I want to lose weight but I'm always hungry

Any suggestions? Mostly I always have issues finding stuff to eat at lunch, and when I try to make it healthy, I'm starving 2 hours later. Then I take a greek yogurt or something and I'm starving 30 minutes later. I'm more a 'eat small meals during the day' type. But then again if I eat a light dinner I'm hungry at 9pm, lol.

I'm usually not hungry for breakfast, so I started taking some meal replacement shakes in the morning, but then I'm starving at 10.30am (when normally I'd start being hungry at 11 or something). I don't get it. I always heard that you're less hungry if you eat breakfast, it's never been the case for me.

I'm going to start working out on the treadmill again but it usually doesn't help at all, it just makes me hungrier... so I just eat back whatever I spent on the treadmill...

I hate cooking though so it's not gonna help. And I get really sick when I'm hungry, headaches, nausea, you name it. So needless to say... not very motivated to lose weight right now, because I know it's going to be very hard.

Is it hopeless? Just healthy filling ideas for lunch would be great. And snacks. And no, almonds or greek yogurts are not filling me enough when I'm starving... and forget fruit...

The biggest problem about 'starving 2 hours later' probably depends on what you are eating.

Can you give an example of what you are eating for breakfast? Be as accurate as you can so people can help you better.
(I know we have a couple nutrition people floating around here, LOL)

Oh, and one thing I can tell you right now, plan it out! Know what you are supposed to be reaching for.........it really does help a ton

Like, a bowl of cereal. Or oatmeal. But if I have eggs, same deal. It's seriously frustrating lol.

The other day I had 2 mugs of fish soup for lunch, after having a replacement shake 3 hours earlier, 2 hours later... so hungry.

Well for me personally, if I am getting hungry too soon after a meal I examine the meal and cut the carbs out of it. IE Cereal & milk. If I have a bowl of cereal w/milk, I will be starving in less than an hour.

I do like high fiber/bran type cereals..........but I've learned that's not a breakfast I can do, it's more of a healthy snack. I cut the serving size in 1/2 and I'll have that in between meals.

But if you say eggs do the same thing (starving too soon) then I'm at a loss.........eggs keep me full quite a while. Are you having something high in carbs WITH your eggs? Toast maybe? IDK..

eating more fiber will definitely help, and hopefully if you start exercising more it will increase your metabolism. Make sure you're drinking a lot of water, too.

High in fiber foods might fill you up better. Also, more complex whole foods. Whole wheat toast with peanut butter with fruit or yoghurt should make you feel full longer. Or you can eat low-calorie meals every two hours which is fine. Break up your calories into 6 smaller meals. Liquids absorb faster so shakes rarely leave you feeling full for any length of time, or at all. Switch out your shake for a small snack.

I had the same issue until I started eating low-carb. I would try to make some scrambled eggs and eat some fruit (berries) with it or some veggies. You can make a very good, filling Omelette with some veggies and cheese.

I had this problem last year and what I would do was plan my main meals and then just have a ton of not horrible snacks for if I got hungry. There are these honey granola things I eat now when hungry and they keep me full for quite a while. You have to get use to it though. I would think I was starving and eat. In reality I wasn't I was just so use to being hungry so often I wasn't aware that I wasn't hungry I was feeding my constant wanting to eat habit instead.

Also when I cook I've started using more things like basil or oregano or garlic instead of salt and that has helped a lot.

And if I want something like a stew or for dinner I have something like zucchini with it instead of more meat. It fills me up without making me feel heavy and tired after eating it

Agree with Coop and Jules. Watch your carb intake, especially when it comes to grains. Even whole wheat will cause your insulin to spike which will make you feel like you're starving (even though you aren't.)

Try two eggs, bacon or ham, and some cheese. If you like veggies mix veggies in there too.
Stop the meal replacement shakes, those are doing more bad than good. Eat real food, not fake food.

Another thing...eating becomes habitual. If you start cutting calories or even eating smaller meals, you're going to be hungry at first, but pretty soon your body will adapt. Obviously don't let yourself get starving or to the point where you get lightheaded or headachey, but if you let yourself feel a little hungry throughout the day you'll get used to it and it won't be as unpleasant.

I actually don't eat that much carb. I almost never have bread. Cereal once in a blue moon. When we have pasta in the evening it's whole grains.

On Sunday we went out for brunch, I had some mix of crab, onions, peppers, potatoes, with eggs and hollandaise sauce... I was STUFFED. And was hungry 3 hours later.

I absolutely don't get it. Might be hormonal maybe?

Same here. And if I have anything more than coffee for breakfast I get hungrier.

Been reading some articles about how that whole "always eat breakfast" thing is NOT true for everyone.

Cutting out gluten has made ALL the difference for me. Even before the actual poundage started leaving, I started de-puffing about halfway through the time I was detoxing.

