After visiting a bunch of websites to determine how many calories I need to lose weight, I've came to the estimate of about 1500-1600 (this is after deducting 250 for exercise). I'm having a lot of problems sticking to this. I am just ALWAYS hungry. I know it's not a thirst thing, because I am constantly drinking water. (I posted this before, but I have to eat every 2-3 hours due to hypoglycemia to make matters a bit more difficult). I lost 10lbs starting off, and I was very happy about that, but now I'm just stuck...

An example--What I ate today:

Breakfast - An apple, and a plain turkey sandwich, on light wheat bread - 270 cals I hate cereal, and yogurt is just not very filling for me.

Mid morning snack - Chex mix - 230 cals

Lunch - Plain grilled chicken sandwich - I'm guessing 300 cals, maybe more

Snack - Plain turkey sandwich on light wheat - 270

Random snack - Princess fruit snacks - 80 cals

Dinner - Swedish meatballs and noodles - I'm going to guess 600 cals

Total for today: 1750

I'm just fed up with myself...I WOULD bring an apple or an orange with me to school or work, but due to the fact we can't dispose of the leftovers in the garbage cans at school or at work, I'm stuck with little plastic baggies of chex mix or pretzels. When I get home from school, I'm very hungry, and end up eating a sandwich.

I don't know what to do...I work out every morning for 45 minutes, which is the most I can do without being completely exhausted (I don't sleep much) for school or work. And because my work-out videos are only 45 minutes long, anyway. I take the stairs to all my classes, and on my breaks in between, I usually walk around campus for a bit.

I hate complaining and not doing anything about it...any suggestions on healthy, LO-CAL, filling snacks? Decreasing the amount I eat is not an option, but if anyone has any tips for what would be better to eat, I'd love to hear them.

if youre hungry all the time then you need more food. not more calories, but more food. youre eating fine, but some of the things could easily be replaced. instead of chex mix, try a bag of baby carrots and a piece of string cheese, or a baggie of fiber cereal. the princess fruit snacks could easily be replaced for almost the exact calories with a piece of cheese which would be more filling. vegetables will help bulk up your meals. eggs in the morning would keep you full longer. fiber and protein are far more filling than the carbs youre eating currently.

also, chewing gum helps stave off the hungries sometimes as well as drinking hot things. i like to drink broth, green tea and sugar free hot cocoa.

I agree. I think you could definitely swap out some foods for lower calorie foods. That will allow you to eat more.

Definitely get rid of the chex mix and the fruit snacks. Neither one offers you ANYTHING nutrition wise.

Also, unless these noodles are whole wheat they're doing absolutely nothing for you nutritionally as well. Plus, you're on the weight loss track right now. Perhaps when you go to maintenance you can introduce the noodles back in your diet, but I'd consider avoiding them for the most part right now. And, if you have to have them, have only 1/2 cup cooked. (And if that's the case, what's the point of really eating them, right?)

Also, help yourself out with these sandwiches by using Weight Watchers or Healthy Life whole grain bread and buns. They are MUCH MUCH lower in calories. I can't tell a darn difference between Healthy Life bread and something like Wonder bread.

Veggies are a great filler and extremely low in calories. But, sometimes veggies just don't do it for you, you know? One thing I do suggest trying is the Steamfresh veggies in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. My favorite is Asian Medley. My boyfriend and I can't figure out how in the world it's so good for you. It tastes like candy!

Why can't you pre-cut your oranges or apples and put the pieces in a snack baggie?

Here are some things I bring with me to work each day:

blueberries in a snack baggie
pickles <-- some pickles are ZERO calories!!! Most others are 5.
nuts <-- only a quarter cup. They're higher in calories but keep you full longer
light yogurt
light string cheese
vitatops <-- 100 calories and tastes like a TREAT
snack baggie of grapes
snack baggie of fresh veggies from the precut veggie bag in the salad aisle
banana

Lunch ideas:

low-fat turkey meat on Healthy Life bread with mustard
boca burger on Healthy Life sandwich bun
tuna creations in a tortilla with a melted slice of 2% Kraft American Cheese
Starkist Lunches to go
PB&J on Healthy Life bread <-- again, Peanut butter is high in calories, but does keep you full

Let me know if any of this helps. You'll find that you're WELL within your calories if you eat lower calorie foods.

Edited to add: If you have eggs in the morning try an EGG WHITE omelette with veggies like spinach & tomato. SO LOW in calories and sooooooooo good with lots of protein.

For the hungry mungries...I like Fiber One Oat & Chocolate (or Peanut Butter) granola bars....of course, anything with the Fiber One name doesn't normally sound good - but these are really much better in my opinion than most granola bars out there - and they pack 35% of your daily fiber into them...I eat one almost daily. They are super good and I just can't say enough positive about them.

I definitely agree with watchershrink - more protein & fiber will make a huge difference. Don't get me wrong - I love salty potato chips - but I opt for the "Light Pringles" that only have 75 cals and 0 grams fat per serving. That allows me to eat the carbs I want....but not waste a ton of cals on them.

I tend to get around 1200-1400 cals per day and feel very full....I only have one large meal (around 2-3pm) and the rest are snacks thru the day that just work for me. I also have about one of those 100 calorie snack bags daily...they are my dessert item. I hope this helps! Good Luck!

Ooh my new fave high fiber high protein low cal snack is salted roasted soy nuts. They taste kinda like sunflower seeds. I also am really into white cheddar rice cakes. There's 90 calories in two cakes. You might want to try switching out the chex mix for a serving of almonds or walnuts mixed with dried fruit. I say if your body is telling you it's hungry you should eat just try switching out pretzels and chex mix for healthier alternatives. You could put fruit in a ziploc bag and then put the remains back in the bag and throw them away when you find a proper receptacle.

I tried posting a reply a few days ago, but my internet sucks, and wouldn't let me =)

Long story short, I'm in a Nursing program, and I work at a hospital; I never go to the cafeterias on my lunch breaks because there is far too much temptation there (soft servce ice cream, for example). I either eat in the classroom, or in one of the Nursing offices at work. We can't eat anything that is sweet/fruity/sticky, because the school had problems with fruit flies a few years ago, as the hospital is paranoid about bug/mice problems.

Anyway, I've taken everyone's advice, and starting eating more vegatables as snacks, along with vegatarian "cheese" (it's really good, and really lo-cal), along with high fiber cereal in the morning with soy milk. I suck at cooking (the most I can make is grilled cheese), and am on an extremely tight budget, so I'm pretty much at the mercy of my parents right now. But I'm working with what I have, and it seems to be going well =)

Thank you!