Welcome Coop!... Everyone is different, so many of us went through what you're going through and some haven't. I know I did, and frankly, still do if I haven't hit my meals and "snacks" at the right time.

You will get used to it and learn to live with that hunger to the point where it won't bother near as much as it does now. What's happening now is almost a pavlovian effect where your body expects you to cater to it whenever you get hungry and your brain is conditioned to that end.

Good job going with the carrots rather than the candy.. Around here, we call that a "NSV", or "Non-Scale-Victory"...

Coop - Your body is telling you that you need more food during the day. For those of us who like to snack in the evening, we are used to going very light on food during the day so that we can splurge at night. You will learn that this is not what you should do. You need to eat more in the morning, and then your body will adjust. One of the hardest things to do was to learn to listen to my body. In the beginning, I tried to have my afternoon lite around 3:30 every day. Then I gave myself the window of 2:30-3:30. But some days I want my afternoon lite earlier because I am hungry. I had it at 1:45 today. I have learned that if I feed my body when it is hungry, it will last longer between snacks because I was hungry, not starving. Do you kinda understand what I'm trying to say? Not sure if it's too clear.

Also, you said "if you need a snack". You need the food. Period. This program is not a range of food and you eat up to that amount. You are to eat that amount every day. Your body requires it. You need each and every calorie and exchange every day. But you may find that that amount of food is way too much to have at night.

It's difficult to figure things out at first, and your first few days you will need to move the food around to figure out what works for you. Personally, 1/2c oatmeal and a tangerine will not fill me up. I do have 3/4c kashi go lean, 3/4c blueberries and milk for breakfast, though, and that gets me through.

Another thing (sorry to ramble) is that if you go to be hungry, you will wake up hungry. So if you notice that you are hungry at bedtime, plan a bigger breakfast to get you going.

Lastly, on the hunger thing. Believe it or not, some flavored hot tea with Splenda is a big lifesaver. I find that if I really want something, having a big mug of it to sip on will fill your tummy.

Since I'm at work and typing fast, I don't know if this will all make sense. Let me know if you have more questions.

Good luck and hang in there. The program does get easier and it does work.

Cooper and

What I've found works the best for me is to eat some sort of protein first thing in the morning. I either start the day with half a dairy or half a protein. Then no matter when I eat (unless it's a bar) I always manage to get in at least 2 exchanges. I work early hours, but for example a typical work day looks like this:

5 am: 1 F, 1 S, 1/2 P

10 am: La Lite, Fruit

1 pm: 1P, 2 Vs, 1 S

4 pm: Lite Dairy

6 pm: 1 P, 2 Vs, 1 Fat

8 pm: 1 F, 1 S

I find by tossing in a protein or dairy early on I'm satisified a lot longer. I'm on RED so the extra half protein does make a difference. I also find it best to eat within an hour of getting up, and I alott something light to eat as a post dinner snack.

Also, like Cassi said within a couple of days your body will adjust.

Of no help to Cooper, but I had to say this:

When I go to bed a little hungry, I don't always wake up hungry. I DO always wake up hungry, though, if I eat right before going to bed. Am I weird?

To address Cooper's question, though - yeah, definitely get some protein in in the morning...that'll help tide you over until snacktime. Also, what Cassi said, don't hold back that much food for a snack after dinner. Keep maybe a starch or a fruit reserved, but not THAT much food. Keep coming here for help as well....the people here are great!

