I'm always trying to lose weight and let's face it, I do get hungry. I'm trying to deal with my hunger, trying to keep it at bay as much as I can but also trying to get used to it as much as I can. I don't like to be hungry, but I don't want to be 200lbs either.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but do you think there will ever be a point in time that I (we) will be satisfied with less food? You know, like our skinny friends who have half a chicken breast and say "I'm sooooooo full!" Will that ever be me? How do I become full on a quarter amount of the food I want to eat?

To some extent, yes. Your stomach can expand/shrink in response to volume (or lack thereof). It takes some time - and during that time, you have to live with some hunger. I feel full much more quickly than I used to, with one caveat -- simple carbs that are hyperpalatable still override my full signals, so if I'm not eating "good" food for me, I can still feel quite ravenous on big portions. (See: restaurant food, namely Thai or Indian, maybe Chipotle -- something about white rice can completely offset how much food I've eaten, making me hungrier than before I ate anything.)

So yes - you can definitely get used to smaller portions if you stick with it, but depending on the person, fullness is affected by the type of food you eat, too.

Btw - I really love the quotes in your signature!

I am personally trying to retrain myself that feeling full is not the same as being stuffed. It hard to remember that they are not the one and the same. And it won't hurt me to be a little hungry from time to time. But I am constantly having to remind myself. It's really a mental thing for me. On the plus side though I really do have to eat less or be in physical pain from over eating.

I think the answer lies here in the question you posed. In my experience, it's an emotional battle, how much food I want to eat. You need to flip your mindset to how much food you need to eat. Physical vs emotional hunger. Not that emotional hunger goes away, though... Last night I was in my son's dugout while all the boys were chomping on Twizzlers... talk about being emotionally hungry!

Also, my hunger depends on the types of food that I'm eating. If I'm eating 1200 - 1400 calories (note: I've been in menopause for 3 years) of primarily whole foods (meat, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nothing packaged) I'm not hungry. But if I'm eating 1200 - 1400 calories of prepared/packaged foods, I'm ravenous.

So, my feeling is that *yes* there will come a point when you feel satisfied with less food. But it takes time and work to get there. You are off to a great start!

Yes, you will.

I can give you some tricks: Consume a small cup of hot as you can drink it broth/soup 20 to 30 minutes before your meal. Works with hot tea/coffee as well. Basically, the beverage has to be hot, have some calories and the timing. Another thing, consciously slow the pace of eating at mealtimes. Putting your fork down, counting the number of chews and having a sip of water at every bite can really put the brakes on. Don't eat AND do something (except maybe share a meal with someone and have a conversation). For example, don't read or watch t.v. at meal time. Eating mindfully helps people a LOT.

The big thing is you have to give your brain time to receive satiation signals from the stomach, and that takes about 20 minutes.

I wish I knew!

For me, personally, when I was losing consistently I got used to it and didn't really feel hungry often.

Now I'm battling these last 10-15 pounds and find myself hungry nearly every day and have been struggling with over-eating. So for me, it comes and goes.

Eating nutrient dense foods does help, but not as much as I wish it did!

IF was invented for this reason!

Wannabeskinny, you'll get to the point where you're not hungry. But I agree with Heidi that eating processed and for me high carb foods leaves me wanting more. When I really stick to plan, I'm never hungry. When I don't, I not only am hungry, but I'm thinking about food constantly.

If you keep at it and change the types of foods your are eating, then yes you will. I'll echo what some of the other posters have stated; eating super processed food will most likely not leave you satisfied as you cut calories. If you switch to foods that fill you up then not only will you notice that you will start to need less and less, but you're tastes and cravings will change too Give it time though!

Well, hmmmmm. I guess I do feel hungry more often now, but that's before a meal or necessary snack; essentially, times when my body is telling me that it needs food, and I respond. I don't feel hungry after I eat, though, and I plan my calories for the day so that I have a large dinner, because that's when I like to feel very full.

I think the difference for me is that, pre-weight loss, hunger didn't necessarily correlate to eating. I ate when it was time, when others ate, when I wanted to eat, when I was bored, when someone offered me food . . . you know the drill. Now I eat when I'm hungry, which means I have to physically feel hunger before I eat. And, for the record, no, I don't like that sensation! I don't like hunger, but I've learned to adapt to it and remind myself that it's not an emergency and I don't have to be shielded from it.

I also have an issue with carbs and sugar doing in my "full" signal, but for the most part, when I'm eating on plan, I'm sated much easier.

This may not be for you, but I made a point of eating calorie dense food in an effort to "shrink" my stomach at the beginning, because I was used to consuming massive amounts in one sitting. I was hungry at first, but it got me much more used to eating smaller portions, which I find has helped me maintain low calorie eating.

How so?

My guess is that IF could be helpful by allowing you to eat a larger quantity at once, so you are able to actual feel full during that window. You might have to deal with hunger pangs during the fasting portion of the day, but from what I hear, that gets easier.

I never have.

I just learned to deal with it.

I'd love to try IF when I'm no longer nursing. I tried it for a few weeks and loved it, but it caused my milk supply to tank in the day and I'd rather be hungry than deal with a cranky baby lol...