To lose weight, you generally need to reduce calories, which may leave you feeling hungry and deprived. On top of this, a healthy weight loss plan includes exercise, which can also accelerate hunger. Managing a growling stomach while trying to stick to your diet leads to irritation and you may even feel like abandoning your goals. Follow a few simple techniques to reduce feelings of hunger so you can succeed in losing weight.
Step 1
Eat often. Divide the total number of calories you are to consume in one day by five or six small meals. Eat every two to three hours to keep your blood sugar levels even and so you know your next "meal" is never too far away. Follow proper portion sizes at these meals and stick to your calorie restrictions to ensure you do not over-consume.
Step 2
Seek foods high in volume, but low in calories. Choose grapes over raisins or puffed rice over granola, for example. Satisfy your need to eat with ample amounts of vegetables--try filling half of your plate with steamed vegetables or raw greens and reserving the other two quarters for a serving of whole grains and lean proteins.
Step 3
Go for protein-rich meals and snacks. Eat a diet that consists of as much as 35 percent daily calories in the form of lean proteins, like chicken breasts, egg whites, Greek yogurt and whey protein, because high-protein diets can be more satiating than traditional low-fat diets as noted by Arne Astrup in an editorial in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2005.
Step 4
Try eggs for breakfast. Poach, hard boil or scramble eggs in 1 tsp. of olive oil because, as shown in a study in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" in 2005, an egg breakfast induces greater satiety in comparison to a carbohydrate-rich breakfast made up of refined grains like a bagel.
Step 5
Drink more water. Quench your thirst so you do not mistake it for hunger. Try at least a glass of water before every meal--participants in a study from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, published in the journal "Obesity" in 2007, consumed fewer overall calories in meals before which they drank 13 oz. of water.
Step 6
Brush your teeth or pop a piece of sugar-free gum to distract your tastebuds and occupy your mouth.
Tips and Warnings
- Determine whether you are fighting hunger pangs or cravings. Allow yourself an apple or a second serving of steamed vegetables if you are truly hungry-- if those items do not appeal to you, chances are it is not hunger, but cravings you are experiencing.
- Remember to not dip below 1,200 calories per day if you are a woman or 1,500 calories per day if you are a man. Too low of caloric consumption can lead to the loss of lean muscle mass, depletion of energy stores and tendencies to binge. Slow and steady weight loss is the most sustainable.
References
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: The Satiating Power of Protein--A Key to Obesity Prevention?
- Journal of the American College of Nutrition: Short-Term Effect of Eggs on Satiety in Overweight and Obese Subjects
- Obesity: Pre-meal Water Consumption Reduces Meal Energy Intake in Older but Not Younger Subjects
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