GigaMachiavelli
Iron
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- Jul 24, 2022
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I'm gonna throw some good strategies to reduce hunger while cutting.
This strategies work for any cutting phase but they're more efficient on low body fat percent goals.
They are just tools, always remember your TDEE (calories out -calories in) is more important when you are trying to lose weight.
This strategies work for any cutting phase but they're more efficient on low body fat percent goals.
They are just tools, always remember your TDEE (calories out -calories in) is more important when you are trying to lose weight.
1) High volume low calorie foods
As an example the differences between 200 calories from junk food vs vegetables is amazing:
If you already have some experience counting calories, this'll be sound very obvious. Anyways, there still some food that you should avoid or reducing the consumption temporarily on a cutting phase. The goal here is to eat less calorie dense foods that occupy more stomach volume, this allows your stomach to expand sending a signal of satiety to your nervous system.
FATS < JUNK FOOD < FATTY MEAT < LEAN MEAT AND WHOLE GRAINS < FRUIT < VEGGIES
In short you must sacrifice low volume foods specially those high in fats (yes, it includes healthy fats, REMEMBER YOU'RE NOT GOING TO ELIMINATED FATS AT ALL, JUST KEEP THEM AS MINIMUM AS POSSIBLE FOR A SHORT TERM) and sugars, to allocate more high volume foods as lean proteins, vegetables and fruits.
2) Food palatially reward hypothesis
TL;DR
When food is tasty, we tend to want to eat more of it. Conversely, when food is bland or boring, we tend to have less desire for it. Limiting or avoiding highly palatable foods (consuming lower-palatability ones) can make fat loss diet adherence easier and more likely. It is much harder to overeat broccoli and chicken than it is pizza or cheesecake. Even a very tasty sauce on your diet lunch might leave you wanting more, whereas finishing the unseasoned version could leave you feeling full.
Palatability index examples:
Low - vegetables, plain oatmeal, plain potatoes
Moderate - whole grains, pasta, rice, beans
High - French fires, ice cream
Very high - Chips, cookies, candy bars, cakes
In short your meals should look more like the left and less like the right:
Please avoid "alternative fitness recipes" too, they are going to do your phase just more miserable. Don't fall for the normie meme "dieting shouldn't be boring". The only fun part about dieting while cutting is looking shredded.
3) Increase protein intake
Aim for 1 g per lb of body wight as minimum or 1.5 g per lb of body weight as maximum, this allows you to allocate more calories from other sources of macro-nutrients (carbs and fats) that are still necessary for your body. It is still likely that the molecular structure of certain proteins has an impact on satiety, they have been shown to have substantial anti-hunger effects.
Fats should be cut before carbs for satiety purposes, as well as for energy maintenance and recovery. Carbohydrates are not as satiating as protein on average, but are more satiating than fats. Fats are highly calorie-dense and highly palatable––they take up less space in the stomach and their tastiness can initiate cravings.
...
Or you can just go to carnivore diet.
4) Nutrient timing
Ideally, you should eat between 4-6 a day to optimize protein synthesis. This is something that is up to you and your preference, if your hunger predictably sways in certain ways throughout the day, you can construct your nutrient timing around it to some extent by altering meal times and sizes. Let's say as an example you wake up in the morning without hunger, so you can just skip breakfast or have a small meal and allocate most food at evening/night.
4 meals spread out every 2-5 hours is a good point, it allows you to eat a good amount of food to keep you satiated. On every meal keep the same grams of protein. For carbs keep them the most around your gym sessions. And for fats keep them most away your gym sessions.
There is intermittent fasting too but it is not the most optimal way to do it, yes, it works but as long as you adjust it to your TDEE, and no, it does not make you burn more fat, but anyway if it adheres better to you and allows you to feel less hungry, go ahead, but at least I would have a pre-workout meal and another post-workout meal for performance reasons.
5) Eat higher fiber foods
The higher the fiber content in a food item the more it suppresses hunger.
For example, chicken breast with white rice on the side might keep you full for a couple hours whereas chicken breast with with fruits and veggies in place of rice is likely to keep your hunger low for even longer.
6) Reduce liquid calories
Liquid calories are easy to consume in large amounts without getting very full and should be avoided when on a fat loss diet.
7) Drink calorie free fluids before meals
Drinking fluids before/after eating stretches your stomach and increases fullness signals even before you have started eating.
Bonus 1: Drinking water after a high fiber meal is going to make you more fullness because fiber absorbs water.
Bonus 2: Cook veggie soups.
8) Caffeine
Caffeine is an appetite suppressant and so can actively reduce your hunger throughout the day. The advantage is it gives you more energy = more calories to burn. The disadvantage is if you take at late day your sleep schedule is going to go to shit, so keep your last dose of caffeine before 12:00.
It would be wise to cycle it or as alternative start with a low dose and increase over time in your last moments of the definition phase when hunger strikes.
*start form 100 mg, end up to 500 mg.
9) Take your time
Sit down eat slow take and as many bites as possible, make sure you are not stressed and no distractions.
Cut on good times.
FINAL COMMENTS
These strategies should be your last resort. Apply each point over time and your hunger level, you don't have to follow each point at once. Remember: they are temporary strategies, once you achieve your goal you can go back to following a 'normie' diet.
