HUNGER IN A CALORIE DEFICIT: ELIMINATING FEELINGS OF DEPRIVATION WHILE DIETING
Let’s get one thing straight: fat loss isn’t supposed to be easy peezy. It requires hard work and some sacrifices, but it doesn’t mean you have to be completely miserable. When dieting (or eating with goals are geared towards fat loss) a little bit of hunger may be present at times. You’re eating fewer calories than you’re burning each day and your body knows that! But this doesn’t mean you have to live your whole life feeling hangry.
EATING A DIET THAT KEEPS YOU SATISFIED WILL NOT ONLY INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF SUCCESSFULLY REACHING YOUR FAT LOSS GOALS, BUT IT WILL ALSO HELP YOU MAINTAIN THOSE CHANGES LONG TERM.
Last week’s post delved into specific foods and meals that can help you manage hunger while in a calorie deficit; this week we’re talking a bit more about strategies that help you ensure sustainable results.
FEELINGS OF DEPRIVATION ARE OFTEN THE BIGGEST ROADBLOCK WHEN IT COMES TO DIETING.
If your diet has you feeling deprived because it comes with a long list of rules you need to follow, chances are you won’t be able to stick with it for long. This is the major issue that leads to years of perpetual yo-yo dieting with minimal success.
While tracking your macros gives you the flexibility to enjoy the foods you want to eat, we can sometimes carry old diet rules with us and hang on to the idea that we have to restrict ourselves in order to be successful. Guess what - it doesn’t have to be like that. In fact, minimizing diet-induced misery is the absolute key to reaching your goals and making sustainable changes.
Here are a few actions you can take to eliminate feelings of deprivation when dieting:
EAT BIG || Filling the bulk of your diet with satiating foods will have a huge impact on long-term success. Eat mostly foods high in fiber and water content, keep meals high in protein, and eliminate liquid calories wherever you can. You can read more about high-volume foods and strategies that can help you manage hunger in last week’s post here.
ELIMINATE THE RESTRICTIONS || Obviously we want to avoid foods that we are intolerant of or allergic to, but aside from that you should be able to eat what you want! If fat loss is your goal, the priority is that you are consistently in a calorie deficit, not the length of your list of “forbidden” foods. If you are struggling to adhere to your diet because you feel deprived, make it a priority to add in the occasional treat or budget for a meal out. Embracing the concept of flexibility can help you feel less deprived and make it easier to stick to your goals.
INCREASE YOUR INTAKE || You must be in a calorie deficit to lose body fat, but if you are in a huge deficit that has you feeling deprived & depleted, chances are you won’t be able to maintain that deficit for long. If you find that you just can’t stick to your target macros or calories, try increasing your targets and starting with a smaller deficit. While a more aggressive deficit may seem like a better idea, it will only produce results if you can stick to it consistently.
ADD IN 100 || If you’re having a day where hunger feels out of control and you’re resisting the urge to eat everything in sight, start with just adding in an extra 100 calories to your day. While it can seem disconcerting to go over your numbers, adding in an extra snack is preferable over going over 1000 calories in junk food.
We’re not meant to be in fat loss mode forever, so sticking to your calorie deficit should be a short term process. The more consistently you can adhere to your deficit, the faster you will reach your goals and then be able to move on to maintenance mode, where you will have even more flexibility. If hunger levels are constantly high, you may need to adjust your targets and/or your goals with the objective of creating sustainable eating habits so that you can reach your goals and maintain those changes long term.
We’re all about high volume eats over here. In celebration of a new season filled with sunshine & fresh foods we’ve created a brand new full-length cookbook packed with high volume salad recipes. You can find Going Green, a cookbook of macro-friendly salads, in The Shop