more adipose tissue you have, the more leptin you have. The leaner you are, the less leptin you have. For this reason, as you become leaner, you’ll feel more hungry more often.
Remember, our bodies want to stay within their current homeostasis (i.e. current weight) as they are optimized not to strive to death, and it’s very good at it.
2) Emotional Hunger
A lot of hunger and craving come from habits or emotions as people usually turn to food for comfort, to celebrate, something to do, and/or just out of habit at certain times of the day.
For example, if you have a snack at 8 pm before going to bed, you’ll eventfully get hungry at that time out of sheer habit, not out of true physical hunger. The good news is that you can easily break this habit with a little awareness and introducing a new response. I’ve written an entire article about this you can read here.
3) Stretch Receptors
This is fairly science-ly info so stay with me. Within our stomach and intestines, there are neurons (i.e. stretch receptors) that tell our brain we are full and stop eating.
When food passes through the stomach and into the intestines, stretching the intestinal walls, the receptors send a signal to the brain that you’ve eaten enough food. The brain then releases the ghrelin and leptin hormones that both inhibit hunger, so you feel full and satisfied.
So, How Exactly Do I Minimize Hunger?
1) Fasting
Ironically, fasting can be an extremely helpful tool when trying to stay full on a diet. When dieting you‘ll have a smaller amount of calories to eat, so consolidating those calories to a smaller eating window during the day means you can eat a larger meal.
A lot of people aren’t hungry nor prefer breakfast in the morning. If that sounds like you, then you may want to try intermediate fasting. You may find it easier to be really hungry for a few hours for a couple of hours in the morning in exchange for being hungry all day long.
How to use Intermediate Fasting
For example, let’s say your target calories for the day is 2400.
Instead of spacing your calories out like…..
6am: 600 calories
12pm: 600 calories
4pm: 600 calories
7pm: 600 calories
You could try:
12pm: 1000 calories
3pm: 400 calorie snack
7pm: 1000 calories
This way, you’ll get to have larger meals in the day because you saved up your calories by skipping breakfast. However, if you are someone with any binge-eating tendencies, this tactic could backfire, so know your personality to see if this would work for you or cause problems.
—> Click here to learn how to set up your calories for any goal.
2) Increasing protein:
Of all the macronutrients, protein is the most satiating (i.e filling) macro. Protein is great to set high in a fat loss phase because it is filling, maximizes muscle retention, and has a high thermic effect.
In addition, when compared to carbs and fats, protein is extremely difficult to store as body fat. This 2015 study took 48 randomized, resistance-trained men and women separated them into two groups- a high protein and low protein. The researchers discovered that the high protein group ate ~490 calories more than the low protein group and lose more body fat!
You should set your protein anywhere from 0.8-1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight. You can set this even higher if you don’t have any digestive problems and if you really like protein.
—-> Click here to learn how to nail your protein every damn day.
3) High Volume Foods
High volume foods mean that food items take up a lot of space for a relatively small amount of calories. This means more food you can eat for less calories so you can get the stretch receptor response that cues your brain that you’re full. Without question, this is one of the biggest dilemmas dieters face during their fat loss journey. In fact, I wrote an entire article on how you can solve the dieting dilemma on how to stay full while in a calorie deficit.
Typically, these foods have a higher fiber and water content, which also helps you stay full and satiated.
Here are some examples of high volume foods
Big Ass Salads: salads are great because they take a long time to eat, contain a lot of water and fiber, easily customizable to fit your eating preferences, and you can easily add lean protein to maximize fullness, lean muscle retention, and progress. If you are experiencing a lot of hunger, then having one big ass salad is your solution.
Veggies: You should be prioritizing veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. These foods are high in fiber and extremely low in calories. While they are very filling, they can cause digestive issues (i.e farting, bloating) so just make sure to not overdo it!
