Weight Loss

Hi everyone...

I'm having a lot of trouble with my caloric intake i think....i constantly feel like i'm hungry....and like i need to eat.....but i'm very concious of the calorie counter and trying to make sure i'm within a certain range, and outputing the neccesary enrgy, via phsycal acitvity. (i'm not working out hard enough to be exerting the amount of calories i put it, so its not like i'm working it off and i need to be eating more becasue i need more energy.)  I am REALLY trying to eat healthy whole foods...but i still can't seem to feel full.

What are some good foods that will help to make me feel fuller, longer?

Oatmeal has made a huge difference for me. Not knowing your stats, I can't say much, but I know that eating a full cup every morning for breakfast keeps me satisfied for a long time. It's about 300 cals if you eat it plain, as I do. Others add cinnimon and other things. They probably only eat 1/2 cup, so the cals might stay about the same or less, depending on what you add.

I will also eat a whole cucumber in the evening if I'm hungry. Very few cals and very filling. Same with tuna packed in water. I like these foods, so they work for me.

Good luck.

More veggies are a good thing. You can roast an entire eggplant in the oven, circle-slices style, with marinara sauce on top, and it is about 250 calories.

I try not to skip the yummy things altogether, just to use less of them. If I sprinkle like a tablespoon of mozzarella on only TWO of those eggplant slices, adding about 40 cals, and then eating the cheesey ones first and last, I don't feel so deprived.

I put a tablespoon of parmesan on a lot of my dinners. I just cook up a ton of veggies and a serving of whole wheat pasta. The parmesan turns it from diet food into regular food, for 20 cals.

I think that too many people start "watching what they eat" and start having boring unsatisfying food, like half a turkey sandwich on wheat bread every day for lunch.

Avoid fake sweeteners. They trick your blood sugar system into thinking you need food when you don't. Especially avoid diet sodas on an empty stomach. I think this probably differs from person to person (every time you hate on diet coke on here someone chimes in going "Hey I lost 900 pounds and I drank four gallons of diet coke a day!"), but if you are having trouble with hunger feelings, this is something to try. I used to have a 2pm diet coke and it usually turned me into a 3pm raving hungry beast. It took an embarrassingly long time to make the connection.

Also, if you can grit your teeth and stick with it, ignoring the hungries for a couple of weeks, your body will probably adjust and stop craving so much food.

Good luck!

It may not be the food you're eating that's the problem. Maybe your eating schedule is just not right. I have a pretty low calorie goal of 1200. It's pretty hard for me to make it through the day on just 3 meals of 400 calories each. No matter the quality of the food I eat, I still feel like I'm starving most of the time. What helps me is to eat several smaller meals more frequently. I eat a piece of fruit when I wake up, say 50 calories. At 11am I eat a small meal, say 350 calories. At 2pm, I eat a large snack, 200 calories. At 7pm, I eat dinner, 400-600 calories. At 9pm, I eat a small snack, 50-100 calories.

Quality of food definitely matters, though. Carbs will not keep you full and happy. Protein-rich foods will. Be conscious of your eating schedule, in addition to what you eat, and you will feel a ton better!

NEVER ever skip breakfast, not only that, try to make it as big as possible (today i had an everything bagel, cream cheese, frosted mini wheats in milk with blueberries, cranberry juice, and some cinnamon sugar rice cakes) I am allowed to have a lot of cals though I am a big growing boy. When i eat a big breakfast i don't even feel that hungry by the time lunch rolls around but i eat anyway. DON'T forget the sides, if you are going to eat a sandwich find two vegetable sides(corn and broccoli for example) that you like. You can have a lot for not a lot of calories. That is crucial, when you don't have sides you are bound to eat more of the high calorie main dish. Plus if you really hate vegetables there are always things you can put on them to make them tastier. I go by the 3 square meal, 2-3 snack plan. This really works for me, sometimes i have to fight just to get to my calories level...try it.

Some foods:green beans, oatmeal, cereal, pasta,broccoli, lettuce, breads, mushrooms, snow peas, eggs, spinach, blueberries...

I love oatmeal too, make steel cut oats every morning. I think it's delicious.

I also love a roasted sweet potato plain. Greek yogurt 0% with berries and honey. good luck!

