5 Ways to Quiet a Raging Appetite

Never go shopping hungry

One of the hardest aspects of losing weight is when we get really hungry. Out bodies sends our brain crazy signals for food. I know when I get really hungry, I will want to eat everything I can get a hold of. Often times, it’s not healthy foods either!

Here are 5 ways to quiet your appetite when it’s screaming “Feed me!”

1) Make a plan of how long you will only eat healthy. It could be a couple days but just make sure it’s a plan that you know is 100% achievable. Stick to that plan. When you finish, start again. This gives you the idea that you can do it. Also after a couple days of healthy eating you will feel better and then reinforcing you to want to keep going.

2) Find deeper motivation than wanting to fit into a smaller dress size or having a six pack. That may be enough for short term motivations but may be hard to stick for the long term. Find how your health has improved such as less headaches, acne, heartburn, improved sleep. If your overall quality of life has improved, it will give you more motivation to want to continue.

3) If you do have a big meal full of fat, calories and sweets, don’t think it’s the end. The best thing to do is forget about it. One bad meal does not define your diet. So don’t get upset and quit all together. What should you do? Get back on track and say the next five meals will be healthy. Remember we’re doing this for the long haul. So in a full week, we’re aiming for 80 percent of our meals to be healthy. One or two cheat meals will be okay.

4) Eat breakfast. I feel this is one of the most important things to do if you want to lose weight and live a healthy life. When we sleep, our body is without food for 6-8 hours. In the morning, it’s ready to be fed!

If you skip breakfast and go to work, you’re going to be looking for sugar. Why? Most likely at work, it’s the easiest thing to find. Have a breakfast of protein and a whole wheat product. The fiber digests more slowly so you’ll feel fuller longer. No time to cook breakfast? Have an Egg McMuffin from McDonald’s. It’s not too high in calories and gives you a good portion of protein to start the day.

5) Clean out your cabinets and fridge. If you are hungry and you have cookies at home, you’re most likely going to go for the cookies. So clean out your cabinets and fridge of foods that doesn’t match your diet. Replace it with nuts, cheese, fruit and vegetables, canned tuna, and chicken. Do the same at the office. With no temptations around, you won’t feel the urge to reach for bad snacks when you’re hungry.