I am new here and really happy to have found this place.
I am currently on diet meds and doing lo-cal. I lost 5 lbs last week.
My problem is the night time munchies and honestly munchies in general.
I never feel full.
I am trying to stay under 900 a day, which is not much I know.
I am begining to think if I ate more during the day that might help?
What do you guys eat that is filling and lo-cal?
Fruit does not do it for me and yogurt is not very filling.
Thanks for any tips!
Jen
Yes, please eat more during the day. You are in danger of slowing your metabolism down, making it difficult to lose weight and very difficult to keep any weight you lose off.
I lost weight successfully at 1500 calories and later at 1800 calories. I ate about every 2 hours and concentrated on eating whole foods which were high in nutritional value. I was never hungry and had no issues with binging or night time snacking.
I started maintaining last March and have been successful, which I consider the real, lasting victory. Losing weight is hard, keeping weight off is harder. I think I was successful because I considered the long term impact of what losing weight - making sure I ate enough, making sure I didn't damage my metabolism.
Typical day (from my food journal):
B - egg, whole wheat tortilla, spinach, salsa roll up, cup of blueberries
S - 1/2 cup low fat pineapple cottage cheese
S - big tupperware container of watermelon
L - Big romaine lettuce salad, turkey, tomato, onion, cucumber, pepperocini, thai peanut dressing on the side
S - tall non fat sugar free vanilla latte
S - orange
S- 1/2 cup tofu dill dip, grape tomatoes, zuchi, carrots and orange peppers
D - 3 soft veggie tacos, whole wheat tortillas, diced tomato, spinach leaves, black olives, a little low fat cheese, side of black beans, tons of salsa
900 calories?! May I ask where you got that number--what made you decide to stay below 900 each day? Unless under the supervision and guidance of a doctor, it is not recommended that you go below 1200 a day. This is not only for weight loss purposes but for health in general. At less than 1200 calories a day, you risk messing up your metabolism and getting too few nutrients, which can cause thinning hair, brittle and/or yellow nails, unhealthy skin, and tons of other bad stuff on your insides. If you're overweight, you should actually probably have MORE than 1200 calories a day since that is the minimum, and an overweight body naturally burns more calories than a "normal" weight one since it takes more effort to move the extra weight.
I am basically a calorie counter also, and I try to stay below 2000 calories a day. I realize I will have to lower this once my weight loss plateaus and I am at a lower weight, but I don't ever anticipate having to go below 1400-1500 a day. It's no wonder you've got the munchies on so little sustinence!
They say protein fills you for longer, so suggestions might be cottage cheese, nuts, beans, chicken, sandwich meat...also veggies for fiber. I agree that fruit doesn't last long--I can eat an apple and be hungry again in 10 minutes But if instead of an apple, I have a whole-wheat English muffin (whole-grain carbs) with natural peanut butter (protein) and banana slices on top (fruit), I literally feel full for hours.
Your body is likely hungry for a reason--it is smart enough to know that it probably needs more fuel. I suggest increasing your calories by adding as many unprocessed foods as possible (think the outside isles of the grocery store--fruit, veggies, lean meats, and healthy dairy). Good luck!
Jen -- If you don't mind my asking, what's your current weight, and do you get much exercise? Both can be factors in how many calories you can eat and lose weight in a healthy manner.
I agree with all the other posters: you probably aren't eating enough, especially if you are not being supervised by a doctor to get enough nutrients. Go back and read Jill's post again for some reasons why it can be bad to eat so little.
When we decide to lose weight of course we want it all gone at once. But you didn't gain it in a month, you won't lose it in a month. I would ask this: do you want to be HEALTHY? You are likely to actually LOSE the weight and KEEP it off, and be healthier if you take a healthy approach to weight loss that will better allow you to keep the weight off after you lose it.
for the replies. 900 Calories was the amount given to me by the Dr.
I do not think it's much either, in fact, I think it is just going to set me up for cheating.
