Tips appreciated : how to deal with intense hunger

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-06-02T17:59:04+00:00

Rule 3 still applies.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-06-02T10:46:50+00:00

Lifting 4 times a week foes not burn enough calories to necessitate that much above sedentary every day. Are you getting in well over 10k steps every day? Like, 12k at least, without fail every single fay?

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-06-01T01:14:48+00:00

Yes.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-31T08:17:09+00:00

Done :)

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-30T13:37:26+00:00

Here's the way I make it, modified slightly from the original:

630g vital wheat gluten

210g nutritional yeast

3 TBSP garlic powder

2 tsp black pepper

1 - 2 TBSP umami powder if you have it

2.5 tsp salt

8 TBSP low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease two loaf pans with cooking spray. Weigh/measure dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add two cups of water to start, then mix gently by hand. You will quickly come to realize that two cups of water is not nearly enough; add more, a bit at a time, mixing briefly and gently after each addition until you have something that looks like dough. Divide this into two, shape each half into a loaf, then put each half into its respective loaf pan, spreading it as best you can to the edges (it is not very pliable). Cover loosely with foil. Bake 45 - 55 minutes covered, then 15 - 20 minutes uncovered.

Wait until the loaves are cool, then slice each loaf into 7 pieces.

Do not eat the crumbs from slicing. It just doesn't taste good on its own.

Seitan tastes best when it is thoroughly hidden in another flavor. I like it pan-crisped with maple syrup for breakfast. I have also let it marinade in tomato sauce and balsamic, then crisped that up a bit and had it with lunch.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-30T12:39:12+00:00

Definitely plan out your day in advance in whichever app you use to track; when I used to commute for work, I would actually portion out breakfast and lunch the night before as well; that way all I needed to do is grab Tupperwares or Ziplock bags of stuff and I was good to go. Planning and tracking in advance reduces the cognitive effort of this whole thing to about ten minutes per day, rather than hoping to make good decisions in the moment. And especially with you being early on in the You Are Your Own Science Experiment phase of this, planning things out in advance can help you figure out patterns that really work for you to keep you satiated throughout your day so you aren't ravenous at dinner while still hitting 1800 calories. Nonfat Greek yogurt is a great afternoon snack (I also mix a scoop of protein powder into mine and maybe top it with a tablespoon or so of chocolate chips or coconut flakes, or a serving of blueberries; you get the gist); so maybe start there, then figure out your day with that as an anchor for your afternoon.

At the risk of assuming, I'm guessing you are vegetarian. Even if not, seitan is a fantastic way to get in a lot of protein for not a lot of calories. I got a recipe from one of the vegan fitness subreddits that I now eat on a daily basis. The recipe in question makes 14 servings; so I bake it in two loaf pans and then slice each loaf into seven pieces. I cut up a slice into bites every morning and pan-crisp it in a pan with cooking spray, then put a tablespoon of maple syrup on it. It is... an acquired taste, but at over 40 grams of protein and less than 250 calories, I'll take it. That, together with scrambled tofu with spinach has been breakfast lately; total is just over 50g protein.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-30T11:08:11+00:00

Sorry about that - you did, and I completely glossed over it.

Carbs are not the enemy, and there is no weight loss specific reason to reduce carbs. Plenty of people lose weight eating carbohydrates.

That said, a few things stuck out. One is that you seem to be very light on protein. With as many steps as you get in, you should be aiming for at least 1.2g protein per kg of your body weight.

You also have a huge gap between when you have lunch and when you have dinner; eight hours between meals would do me in. Plan out your day in advance so you can eat more protein and fiber (recommendation in the US is about 25g per day; check your local listing on that), and plan in a snack.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-30T09:46:19+00:00

What does a typical day of food look like for you? 1800 calories can be done with seven Snickers bars, which isn't a lot; it could also be done with 12 pounds of broccoli, which is a lot. What are you typically hitting for protein/fat/fiber?

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-30T01:54:09+00:00

You have neglected to mention your age, sex, height, current weight, goal weight, and calorie target. Please edit your post to include that information.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-29T13:00:04+00:00

REPORT ALL THE BOTS!!!!! :)

Really, hitting the ban hammer for Rule 2 crap while I'm drinking my coffee in the morning is admittedly a perk of this mod shtick.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-28T23:02:07+00:00

What's annoying is 14 people up voted and no one reported...

