Dealing with hunger while dieting is a common roadblock that people run into.
The truth is, you don’t have to feel hungry while dieting.
My clients have benefited immensely from the two tactics that I am going to teach you today in this article.
With a few simple tweaks to your diet, you can begin to feel full and satiated while losing weight at the same time!
It is just going to take a little planning, dedication, and reorganization.
Before we jump into the top two solutions for dealing with hunger while dieting – we need to take a look at the following questions.
Is it Normal to Feel Hungry All The Time When Dieting?
The short answer to this question is no.
If you are feeling hungry all the time when you are dieting, chances are that you are doing something wrong.
Now before discussing the nuances of what may be contributing to your hunger, you need to assess the following: how many calories are you consuming?
A sustainable calorie deficit is going to be great enough to facilitate fat loss but not too great that it affects your mood and appetite in a negative way.
Before looking at your food choices, you need to make sure that your calorie deficit is sustainable!
I wrote an article that discusses the perfect quantity of calories to eat for sustainable and long-lasting fat loss.
Is It Okay to Be Hungry All the Time When Trying to Lose Weight?
Now look, you are on a diet and so SOME degree of hunger is totally normal.
However, you shouldn’t be crawling out of your skin with hunger.
So yes it is okay to be hungry while trying to lose weight but you should not feel subjectively starved!
What this means is that you need to be assessing your food choices when structuring your diet plan because it is going to make a big difference as to HOW MUCH hunger you feel.
Take a look at my top two solutions for dealing with hunger while dieting.
Solution #1: You Need More Protein
In order to deal with hunger pains from dieting, you need to be eating more protein.
Why am I assuming that you aren’t already eating enough protein?
Because chances are – if you are suffering from hunger and reading this article, you aren’t eating enough protein.
I recommend that you consume 1g per pound of your goal body weight of protein.
For example, if you weigh 200lb and your goal weight is 180lb, you should be consuming 180g of protein per day.
The best way to ensure that you are eating enough protein is by using a calorie tracking app like myfitnesspal.
It will show you the exact amount in grams of protein that you have consumed as you tally up your food items throughout the day.
The bottom line is this – if you are lacking in the protein department, you are going to feel hungry.
Protein is the most satiating macronutrient and the best thing you can do to avoid hunger while dieting is to consume enough of it!
Solution #2: You Need More Fiber
If you want to deal with hunger while dieting, you need to be eating more fiber.
Chances are, you are not adding enough bulk to your meals in the form of fibrous fruits, veggies, and grains.
Many people make the mistake of cutting down both the calories and the volume of food they are consuming on a diet.
Of course, you need to reduce the calories – but who said anything about reducing volume?
Unfortunately, it’s just natural that the volume of your food is going to decrease as you eat less unless you plan to add in more fiber intentionally!
What this means is that as you reduce your portion sizes, you need to add MORE bulk to substitute for the calories lost.
In other words, as your dinner plate gets smaller in terms of calories, it needs to get bigger in terms of volume.
Fill your plate with extra vegetables as they have a nominal amount of calories and won’t contribute to you spilling over on calories.
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian who contributes to WebMD and wrote a great article about the importance of adding bulk to your meals to combat hunger.
Bonus Tip: Natural Appetite Suppressant Foods for Weight Loss
After you have implemented solutions #1 and #2 from above, you can add in some of these little hacks for appetite suppression when losing weight.
They should be add-ons only as solution #1 and solution #2 from above are the most critical solutions for dealing with hunger while dieting.
Chew Gum
Chewing gum will help you stay full in between meals.
Mechanical chewing is part of the satiety process!
Author E.C. LaMeaux at Giam mentions using gum for appetite suppression in their article, 10 ways of dealing with hunger pangs while dieting.
Drink Caffeine
Make sure you can tolerate caffeine first and only drink responsible amounts of caffeine (less than 400mg per day as recommended by the FDA).
Caffeine is a natural appetite suppressant and the literature has suggested some benefits to caffeine consumed before a meal to suppress the appetite.
Caffeine releases adrenaline into the bloodstream and thereby downregulates the hormones responsible for hunger!
What’s Next?
After reading this article and you want to learn more about diet, exercise, and weight loss – check out these articles!
Who is Jakob Roze?
Jakob Roze is a Strength and Conditioning Coach and founder of RozeFit. His practice centers around empathic communication and relationship building. With an emphasis on pain-free, functional movement patterns and strength training, Jakob Roze assesses each individual’s needs and prescribes exercise modalities appropriately in order to facilitate long-term gains in strength and health. He draws from evidence-based approaches and applies the knowledge in a personalized fashion to facilitate body and lifestyle transformation amongst his clients.
