had the problem of losing their appetite? I get hungry but then I start eating and find that very little food satisfies me. I know it sounds like boo-hoo why worry but I don't want to screw up the metabolism thereby making it harder to lose weight. I am really struggling to get the vegis all down. Last night when dh fixed my birthday dinner I was starving for meat and ate almost all chicken with some cauliflower and squash but no where near the two cups I need to have.

Just wondering if anyone else had this problem and how you dealt with it.

Hi Bunna, I find my appetite is much smaller since on SB.

What surprises me most is how long a meal lasts before I get hungry again. Late afternoon used to be a danger time for me, but now I don't crave and cruise the kitchen from 3-5 like I used to do.

In addition, the quantity of food I can hold has diminished.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you add up all the veg you eat or drink during the day you may be surprised at how much you have.

I must have missed in the SB book where it specifies you need 2 c of veg at dinner. If you have some peppers or celery as a later snack, would it count do you think?

What I have been trying to do is make sure any second helping is veg before I allow it to be the protein portion of the meal. Also, thinking of the plate as a clock and having 45 minutes of veg and/or good grains, and 15 minutes of protein, helps me keep proportions in mind.

I find my appetite is smaller too. I actually don't finish sometimes - unheard of for me! I'm starting to recognize that strange feeling means I'm full!
Two cups of veggies? I'm not sure that I've ever seen that written down. Maybe two cups in a day? That would be four servings of cooked veggies, I guess.

Actually, somewhere I read that we're supposed to have 4.5 servings of veg a day! Might be in the post from ADDFlower from the SBD website?

Anyways, Bunna, I have the same problem. I find that it's really hard to get those extra veggies in, but I just force myself. If I find that I am really full, I think that forcing more food in is developing bad habits (or enhancing my old bad habits), so I don't. But if I am thinking of eating dessert or more protein, I make myself eat more veggies first. Does that make sense? I also try to add more veggies to the things I make. For instance, a couple weeks ago, I made mac n' cheese with WW noodles. To stretch it farther, I added peppers, onions, mushrooms, and broccoli.

I find that adding in veggies as a side when I would normally add a starch helps too. We had hamburgers for dinner on Saturday, and had a cold veggie salad and three bean salad with it instead of whatever we normally would have had. But I didn't finish the veggies...I was too full from the burger!

Just try to get as many in as you can. Try to have a veggie with at least one snack...that will help, too. And take vitamins just in case you don't get all you need.

I think it's great that you are thinking about this!

Not me, I could still eat a ton of food if I allowed myself.

Thanks everybody, I do feel better this morning. I also forgot about drinking some V8 with my meals to get extra vegies. I love having it for breakfast for sure. After going to bed I also had the thought that I have been overeating for so many years that eating a normal amount of food feels like too little.

Yeah, that is so true. I made burgers a few nights ago. One large burger on a whole wheat bun, with mozarella cheese, lettuce, tomatos and pickles. DH looked at me and said "Where's the rest?" I said "The rest of what?" He replied "Dinner!". LOL - we used to eat 2 burgers each plus an ear or two of corn or some grilled potatos or something. But we were both pretty full by the time we finished our one burger each.

Me too. I actually find that, if I have my mid-afternoon snack, I don't want to eat supper at all. I know this isn't healthy, but I just am not interested in eating in the evenings. This is a long way from my usual where I am tempted above everything to snack at night.