I agree w/others... WHEN I'M HUNGRY, I EAT.

You may not be getting enough nutritional foods for your body. Sometimes we consider ourselves hungry if we are not "full" - which is NOT the same thing. Eating a "regular meal" (i.e. no seconds, no "huge" portions, etc.) can seem daunting when we have become too accustomed to stuffing our face. It took me quite a while to get used to the feeling of "eating less." But once I did, now I can't even imagine 2nd helpings on most days.

BTW, counting calories is really not so bad! I was opposed to it for the longest time, until I finally realized that I can eat ANYTHING I want (I just can't eat EVERYTHING I want ) and stay within my caloric range, and STILL lose weight. I have come to heavily depend on FitDay for counting my calories. Sometimes I don't (like on holiday weekends, vacation, etc) but I can still get a nice general "feel" for a basic guesstimation of how many calories I'm taking in. AND IT'S WORKING.

So I would suggest that you give calorie counting a good honest try! - and if it's not for you, don't sweat it! Keep trying different "diets" until you find one that works for you.

How I wish someone would have told me about the Glycemic Index chart when I first started...Google the term..there are foods that will satiate you and keep you full so that you don't feel the need for more and more food...

p.s. LOVE Switzerland!

I would tend to agree with H82Sweat--get more protein in there. It will help you feel more satisfied. And Ennay makes a good point--a couple hundred more calories of mostly protein is not going to hurt your weight loss.

If you want an extra helping, make it more protein, not more carbs.

Jay

That depends on what you mean by hunger. If it's actual hunger, I'll find something to eat. I'll make sure it's something relatively healthy--I have hundred calorie nut packets, I have greek yogurt, I have pickles, I have roasted seaweed snacks.

If it's "hunger", then I'll make myself have something to drink, and then walk. Over the past six months, I've gotten pretty good at telling the difference.

I agree with everyone else you need to look at your meals and rethink them. you can be eating a ton more at the same if not less amount of calories. You need to add more veggies fruit and protein into the mix.

If I'm grumpy or have a headache from hunger, I've waited way too long to eat, and am likely to overeat because of it. I have to prevent hunger from getting to that point, because it's a lot easier to prevent out-of-control hunger than to reign it in once it's raging.


I also hate calorie counting, but I love my exchange plan. Exchange plans are a short-hand way to count calories, and once you get the hang of it, it's as simple as checking off boxes on a little worksheet (you can find worksheets online, for example at tops.org in their tools section. I made my own because I wanted a lower carb exchange plan, so I swapped out some of the bread exchanges for protein).

I had to eat lower carb, because I'm far hungrier on 3000 calories of normal eating than on 1000 calories of low-carb. I find that the more carbs I eat, the hungrier I get - It sometimes seems that I can't eat enough bread, potatoes, rice, or pasta to ever get full (even when they're whole grain sources).


You might find that restricting carbs (or at least the quickest digesting, highest glycemic ones) helps control hunger. You also might find exchange plans easier than counting calories (or you might not. The learning curve is very similar to standard calorie counting, but it's far easier to memorize and guesstimate with new foods). Just as with standard calorie counting there are paper and online sources to look up food values for most foods, and popular restaurants too.

I never used to think low-carb diets were healthy, but I discovered that I have a very difficult time losing any other way - at least not without feeling unbearably hungry all of the time. To have any semblence of a normal life, I have to keep quick digesting carbs to a minimum. I can even binge on fruit, which is why the exchange plan comes in handy. Much of the balance is already built in.