I'm really not sure. It's just noon here and I'm sooo hungry. I really want to do this, but if I feel like this all the time, I don't think I'll be able to. Here's what I've had to eat so far today:
Special K w/berries
1/2 cup diced chicken
apple
soup
I have some 94% FF popcorn in the microwave, I'm hoping that will get me over this obstacle. Do you all have any suggestions? I'm starving and feel that yucky nervous feeling that just makes me want to binge. I really don't want to though...
As for advice, there are lots of places to start. I don't think you necessarily need to be hungry to be successful. The key is finding healthy food to keep you full (that special k for breakfast may not do it).
I also think sometimes people start and try to really eat too few calories. They get hungry, binge, fail on the "diet", quit the diet, and gain more weight. It's a cycle many of us have been a part of.
So, the key is to make this a "lifestyle change" that's permanent. A plan you can live with and enjoy. The trick is that all of us are different and will find different things that work. You may have to play around to find the right combinations of foods that keep you satisfied and able to keep on the plan!
In the meantime, try some raw veggies for bulk. Have some more protein. Then take a walk, keep yourself busy...
That doesn't sound like a lot of food for that amount of time.
Looking at my journal, the first part of the day tends to look something like this:
B - 1/2 cup porridge/oatmeal with skim milk and 3 dried apricots through it
S - 1 apple OR 2 mandarins, approx 1/2 cup air popped popcorn
L - 1 bread roll - bread roll, cold meat (ham or chicken usually) lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrot, with 1/2 tablespoon low fat mayo; 1 pottle low fat yoghurt, 1 piece fruit
I'm assuming you're not low carbing since you're eating cereal, so if you're eating bread, make a chicken salad sandwich with the chicken and add some vegies in there as well.
Also, check the GI of your foods - I feel more satisfied for longer if I'm eating low GI food - grainy bread, whole grains, that sort of thing. Apples are a great choice - they're definitely low GI.
For me, I eat far more in the morning than I do from lunchtime on - for some reason I need more volume of food in the morning. After lunch, I'm happy with carrot/celery sticks and hummus for my snack and then onto dinner.
In saying that, everyone is different, so what works for me, may not work for you, but I think you should eat more than you are - fruit and veg tend to be easy on the calories, but very satisfying...
Ok....you shouldn't start a diet off hungry. I USED to be a Diet Counselor for Diet Center (believe it or not..) and we used to start our clients off with unlimited amount of approved protein...such as chicken/fish/turkey etc... and 8-10 glasses of water and they could have apples and oranges. And of course veges! (cooked without butter of course) Or salad with lowfat dressing or balamic you know what I"m saying. But until you get yourself 'cleaned out'...you need to eat enough of the right stuff to stabilize your bloodsugar. You probably are changing your habits quite a bit day one. I think that why so many people start a diet and don't stick to it for too many days. Don't be hungry. EAT! Unless you're on a DR approved diet that I shouldn't be sticking my nose in.
I agree with everyone else. I think you need to eat some protein. Also, it really doesn't look like much in the way of volume and you just said "soup"...is that canned, homemade, noodley or meaty? I would suggest some yogurt with a little Kashi Go Lean crunch or Fiber One mixed in. That would really give your protein and fiber a boost and would stick with you a while....long enough to plan for your afternoon snack and your dinner. The main thing is you want to have those things planned out so you're not just blindly eating to fill the hunger. Keep it up..you can do this!
Congrats for getting started and so glad you asked instead of giving up.
You gotta ditch that Special K, it has nothing in it, i makes me terribly hungry ALL DAY LONG if i start with something like that. I LOVE cereal and berries for bkf though. I have found Special K Protien Plus...it is chocked FULL of protien and fiber, it only has 100 cals per serving, which is awesome. It keeps you full FOREVER. As others have said, you need to get as much protien and fiber in your diet as you can and you wont go hungry and give up. If i stay hungry, i eat, and eat, and eat. So fill up on some food that has staying power.
The best thing you can do for your success is education about nutrition.
My quote of the day:
"Losing weight is not just about eating less. It is about eating the right food in the right amount. "
That might not sound like much difference from just eating less, but BELIEVE me there is a HUGE difference. I keep track of what i eat on fitday and i keep track of when i get hungry, how long a certain food stayed with me, or cravings i get after eating certain foods. It is a lot of effort at first, but it doesn take long to get a feel for what foods work for you. A lot of people eat oatmeal for bkf, i cant do that, i am hungry in 2 hours if i eat oatmeal for breakfast, so i eat it with some fruit in the afternoon in a small amount as my afternoon snack. Figure out what works for you. A hint: the more protien and fiber, the fuller you will feel for longer.
