How do I stop being hungry?

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Here’s the thing. The more you eat the hungrier you will be. Not immediately but next day at the same time. The less you eat the less hungry you will be. You can train your body to want less food by eating less food. Now to get there you do need to go through hunger pangs but the first day you eat less is the worst and it gets easier every day since. You just have to accept the hunger pangs and do something else instead of eating. Go for a walk. Drink water. Play a game. Then the hunger will go away.

Answer

Okay hi I’m about the same height and I used to have this problem. Here how I solved it.

Fasting - don’t fast so long plssse 16hrs a day is good enough. Consistency is key, not intensity

Water - drink lots of water (though don’t drink too much, you might lose out too many electrolytes)

And motivation! - don’t give up!! We’re all rooting for you!! 😁😁😁

All the best

Answer

Don’t try to jump into it all at once.

When I started, I was in a NEGATIVE 16/8, ie I was eating across 16 hours and only fasting when actually asleep. Getting myself ice cream after putting the kids to bed, pouring a coffee with cream and sugar upon waking.

I eased into 12/12, stretching my fast from 8pm to 8am by having my dessert with the kids and only black coffee until later in the morning.

Waited til that felt easy and normal before pushing it another hour in the morning. And repeat.

Mentally and physically, IF beats dieting because you will get to eat that food, just need to wait a bit. Mentally so much easier to know that you’ll definitely be getting a good meal/s and be nice and full; be getting whatever it is that you’re thinking about during the fast. Physically, eating until you’re satiated, and getting enough nutrients (protein, fat, vitamins, fiber) from your meals, is what lets your body relax and not feel under attack, which will let it burn your stored energy.

If you just DIVE IN to whatever you want your window to be, your body will be all freaked out.

Answer

Being hungry is normal, I wouldn’t recommend taking any pills or herbs most doctors say it’s a scam.

one thing you can try is taking a 2 to 3 minute break after each bite and chewing for longer periods of times.

This will trick your brain that you’re eating more then feel full much quicker with less food.

Drinking more water is also a great way to help.

Answer

You have to train your body to start using the extra fat. Until that happens every time your free glucose goes down your body will think it’s starving (can’t access the fat due to too much insulin) and will send strong signal to be fed.

Best way to do that is to (at least for a bit) cut all sugars and carbs (breads, pasta, rice, fruits and processed) that spikes insulin levels on digestion. Once insulin starts coming down your body will have access to all that stored fat and in short order will cease being so hungry.

Once in that state it is then much easier to control hunger.

Answer

I can credit 4 things that got me to the other side.

1. Mindset of commitment and acceptance. It will be difficult. You will want to give in to what your body is used to, but don’t. Accept the fact that you will be uncomfortable, and yes, distracted, but it won’t last forever. It won’t last a year or even a month. It will last a week, probably 2 weeks. But if you want it, you have to accept some discomfort for a short time.
2. Drink your water or black coffee/tea; it helps. I start with a couple cups of black coffee, then I move onto a glass of ice water that I sip on (my glass measures out 3 cups so I drink at least 3 of those a day so I know I’ve drank 9 cups).
3. Plan for the hardest time. For me, it was late at night. Because I stay up late, normally at least 2am, I would get hungry about 11pm to 12am. The distraction was intense. I saved my favorite movies or tv programs for that time. Whatever could distract me. Books, games on my phone. I started walking my dog at 8 pm. I walked a little over a mile at a normal pace, so about half an hour. Don’t have a dog? Just walk. Then, drink more water. I take a shower and get comfortable, maybe read a little, play some games, etc. During that time, do what makes you happy, besides eating.
4. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Know Yourself, Strength, and weaknesses. What have you done in the past? Where have you failed? I personally can’t stick with restrictions, so other than committing to a 16:8 fast and drinking water, there were no restrictions. For me (I had recently bought a food processor/smoothie cups Ninja on Amazon) most days, I made fruit smoothies to break my fast. Frozen fruit and 2% milk. It was like having a milk shake and the natural sugars seem to help wean me off processed sugar treats. I didn’t snack between meals. So it was break my fast, water, dinner. Dinner has always been whatever I want. I ate a normal amount of food. You can always add restrictions as you get better at achieving your plan, but failing makes you quit.That’s it. The change that happened was that in 2 weeks, the voices in my head and stomach got quieter. I stopped craving sugar. My stomach shrinked. I lost weight. Over time, my fasting period got longer due to the fact I wasn’t hungry at 16hrs. I now do 20hrs with many days OMAD. I’m starting to try to do a little exercise to firm up the loose skin. That hungry feeling in my stomach, which used to be uncomfortable and distracting, now actually feels good. Good luck. You can do this.

Answer

Drink something hot. You could try broth and tea. On my 24 hour days, I have some Swanson bone broth or better than bullion. It kind of tricks you into thinking your eating something.

What also helps me is watching YouTube videos when I need to be motivated. One in particular said at hunger is just a hormone. Whether or not you eat you are going to feel hungry and then after a while you’re going to feel satiated. At some point your hunger hormone stops being released and you don’t feel hungry again at least not for a while until the next meal time window. So you can fast or you can eat but either way eventually you’re not gonna be hungry so I just kind of keep that in mind.

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Distractify: Sip water (or black coffee/unsweetened tea). Move your body - this is beneficial in obvious ways, but if you can get your heart/respiratory rate up it also gives your brain a task other than thinking about hunger/food. Go for a walk, do some cleaning, put on some music and dance, try a 10 min yoga video on youtube, etc….just move. Your stomach will still complain, but your brain will be like “all circuits are busy”. The more you push through these feelings, your body will adjust and your pangs will fade.

