we've all discussed that we should think of food as fuel, nourishment etc... not comfort or rewards etc. i just realized that i like feeling full!!! i think this is going to be one of my main problems.

there are some really smart people on this board so i need some words of wisdom. LOL

I wish that I had some wisdom to pass on to you, but I don't have much to offer. I know that drinking water before I eat really makes me feel more full. I always have a one quart water bottle and drink one of those before eating and that really helps.

The problem for me is that I can eat and eat and eat and eat some more and not really feel full. It's like I'm a bottomless pit. I don't know how to change that either.

I have a problem figuring out the difference between feeling "satisfied" and feeling "full". For example, in the bad old days I'd go to a buffet and eat a plateful of food and know I'd satisfied my hunger, yet I wouldn't stop there and would head back until I felt "full" (in other words, that feeling where you can't possibly stuff another bite in). So, what kept me from ending my meal at the "satisfied" phase? I have several theories, but haven't found the complete answer yet or how to deal with what I HAVE learned.

Even now, I can eat a proper, healthy, well-balanced and substantial meal and feel satisfied, yet not full and have to fight the urge to continue eating. A big part of the last year has been learning to stop at that point of satisfaction and not keep eating to reach fullness (at which point I usually feel bloated and uncomfortable in any event).

That's funny mthrgoos, I've often referred to myself as the bottomless pit. I keep hearing about how your stomach shrinks when you've lost a lot of weight and you can't eat the way you used to, so last Christmas (a freedom day) I figured I wouldn't be capable of overeating terribly. So much for that idea!

Oh, boy, do I relate to that! I tried a stint -- about six months -- on a very low fat vegetarian diet. No calorie counting, really. Just lots of grains and beans and veggies and fruit and lowfat milk products. No added fats or oils of any kind. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted within those restrictions. I felt like I was eating all the time, and never felt satisfied. Now I'm not on such a strict food regimen, but I learned a lot while doing it.

These are the things that help me feel fuller longer:

• I eat protein with every meal and snack, even if it's just a glass of skim milk. It helps keep that "satisfied" feeling longer. Sometimes when I walk through the door feeling like I'll eat anything I can catch, the first thing I do is open "my" container of cottage cheese and eat a couple of spoonsful. That shot of protein really helps curb the appetite so I can make healthy dinner choices.
  
• I 'm not as afraid of fats as I used to be. My fat percentage hovers around 30-35 percent. For someone who once worked to keep it around 10 percent (Pritikin-style), that's pretty good. Sometimes, a spoonful of good peanut butter will satisfy my late night cravings.
  
• I drink a lot. Water, tea, coffee, diet soda. Anything without sugar. I don't worry about caffeine, but some people do. I like teas, so I have fancy flavored teas with strong aromas to help me relax in the evening.
  
• I try to choose whole grains over refined ones, and avoid high-sugar foods. I think they can TRIGGER hunger cravings. Not a scientific theory, but that's how my body works. Whole grains seem to satisfy me longer.
  
• I plan low-calorie snacks that will fill me up. Popcorn is a good one. Baked tortilla chips or pretzels with a good chunky salsa is another. A big salad with lots of veggies is always good, too. A sprinkle of crumbled blue cheese adds quite a kick of flavor.
  
• I try to keep myself busy in the evening. Through my hunger analysis I've realized that much of my evening eating was through boredom. I wasn't aware of what I was eating. I just ate.
  
• I try to practice mindful eating. Instead of just inhaling my food, I really try to focus on what I'm eating -- the texture, smell, blend, taste, temperature of the food. That way I KNOW I've eaten something, and I feel satisfied longer. (It's a mental thing, but it really does seem to work for me.)

I hope you find some ideas that'll work for you.

Jillegal, You know, I've been thinking the same thing. I've lost all this weight, so surely my stomach is smaller, so I SHOULDN'T be able to eat as much as I used to, but I definitely can. On the days when I've decided to have an off day, I can eat just as much as I ever could. That's kind of disappointing because I was really hoping not to be able to eat as much, but if I let myself, then I really can.

I guess that proves that it's really a mental thing. I eat my Lean Cuisine meal for dinner, and I know that I'm satisfied, and I've had enough to eat, but I also know that if I let myself, I could sit down and eat a whole meal plus dessert.

Synger, thanks for all the great ideas and suggestions. You've always got great input and ideas.

It was interesting to me, how I could eat lots of "bad" stuff (cookies, candy, chips) before feeling full, but when eating healthy things it didn't take as much to fill me up. (Maybe it was a mental thing, because the "bad" stuff was comfort food, and I guess maybe I was eating until I had comforted myself.)

Gayle

Jkla - I don't know if this will help but in my own personal struggle, I found that the feeling of hunger was a rare feeling. I mean, I would eat enough at one meal that I wasn't REALLY hungry at the next one but I'd eat anyway and then, I was really stuffed but there were brownies, so I ate those and that would keep me full until breakfast when the cycle started over again. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, I started loving the feeling of hunger. Hunger meant that I ate just enough to get me to the next meal and that now my body was ready for some fuel. It also was a good sign that I hadn't cheated and found some oreos. Now, I get excited when my stomach growls (now, that is NOT saying that I put off eating so I can listen to my stomach growl for awhile, I mean if I don't eat, I get grumpy!).

I know this sounds silly but I'm really bad at measuring fullness and hunger. From all the years of overeating, "satisfied" and bust-a-gut "full" were very similar words and I've been trying to retrain my brain. So, hunger is a new measuring device to me. Like, "Oh yeah, I'm physically hunger, not just emotionally hungry or boredom hungry or diversionary hungry. I'm honestly hungry!"

Hope I didn't go on too much!

Oh Jessica, you said it so perfectly! Hunger is one of those new things that I'm trying to get into.

One thing I discovered -- for me -- I can exercise for a couple of hours first thing in the morning and then go food shopping, and I'm fine.
But if I have a small breakfast before I start to exercise (like .5 cup cottage cheese and 1 TBL sunflower seeds), I'm light-headed and starving by the time I finish.
I'm one of those people whose stomach takes a couple of hours to wake up. If I eat after I've been awake for a few hours, I'm fine. Who knew?

someone just needs to come shopping with me!! here lately, i'd say the past couple weeks i have been eating really good.. or what i think is good. i'm even fixing healthier meals for the kids and making sure they get veggies and milk....

for some reason i'm just missing something. i just can't get satisfied. i tried the drinking water before and during eating but it doesn't work for me. it doesn't stick with me. i try to do the wait til my stomach growls for a little bit thing but i start getting sick which is weird because in junior high and high school i had an eating disorder. i hardly ever ate and it didn't make me sick not to.

but i'm glad i'm figuring these things out now and getting opinions from you guys. i'm going to print all these out to stick in my folder. thanks!!

Are you getting enough protein? Post some of your meal plans for us to tear apart... errr... I mean, anaylize.