When ever people start a new routine weather it is to change eating habits, or just try to go on a diet. One pitfall people may have is the feeling of hunger. You may start off well, but then that hungry feeling takes over and you start making mistakes. Some might even give up after they make a mistake due to frustration.
I want to put people in a position to have a higher change of success and get past those hunger pangs that may stop them from their success. Here we go 5 hacks to help stop hunger.
Drink Water
Drinking water is beneficial in several ways. It is great for hydration, and keeps the organs running smoothly. One of the best things about water is it’s ability to give you a full feeling when you drink it. If you are trying to limit your eating and finding difficulty with not overeating drinking a large cup of water can help with that hungry feeling you may get. Give it a try and let me know if it helps.
Avoid Sugars
This is one of the best things you can do it you are trying to avoid hunger. Sugars put your body in a state were it is never satisfied always looking for more. The more you eat it the more you want it. I have to say it is almost ironic how the Snickers commercials talk about need one to satisfy hunger Think about it. If you could eat as many 80 calories cookies as you wanted, or eat as many 80 calories worth of eggs. How much could you eat of each. A small chocolate chip cookie is the equivalent of 80 calories, and a whole egg is the equivalent of 80 calories.
I don’t know about you, but I could easily eat 12 cookies over eating 12 whole eggs. I could probably only eat 4 whole eggs before I was full. That is important to realize. Even worse lets talk about soda. One can of soda can have roughly 150 calories. With 50g or more sugar pure can. I gave soda up a long time ago, but I remember being able to drink 2-3 cans easily. If you are trying to stop hunger taking sugar out of your diet will play a very large factor in the process. Cut it out and watch how so many cravings for certain foods goes away in a matter of weeks.
Eat Protein
Protein is a source that can be very feeling when you are in a caloric restricted diet. The great thing about it is all the wonderful benefits behind it. Protein is great for metabolic boost, it takes more energy to break down than carbs or fats making it a great source for weight control. Protein is also very difficult to overeat by itself.
With this information it is important to note like anything else you do not want to overdo it. Most people can get away with having .4-.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. If you are looking for muscle gain, I would most likely increase that. Just make sure to speak with your Doctor or Trainer you are working with on that matter.
With that said having some source of protein with every meal can help to give you that satisfied feeling, so you do not get hungry as quickly. I have done this with many of my own clients and it works great for them.
If you are looking for great dessets protein recipes click here
If you are looking for meals with protein that are plant based click here
If you are looking for meals with any type of protein click here
Eat Smaller Meals
The stomach has muscles just like everything else in the body. The are folds in the stomach called rugae, which expand when you feel the stomach, and shrink when the stomach is empty. If you constantly eat very large portions your rugae will compensate by staying stretched out. Making eat easier to want to eat more often.
If you eat smaller meals regularly your stomach will adjust, and not need such large meals to have that satisfied feeling. So it is important to monitor your meals and make sure to keep them reasonable. This may be difficult at first, but the adjustment should happen rather rapidly, and you will be glad that you did it.
Light Exercise
When you are feeling those hunger pangs come along a light exercise can help to alleviate you. The body is an interesting mechanism that does some of the most amazing things.
When you start doing a light exercise your blood takes it focuses off of other things and puts more focus into the muscles. When there is more blood in the muscle the focus on the stomach and intestines are no longer there. Which can take that feeling of hunger away.
There is definitely a way this has to be done though, because if you do it incorrectly it could end up backfiring and you will be hungry an hour after because you just exercised.
Here is a tip. If you are looking for weight loss. Exercise about an hour before you go to bed. It does not have to be anything crazy. Just do enough to break a nice sweat for 10-15 minutes. After that do the things you need to do to get ready for bed. That way by the time you are in bed you will already be asleep before those hungry cravings you would have gotten can come.
Good Luck
I hope these hacks will help you out on your journey to avoid those hunger cravings that can sneak up on even the best of us. I want this process to be as easy as possible for you. I know that many of these hacks have helped some of my best clients to get into the position they needed to be in to be successful. So if you use them I hope they help you to do the same.
If you have any tips to eliminate hunger I would love to hear them. Leave them in the comments below, maybe you can help someone struggling with their hunger problems too.
