I'm on a really, really awful eating schedule. I just spent the majority of my calories and it's not even 8 am. I wouldn't exactly call it a binge, because I was actually hungry.

I ended up making dinner extremely late, because we woke up late, so I was only halfway through my food when it hit 12 am, so the calories went on today. Then I had a snack later ... and then another snack just now. I'm going to try to stop eating so late, because it's triggering.

This is what I ate:

DINNER:

3 black bean patties made with panko and seasoning (about the size of a cookie each): 400 calories?

Spinach, garlic, onions, broccoli, black beans mixture (probably 2 ½ cups): 250 calories

Less than (guessing) ¼ red quinoa: 100 calories WITH 1 cup (roughly) peppers & onions: 25 + fresh garlic:?

SNACK: (about 2 hrs later)

1 cup of blueberries + 1 cup of mixed fruit + 1 cup Greek yogurt + 2 tbsp of grapenuts: 340 calories (This was probably the most filling of all)

SNACK: (about 2 hrs later)

Orange cream Popsicle: 50 calories? (it's usually 70 calories, but it melted previously, so there was some missing since it was deformed inside the wrapper.)

BREAKFAST: (About 2 hrs later)

2 slices Bread: 140 + Peanut butter: 160 calories

What I want to know is how you can get so much food for so little calories, and make it filling. I just didn't feel full at all. I've practically been eating on and off since 11: 30 last night. I know that this is some people's average day's allotment of calories, and this would actually be a pretty good variety too, but I just felt so hungry. I feel like such a pig.

There seem to be a couple things going on here, and I'm not sure which you're asking about. So forgive me as I go over them all:

1)There are days when we just are hungrier. Plain and simple. If it's true hunger (stomach rumbling, slightly weak feeling... usual bodily hunger signals) you can always decide to raise your calories for the day by 200 and find something truly filling.

2) If it's not true hunger and you're seeking out a way to stop snacking... then there are a variety of methods. Chewing gum. Getting your hands busy with crafts, etc. Brushing your teeth. Drinking a huge glass of water. Calling the kitchen off-limits for the rest of the day. Reminding yourself that "Hunger is not an emergency." And it can wait a couple hours.

3) Or. You're in need of something filling for few calories? One of my favorite things is salad. A nice big bowl of various crunchy veggies, grilled chicken slices, an ounce of feta cheese crumbled over it, sliced apple chunks and some light raspberry walnut dressing.

Anything with a decent amount of protein, maybe a little bit of fat, and added veggies for bulk can easily be filling.

Thanks. I'm sorry it was all over the place. My stomach barely rumbles when I get hungry, but I do get a weak feeling. I know I shouldn't jump right at food the instant I get a little hungry. I need to keep that in mind.

I so hear you! The day before yesterday was horrible, I felt as if I was starving. I got home from work at 11pm- had my black beans made with taco seasoning, lettuce, cheese, a whole can of salsa haha, 1 tomato and 2 hand fulls of chips all together. It was amazing. I also don't count calories lol.

Okay so I sleep a couple hours wake up at about 8am, made 2 eggs with onion, cayenne pepper.

RIGHT after eating I made a batch of kale chips, Maybe 1/3 of the kale thingy sold at walmart. Then I had 6 raw mushrooms. AND THEN I had a tuna salad sandwich haha. That was all before 10am, I don't remember what I ate the rest of the day, probably one more taco bean salad. I did feel full after the tuna salad sandwich- finally. Well, at least I wasn't starving lol.

It just happens, especially before TOM, mine is close. It says most women eat 300 calories more A DAY because your body burns calories more and you actually need it. Sure I went over my 300 for the day...but it's life!

Plus side you made healthy choices!!! And that helps in the long run!

This doesn't look that bad to me. It's healthy food, a reasonable mix of macronutrients, covers the larger part of a whole day (the only meal missing is lunch) and it adds up to about 1500 calories.

