Hunger Solutions

I like food.

No, no I don't.

I love food.

Mmm...snow cones.

I like eating food when I'm hungry.  I like instant gratification.  I mean, why wait to go home and cook when I pass by a Taco John's, a Subway, a Hunan Garden, a Wendy's, and more just trying to get there?

I knew from the get-go that hunger was going to be a difficult factor in this whole healthy-living adventure.

However, I have had relatively few issues with being starving, which I think warrants its very own post.

So, without further ado, here are some tips to avoid tummy rumbles:

Happens all. the. time.

First, plan meals.  I cannot stress this enough: it is so über important to create meal plan and stick to it.  Figure out just how many grams of protein and carbs (or calories or fat or whatever is best for you and your body to count) and create a schedule that requires you to eat every so often.  For example, I schedule my meals three hours apart, and my body has learned that it will intake 30-ish grams of carbs and 16-ish grams of protein.

If I take too long to cook or I forget my snack at home or for whatever reason do not eat every three hours like my body has been conditioned to, I turn hangry (not just hungry...hangry) in approximately 30 seconds.

Also, because my body knows that it will be eating again in a short amount of time, it knows that it does not need to overeat; it knows that it can be satisfied with a smaller amount of food.

Second, eat a lot of veggies.  No, vegetables are not zero-calorie goodness, but they are infinitely healthier and lower calorie than a bag of chips, a handful of crackers, or even a mound of fruit.  The water and fiber content in a bag of baby carrots or a few sticks of celery does wonders to quell hunger.  If I know, for whatever reason, that my lunch may not fill me up as much as usual or that my activity-level is greater than the snacks I brought with me, I load up on veggies and am a very happy girl.

Plus, munching on crunchy carrots or celery keeps me occupied.  Let's face it: half the time we think we're hungry, we're actually just bored...

...which brings me to my third point: drink water.  It's absolutely insane how full you can get from water.  Generally, if I'm "so starving" that I can't wait for a meal or a snack or whatever, I chug a glass of water, and, without fail, am not nearly as hungry as I once thought.

I cannot stress enough how much meal-planning, veggie-eating, and water-drinking have helped squash the crazy hunger that I anticipated would accompany healthy living.

Yes, there are times when I'm hungry for a bag of Skittles or a Thin Mint (or two or twelve), but very rarely (as in so far not ever) does that craving overpower one of the aforementioned tried-and-true tactics.

The ridiculously delicious snacks and meals I've been preparing don't hurt either.  I mean, it'd be pretty hard to be hungry when you're scarfing down Dessert Oats, Crab Cakes, and fruit smoothies.  :)

What are your avoid-the-hunger tips?