When it comes to diet management, the first instinct is often to eat less, right? It seems like the first reaction is to believe that the weight gained from overeating can only be lost through hunger.
This might be a person's first intuition, always thinking that the extra pounds from indulging can only be shed by going hungry.
Even when I was in college and trying to lose weight, I only felt reassured when I was hungry, thinking that hunger meant I was becoming thinner.
But hunger can break anyone's willpower. The most crucial lesson I learned in my fat reduction journey was that hunger does not equal fat loss, and the feeling of hunger can actually disrupt your fitness or fat reduction rhythm.
Even if you reduce your daily caloric intake, there are many ways to feel full!
Today, let's talk about how to do this specifically. Let's not go hungry this year while losing weight!
Which situations indicate that you're not eating enough?
Being on a diet for too long can make you "used to being hungry." Even if you don't feel it's not enough, long-term insufficient caloric intake can affect your health and make it hard to lose weight.
If you have the following symptoms, it might mean you're eating too little:
- You're tired every day.
Chronic fatigue might indicate that your body is not getting enough nutrients due to eating too little, resulting in low energy levels. Without fuel, a car obviously has no energy to run.
- You're moody and often in a bad mood.
Suppressed hunger can turn into irritability. You might find yourself more impatient, emotionally unstable, and more prone to outbursts. (This is the case for me... even just being hungry for 30 minutes can make me irritable.)
- Poor exercise performance and lack of energy.
- Health issues arise, such as dizziness, irregular menstruation, sudden hair loss, brittle nails, etc.
If you experience any of the above, it means you need to increase your daily caloric intake rather than just using tricks to fill yourself up.
How to reduce calories without going hungry?
If I say that eating fried rice can help you lose weight, most people wouldn't believe it.
Because in their minds, fried rice is like this 👇
A lot of oil, a lot of rice, with almost no vegetables and protein.
But a fried rice that is suitable for fat reduction and doesn't leave you hungry should look like this 👇
The two might have similar caloric content, but the feeling of fullness is definitely worlds apart.
What's the difference between the two?
- Shrimp is used instead of sausage, which reduces calories while increasing protein.
- A richer variety of vegetables are added, increasing the dietary fiber in the fried rice.
- Brown rice is used instead of white rice, maintaining the same calories but with more dietary fiber and micronutrients.
- Less oil is used, leaving more caloric space to add other ingredients, such as shrimp.
Which foods have a stronger feeling of fullness?
I have a friend who loves to eat steamed buns , and she can eat them without any side dishes, even managing three in one meal! She's quite the eater with a great appetite, haha!
She starts to feel hungry 1-2 hours after every meal, so she firmly believes it's because she has a "big appetite" and thus could never lose weight.
In fact, her hunger two hours after a meal has less to do with the amount she eats and more to do with her diet structure.
The body digests different foods at different rates, with carbohydrates being the easiest to digest, followed by protein, and fat being the slowest.
So, someone like her, who eats a meal full of white rice and flour, is at a disadvantage! The calories are not low, and she gets hungry quickly.
What's the underlying logic of fullness?
The best feeling of fullness is: satisfaction while eating, a feeling of fullness after the meal, and a lasting sense of energy 3-4 hours after the meal.
To achieve this state, you need 'protein + dietary fiber + healthy fats', and none can be omitted.
In this combination:
Fiber can make the food you eat more "bulky" and "substantial," allowing you to fill up more of your stomach with fewer calories. Take fried rice as an example; adding some lettuce instantly doubles the portion size, but the calories remain essentially unchanged. Common sources of dietary fiber include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and konjac, among others.
Protein gives you a stronger feeling of satisfaction after a meal. Good choices include beans, nuts, eggs, fish, poultry/meat, and dairy products.
Healthy fats are often the most neglected. They not only enhance satisfaction but also prolong digestion, keeping you full for longer. Some of my favorite healthy fat choices include nut butter, nuts, cheese, olive oil, avocados, and avocado oil.
What you can explore is, under a fixed caloric intake, how to combine these three nutrients so that you don't exceed the limit while still feeling full.
I personally feel comfortable with a ratio of 20%-30% healthy fats (depending on my mood and training plan), 40% protein, and 30%-40% dietary fiber sources (vegetables + whole grains).
Food is not the only cause of hunger
If you always feel hungry, there might be other reasons.
- You've been under a lot of stress lately, with intense work.
- You're not drinking enough water.
- You didn't sleep well the night before.
- There's a sudden increase in exercise or activity levels!
The body is a tightly run system, and lifestyle is more important to your figure than you might think.