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Binge watch Dr. Berg on YouTube. You are most likely insulin resistant and intermittent fasting will help this, but pairing it with keto diet will reverse it for sure. You probably have candida also, which thrives on sugar and is a yeast infection that covers the small intestine…. It blocks absorption of nutrients which will cause hunger. Fasting and cutting out sugar (even high sugar fruits) will remove a lot of it. I believe in karma. You abuse your body, you pay the price. Face the hunger with courage but also with humility. It’s a small price to pay, really, considering all things.

Answer

Know that hunger is a hormone released that fades. With fasting you don’t get hungry and then get hungrier and hungrier until you eat, it comes and goes. A glass of water usually helps it dissipate for me. The first day of fasting through a time you normally eat is the worst, the body just sends the signal because it ate at that time yesterday. It definitely gets easier. Being busy helps me a lot, I fast on work days more than weekends. Also, the awareness that it’s not always actual hunger. If I really notice it, I’m just tempted by the sensation of eating, enjoying the comfort of it. That emotional connection to food is way harder habit to break for me. I try to discern what’s happening before acting on it. It’s rarely actual hunger, which doesn’t necessarily make it easier to resist, sometimes I really want that comfort.

Answer

Drink so so so much water. Drink water to the point you’re sure it’s definitely too much for a normal person to drink. Then keep drinking. You will be too busy drinking water and peeing to even think about being hungry. And it also fills you up for a little while too.

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Saturated fat, and fiber. And a little protein.

/r/saturatedfat

Something like cream cheese and celery, with some beef jerky. Or some hamburger patties with cheese, and a bulletproof coffee.

If you get your saturated fat intake high enough, it will physiologically block hunger

Avoid any foods high in poly-unsaturated fat, like salad dressing or anything deep fried in a restaurant. The running joke about eating Chinese food is that you’ll leave the table feeling stuffed, but you’ll be hungry again in an hour. That’s because Chinese food is coated in unholy amounts of PUFA; and PUFA blocks your body from feeling full.

Start your day with a bulletproof coffee or tea. Have another for lunch. That should allow you to skip two meals with relative ease.

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If you can separate your self from the hungry feeling, mentally, you can literally talk to it like it is a small child: “Wow you are very insistent! But remember, we are not eating right now. We are eating in X hours/minutes/whatever. I know you want food NOW but we already have the energy we need, so we don’t need to add any fuel right now.”

I drink “ketoade” when I get too hungry to ignore my stomach and that usually fixes me up really well if plain water wasn’t working.

Ketoade is just

• 3L water
• 4 tsp Lite Salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp Mio or other sugar free water flavor liquid

That makes about 6 servings. I have dysautonomia and require 5-8 grams of salt a day, so I normally have 2-3 servings of Ketoade a day.

If you are not keeping up with electrolytes, you can really feel rotten while fasting, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND starting with a mixture that is more like

• 3L water
• 2 tsp Lite Salt
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Mio

Because you WILL shit yourself if you go too hard on the salts. So… proceed with caution, but it does work. And it does not break your fast.

Good luck!

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My best advice would be, when you feel the hunger, drink a full cup of water. If you still feel hungry, have a cup of tea. After that, it’s purely mind over matter. It’s like withdraw from any other substance, you have to fight the urge to eat!

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For me it was very hard the first two weeks. I find that if you can last the first two weeks than everything beyond that is easier. Your body is going to go through withdrawals. So that two week time is crucial.

Also please eat lots of vegetables during your break. The nutrition from those will keep you physically satisfied longer. The more processed foods you eat the less full/satisfying it is to eat

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Drinking 40 oz of water in the morning and unlimited black coffee helps me get through! I wake up feeling hungry and wanting a big bowl of oatmeal and creamy, sweet, coffee right away. If I can make myself just get one black cup of hot coffee down, my hunger almost always goes away and then I can eat whatever I want at 12 Pm! (I do 16:8 from 8p-12p)

Answer

If you are serious about trying medication, there are options that a doctor can prescribe and monitor you on. Don’t take things without a doctor involved in my opinion. One you have good relationship with ideally, not these online, telehealth options. There are more options now than even 5 years ago

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There are hunger suppressing prescription drugs. I have been on metformin for a few years. It’s FDA approved to treat diabetes, but appetite suppression is one of its side effects. In and of itself, it wasn’t enough to make me lose weight, hence the IF. But I know it makes a difference. I’m new to IF. I do 20:4 most days. I don’t really start to get truly hungry (as in, MEALTIME NOW, PLEASE!) until about hour 19 and then it’s really no big deal to weight 1 more hour. If I accidentally skip my metformin (I take it once a day), I have 2 days in which I just want to eat all the time, so I know it works. Please note that I get my metformin scrip through a reputable endocrinologist and I wouldn’t do it any other way. Also, of course, just because it works for me and doesn’t give me side effects is no guarantee that it will do the same for you. I know there are also some other FDA approved prescription meds appetite suppressants. Talk to your doctor.

Answer

You’ll only feel really hungry for about 3 or 4 days though. It kind of disappears after that. It is just the beginning that is difficult. After you’re a week in, you sometimes still feel hungry but it gets super manageable. Like right now I notice I’m hungry but it’s super easy to ignore, which it definitely wasn’t before I started out.

Also, watch out what you eat. Some food (carbs, sugar, etc) will make you a lot more hungry. That can make the transition to fasting particularly difficult on you.

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