[Panacea86]

...what gives? I remember back when I started losing, I could eat 600-800 calories per day no problem. Hungry? Yes. Impossible? No.

Not looking to dip that low, but I'm really struggling to buckle down and lose this last 40 something. It's driving me insane. I would love to just do one or two week at an average of 1200 calories or less with light exercise...My goal is to lose 9 or so more lbs before US Thanksgiving, and it this 1500 calorie pace I'm not going to make it. School and work makes it hard for me to really carve out numerous hours for exercise, so I only get like 2 hours weekly.

Anyone else lose their fighting spirit? I lost over 60 lbs last year and only 30 or so this year...

I can't seem to get on myself like I used to.

[Munchy]

The idea of "restriction" makes me hungry!

Maybe what would help is focusing on what you can eat rather than what you can't eat. I follow a 1200 calorie a day diet and I'm really not hungry. I eat six times a day (B, S, L, S, D, S) so I'm always eating and never deprived.

Soups and stews can really fill you up for low calories, as can tofu, konjac glucomannan noodles, sprouted grains, and a lot of veggies and protein. I even cut my meals with other low calorie things - ie, if I'm making something with lean ground beef, I food process a lb of mushrooms and mix it in. You can also do this with dry TVP. Or if I want pasta, maybe I'll have a little and saute some broccoli slaw to mix in. Greek yogurt is much more filling than regular yogurt, and I even substitute it for sour cream sometimes. When I make chili, I use a lot of peppers, onions, zucchini, squash to just bulk it up without adding a lot of calories.

What kinds of things are you eating now that you're having trouble with? Maybe a few small changes will keep you full and keep you within your calorie limit.

[Panacea86]

Thanks for the tips, those are great. I feel bad to have made another thread but I suppose I'm "looking" for something and can't quite find it within myself.

It's been hard lately, it's not as if I am gaining but I know deep down I can work a lot harder at this, and see the success I want so badly! I feel I've gotten so close, and a voice in my head is so disappointed, like "why eat those 200 extra calories?? whyyy?".

I suppose adding vegetables to most everything I make could really help.
Haven't made tofu in a while, it really is a good diet staple for me for so many reasons.

I usually make eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast, then an apple or something before lunch. My lunch is usually a giant green salad with vegetables, chick peas, quinoa, and crab meat. I use watered down spicy mustard as a dressing *divine!*. Then I have tuna and green beans around 3pm, and that's really when the wheels fall off.

Once I'm home, I don't have order...even though I set something out to make a meal, I tend to eat something else, or eat too much of another thing and go over my limit.

I've also been horrible about eating small portions of bad food. No, one small plate of chinese food won't bring all the weight back on, but every time it's in the house, a small plate will add up! It's within my caloric limit, but I find myself fitting bad stuff into my diet way too often.

My parents just...all they eat is chips, fast food, butter/bread, cookies/cake/ice cream, fried food, and while I was immune to it before, I've been eating it lately. (Usually fried stuff, I am better about avoiding sweets because I know it makes my blood sugar spike and crash).

Bah idk...I'm trying to push myself, hoping saying all of this will help...

A coworker had gastric bypass, and has lost so much so fast, everyone used to say I looked good and lost so much...now no one does, I sort of miss that praise, and miss being noticed. I lost about 6 lbs this month (I had plateaued for soo many months) and not a word was said. Idk. I guess I don't notice the loss either.

97lbs and I've only gone from a size 18/20 to a size 12/14...I've only gone from a 41 inch waist to a 34/35 inch, my arms...they just seem like they'll never reduce past 13 inches. I feel huge. Idk

Maybe I had too high of expectations, I know I lumped a lot of my self worth into seeing progress with this...it was a control issue, since so much of my life has been out of my control lately.

Your tips though, they inspire me, back to tofu and low cal filler foods...hopefully I can figure something out.

[Munchy]

You have made so much progress! You can't beat yourself up about it. Most people gain weight over time and you've lost a **** of a lot.

What helps me to stay on task at night is to have meals ready. I make foods in advance and freeze them into portions. It's not worth the effort to get "a little more" because the rest is frozen. I love that, because I do like to take just a spoonful more or a bite more here and there, and it keeps me from doing that.

I also pre-plan out my night time snack down to the measurement (ie 28 grams of popcorn, etc), but if I have a change in taste, I make sure to keep it the same caloric range (give or take).

If I am really having a problem with foods that are in the house, I just stay out of the kitchen and if I have to go through it, I chew gum. It doesn't always work, but it certainly helps.