Satiety

[DPriest442]

Down from around 3100 calories to 1800-1900 and man I feel hungry a lot. How do you guys stave off the cravings?

[slowmotion]

Go do something else. That can make you forget you are hungry.

[BostonRugger]

1. Water
2. Black Coffee
3. Be hungry in the morning and save cals for night time.

Question: What’s your age/weight? I lost over 40lbs (In several stretches over 8 months) by going from 3100 (maintenance) to 2800. Then again, I was 30 and started ~265lbs. I probably would’ve been intolerably hungry at sun 2000cal.

[broseph]

1. Water
2. Black Coffee
3. Be hungry in the morning and save cals for night time.

I agree with all of this. Don’t forget about decaf coffee at night. And I will to the list- broth. Finish a meal with a hot cup of broth. It takes a while to finish it, which allows your stomach time to feel full. And I find myself craving salt more than anything else during a cut.

And try to put a positive spin on being hungry, where hunger=losing fat.

[michael]

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday I had 1 banana, 1 orange, 1 apple, 1 cup pineapple chunks, and 1 cup of strawberries. A lot of food for 450 calories.

I also had 1 cup cucumbers, 1 cup snap peas, 1 cup carrots, and 1 cup sweet peppers. Four cups of food, but only 100 calories.

[BostonRugger]

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday I had 1 banana, 1 orange, 1 apple, 1 cup pineapple chunks, and 1 cup of strawberries. A lot of food for 450 calories.

I also had 1 cup cucumbers, 1 cup snap peas, 1 cup carrots, and 1 cup sweet peppers. Four cups of food, but only 100 calories.

This is good advice. It also reads like a page from The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.

[broseph]

I also think the hunger happens regardless of gut contents. When cutting, I can eat a huge pile of vegetables, a half chicken breast, and frozen blended fruit for dessert, and I’ll still be hungry an hour later. That’s why having something like broth, coffee, or diet soda to keep my mouth and taste buds busy is helpful.

When bulking/maintaining, I can eat the same meal and feel satisfied until it’s time to eat again.

[JohnHelton]

Fiber and protein spread throughout the day.

[DPriest442]

1. Water
2. Black Coffee
3. Be hungry in the morning and save cals for night time.

Question: What’s your age/weight? I lost over 40lbs (In several stretches over 8 months) by going from 3100 (maintenance) to 2800. Then again, I was 30 and started ~265lbs. I probably would’ve been intolerably hungry at sun 2000cal.

21, 181lbs 23% body fat trying to get to 160

[413x]

This BBM article has a cool chart in it of how satiating some foods are: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/handling-hunger/

I agree with @broseph it may sound weird but reframing the hunger has helped me. If i'm cutting and I feel hungry I take that as a good sign that I'm probably losing weight. Kinda like taking soreness as a sign that you probably provided a strong training stimulus. In both cases I doubt the correlation between feeling and outcome is all that strong, but I think it exists to some extent.

Also gum

[michael]

@DPriest442 what are you eating?

[DPriest442]

@DPriest442 what are you eating?

Chicken, potatoes, carrots, parsinp, protein shakes, apples, mandarins, bananas, oats and milk

[JohnHelton]

I had Greek yogurt with some bran for breakfast, a homemade hamburger for lunch, and a couple Torchy’s tacos and a non-alcoholic IPA for dinner plus 2 protein shakes. That was 182P, 202C, 75F, 2,208 calories. I just try to eat normal food. No hunger issues. If I was shooting for only 1800 calories, then I would skip breakfast and compress my eating window.

[SquatsALot]

I cut out breakfast, take it down to just a protein shake. Personally, the first meal of the day starts the 'hunger clock'. If I skip it, I'm not very hungry for lunch, but if I have my normal cereal, or whatever kick I'm on at the moment, I am STARVING by lunch time. Have a normalish lunch, try to keep it reasonable in terms of calories. Piece of fruit in the afternoon so I have some energy for my post-work workout. If I haven't overdone it, I get beef or chicken thigh for dinner. If I'm pushing it, fish, with a 200 calorie carb-oriented side dish (rice, or roasted potatoes). Lunch ends up being lots of sandwiches, as it's a reliable 400 calorie meal. I often pair it with fruit.