That's not a bad day. Toss in a light lunch and you've come in at 1750 for a full day, which at your weight might even be a fine target for weight loss, depending upon individual factors. (Data point: when I was at your weight and exercising about 3 times/week, I lost pretty well at 1800 day.) How many calories are you aiming for?

The long and the short of it is, I don't see anything wrong with the way you were eating that day. (Personally, I might replace the black bean cakes with something a little less caloric for the amount of protein, like fish or turkey, but I'm going to guess you are a vegetarian based upon that menu. But anyhow that's just my own preference. I also wouldn't bother with popsicles I'd rather eat fruit - again, just me.) I recommend that you try the experiment of eating this way for a few weeks and see how the loss goes. If you are relatively new to a weight loss plan (I can't tell) you might find that it gets easier as your body adjusts to a restricted amount of food.

Also, as Lovely says, some days you are just hungry. You did well to stick with on-plan, healthy food while you were feeling that way. That's the best you can do. Maybe the next day you'll be a little less hungry and won't need the extra snacks.

One more thing I'll suggest, if you do want to reduce the number of calories - all your snack preparations are very large from the start. When you are just looking to take the edge off, can you start with a smaller portion? Like, instead of putting two cups of fruit into your Greek yogurt, put one, and leave out the grape nuts entirely. You might find that snack just as satisfying for taking the edge off. Or, make your peanut butter sandwich on one slice of bread instead of two.

Give yourself a break, perfection is not required. This was a pretty good day overall. If you don't believe me, try counting calories for a typical day before you went on plan and see how that looks.

One of the things that helps me is Nature's Own (and there's another brand but I forget the name) double fiber bread. It's only 50 cal/slice. There are several other varieties that are even less, but I find that one to be filling and delicious. I noticed that your bread in your sandwich had 140 cal., so that would cut 40 cal right there. I would also go from 2 Tbsp of peanut butter to just one, and then add some sf jam (10 cal/tbsp) or a sliced banana to bulk up your sandwich. I agree with salads being an easy way to fill up for few calories. Or soups- they are really helpful, too! I would take the beans out of your veggie sidedish- they add more calories and you're already getting protein from the bean patties. You could have a bigger portion of veggies that would be more filling if you left them out.

As others have noted, a combination of protein, carb and fat seems to keep many of us full longest. When I am starving I gravitate towards a large serving of either soup or salad. The soup would be from home made stock I keep in the freezer (it has protein and "body"), whatever veggies are around, maybe 2 ounces of meat (I keep small pices of chicken & beef in the freezer - you can take directly out and thinly slice within a few minutes), and some potato chunks or noodles (in a pinch some frozen peas and corn for the carb). I go heavy on the vegetables and like it spicy. For the salad I take lots of greenery, add things like cucumber, radish, carrot ribbons made with the veg peeler, onion - then add protein like chicken or beef (I cook extra and always keep some in the freezer) and though not the healthiest I love to add the crunchy chow mein noodles (just a scattering). Seeds and nuts also add some crunch. I make my own dressings and keep a jar in the fridge. If the dressing has little oil then I will add some avocado or crumbled feta to the salad. I try to eat it as slowly as possible though I am a "speed eater". Drink lots of water. These two options almost always hit the spot and leave me without cravings.

I must note that, for me, beans, tofu, and cheese do not seem to address my hunger as well as lean meats.

Oh - and letting myself get to the point of being "starved" really seems to mess up all the fullness and satisfaction signals in my brain. I firmly believe in packing things like an apple and string cheese for emergencies when I am out.

Thanks, everyone. I wouldn't normally add extra beans when having bean cakes, but the beans had set in the fridge a couple days, and I needed to use them before they went bad, and it really wasn't enough to freeze.

I went over to my parents' earlier ... and ended up kind of binging. Today just wasn't my day, I guess. It was a lost battle, but tomorrow will be better. I'm going to stop eating late at night. I've noticed that night-eating leaves me feeling very hungry the whole day.

You aren't pregnant are you??