4 Simple Ways to Manage Hunger During a Fat Loss Phase

At some point, you'll feel it. The void in your stomach, the pangs calling out to your brain, "I've gots to have some grub!"

It can happen on a deficit, it could happen while you're gaining, or it can happen because fate is a cruel mistress.

Hunger is a perfectly normal reaction of the body when you're trying to lose weight. Sometimes you just "live with it" and move on, no big deal.

Other times, it becomes distracting to the point where it might sabotage THE PLAN.

So what can you do about it?

First, start with the "obvious" (well, that's a bit cocky of me, this stuff isn't obvious until it is):

1. Food volume/fiber

Take a look at your overall food choices. Can the "volume to calorie" ratio be increased?

High-volume foods are things like VEGETABLES, FRUITS, and WHOLE GRAINS, which have the pleasant side effect of more FIBER and MICRONUTRIENTS.

If you're eating chicken for lunch, cut that sucker up and throw it in a huge bowl of spinach or mixed greens, then see if it helps with hunger.

Highly and ultra-processed foods will have more calories for less volume, whereas whole foods go the opposite direction.

We can definitely enjoy some processed foods (to the tune of 10-20% of overall calories), but if you're at say 30%+ processed foods, that's a good place to start rebalancing toward higher-volume, nutrient-dense, low calorie-density foods.

2. Hydration

Are you drinking enough water?

A good rule of thumb is HALF YOUR BODY WEIGHT in fluid ounces plus some margin (say 15 oz). If you weigh 200 lb, that's around 115 oz or close to a gallon of water a day.

Water includes well, water, plus diet soda, coffee, tea, and even fruit if you get a sufficient amount (see above!).

But water can also fill up your stomach and dampen those hunger signals.

3. Protein

Protein is the highest-satiety macronutrient, meaning it fills you up the most compared with fats/carbs.

So the first question is, are you getting enough protein in general?

Enough being "around" 1 gram per pound of body weight (or if you're very overweight, 1 g/lb of TARGET body weight).

If you're 200 lb but only getting 60 g protein a day, there's a great opportunity to bump that up (by reducing fat/carbs) and feeling more FULL during the day.

4. Refeeds

If you're dialed in on all the above, there are some other things to try.

In a fat loss phase, a periodic (or even weekly) "refeed" might be helpful.

That's where you simply have one or two much higher calorie days vs. the rest of the week. You "plan it in" so the weekly average still meets your goal rate of change.

This could "reset" (not a scientific term) your hunger signals.

It could also help you mentally, align with weekend social events, and fuel your performance in the gym on that and the next day.

Assuming protein is about the same every day, this bump would come mostly from CARBS.

That's it!

If you're dealing with HUNGER, try one of the ideas above and see if it helps.