Let’s address the elephant in the room: If you’re in a calorie deficit, you might feel hunger at some point. That’s just part of the deal with fat loss.
The key isn’t avoiding it, it’s learning how to minimize and manage it so it doesn’t derail you.
The difference between successful and failed diets rarely comes down to willpower. It comes down to managing hunger when it comes up so you can stay consistent.
Feeling hungry and frustrated? Here are five ways to handle it without throwing in the towel.
Before we get into the strategies, here’s the deal. Your body doesn’t care that you’re trying to lean out for summer. When you’re in a calorie deficit, your body doesn’t think, ‘fat loss goal’. It thinks, ‘are we running out of food?’
In response to the perceived threat, it ramps up hunger (ghrelin) and lowers fullness signals (leptin) to get you eating again and feeling safe. That’s not you lacking willpower—that’s just biology doing its thing.
Your biology is literally fighting against you.
But with the right approach, you can work with your body instead of against it. Here’s how.
A big mistake we see with new clients is creating too large of a calorie deficit. They think “if cutting 300 calories helps me lose weight, cutting 800 will help me lose weight faster!”
Quick fix? Maybe. Long-term success? Not a chance.
When you slash calories too dramatically, your hunger signals go into overdrive. Your body thinks there’s a famine and responds accordingly. This makes the diet miserable and unsustainable.
Here’s what works better:
Aim for a weight loss rate of about 1 pound per week (0.5-1% of body weight). Research shows this pace allows for fat loss while minimizing muscle loss and hunger.
For most people, this means a moderate deficit of 300-500 calories per day below maintenance.
How do you know if your deficit is too aggressive? Warning signs include:
If you’re experiencing several of these, consider easing back on your deficit. A slower, more sustainable approach is better than rapid weight loss followed by rapid weight regain.
If there’s one nutritional strategy that gives you the most bang for your buck during a fat loss phase, it’s increasing your protein intake.
Protein is more satiating per calorie than carbs or fats. It requires more energy to digest and helps preserve lean muscle, which is crucial for maintaining your metabolic rate during a deficit.
Here’s what works:
Aim for 0.7-1g of protein per pound of body weight daily. For a 170-pound person, that’s about 120-170g of protein.
This might seem like a lot, but here’s how to make it practical:
Volume eating is a game-changer during a fat loss phase. Fiber-rich foods allow you to eat a larger volume of food without overshooting your calories.
Fiber slows digestion, stabilizes blood sugar, and keeps you feeling full longer. But many people fall short of the recommended 25-35g per day.
Easy ways to increase fiber:
If you’re shorting yourself on sleep, you’re making hunger management much harder than it needs to be.
Research shows that even one night of poor sleep can:
This isn’t just anecdotal. A 2010 study found that sleep-deprived people eat an average of 300 more calories per day than well-rested people. That’s enough to completely negate your calorie deficit.
Sleep hygiene practices that help:
If you’ve had a poor night’s sleep, be extra vigilant about your food choices the next day. Have your meals planned in advance and stick to your routine as much as possible.
Cardio can be a valuable tool for fat loss, but more isn’t always better. Excessive cardio can actually increase hunger and make your diet harder to sustain.
This happens for a few reasons:
The smart approach to cardio:
Walking is the unsung hero of fat loss. It’s low impact, low stress, and doesn’t dramatically increase hunger. Aim for 8,000-10,000 steps per day as your baseline.
If you enjoy more intense cardio, keep sessions focused and relatively brief (20-30 minutes). Balance high-intensity sessions with recovery days focused on walking.
Many of our most successful clients primarily use weight training (2-4 sessions weekly) with daily walking and minimal traditional cardio.
Your environment plays a huge role in managing hunger. Simple changes include:
Fat loss doesn’t have to be miserable. While some hunger may come up, it shouldn’t dominate your day or make you feel out of control around food.
By implementing these strategies, you can create a sustainable approach that works with your biology instead of against it. This means better results that actually last.
And if that’s something you want help with — building a plan that works for you, your goals, and your real life — that’s exactly what we do at Born Fitness.
Our online coaching is built to help you lose fat (without losing your mind) by giving you personalized guidance, accountability, and support every step of the way.
If that sounds like the kind of help you’ve been missing, you can apply here to see if we’re a good fit.
The post 5 No-Nonsense Ways to Manage Hunger During a Fat Loss Phase appeared first on Born Fitness.
