I agree with the suggestions about gum and fruit--those are lifesavers, seriously! Haha. I can't even tell you how many times I've been craving something sweet/chocolatey/totally unhealthy, but I've reached for a stick of gum or an apple or something instead. It's a hard choice to make, but eventually you get into the habit. Also, you'd do well to try to keep your trigger foods (such as cookies, candy, cake mix, etc) out of the house! Sometimes it's hard to do that with your circumstances, but if it's possible, there's no reason for you to keep buying junk... It'll only be around to tempt you! Lol.
If fruit and/or gum just won't do it, as an absolute LAST RESORT there's always 100-calorie packs/portions of your favorite snacks, but for some people it's really hard to stop after just one, so I dunno if that's such a great idea. But personally I'm a complete sucker for anything chocolate/peanut butter, so I confess that these look absolutely deee-lectable to me! Lol. Hungry Girl (my 2nd favorite food/WL website) has tons of suggestions for lower-calorie treats, so maybe you could look around there and see if there's anything you'd like to try. One thing that I'm dying to try are these amazing-looking cacao beans dipped in super-dark chocolate--only 1-2 cals per bean?! Amazing! Haha. I also really want to try some of the chocolatey VitaTops... And Gayle's Miracles... (A yummy chocolate truffle for just 30 cals? What's the catch?)
LOL as you can see, I spend waaay too much time looking at "food porn"! I might order one of these treats as a reward when I hit Onederland, though--just have to decide which one!
Good luck curbing that sweet tooth, woman! I think I've pretty well demonstrated my obsession with chocolate, LOL, so if I can get a handle on my cravings, so can you!
it can be but it doesn't have to be. I think that would be doable for one person. If you like beans and eggs you are in luck! (they are cheap and high in protein) You will need to eat lots of veggies too though.
If you are thinking about it you can check out our board here on 3FC. If you think it looks like something you want to do you can probably find the first book at the library (there are two) it has pretty much everything you need to know and anything else you can learn from the others on the board.
Is being stuffed your goal? - (not to sound snarky, I hope it doesn't come off that way, that is how I talk to myself. )
Do you feel satisfied? - Maybe drink a glass of water. then if you still feel truly hungry, eat something else. I've been snacking on black beans with tomatoes and seasonings a lot lately....
Have you tried tracking your calories on Fit Day or Sparkpeople?
Nooo... not being hungry anymore after a meal is my goal. It just seemed like a lot of food and I figured I'd be more than full by now (stuffed) but I'm not.
Calorie tracking? Kinda hard to do, isn't it? I'll try that out... Thanks...
Last edited by Arthwen1985; 11-07-2008 at 10:58 PM.
Some people have a lot of luck with it. I can't bring myself to do it consistently but sometimes I do it just to make sure I am eating enough and not too much. - You may be eating less than you think or have no idea how many calories you are consuming. - If you are truly hungry then IMO you should eat something. Personally, I just try to make sure it is something I know is good for me and will be satisfying.
I don't think that anyone can say "You should not feel hungry" - what do they know about how you feel? If you tell yourself that you should or should not feel a certain way you are going to make yourself feel bad- for what? If you are truly hungry there is nothing to feel guilty about.
I think Thin4Good raised a really good point--being stuffed shouldn't be your goal, hehe! But also, I think it might be important to mention that if you get into the habit of gradually feeding your body less, you will eventually find that you WILL get fuller, quicker, because you won't be able to eat as much anymore. For example, if I ate that meal now, I'd be feeling very full and satisfied... But a couple months ago, before I started losing weight, I could have eaten a burger, fries, a salad, an appetizer bowl of soup, an apple for dessert, etc--and probably still be hungry. I'm amazed by how little it takes to fill me up now... I go to restaurants that I would frequent before I started my WL and think that I'll be tempted to eat the same huge portions that I always wolfed down before, but I literally need to stop after eating half of a restaurant meal because I feel like I'm going to burst! Hehe. And on the very few occasions that I've ignored my body telling me to stop and gone ahead and waaay overeaten, I've gotten really sick--NOT fun, and definitely enough to motivate me from wanting to do it again. So, although it certainly is difficult to get started with it, over time you will definitely notice a difference in the amount of food that does leave you feeling "stuffed." I definitely noticed a difference within a week or two of changing my eating habits. So c'mon! All you have to do is take the first step, and it all gets easier from there! LOL.
Do you like smoothies? I have found that a high-protein, fairly low calorie smoothie can sometimes fill a sweet craving, especially if you add a sugar substitute to taste. I use erythritol or stevia because they're natural, but if you're not averse to Splenda or something, you could use that.
Here's my basic recipe:
1 box Mori-Nu Silken LITE firm tofu
1 single-serving nonfat plain yogurt (I use Dannon All-Natural)
1 banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned (juice or water pack ONLY) or frozen (no sugar added) fruit
Blend until smooth (it will be pretty thick, but you can add a little skim milk or unsweetened almond milk to thin it out if you prefer it thinner). Then I add sweetener or other goodies like cinnamon or ginger to taste and pop it in the fridge for awhile. I imagine it would also be delicious frozen if you had an ice cream maker (I am getting one from my hubby for xmas!). I like it best so far with canned apricots and ginger.
The recipe, varying depending on how thick, makes 2 pretty big servings, each about 220 calories (or 4 small ones at 110). With 15 grams of protein, it keeps you full for awhile, with fewer calories than a candy bar.
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LOL.
