Managing Hunger
Hunger can be a real problem when you’re trying to lose weight. When logging food in your food diary, you should also be considering how hungry you are before meals, and how full you are after meals.
One reason why we recommend writing down everything that you eat and drink is that you become very aware that you may not always eat because you are hungry.
Maybe you eat because you’re bored or even at your happiest, most social times.
When you track everything you eat, we often find that people begin to eat less and start losing weight!
If you are too hungry before meals, it is more likely you are going to overeat.
Here are some things to remind yourself of while you’re eating.
Stop eating two or three times throughout your meal and ask yourself “do I feel full and satisfied?” Feeling full doesn’t happen immediately. Sometimes it takes a while for our body to register how full it feels. Eating slowly will help you determine when you’re full.
Drink one to two glasses of water at the start of a meal. This will help fill you up and can help you to feel full sooner
Start your meal with a salad whenever possible. If you avoid calorie-rich dressing, croutons, and other toppings, the salad can fill you up without adding many calories.
Consider spacing meals throughout the day. Eat a few small meals, consider 4-5, that are healthy and balanced, to keep you from getting too hungry.
Eat plenty of high fiber foods like vegetables and fruits. They fill you up and make you feel satisfied.