Hi Dana
I'm gonna go out on a limb here. I know we aren't supposed to post links to other areas, but this is strictly for information purposes. And I don't remember seeing this kind of info when I looked around 3FC. I saw this in Oprah 's magazine this week. You plug in your height, weight and activity level and it spits out your daily calorie needs just to maintain your weight. Its:www.bcm.edu/cnrc/caloriesneed.htm. That number could be used as a reference point. Eat less than that number, begin to move and you will see a change. You might see that you can eat more than you think and still lose.
I am only an inch taller than you are. On March 7th I weighed 271, this morning the scale read 250.5. On a typical day, between breakfast (oatmeal w/ a banana mixed in, 6oz of juice, 2 cups of coffee/ creamer), mid-morning snack (Smart Start Bar), lunch (turkey sandwich w/ lettuce and pickles, an apple) and sometimes a serving of nuts, I have had 950-1000 calories. While it might seem like a lot, for me its right on the money. I still have 450-800 calories left for dinner and one more snack. If I don't exercise, I'll stay near 1500 calories for the day.
Your menu for today would have left me searching for more food, and that can be dangerous for your waistline. I love Special K, but have begun to use it for a snack instead of a meal. It's just not filling enough for me. How did you eat your diced chicken? Have you tried putting the chicken in a pita with some salsa or lettuce? Just something to add some volume to your chicken so you don't get as hungry so fast. Top a salad with the chicken. Just some ideas. Hope it helps some.
I would just caution that those calculators are notorious for being a bit off. It says I need to eat 2600 calories to maintain and well I wish
I do agree that starting out you should concentrate on eating healthier foods. Increase the amount of veggies, lean meat and healthy fats while decreasing the amount of processed foods (fatty and sugary) as well as fatty proteins. You could also slowly decrease your portion sizes.
I eat 5-6 times per day and I have found that useful to helping keep me full. Most of my weight wasn't lost by counting calories or carbs or anything but just trying to eat healthier, decreasing my portions and exercising. Now I'm starting to find losing weight a bit more difficult so I have been keeping track of my calories and lowered my carbs a bit.
Thank you all so much. It helps to know that you all think I should eat more/differently. I was feeling like a huge wimp. I ate the popcorn, had lots of water and some more chicken. (It was just leftover from a roast chicken I made last night, I ate it plain.) I'm not very good with veggies, so I'm still working on that area. I'm not following a real diet, I was just trying to eat less and healthier. I will plan better for tomorrow. BUT (and this is a huge but!) thanks to you guys for helping me stay on track today. I made it past nine hours...but who's counting, right? lol. I do want to make a "lifestyle change" but it's going to take some getting used to and some playing around before I can figure out how that works.
I'm so thankful to have found this board. It seems like you all really understand....and you all are so motivating....wow, you all have done so well!! I hope to join you in that some day.
Hi, and welcome to the group. I have to agree with everyone else, I think you might not be eating enough of something, and to tell the truth I would be starving if I ate only what you ate. I eat smaller meals( lower in calories) and various snacks throught the day. Today I was like this:
Bkfst, 6 oz of grapefruit juice and 2 Apple Bananas( these are small Central american bananas), I know it isn't alot it's my T.O.M. and I usually eat cereal for bkfst, but not today.
Lunch : 2 veggie hot dogs with mustard, no bread, a big bowl of strawberries( we went to the farmer's market today), and stonyfield chocolate yogurt.
Dinner was grilled salmon ( I ate a steak size), with some shredded lettuce, newman's low fat vinegrette for dressing, some mushrooms, and some olives.
Snack : more strawberries , and this Kashi TLC bar ( chocolate and cherries, my new favorite thing, yummie)
So far I have eaten 1100 calories and should eat at least 400 more, but don't know if I will. I didn't exercise today, did some shopping, but am real lethargic today.
So you see I would die on what you ate today, and we are almost the same weight.
Don't sweat the popcorn ,and remember tomorrow is a new day.
cheryl
Sounds like you're doing well -- I don't follow a "plan" either and it's working for me. It's okay to give yourself time to figure this out -- in fact, expect to continue to take time figuring it all out!
This is a great place for support and info! Keep reading and posting and you can learn a LOT!
