How to Control, Ignore, or Suppress Your Hunger and Lose Weight

***DISCLAIMER*** I, gamergirl, am a curvy person. At five foot six and a half inches tall, I weighed in recently at just a hair over one hundred seventy pounds. 18 months ago, I weighed over 300 pounds. Using the tips in this hub, and with sporadic exercise, I have lost roughly 130 pounds.

I was a heavy snacker and a person who ate a lot of fatty, fried, or fast foods. Here on this page you will find my top tips for curbing your hunger - TEMPORARILY. Long-term deprivation of nutrients and sustenance to your body can do far more damage than eating that double cheeseburger will. Please do not use the tips I am about to give you for more than a few hours.

I repeat: the advice you are about to read is about temporary solutions to hunger, and not provided by a nutritionist. These tips are based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Use them to pass that last hour before you go home for dinner, or when you have the urge to gorge yourself. If you want to find a "quick fix" to breaking some bad habits, you're in the wrong place.

Let me burst all your bubbles right away so we can get to business.

There are ZERO easy methods to lose weight.

There are no mysteries, no miracle drugs.

There is only the changing of habits and a conscious effort minute-by-minute, day-by-day, and month-by-month to control cravings, hunger and overeating.

Are you still with me? Good.

There are numerous ways to control hunger, to suppress your appetite during the day. We're busy folks these days, fast food chains replace restaurants all over the country in what should be our first warning sign that our eating habits are getting out of control.

So, the next time you're driving past a McDonalds, Sonic, or even Subway, try something from this list to stave off that impulsive craving for food:

Drink water. Most people do not drink enough water to keep the body properly hydrated. If you drink 20 ounces of water a day, you are still drinking more water than a great number of Americans.

Chew gum. The calories you might take in (next to none) from the gum will be spent in the chewing process, keeping your mouth busy and satisfying any underlying urge for shoving food in your gullet.

Talk. Another diversionary tactic that can also help stimulate your mind and help you form deeper bonds with someone. If you're traveling alone, call a friend you haven't talked to in a while and catch up with them.

If you're at the office, at home, or anywhere else outside of your vehicle:

Walk it off. Remind yourself that your next meal comes at (whatever time you generally eat) and keep on moving.

Indulge in a different interest, such as window-shopping in your favorite part of the store, if that is where you are when hunger strikes.

When you're at home and the craving strikes, do an errand you've been putting off for a while and tell yourself, you can go check the fridge after you're done. Then, if you're still hungry by the time you've done that errand, reward yourself with some ice-cold water. Ha! I tricked you! (Drinking water is one of my favorite solutions, because frankly I don't drink enough of it, which means neither do you, tubby.)

So, let's recap here.

When you get hungry, look at the clock. When do you *normally* eat your next meal? Are you overdue for your normal mealtime?

When in doubt, DRINK MORE WATER. You cannot overdose on water, your body needs it, and aside from helping to give a short-term break from hunger, drinking enough water every day will actually help you have more beautiful hair, skin and assist your digestive processes... HELPING YOU LOSE WEIGHT!

Fresh fruit is a good substitute for those chocolates, chips or candies.

Be social! Interact with your fellow man. Form more solid bonds with those around you. Enrich your life through conversation, not high sugars and super processed corn syrups.

Be more physically active. Sometimes physical activity can take your mind off that rich treat, that greasy snack, or even that Starbucks drink you love so much.

Be thinking about it. Maintaining your weight takes effort. Losing weight takes even more effort. You're not just fighting the laziness of your body, you're battling hard-coded mental patterns that YOU created.

And please.. I'll say this one more time.. please please please do not starve yourself. If you feel like you need to lose weight, do research, be proactive about it, talk to your health care professional and make healthy choices.

What has worked for me:

A more effective weight loss or weight control strategy for me has been a twofold process. First, I needed to tackle the foods I ate.

My first goal was to reduce my individual portion size and completely eliminate snacking. Frequently, we use snacking to carry ourselves over until our proper meal, but if you aren't careful, you'll find yourself replacing your intended meal with the snacks you've consumed, and typically our snacks aren't as good for us as a solid meal would have been.

The other goal in reducing my portion size was significantly reducing the amount of fried or "convenience" foods I ate. Eating more home-cooked meals means I control the things I'm putting in my body, too.

The only other advice I can give if you are trying to lose weight in a healthy manner is that you need to get up and get active. It is unrealistic to think that if you only change your eating habits you'll lose an incredible amount of weight.

Whether you choose to start walking more, hit the gym, start an exercise plan, or take up a new outdoor activity, adding more activity to your daily routine - by which I mean doing things that get your body moving - will supplement your changes in diet and give your body a reason to use the energy it has stored as fat. Building muscle will help you burn fat, and you can only burn calories by using the energy your body has contained within it.

So, get off your butt, go do something you enjoy. Find something new you can spend your time doing. You'll see results, just like I have. THAT I can guarantee.