If you’re like me, your appetite is a neurotic bitch that is on an eternal period, with a heavy flow. I can go from hungry 24/7 to zero appetite for weeks in an instant, but more often than not, I’m a typically hungry person who really takes joy out of eating food. I like food, food is good: food doesn’t rate your body or tell you that it isn’t emotionally available. FOOD IS LOVE!
I blacked out there, what happened? What day is it?
This is why I tend to struggle sometimes with staying on a religiously healthy way of living, because if you aren’t careful, you may unintentionally underfeed yourself or you may not be full-up on the kinds of things that’ll leave you satisfied longer. This ultimately leads to you being constantly hungry, unsatisfied, and looking for a way to fill the void, such as going back to an unhealthy way of eating. Believe me, I have junk food relapses all of the damn time.
Though when I think about it, there is also the chance that you are just the kind of person that’s always hungry.
Naturally, having a constant desire to eat can foil your weight loss/healthy body goals, especially if the food you are eating isn’t leaving you feeling satisfied at all. This could be a sign that you overate quite often prior to your lifestyle change or that you aren’t eating enough/eating the right amounts of food or even the right food period. You could also be suffering from mental hunger or habit hunger, the kinds of hunger you feel based on your attachment to food and your eating routine.
Without spending all of this take explaining why you might be hungry, I’m going to give you tips and tricks to have you feeling satisfied longer while curving cravings and grumbly tummies until you make it to your next meal … without wanting to rip all of your hair out and pour gasoline over every garden salad you see and set them ablaze.
Eat as much as you want!
… Of the right foods. Had you going there, didn't I? You cake chasing little fat kid, you.
I'm just kidding, relax.
Trust me: few get excited by the thought of fruits and vegetables when they’re stuck in traffic next to a fast food joint that barely has a lineup in their double-drive through. I get it, believe me I do.
I know what it’s like as well to be working all day, having missed breakfast and then having to sit down and eat a light, healthy lunch while other people around you are eating left over-pot-roast and bacon sandwiches. It’s rough. But this is why you need to eat TONS … of the right foods.
Your inner fat kid just flipped me the bird, FYI. I can't imagine why. Tell him/her that I made them a chart to reconcile:
Vegetable guide ^^
Instead of having a small handful of carrots and an apple, cut up a large amount of various vegetables and fruits and store them in your fridge so you have immediate and easy access to them. You can turn fruits and veggies into convenient grab and go snacks that can actually help fill the empty space in your stomach while you're getting used to your new way of eating.
Let’s say you have a lunch that consists of a healthy sandwich, a yogurt, and a handful of raw nuts: doesn’t sound like much, does it? That’s why I always suggest having chopped fruits and veggies on hand so you can fill all of that dead space. Eat a banana, some sliced apples or a bowl of fruit salad, a fist full of broccoli and carrots – whatever you have on hand. Sure it might not be what you WANT to eat, but it WILL help curve your hunger.
Even cleansing diets (which I do not approve of personally) will tell you to eat as many fruits and veggies as you want, so have at er’, friend!
Veggies are cool, bruh.
Eat it anyway/Try new things
Speaking of fruits and veggies, some of us are not very keen on certain healthy foods. Think about it: how many times have you looked at a recipe and been turned off by the lack of meat and cheese, or the addition of quinoa and veggies? Probably more than you’d like to admit, myself included.
Fuck quinoa dude. Fuck it.
Unfortunately, picky eating is one of the prime reasons why people can’t stay on track for very long, as their pallets are so limited to the foods they know that they refuse to try anything else. Trust me, I know: My roommate’s pallet was so simple that she told me if it weren’t for me, she probably wouldn’t eat half of the things that she does now. She was all about the plain, plain, plain, until she lived with me. Give her some pasta with butter and ketchup and she was GOLD.
Let me put it this way: you don’t need to be intimidated by the idea of trying a salmon or black bean burger on the grounds that you’ve only ever eaten beef burgers. Just because you only know for sure that you like ONE kind of burger doesn’t at all mean that you can’t like something completely different. So keep your options open.
Also, even if you’re not a huge fan of veggies or a particular food item that is vital to your diet, eat it anyway. If the meal looks a bit like something that you wouldn’t be thrilled to eat, eat it anyway. Yes, you may want a bowl of captain crunch instead of a bowl of yogurt and granola … but eat it anyway. You have to retrain your taste buds and your body to be satisfied by the foods you need instead of by the unhealthy foods that you WANT. Now, naturally if something is so gross it makes you yack or you're literally depressed by a food item (I feel this way about raw carrots), don't eat it and find a substitute (instead I eat clementines and broccoli). Just don’t go eating a half of a brick of cheese just because you don’t want to eat some raw nuts instead, okay? Use your brain.
FYI I have since had preparations of quinoa that I've liked.
Get what you need
Get your protein, carbs and your dairy, it isn’t all about the fruits and veggies. All of these vital diet components play a big role in regular bodily functions as well as in keeping you full longer. This is why I tell EVERYONE to never cut specific food groups out of their diet for the sake of losing weight alone. The only time a food group should be removed from your diet is at the recommendation of a doctor, if you change your diet (omnivore to vegan) or if you’re on the newest season of My 600 lb Life and you need help lifting your folds so you can wash yourself.
Make sure you get the nutrients and calories you need from the food that you eat and be sure to replace any vitamins and minerals that you may not be getting from eating alone. Remember, even healthy diets often require a boost in vitamins, which you can get from different supplements, substitutes, juices, shots, and so on.
I also can’t stress enough how vital it is to get the amount of calories you need to maintain your daily life: don’t think that just because you want to lose some weight that you need to be on a 800 calorie a day diet … again, unless you’re on the newest season of My 600 lb Life – and even then they eat a 1000 most of the time. You need calories to function normally, as they provide your body with energy to do what it is required to do. If you deprive your body of calories unnecessarily, it can and will begin to break down, leading to an entirely new state of poor health. So make sure you are getting what you need.
All jokes aside, please take care of yourselves.
Making a meal plan & Meal Prepping
My biggest and final suggestion of all: meal planning and meal prepping – having things ready to go so you can make the healthy choice instead of defaulting to the ever alluring takeout menu.
I always suggest that people do different kinds of prep to make healthy food an easier choice to make rather than defaulting to old habits. Yes, it might be easier to eat two bricks of ramen, but if you have a meal in the slow cooker or prepped and ready to go in the fridge, you’re more inclined to make a better choice by removing your excuses.
Get yourself some quick, easy recipes (like the ones in my other takes, wink-wink) and plan out your meals for the week. Then set time aside to do the prepping for those meals and have them ready to go the minute you need them.
Don’t just limit it to breakfast, lunch, and dinner either: like I mentioned before, make yourself a huge batch of fruit salad and chopped vegetables so you’ll be more likely to reach for those in times of hunger. You can even have containers of snacks that contain a bit of cheese, crackers, turkey, veggies and fruit if you want.
To sum up my point, the easier the healthy decision is to make, the more likely you are to make it.
Healthy eating status: baller.
So those are my four tips to keeping yourself full and satisfied while eating healthy. Stay tuned for weekly suggestions on how to eat healthy without hating your life, as I intend on making this a full blown series. Let me know in the comments below about what YOU think my next take should be about. As always thanks for reading and have yourselves an epic day.
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