Oh you guys are all so awesome!! I so appreciate the support and I hope that I can be supportive when the time comes.
I ended up not being hungry at all after the omlette and the apple and the half bar.
So at dinner, I realized that I had not had ANY vegetables so I had 2c chopped zucchini, (If I measured it before cooking, I still can use that amt right?? That confuses me) 3oz pork loin and for my starch I had a few little pieces of potatoe. MIxed them all up, cut into teeny pieces to last longer and ate slow. Oh, and another 1/2 liter of water lol. Now, I am actually FULL with still the allotment of about half a dairy and another bar.
I think the omelette and apple will be one of the 'regular' breakfasts for me, because I know I need protein in the morning. But then I only get one protein for the rest of the day! I wonder if I make a 2 egg-white omelette in the morning, and then scramble two more eggwhites up later, it will be okay? I know we are probably not supposed to split things up, especially cause its my first real day!! But I am really worried when my vacation ends and I get back to work that if I use the protein for breakfast, I will not have enough to keep me fueled til my break (I work 11a - 11p and its typically 5pm when I take dinner, sometimes 6.) I plan to bring yogurt for my dairy snack and will hopefully get to eat it at some point before dinner.
I just want to thank you all so much for the help. I did leave the house almost immediately after posting, and that helped too as I had to tutor a few students for a few hours and it took my mind off it. I also had coffee, and that helped too.
Thanks!!!!!!!!!

I used to split things up. I especially split my dairy. I was told you can split things up but it has to be the same thing, like I would have 4oz of yogurt for a snack and have 4oz of yogurt later on for a snack.

Coop (by the way, what's your name?) - Check in the daily menu thread and also your plan book for suggestions on how to break up your food. And remember that you can always ask them about the blue plan. It's a learning process, so just be patient and move things around to work for you. Congrats on your first day!

My COD said it was okay to split proteins even if they were different. My manager used to run a corporate center, and she said corporate always trained them to say "don't split proteins". But, she's seen a lot of people ignore that advice and actually lose faster...mostly folks on plans that have bigger protein portions. In fact, they had a trainer come in recently that said that it was now officially "okay" to tell people they could split proteins. I know when I was trying the plan without the lites and was doing purple, I had a hard time choking down the bigger protein sizes in one sitting. I tried breaking them up, but was having a hard time with that, too. That's one of the reasons I went back to the lites.

so if you don't do the lites...they give you more protein?

Yes!

I only have a second.......but I find that if I STAY satisfied (hungry wise) during the day......right from the get go..........I do feel deprived or hungry in the afternoons or evenings like I did pre-LAWL. I was very scared the first few days..........so I saved most of my exchanges for the latter part of the day. I was so afraid I would cheat at night. It didn't take long for me to realize that we need most of our food during our active hours.......and mucnhing at night is really only a habit. I am not completely over the nightly muchies........but I do not consume any real calories after dinner, for the most part. Occasionally I will have a grapefruit or something that I saved from the daytime.......but most often, I have SF jello, or a salad.......something VERY light. I know how nerve wracking it is in the beginning. You will find where your comfort level is........just don't get discouraged......

I am so glad to report that I woke up a little while ago and I am NOT starving nor even really hungry. I did end up only having the one bar yesterday, I hope that is okay. Round about bedtime I realized I hadn't eaten the second bar, and I'd already brushed my teeth and climbed into bed...no way was I going to get up lol. Today will be interesting because I have a lot of stress going on. I will pay attention to my eating and be sure that I don't fall off. Plus I go for my weigh in and my sales pitch. It does not help that my jeep almost caught fire yesterday (calipers stuck, smoke, burning smell etc) and that to fix it is the tune of almost 1K; now its very hard to justify the $116 I will need for the month of bars and NO WAY can I buy them all at once. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there in a couple hours....
Anyway, thank you all!

There are payment plans available too that they can even make no interest sometimes. You can also buy then by the box until things straighten out. Don't feel bullied and tell them your circumstances. And don't feel pressured.

Sorry about the Jeep, but good luck today! And remember that we're all here pulling for you.

welcome coop.. i'm new around here too. i started LAWL about two weeks ago. sorry to hear about your jeep...

i've had the opposite prob...i'm on the red plan and i find its way too much food for me and have a hard time getting it all down.. but considering i used to be a once a day eater along with picking at stuff at night.. i'm not used to eating in the morning. but i'm now starting to find that i'm actually hungry in the morning. your body will adjust..