When I do it right, I get hungry an hour or so before a meal, and like others have mentioned, think to myself "that means it's working", and tell myself that it's a normal human experience to be hungry for a few minutes.

Oh, and drink a shitload of coffee.

[FredM]

I'm honestly about as hungry in bulks as cuts now. I eat basically the same meals just 1-2 less on a cut.

The key, as others have already said, is replacing early meals with black coffee. I'd also add pushing as many calories as you can take till dinner. Personally I can willpower my way through any hunger. Except if I didn't eat much dinner and I'm having trouble sleeping. I think many others are the same.

I'll even drink a coffee after a smaller meal. Similar to the broth idea it takes a while to finish, instantly makes me forget I'm hungry, and by the time I'm done the food has done the trick. So in a cut I'll typically drink 2-3 cups a day vs 1 in a bulk. The coffee also becomes an iced Mocha latte for free calories

[Inverstone]

There are studies that have demonstrated that for some people (apparently it's partly genetic) not eating breakfast does indeed "start the hunger clock" (it always has for me, for decades). Some people who eat breakfast soon after rising in the a.m. experience more hunger throughout the day.
Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day for everyone/every circumstance.

I have a shake (or frozen "pudding" whey) about an hr. before bed with 1/4 c. milk for 50 grams of protein and it lasts me through "fasted" cardio at around 10:30. I eat "brunch" at Noon-ish. I have coffee and water soon after waking and then split my meals over 4 meals per day on average. (Coffee really stringent keto supposedly isn't keto if you have coffee upon waking (?). I find it staves off hunger well.

Yes, being a bit hungry several times throughout the day and evening is a sign that you are truly in a calorie deficit and after awhile you can become kinda glad it's there, but not overjoyed

I lost 70lbs. over 3 years doing this and it's habitual now, more or less from now on. Trying now, to get down another 10 lbs.(to 155lbs.) Shooting for 12-15% body fat and then we'll see.

Doing 200 grams of protein per day at 165lbs. and keeping most of what muscle I have from the SS days.

[augeleven]

@Inverstone whats this frozen whey pudding?

[Inverstone]

Just whey Isolate, unflavored mixed with 1/4 cup of milk (for the casein) and whatever flavoring I decide to add for the night. Applesauce, Cranberry Juice, Chocolate powder. Usually about 1/4 cup of the lst two, 1 Tbs. or less of the chocolate. I don't do artificial sweeteners or flavorings of any kind.

Mix the ingredients together and put in the freezer a couple of hrs. or more before pre bed/ last "meal" of the day. Basically just a shake you toss into the freezer... it's replaced ice cream in my life and it's more filling/satiating than a liquid shake for the next 8 hrs. +

Comes out to approx. 256-275 calories with 50 grams of protein. (2 Scoops of Isolate).
I sometimes add Psyllium seed for fiber if I ate beef or other harder to digest (for me) red meats. It doesn't taste as good, but if the flavorings are stronger it's "ok". Definitely try the version without (the creamy/ ice milk thang) lst before trying it with Psyllium seed.

[GrainsAndGains]

A casein SHAKE (no cheating by baking it or making pudding) will make you wonder if you will ever need (or even want) to eat again for an hour or two at least. Truly unpleasant getting it down, though.

[mettkeks]

A casein SHAKE (no cheating by baking it or making pudding) will make you wonder if you will ever need (or even want) to eat again for an hour or two at least. Truly unpleasant getting it down, though.

Depends. I have a casein powder that tastes like hazelnut pudding. (My fellow germans will remember Monte). I make it with a wiz so a spoon will stay upright if you stick it in there. It's a real treat.

I really like low-fat Quark. 0.2% fat, 5% carbs and 13% protein. A couple table spoons of water and it has the texture of greek yoghurt and with honey/sirup/fruit it's delicious and filling. I love it for breakfast or dinner.

Also makes for a nice dessert with cookies and grape in there.