This is an excerpt of my Free Weight Loss Plan, the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan.
Limiting your caloric intake is important, but how do you do that without getting hungry? This is very important because you are not going to stay on a nutrition plan that has you feeling hungry all the time. So how do we eliminate hunger?
1. Eat every three to four hours:
The longer you go without eating, the lower your blood sugar gets, the hungrier you get, and the more you will eat to compensate for that hunger. You can eliminate this hunger by adopting a nutrition plan that allows you to eat every three to four hours.
2. Eat breakfast:
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. By the time you wake up in the morning, you probably have not eaten in over ten hours. When you wake up, you need to eat. You need to eat breakfast and “break the fast”. The longer you wait to eat breakfast, the hungrier you will be for the rest of the day, and the more you will eat. The worst thing you could do is skip breakfast.
3. Adopt a healthy, balanced nutrition plan
High blood sugar causes the hormone insulin to be secreted. The higher your blood sugar, the more insulin is secreted, and the lower your blood sugar will get. Low blood sugar will make you hungry.
You can stabilize your blood sugar and keep it from getting high or low by adopting a healthy, balanced nutrition plan. Your nutrition plan should limit your servings of high glycemic-load carbohydrates. These “bad carbs” cause your blood sugar to rise rapidly. It is easier to remember the “good carbs”: vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, beans and low-fat dairy products. Eat plenty of these foods.
4. Do not confuse greed with hunger
We often confuse greed with hunger. If you just ate, you are not hungry. Seeing or smelling food does not make you hungry. The next time you are hungry, think. Are you hungry or do you just want to eat? There is a difference. Do not eat just because you want to eat. Unscheduled eating will prevent your weight loss.
5. Do not confuse thirst with hunger
We often confuse thirst with hunger. If it is not time for you to eat, consider drinking water or some other low calorie beverage. You may actually be thirsty.
6. Do not deny strong cravings
If you are really craving a food or drink that is not part of your nutrition plan, go ahead and eat it. But, do not eat too much of it. It is much better to surrender to a strong craving while you are still in control. If you wait too long, your craving will take control and you will eat too much. Limit this strategy to strong cravings. This should not happen every day.
7. Sleep more and stress less
Too little sleep and too much stress both cause hormonal changes in your body that lead to hunger. Sleep seven to nine hours every night and limit the stress in your life.
Photo by chelseacharliwhite.
Weight loss can be enhanced and better maintained with strength training. For more information on my favorite strength training tool, read my review of the Bowflex SelectTech Dumbbells.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Probably the biggest change I made in my overweight life was consistently eating breakfast. If I am foolish enough these days to start my day without breakfast, I know I will pay with a day of feeling hungry and eating too much.
I also love your comment amount confusing greed with hunger. I do that all the time.
Another problem I have is when I am bored or in a bad mood, I look for the good feeling I get after eating. If I am aware of what I am looking for I can realize what is driving me to eating and I can get a cup of coffee or a piece of fruit instead. Eating to feel good is a pretty hard motivator to avoid, but as soon as you realize what it is you are looking for, it gets a lot easier.
Great points Mark. We think hunger is physical, when for most people it is emotional and mental.