Whole grain pasta is just as carb heavy as "regular" pasta.

Low carb, higher fat. I used to be endlessly starving too.

"Carbs" doesn't mean "bread." Carbs are in darn near everything. Whole grains aren't really much better for you than non-whole grains, and especially eating them at night for dinner isn't going to help you at all if you're looking to lose weight.

Start drinking more water, lots more water. That should help with the nausea and headachey feeling, and often when we are dehydrated we mistake it for being hungry.

Also I agree with milos_mommy. There's a difference between "I feel hungry" and "I need to eat something." Feeling hungry isn't bad. Actually getting dizzy and shaky is bad.

You might be missing some other kind of nutrient. I would start tracking what you eat - EVERYTHING that you eat - and see where your numbers are falling. MyFitnessPal or SparkPeople both have good trackers.

Lots of WATER (not soda, juice, or other sugars), more protein, more fat, less processed carbs (as in no pasta, but whole fruits and veggies are ok)

I recommend a calorie tracker like myfitnesspal or sparkpeople. I need to get back on track with that too. Using that is how I lost 80 lbs... I'm slowly gaining it back but the key is now I REALIZE I'm gaining it back and I just need some discipline to get it back off.

Discipline is the key.

At first you will feel hungry but it's just because you are used to overeating. have breakfast and then bring a serving of something like almonds for a snack between breakfast and lunch if you need it... but only bring ONE serving. if you bring more... you will eat it.

Drink lots of water.

but above all else will power is going to be the key to getting started and sticking with it. NOT easy but there is no perfect food or perfect meal out there that is going to miraculously full when your body is used to being overfed so it's all on you. When you are about to have a second crock of soup think to yourself about the extra pound or two that's going to add instead of lose and don't eat until you are so full you are about to burst. If you get to the point of being FULL you've eaten too much.

I totally agree with what many here have already said. Increase protein, decrease carbs. Also instead of eating low fat and fat free foods such as cheeses and such, opt for the full fat versions instead. You have to have some fat in your diet. I don't know if you are a fan of avocados or not, but avocados are rich in many vitamins and minerals, as well as fat that is supposed to be good for you. Eating half an avocado with a meal can be very filling.

What I usually eat for breakfast that sticks with me for a good amount of time is I scramble two eggs (I usually mix my eggs with a little bit of milk to make them fluffier) and top the eggs with some shredded cheddar cheese and salsa, two pieces of toast with some butter, and a glass of milk. I usually eat breakfast around 6:30am, and it keeps me from feeling hungry until I eat lunch at 12pm. I also eat a breakfast quiche, but I don't like to eat it as much because the amount of carbs is higher than it is when I make eggs and toast, and I start feeling hungry around 10:30am. On days that I do eat the breakfast quiche, I will take some fruit and some cheddar cheese to have as a mid morning snack so I won't get that starving feeling.

If you like veggies, I would recommend making a veggie omelette. When I make an omelette, I like to put a little bit of diced onions, lots of diced tomatoes, some cilantro, some shredded cheddar cheese, and then top it with some salsa. If you drink milk, instead of drinking skim milk, I would recommend 1% or 2% milk.

For snacks, I like eating things like grape tomatoes and a mozzarella cheese stick, bananas with peanut butter, seedless grapes with a mozzarella cheese stick, sliced deli meat (such as ham, turkey, or pastrami) with club crackers and cheddar cheese.

Also increase your water intake. You hear all the time that the recommended amount is 64oz of water a day. I've actually read articles that say in order to find out how much water you should be drinking per day you take your weight, divide it by 2, and that is the total number in ounces you should drink per day. If you aren't drinking that much water and you decide to increase how much you are drinking, be prepared knowing that for the next few days you won't feel like you are getting much done due to the frequent bathroom breaks. Your body will get used to the increased water intake, it just takes a few days.

I hope this helps.

Healthy fats are really important. Are you craving specific foods or just any food? If there are missing nutrients in your diet and you supply them, your cravings may go back to a healthier level.

About fat, even some cholesterol is important. Your body needs cholesterol to make CoQ10 and vitamin D. If you're deficient in one of those two (vit D is a VERY common deficiency in Americans) then your body is going to have cravings. Especially for the foods that have what it needs. I agree with Beanie about charting everything out to figure out where your diet is deficient. You can get blood tests done to measure actual vitamin levels, which you might talk to your doctor about.

For feeling full, olive oil is very good at that. People's bodies recognize it as an animal fat for some reason and supposedly it makes them feel fuller than an avocado or flax oil on a salad will. 1 tbsp of it has about 60 calories, so not too bad and you need some oil anyway.

I don't crave foods... I'm just very hungry lol. But it does seem linked to my cycle... I don't know. It's just very annoying.