Several woman at work have lost a lot on 800 calories.
I am going to eat m y oatmeal for breakfast and Lean Cuisine for lunch.
Dinner will probably be another Lean Cuisine........believe it or not I really like them!
I know the trouble is going to start after 7:00 tonight.
Thank you all so much!
Jen
for the replies. 900 Calories was the amount given to me by the Dr.
I do not think it's much either, in fact, I think it is just going to set me up for cheating.
Several woman at work have lost a lot on 800 calories.
I am going to eat m y oatmeal for breakfast and Lean Cuisine for lunch.
Dinner will probably be another Lean Cuisine........believe it or not I really like them!
I know the trouble is going to start after 7:00 tonight.
Thank you all so much!
Jen
Well... if your doctor is set on you eating 900 calories, then try and save yourself some calorie room for night time. I eat late at night every night. I always have. I just make sure whatever I want is counted in with my calories for the day.
I love Lean Cuisines too, by the way. Many people don't because they say it's not good to eat processed and packaged foods, but poo, I could be eating a lot worse. And besides, they help me control my calories.
Let's see, 2 Lean Cuisines are approx. 600 calories, depending on which ones you eat. So that leaves you with 300. Maybe instead of oatmeal every morning, try eating 2 or 3 scrambled egg whites (no yolks). Very low in calories, high in protein, and you might be able to squeeze in a late night snack
How about adding in some vegetables, especially with dinner at night? steamed asperagus or brocoli in broth helps with adding flavor.
did you ask your doctor WHY only 900 calories? Is he/she an obesity specialist? or is this from a special program. How much energy can you have to exercise if you're always hungry?
I also agree that 900 is low and would suggest that you talk to your doctor again. It is very likely that you could lose weight at a healthy rate with significantly more calories.
BUT...
Another thing to consider (once you get find and adequate calorie level for your weight and lifestyle) is that you aren't actually supposed to always feel FULL. You should be satisfied and you should not be hungry, but you shouldn't feel full either. In my opinion, one of the biggest hurdles overweight people (myself included) face is redefining what being hungry feels like. More often than not what we call hunger is the sensation we have once we don't feel stuffed anymore. There is a balance between the two but it takes eating slowly and really paying attention to how you feel thoughout the meal to find it.
Munchies are hard to curb, at least for me. It's almost like a habit because I can see it happening when I'm bored or just start thinking about something yummy. However, as everyone else mentioned, 900 calories a day is really very low, I know I'd be ravenous by the end of the day. Maybe snack on an individual serving of sugar-free pudding (60 calories). That's been my saving grace when the snack attack happens. Good luck!!
I have been trying a new approach to the dieting thing. I am a South Beach Phase 2 dropout - reintroducing some foods led to bingeing on a few bad things here and there and now I weigh more than I did pre-SB! So, right now I have started a food/excerise journal to list what I eat and any acitivity I have done throughout the day. I feel like the diary is a big motivator for me, and also keeps me accountable for what I do.
As for my eating habits, I have started paying attention to portions. When I go out to eat, I try to get something healthy, but whatever I order, I will halve the meal and tell the server to put one half in a box.
I make sure I drink lots of water all day long. Some days, this is harder to do than others, but I remind myself that I am flushing my system of bad stuff.
I am still trying to follow some of the SB diet in terms of proteins and "good carbs", but I am also now looking for low salt/low fat/low cal things as well.
Snacks for me include 2% string cheese sticks or 2% cheddar cheese cubes, pistachios, almonds, peanuts, whole wheat or whole grain crackers with cheese spread (can you tell I love cheese?), veggies with a light dip of some kind.
I no longer eat any white breads or white flour tortillas, most everything I buy is whole wheat or whole grain. I also use Splenda in place of sugars and use ICBINB instead of my usual Country Crock. I buy turkey bacon instead of regular, and most of the time, I buy turkey meat instead of ground beef.