Congratulations on making it this far! You've been given some great advice and I'm glad that some of it hit home for you. As many have said, there is no reason for you to be hungry - if you're at that point then you're either not eating enough or you are eating the wrong foods. Hang in there and you will find the foods that work for you. I'm sorta like you - there are a few veggies that I love, but I don't love all veggies. But I make sure I eat plenty of the veggies that I do love and once a week I try one that I "thought" I didn't like (I say "thought" because there are a lot of veggies out there that I've just plain old not liked the looks or smell of so I've never bothered trying them!). And slowly I'm adding more to my group of veggies that I like!!
Losing weight and getting healthier is a lifelong process. What works for someone today, wont work in 6 months. Mainly due to changes in weight, muscle mass and fat content of our bodies. Remember this is an evolution. I agree with adding more bulk veggies. Alot of people on 3FC didn't start out in love with veggies, but most have come to appreciate what they do for us, if not love them. I find for me, the less cooked my veggies are, the better they work for me, and they just taste better raw or very very lightly steamed or grilled. Preplanning I find is key for probably 95% of us. If you havent done it yet, I would highly suggest www.fitday.com it's a free resource to track your calories and nutrients as well as journal etc. Sit down tonight and plug in some various meal and snack options for tomorrow. Try and include 3 veggies and 2 fruit servings spread through the day and see if it helps. Here's an example of a day for me.
BF: 1 egg, 1 egg white omelet, 1/2 c broccoli, 2 oz mushrooms, 1 oz cheese
Snack: Yogurt with 1/2 c fiber 1 or kashi go lean<depends on how hungry I am>
Lunch: 4 cups raw spinach, drizzled with 1tbsp olive, flax or peanut oil and 1tbsp balsalmic vinegar, toss in 1 diced/chopped apple, 1 c diced chicken and tomatoes
snack: 5 stone ground whole grain crackers with 1 serving laughing cow light cheese<thse are HUGE crackers, 5 doesnt sound like much, but trust me, it is>
Dinner: 1/2 c brown rice, 4 oz grilled salmon, 6 spears roasted asparagus with grilled peppers
Another trick I've found useful is to pretend my plate is sectioned into 1/4's. 1/2 is dedicated JUST to veggies/fruit combos. 1/4 to a whole/complex grain and 1/4 to a lean protien. I also dont weigh/measure my veggies if they're raw so much anymore. I tend to think of them as free foods, unless they're particularly high in natural sugars. I use raw carrots and broccoli, peppers etc as free foods for the grazing time I tend to have around 330 pm. I drink water by the gallon, occasionally jazzing it up with lime or other citrus slices sometimes tossing in a packet of splenda.
I know initially it seems like alot of work. And truly, it is. You have to retrain your body, tastebuds and way of thinking. Try and see food as something you need to live not something you live to do. Also, noone will come and arrest you if you choose to eat something that you didnt intend to. We're not the food police. We can help you, talk you through the want for the things you CHOOSE to no longer eat everyday, we can also offer you lower calorie alternatives. Just please, do not consider yourself weak, a failure etc for eating something you didnt intend to. We've all been there. If you "backslide", it's no biggie, dont wait until tomorrow to get back on plan, the very next planned meal or snack, stick to what you had planned on eating. One slip will NOT make you regain whatever you will have lost at that point.
You have gotten such marvelous advice from the gals already, a smart bunch they are.
It IS definitely a lifestyle CHANGE. I certainly had a lot of CHANGing to do myself. I was doing soooo many things wrong. And you absolutely don't have to get it "right" straight off the bat. Of course what's "right" for some is not necessarily "right" for you. You can definitely tweak things as you go along. You experiment, find what works for you and what doesn't.
I'll echo everyone else here by saying that protein and high fiber is the way to go. I try to have both at every meal. It really keeps me full and keeps the cravings at bay. Not to mention the nutritional benefits. As far as veggies go, you really get to eat a lot of them for very little calories. That was one of the major appeals for me. I have found so many new ones since I started my weightloss journey. I started roasting them, something I hadn't done in the past. They are simply marvelous that way. You will also find as you go along that your tastes change. I couldn't believe this myself, but it's true.
And let me just add - WELCOME to 3FC and the 100lb club. I am so glad you are here!!! It's a great place for advice and encouragment. I look forward to getting to know you better. Good luck.
Six hours into diet...can I make it to seven?
But until you get yourself 'cleaned out'...you need to eat enough of the right stuff to stabilize your bloodsugar. 
You probably are changing your habits quite a bit day one. I think that why so many people start a diet and don't stick to it for too many days. Don't be hungry. EAT! 
, and this Kashi TLC bar ( chocolate and cherries, my new favorite thing, yummie)