Make sure you're getting enough protein & fat! Carbohydrates give your body a rush of energy, but after your insulin levels spike & then plummet your body gets signals to refuel. Protein, fat, vegetables & some fruits (avocados, berries etc) feed your body without causing the insulin rollercoaster.

A fun experiment that I use is to use a blood sugar moniter. You can buy one at a pharmacy. If you're not squemish, it's a great way to learn how the foods you eat affect your system. You might figure out that certain foods, even though they are "healthy," do not serve your body the way you intend. It's also a good way to tell if your body is really hungry or just bored. For instance if your blood sugar is good to go but all you want to do is hang out in the kitchen, then you are probably trying to fill another void.

Increase your protein & if you eat high GI refined carbs (carbs other than vegetables) make sure you eat them with fat to lessen the blow.

 

I second the eating schedule. I too am only eating 1200-1500 cals a day. I space out my eating so I don't go too long and get super hungry. I also go through a ton of veggies...I visit the neighborhood veggie stand like 3 times a week. Something that really fills me up is scrambled eggs mixed with grilled onions and zucchini. Then I add Franks hot sauce. Yummy.

In between food, get your drink on and have plenty of water or iced tea. Or keep yourself really busy. Get your mind off food and go window shopping or work on your family tree or something. Me, I have some gift cards left from Christmas and I've been redeeming them a little at a time and it keeps me busy...my local spa, and JCPenney.

Hi! I'm new to this site, and I love it! I'm not new to dieting, or "healthy eating" rather, but I recently had surgery and had to skip the gym for 3 months! Ouch! Not to mention that I was off work that entire time and ate like crap...SO.....here I am 10 pounds heavier and now I really am on a DIET...LoL

 

So I recently discovered La Tortilla Factory "Smart and Delicious" Low Carb, High Fiber Whole Wheat Tortillas....and let me tell you, they are fabulous! The smaller size is just 50 calories, with 7 grams of fiber! The bigger ones are 80 calories, with 12 grams of fiber! Crazy! So I've had breakfast burritos with scrambled egg whites, reduced fat cheddar cheese, sometimes ham, and salsa (yum) and all that food is VERY filling at only 200 to 250 calories....

 

For lunch, I've had them warmed up with mustard, or today I tried a cold wrap with turkey(deli fresh sandwich meat), fat free mayo, mustard, reduced fat provolone cheese, spinach leaves, tomato slices, and red onion.  It was seriously tastier than any wrap I've ever bought out somewhere, and I am stuffed! Plus, I use the smaller size tortilla. You have to try these things, you can find them at Safeway.

 

I also eat the high fiber Weight Control (banana bread) instant oatmeal, or Fiber One Cereal (raisin bran is great) with a small banana and nonfat milk.  Anything with lots of fiber will keep you full longer.  I recently started snacking on apples with Jif reduced fat peanut butter. It is so yummy.  Also, in between meals I might have a Slim Fast Chocolate Royale shake. At 190 calories, it supplies vitamins, protein and fiber, and it will hold you over for at least a few hours.  Jolly Time has a 100 calorie kettle corn that is just awesome as well, and filling for a while. My recommended caloric intake is 1400 a day, and I must tell you that I have a hard time fitting all those calories in!  I do eat every two hours or so, I just eat smarter at meal times, keeping the calories at 200-300, so that I can save more for snacking! It can be done! I eat 3 servings of fruit each day, and try to eat 2 to 3 vegetables as well. Fiber One also has a great high fiber yogurt, and when I do run out of calorie allowances, I fill up on sugar-free jello (only 10 calories!!!)

 

Good luck! 

How long have you been cutting your calories? When I first started cutting my calories I noticed I was hungry constantly! I don't remember how long it took (maybe a week) and I started being satisfied on fewer calories!

Sugar and caffeine makes me hungrier so I avoid them.

Always eat protein with every meal or snack!

Good luck! It will get easier! 

i love peaches, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli and sweet corn. They are so good but so low in calories. (not to mention that they're in season too!). I usually steam my broccoli and sweet corn. :3 they all leave me satisfied for pretty long. melons, grapefruits, banana and avocado are also pretty great stuff. :3