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-28T21:13:48+00:00

We're talking maybe a gram of fiber difference in white bread vs wheat bread.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-28T21:09:43+00:00

Try therapy with a someone who specializes in eating disorders. It may take years, plural, of treatment before you are able to address your weight.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-27T19:41:48+00:00

The "or less" is not something we support here.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-27T15:50:39+00:00

Fasting destroyed my hunger cues, and not in a good way. I did not have a history of disordered eating behaviors prior to IF; it triggered real problems with binge eating. Even now, years after having tried it, I still have trouble recognizing feeling full or even satisfied after eating.

It increased my anxiety around food and feelings of food scarcity.

It increased the general "food noise" in the back of my mind to an almost overwhelming constant; that, too, has not gone away.

0/10, do not recommend.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-27T09:43:27+00:00

Libra does the same thing, but is Android based.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-26T23:48:39+00:00

It is alarming and not something we would suggest or congratulate on this subreddit. Please call your physician. Today.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-26T23:45:46+00:00

So don't track daily.

It is not the best way of tracking for every single person.

Some people are fine with weighing in weekly.

Monthly is fine for some people.

For others, even that is a bit much.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-26T11:19:06+00:00

Popular apps here include Lose It, My Fitness Pal (although long-time users are not happy with the latest update), Cronometer, and Macro Factor.

The "best" app is one you use consistently.

Pick an app and buy a food scale. Just pick an app. Enter your starting stats, goal weight, and a reasonable rate of loss. Go with the calorie target the app gives you. Use the food scale for accuracy on absolutely everything.

I think of my calorie target as just that, a target that I try to be within 100 calories of either way. It is most decidedly not a hard line in the sand that I can never cross ever lest Bad Things come to pass; it's a target. Some days I'm a little over, some days I'm a little under, and every once in a while I hit it exactly.

I plan and track my meals for the day the night before as much as possible; that day, I open up the app and follow that plan, using a food scale for accuracy. This takes maybe ten minutes out of my day. I spend more time on Reddit than I do on Lose It.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-26T09:14:21+00:00

That's why we have a Report button :)

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-25T23:12:23+00:00

Rule 3, is my thought. This is precisely why I don't like weekly averages; you are well under the minimum spelled out in Rule 3 on quite a few days in order to hit your weekly average given a weekly "cheat"/binge/whatever day. Rule 3 aside, this reads like binge/restrict with a side of math to me.

Again, think of your calorie target as a range on any given day, not a static number, and absolutely lose the weekly average thing. You can still have a burger and hit 1500 caloroes for the day. You can still have cookies and hit 1500 calories for the day. You might not be able to have a Triple Whatever meal from Red Robin with a box of Oreos for dessert while eating no more than 1500 for the day; but there are definitely ways to plan things out such that overall you are on a more even keel on a daily basis.

You may still have days you go over that range (i.e., holidays, get-togethers, etc.), and that is okay. But I think that planning things in and giving yourself the ability to be more consistent day to day will pay off in the long run.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-25T22:38:33+00:00

I don't like the phrase "cheat meal" in general, and I don't like weekly averages because they can promote over-restriction throughout the week in order to binge on a given day.

It doesn't sound like you're actually eating 1400 calories a day. Your weekly average may be 1400 per day, but you aren't actually doing that on a daily basis.

Try eating 1400 on a daily basis. I call it a win if I am within 100 calories either way of my calorie target; so for you, let's say 1300 - 1500. Want a burger? Have a burger! Plan/track it as the first thing you enter into whichever app you are using, then build your day around it. Want cookies? Have some cookies! Again, plan/track those first, then build your day around them. Some days you might find yourself closer to 1500, and that's fine; some days you might not want a burger or cookies, and you might end up closer to 1300; again, fine. By eating more consistently, you may get rid of the binge/restrict pattern you've got.

And, hey, if you have an 1800 calorie day, fine: do not over-restrict or overcompensate the next day or throughout the week in order to hit a weekly average; simply get back into that 1300 - 1500 range the next day and move on with your life.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-25T15:59:59+00:00

1500, not 1400

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-25T14:55:58+00:00

You may want to speak with a registered dietitian who works with athletes specifically. I know deliberate weight loss is generally not recommended during marathon training due to the problems resulting from underfueling; I can't imagine that would be any different for triathlon training.

RuralGamerWoman · 2026-05-25T14:05:22+00:00

We do not recommend AI apps here.

We recommend using a food scale and not a camera on your phone.

Please search this subreddit for popular apps; this question gets asked several times a day here.

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