Fruit: Please do me a favor: if someone tells you fruit makes you fat, please never take advice from them again. Fruit is full of water, fiber, and micronutrients; everything your body needs to perform at its best. Also, it is great for killing a sweet tooth. The best, high-volume fruits are berries, oranges, watermelon, and apples.
Popcorn: An underrated option as it takes a long time to eat, and very low in calories for a large serving size. Air-popped popcorn is only 31 calories per cup and has 1.2 grams of fiber. Just be careful of toppings, such as butter or oil.
Oatmeal: This should be a staple within any nutritional program as it’s extremely filling, loaded with fiber, and very visible. Personally, I make overnight oats for the majority of my morning for the reasons mentioned above, plus high in protein. \
Non-Fat Greek Yogurt: Another nutritional staple within any fat phase. A cup of non-fat Greek yogurt (170g) has 120 calories and 21 grams of protein! Plus, you can add berries or protein powder for a quick, high-protein snack.
4) Fiber
Making sure you’re hitting your fiber targets is an undervalued aspect of dieting that doesn’t receive the love nor respect it truly deserves. Ensuring you’re having enough fiber in your diet is a good idea for keeping you full.
Fiber can be broken down into two parts:
Soluble Fiber: soluble fiber mixes well with liquids in your gut and forms a gell that expands. Think of chia seeds that bulk up and form a gel that expands. This means you’ll get that stretch within your gut that causes fullness quicker with fewer calories.
Insoluble Fibers: Insoluble fibers don’t form that gel-like feature, yet still activities the stretch receptors in the colon and helps you feel fuller for longer.
Here are some examples of high-quality fiber foods:
Berries
Apples
Bananas
Carrots
Oats
Quinoa
Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Squat
Spinach
Okra
Asparagus
Kale
Mushrooms
Beets
Artichoke
Chia Seeds
5) Water, Diet Soda, and Fizzy Drinks
Water and other zero calories drinks will fill your stomach which will temporarily help you feel full. Also, a lot of people think they are hungry when actually they really just need to drink some water. Carbonated drinks have the; added benefits of bubbles which makes these drinks extra filling.
6) Slowing Down
Did you know that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to realize you’re full? It's true and if you speed eating you’ll pass the point of fullness by mistake?
Slowing down the pace of your eating means your intake won’t outpace your brain.
There are a few different ways to force yourself to slow down when you know you’re eating too quickly:
Chew a specific amount of times: This is super annoying, but it works because it forces you to slow down and being more mindful and present. This can also help you experience less bloating as you’ll be gulping down less air if you are chewing thoroughly.
Drink water between bites: After each bit, take a small sip of water and while chewing your food. Sounds really simple, yet it’s highly effective.
Set your fork/spoon down between bites: Similar to the last point, but this automatically adds time between bites so you can’t eat too fast.
Set a timer: Set a timer for 20 minutes and aim to complete your meal once the timer goes off.
Eat without distraction: You may be eating too fast just because you’re distracted. If you eat mindfully, without watching Netflix at the same, you’ll naturally slow down.
7) Gum
Previously, I mentioned there are two types of hunger
Emotional
Habitual
And that’s where gum can help with both of these.
I tend to snack in the evening after dinner. Even after having dinner, I find myself wanting a piece of chocolate or cheese crunchies. This is a habit I wanted to break so I started brushing my teeth after cleaning up after dinner. This helps me to eliminate my late-night snacking since literally nothing tastes good after brushing my teeth.
Hunger may be unavoidable towards the end of the diet or if you are getting very lean, but it doesn’t have to be unmanageable nor constant.
With the use of these tactics, you can mitigate the discomfort of severe hunger pangs to make your diet more doable so you can reach your body composition goals easier.
Two other critical factors to whether your diet succeeds or not?
Accountability
Structure and a clear plan to follow
My online coaching service provides you with both. At Mack Performance, I firmly believe that the best diet is the one you enjoy while making long-term, objective-based progress.
Together, we’ll create a tailored plan to get you to the physique you’ve always wanted, and expertly guide you through every step of your transformation.