When dieting, how do you deal with hunger pangs? One way is to keep reminding yourself about their temporary nature; when you feel hungry, you can try to wait for an hour or so hoping that the pangs will go away by themselves.

Sometimes they do go away, in other cases they do not. Either way, research shows that this method of dealing with hunger pangs may cause muscle loss (which slows down your metabolism) and in some cases, the urge to binge.

A much better strategy is to follow healthy eating patterns by dividing your total daily calories between 5-6 small meals per day. It is not an exact science, so do not worry about consuming an equal amount of calories with each meal.

You can also control hunger pangs by munching on foods that are so low in calories you cannot overindulge. Carrots is one example; you would have to eat more than 15 pounds per day or more just to maintain your weight; and that is not really possible (thank goodness!).

With the exception of avocados, you cannot gain weight from eating vegetables – wait, actually you can, if you add butter, certain dressings or mayonnaise. Incidentally, this is also true for most fruits.

Conclusion: To control hunger pangs, eat unprocessed fruits and vegetables without added fat.