Here is where the weird part is - I don't eat chocolate or sweets or potato chips or any other junk foods like that - never have, except once in a blue moon and even then, not much. So, you'd think I would be a skinny little thing. But I'm not.
I am 26 years old, I stand at 5'3" and weigh 160 lbs. I have gained approximately 10 pounds a year over the last 4 years and I hate it. I am not a morning person, so I usually TRY to get in at least 30 mins on my eliptical machine after work each night, but I don't think that is enough. I would like to lose at least 40 lbs. and then would weigh the same as I did when I graduated high school.
Several woman at work have lost a lot on 800 calories.
I could probably lose a lot of weight quickly if I cut off my leg, but that doesn't mean it's a good, safe, healthy or effective way to lose weight.
Did they lose weight and keep it off?
I'm 36 years old. I spent nearly 20 years being overweight, dieting, starving myself, losing weight, gaining it back. Posts like yours strike a chord with me because I was there, I did that. I starved myself, I lost weight, I could never keep it off, I gained it all back and more. I started "dieting" when I weighed 150 lbs or so, dieting eventually got me to 192 lbs as I would lose weight, destroy my metabolism, gain weight and gain MORE weight, a terrible terrible cycle. I would be "perfect" for weeks, and then binge and hate myself. Hate myself for being weak..
I really wish for a time machine, to go back to that old me that wanted to lose weight NOW NOW NOW at any cost and explain what terrible things I was doing. Tell me it wasn't going to work, I would make myself miserable. My hair fell out, I once regained weight so quickly I left permanent stretch marks on my belly (a daily reminder of what short-sightedness).
I now realize that it wasn't a matter of lack of will power that would make me binge and fail - it was starvation. I understand what my body was doing and I can't blame it for trying to save me from my own stupidity. This time, I worked WITH my body, I wanted to be thin but I wanted to be HEALTHY, I wanted to love my body.
I know I sound like an evangelical freak. I feel like I learned something, something that I thought for 20 years was impossible, that I thought was the hardest thing, that I couldn't do it, that I was weak and a failure and "big boned" and genetically destined to be fat, I might as well accept being heavy - NONE of that was true. It wasn't hard, it was easy for me. I have thin, tiny bones. I don't have to be heavy like my dad is heavy.
There's no trick, there's no quick way. Starving wasn't the answer. When I quit starving, I started succeeding.
I just feel for you when you post like that, I was you.
Here is where the weird part is - I don't eat chocolate or sweets or potato chips or any other junk foods like that - never have, except once in a blue moon and even then, not much. So, you'd think I would be a skinny little thing. But I'm not.
I hate to break it to you, but that's not really all that weird. The problem is that no matter WHAT you eat (be it nothing but fruits and veggies or nothing but soda and ice cream), it's how many calories you consume vs. how many calories you burn. Have you tried keeping a journal if everything you eat and how many calories are in your food (you can use FitDay.com online for free to do this if you don't want to actually write everything out)? I would start with that and then see what your numbers look like.
Yes, I am currently keeping a food journal, and I did start out keeping track of the calories and fat content, but then I went to a small party at my father's house and the finger foods there were pretty OK for me to eat (veggies, cheeses, lean meats) but I had no way of knowing the numbers for them. So the last few days, I haven't been writing down the stats for my food, just the amounts that I eat.
I also do know that to lose weight, you have to burn more than you eat, but if you are trying to eat at least 1000 - 1200 calories, I don't see how on earth I can possibly burn that many calories unless I worked out from the time I got home until the time I went to bed???? All I have is an elliptical machine, I don't have any workout tapes or anything and walking after dark in my neighborhood is not an option, unfortunately.....
Help!!!!!
But if instead of an apple, I have a whole-wheat English muffin (whole-grain carbs) with natural peanut butter (protein) and banana slices on top (fruit), I literally feel full for hours. 
Hi guys, I am new to this site as well....
