My mom said that the only way my stomach is going to shrink is to stop eating before I'm full and then drink water to help me get full and then eat a "little snack" two hours later if I need too. So I'm wondering what other ways can I get full after I eat without having to drink water. I know I need to drink water and I do but I dont want to have to drink the amount of water that its gonna take for me to feel full which I'm guessing is gonna have to be alot of water. Thanks to anyone who can answer my question.

Terra I know for me the only way to feel full is to cut way back on carbs, even eliminating some. I eat healthy fats, protein, and non starchy veggies. When I eat this way I do not struggle with feeling hungry or having cravings.
Processed foods are convenient but it may be time for you to do more research on how your body reacts to the foods you eat.
Good luck and keep searching for what is right for you.

Thanks so much for replying to my thread I will take your advice and do more research on how my body reacts to the food I eat and I'll also cut way back on carbs and see if that helps me to feel full.

I agree with cutting back on carbs. Fill up on veggies! Here is a list of non-starchy veggies. These are low carb and for the most part low calorie... many high in fiber... so you can actually eat a lot to help you feel 'full', plus they are nutritious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...chy_vegetables

Maybe someone could recommend some reading/sites that have been educational for them?
3 Fat Chicks does have a low carb section.

Thanks Everlasting. We just cross posted.
Any others care to join in?

Everlasting ~ Thanks for the link

That list from Everlasting looks great!

Try unsweetened decaf tea, green tea, Crystal Light, etc. Anything low calorie and decaf are good if you don't like water. I love the flavored sugarfree seltzer waters too.

What about Sparkling/Flavored water?

In my experience, drinking water is NOT a solution to hunger feelings. If I'm feeling hungry and I drink water, I'll actually feel worse and hungrier, and more miserable overall.

What I've been told (by a medical professional) is to drink water between meals, not at meals, in order to stay hydrated, which will help keep feelings of hunger away. But once you feel hungry, you're not going to get rid of it by drinking water. Your body just isn't that stupid I guess.

The reason staying hydrated helps is because hunger and thirst signals are pretty much the same, and are easily confused. I've heard this before and disagreed with it, but had to begrudgingly concede that keeping hydrated does mean I feel less hungry in the long run. *sigh*

Edit: Tea does seem to have a hunger-curbing effect, though. You could try having some green tea when you're hungry. Mind you, this isn't going to work if your mental/craving processes are going.

Perfect! Just make sure 0 calories and sugarfree. The bottle will specifically say it.

If you want to feel full after eating, the way my program works is that you do the things that will fill you up before you actually eat your food.

Right now I am on full liquid and will be for quite some time, but when I start eating normal meals again, I still need to have the liquid protein shake before each meal I eat so it will help me eat less and feel full.

So using that logic, have you tried drinking a slim fast or comparable diet protein shake BEFORE you eat to help you eat less and feel fuller when you are done?

Just an idea I know that drinking a ton of water after eating when I was still hungry would not have been pleasurable. I would rather just feel hungry than waterlogged.

1. As faoira noted, hunger and thirst signals are quite close and easily confused. If you are 'hungry' but it is just a sort of snacky feeling, have water and maybe hot tea (drinking something hot in the wintertime helps me).

2. Okay, this is actually not on the same point - but if you eat compulsively food that is in the house and is bad for you, find a way to short-circuit that. The easiest way is to not allow food that you will overeat in the house. Hard to do when you live with people, but I still have a hard time resisting potato chips and I always will. So they don't come in my house. Practice your willpower ahead of time and plan plan plan.

3. Try different ways of eating. Find something that works. I don't mind some hunger during the day but HATE feeling hungry at night, so I do eat a larger dinner than lunch or breakfast, and I do eat a snack at night.

I also eat my meals in stages. Breakfast I have an apple or other fruit as soon as I get to work. Then I make instant oatmeal an hour and a half later.

Lunch involves grazing on veggies for a while before I eat the main part of my meal. It helps me pay attention to feeling full.

Dinner I also stretch out by eating a large salad and then the main meal - which means that I am getting the 'full' trigger while eating, without overeating.

I just want to clarify, although I do think hunger and thirst signals are similar, I don't think that solution works. Not for me, anyway.

When I have the type of (low-level?) dehydration that gives me hunger-ish signals, drinking water does not solve it for me. Drinking water is a long-term solution, not a quick fix.

I think there's a lot of research, as well, which suggests that drinking water during or after a meal actually dilutes the digestive juices which are being generated in our saliva as we eat, which helps our foods to digest and assimilate properly in our bodies.
I also think there's a lot of research which indicates that water is super beneficial when we are losing weight. Keep us hydrated and it helps cleansing the toxins from our blood, moving the fats out of our bodies. My one word for this year as I change my Health for the better is water. I'm definitely concentrating on drinking more water, however I drink it before and in between meals not during or immediately after.

I have also been following a whole foods health plan now for over five years and my physical hunger is pretty nonexistent. I do, as others have mentioned, go light on refined carbohydrates and have pretty much eliminated sugar.

Best wishes on your journey! It is so totally worth it!

And I will add, that Mayo Clinic actually says drinking water with your meals is great. For me, part of the whole weight-loss process has been to develop a plan which works for me. I am still going to drink my water before and in between meals. That philosophy works for me.