How do I control my hunger while dieting?

I’ve had people question the amount of calories that I consume throughout the day and to them, it sounds like I am consuming very little. But the truth is I feel full after each meal. There are times where I might feel hungry or peckish 2h later, but I’ve learned that it is due to the way that I structure my meals and the amount that I consume.

I make a habit of measuring and weighing my meals. I do feel that the weight that is in your stomach does ease the hunger pain. But at the same time, consuming the right macros is important for you to maximise your calorie deficit.

How do I manage this?

I aim for a target weight with my meals.

At the moment, I am finding that my meals that weigh 400-500g are sufficient to keep me full and will take their time to digest.

I consume macros that fit within the weight.

In my opinion, this is a really, really important aspect to track. What I do is I aim to maximise the weight with fibrous carbs which are really low in calories. Generally, I will aim to consume 200g of a lean protein meat (ideally chicken breast). I can then top up the meal with 200-300g of fibrous carbs, which might be some boiled cabbage or a leafy salad.

How many calories are in 300g of boiled cabbage?

There’s 70 calories with 8.8g of carbs and 4.1g of protein.

How many calories are there in 200g of lettuce?

There are 18 calories with 1.8 protein and 0.8 carbs.

I also look for easy to consume snacks.

Right now, I am eating more of the high-protein yogurt tubs that contain 13-15g of protein and low carbs. So these can easily break any hunger pains whilst contributing to my overall macro intake for the day.

I plan my meals in advance to prevent me from failing.

This is another really important thing to include. If meals aren’t planned, it is easy to have cheat meals. So what I do is I prepare what I’m going to consume in advance.

For example, I will cook chicken breast pieces in advance so I can throw it into a bowl. I will do the same with a salad. That way when I am hungry, I just have to go and put everything into a bowl and consume it straightaway.

Having the yogurt tubs already prepared definitely makes things much easier as well.

I also have my protein shake nearby, so I can always top-up if I need to.

What would I recommend?

I’d recommend to start weighing the fibrous carbs in your meal and to get the weight per meal to 200g or more. If you feel like you are still hungry, add more weight to the fibrous carbs in your meal.

I hope that this helps.