Restrictive diets result in hunger pains and binge eating. Eating small meals throughout the day helps, however, boosts your metabolism and keeps you from feeling hungry.
Have you ever felt hungry on a calorie restrictive diet? Has being hungry led you to binge eating and falling off your diet? Did you regain the weight you lost while you were following the restrictive diet? You are not alone.
We are repeatedly told by diet after diet that you have to cut calories to lose weight. It is said that losing weight is about calories in verses calories out. Some diets take this to the extreme, allowing as little as 800-1,000 calories per day along with exercise to melt the fat. The problem is that when you follow a calorie restrictive diet you will actually stop your weight loss progress by slowing your metabolism. To burn fat, it is important to build muscle and increase your metabolic rate.
Another way to boost your metabolism is to eat small frequent meals throughout the day. Eat every 2-3 hours tells your body that you are giving it energy and it does not need to store calories as fat. Skipping meals, however, will not result in weight loss because your body will store the fat. Eating frequently will make you feel full and keep hunger at bay.
Additionally, restrictive diets leave you feeling hungry, which often leads to periods of binge eating and can result in the frustration of yoyo dieting. Feeling hungry will not only slow your metabolism, it will also drain your energy and make you feel cranky. Experiencing these negative effects will likely cause you to quit the restrictive diet and regain any weight you’ve already lost. Frustrated and hungry, it is easier to reach for unhealthy choices.
Avoid Feeling Hungry While Losing Weight
- Drink a lot of water.
- Eat frequent small meals to fire up your metabolism and stop feeling hungry.
- Eat plenty of protein to feel full.
- Fill up on fiber. High fiber foods add bulk to your diet, making you feel satisfied longer.
- Eat slowly to give your brain a chance to signal that you are full.
- Don’t over exercise as it will cause you to eat more.
- Wait 20 minutes before giving in to food cravings.
- Create a list of hobbies or activities to do in place of eating.
- Don’t ignore your body’s hunger signals. Eat a light meal of a snack at the first sign of hunger.
- Avoid fad diets that promise overnight weight loss results.
- Manage stress without turning to food.
- Get plenty of sleep. Being well rested will allows you to fight off hunger pains low energy levels.
