Hunger attacks, what to eat to avoid ruining the results obtained with workouts? It happens often: you train consistently, you eat (almost) always well and then… Then comes that moment when you would even eat the legs of the table. Hunger attacks come suddenly and are virtually impossible to control. But how do you avoid gaining weight?
How do you avoid ruining your diet with hunger pangs?
- The first and most important rule is to be prepared.
Organize your pantry so you have satiating but healthy foods at home. And, why not, also something tasty but which can’t do too much damage to the diet. In addition to food to keep at home, try to organize small snacks to take with you to the office, university or whenever you have to spend several hours away from home.
Often when you are away from home it is even more difficult to resist temptation. Maybe you go to a bar determined to eat a fruit salad or drink a coffee and find yourself with a hood and a croissant. However, if you manage to have something ready with you in your bag, it will be easier to resist temptation.
- Never skip snacks
When you go on a diet, especially in the first few days, you tend to be very strict, even too strict! Always remember, however, that to be successful, consistency is much more important. If you deprive yourself of too many things, you risk not lasting long and abandoning the diet. The ideal would be to eat 5 meals a day.
And it is precisely snacks that very often ruin the diet. If you don’t know how to choose well, you end up eating calories (a lot of calories). Avoid packaged snacks and overly processed products and instead aim for healthy, filling foods.
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Light snacks to avoid ruining your diet
What to eat during snacks? One of their functions is to prevent us from arriving hungry at the next meal. It is therefore important to choose well. Snacks must be satiating, healthy and not too high in calories. But what to eat?
- Dried fruit
Dried fruit is caloric but is able to provide many useful elements for our well-being. It is rich in vitamin E , proteins, Omega 3 , unsaturated fatty acids which are good for the heart and help keep cholesterol under control. The important thing is not to overdo it! The precise quantity always depends on your calorie needs and what you will eat during the rest of the day but, indicatively, it is recommended to take 30 grams of dried fruit per day which corresponds to 7 walnuts, 23 almonds, 21 hazelnuts, 49 pistachios, 18 cashews. Avoid salted peanuts because salt greatly increases water retention.
- fresh fruit
Fresh fruit is always a very good snack. It is rich in fibre, vitamins and water. Easy to carry in your bag and perfect as a post workout snack because it is able to restore glycogen stores. Now that the heat is arriving, choose red fruit to improve microcirculation and reduce the problem of swollen legs. The banana, on the other hand, is perfect as a post-workout snack, providing around 100 calories but also precious potassium.
- Savory light snacks
If you prefer savory to sweet, play smart and choose naturally tasty foods without added salt. An example? A few olives recommended (8 – 10), a 30g piece of Grana Padano, some bresaola with a slice of wholemeal bread. Legumes, especially chickpeas, are also an excellent source of fiber and protein and help reduce the feeling of hunger without affecting the diet.
- Greek yogurt
Low in fat and rich in proteins, it is able to satisfy hunger also thanks to its dense and creamy consistency. Better to choose it plain and add fresh fruit, dried fruit or oats.
- Dark chocolate
Especially during pre-cycle the desire for sweets is really stronger than us. A small square of dark chocolate certainly won’t ruin your diet and will allow you to satisfy your sweet tooth.
These are the smart foods to keep at home, or in your bag, to deal with hunger pangs and not ruin the results obtained with diet and workout. But, let’s face it, very often we don’t eat out of hunger but out of boredom or nervousness.
Dealing with nervous hunger
Prevent hunger attacks.
In addition to eating well, it is very important to train consistently. This is because doing sport, in addition to containing the damage of hunger attacks:
- releases endorphins,
- it makes you feel good,
- it allows you to release anger and tension
- increases self-esteem.
A true ally against nervous hunger! There’s no need to overdo hours and hours of training, choose which workout is best for you with our workout test and have fun while you train!
Despite all your efforts, hunger pangs will still occur. Especially when linked to emotions and not physical hunger. Try to face them calmly without blaming yourself for any failures. Learn to distinguish physical hunger from that due to sadness or nervousness.
When an attack of emotional hunger occurs, try to think that there is no food in the world that can console you and, indeed, that you will feel worse afterwards. This also takes time and training. However, if you see that you are not able to face and manage the situation alone, do not hesitate to ask for competent help, you deserve it!
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