For me the desire to eat big meals signals that I am seeking security from something that is bothering me. When I deal with the symptom of the problem the desire for large portions disapears. In my case it is often procrastination with a deadline or some other stress in my personal life. This has been hard for me to accept but an inlighting process nevertheless. I am NOT insinuating in anyway that this is true with anyone else...just my personal experience.
yeah kind of always thought that about myself too. but i am pretty happy otherwise so i can't see what i would be trying to heal with food. i definitely think i used to do that at one time, but then i knew i had problems to be worked through. but now it's just satisfying. i dunno. i want to do this right, but i also know that i can't just be perfect right away. it shouldn't matter though as long as i am staying within my calorie goals, though, right?
Here's the problem I have with saying that I can eat huge portions of low calorie/low fat foods. Note that my use of "you" here is general and not directed at any one person.
When you consume huge portions, you stretch your stomach. When you stretch your stomach, you are creating a situation where it takes more and more and more to satisfy yourself.
A large part of our weight issues in the US have to do with portion control and learning what is "enough" of a food. When you eat overseas, in general and in my experience, portion sizes are MUCH smaller. We, in the US, have a very skewed idea of what is a necessary amount of food to sustain ourselves.
And that's all well and fine if you're going to gorge on broccoli or whatver. But when you're faced with a situation where you need to make healthy choices but don't have a bunch of raw veggies to eat, you're going to have no clue what is a reasonable amount of anything to eat. And even if you eat small, reasonable portions, you're going to be hungry still because you've stretched your stomach and conditioned it to believe that MORE is better.
Which brings me around to another belief I have, which is that most Americans DO believe that "more is better" ... and to me that just reinforces this belief system.
I guess what it boils down to is that I think it's an unhealthy mindset: I will gorge myself on low calorie foods rather than learning what my body really needs/wants.
I found that one of the things that I have enjoyed most about where I am in my journey is being able to ENJOY food again. I don't deprive myself of anything I want, but I also understand that 2 bites of chocolate cake satisfies my craving and I don't have to sit and eat half a cake. I can have a square of really good Swiss or Dutch chocolate instead of eating 4 Three Muskateers. I can actually eat 4 or 5 frenchfries from my husband's lunch, instead of needing to go thru the drivethru and order a SuperSized fries for myself. I now enjoy eating these things because I want the flavor of them, not because I'm eating them in quantity to fill my stomach.
Obviously this is just my take on it and I'm not saying anyone else is wrong ... I just personally believe that learning correct portions is a healthier method.
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Last edited by PhotoChick; 02-14-2008 at 12:37 AM.
You made some good points and when I started a month ago I had that mindset... that I wouldn't even gorge on broccoli so as to train my stomach it doesn't need that much. I have just notices that while I may not physically hunger for a lot of food at once, I am still able to eat it (so my stomach hasn't really shrunk much) and I still have a desire to.
And yeah it is mental I am sure, I just feel like if I am keeping my counts down, then it shouldn't be a problem. But then again that could just lead to a binge fest. Maybe I should just try to cut them down gradually. No tiny meals and no huge ones.
Sigh, it's been for weeks, I've lost 10 pounds, and I am just afraid if the weight doesn't continue to shed I will give up.
I eat the bulk of my calories in the evening as I like to have at least one large meal a day and as I work full-time the evening is the only time I get to prepare food. A typical day for me will be:
200 calorie breakfast at 7am
100 calorie snack at 10am
200 lunch at 1pm
100 calorie snack at 3-4pm
600 calorie dinner plus 100/150 calorie 'dessert' at 7pm
50 calories for milk in tea (3-4 cups a day)
It is true that as one gets used to eating less, one does feel full with less. This has been my personal experience. I have read that it has to do with the "fullness receptors" in the stomach. They become insensitive if someone is in the habit of eating large amounts of food at meals. They regain sensitivity once someone stays with reasonable portion sizes for a length of time. But it does take time. Once they are back to normal, one doesn't want to eat as much--you get "full" more quickly.
These days, I can't finish most restaurant meals and have to take leftovers home. That's just as well, since a restaurant meal usually has way more calories than I should have at one meal.
beautybooty -- It's my opinion that this process is an evolution. Mentally and physically. If you are satisfied and you are losing and generally eating healthy, then having a high calorie meal is probably fine. You are starting at a higher weight and can more easily fit it in your day than someone who weighs less.
You may find as time goes on and you get smaller then that strategy will change, but if you're okay with it now, and if it's helping with the mental game, then I think you're fine.
Without a doubt the stomach shrinks. I used to be able to eat... and eat... and eat... , a bottomless pit really. Now, I am amazed by what I get full and satisfied with. And I'm even more amazed how quickly I can get to the "uncomfortable" level.
I do still like my large portions though. I just have switched them to huge portions of veggies and salads. With some protien thrown in there.
I agree with Heather that this process is an evolution and that your eating will therefore evolve. I do wish though that perhaps you can switch up that large portion of dinner to a bit fewer calories and some more healthful foods. A HUGE chicken stir fry. A HUGE grilled chicken salad. A HUGE amount of butternut squash with a piece of salmon. All started off with a BIG bowl of soup. I think you will be pleasantly surprised just how satisfied you can get from these foods.
We need you to "stick" to this new lifestyle so that you can remain losing the weight and get healthy. So of course, only you can know what will do it for you and therefore what will "work" for you.
No talk about giving up, ya hear? You're doing GREAT!!! Just keep at it. Keep tweaking and finding the right formula for you.
I like big portions but for me, it really was all about the carbs. I do miss the heaping bowl of alfredo pasta, but then again, I don't miss the gross bloated feeling and the gas I had afterward. (That's one problem i don't have while dieting!)
The spaghetti squash suggestion was a good one, whoever made it. Usually, extra veggies aren't very satisfying to me. I really like the texture of squash, it's my main lunch filler right now and is really helpful in satisfying my hunger
I love big portions! Especially carbs, but when you are trying to lose weight you have to come to the understanding that it's really not possible. You have to trick yourself. Use smaller plates so you can fill them up and fill them up with things you should be eating. Like vegetables, fruit, and lean meats. I eat these things first and then by the time I get to the carbs I don't have room to eat a whole lot of them.
I do agree that it's a process and I think it's important to start off with whatever method lets you see some results and get motivated. But I do think that eventually you'll have to move out of the mindset of being able to eat "big meals" and start learning what a reasonable portion of food is.
That may not happen for another few months, but at some point, in order for the eating habits to be sustainable, I think it'll ultimately be necessary.
A few things that I do that have helped me:
I don't eat off of dinner plates. I eat my entire dinner off of a salad plate instead. It does help what I'm eating look like more, but more importantly, it limits what I can pile onto my plate at one time.
For the first couple of months I religiously weighed and measured EVERYTYHING I put in my mouth. I may have eaten 4 cups of broccoli at a sitting, but I knew exactly what 4 cups of broccoli looked like. And eventually I learned what my plates and bowls and containers looked like with appropriate levels of food in them. Now I know that my small soysauce bowl, for example, holds exactly 1/8 cup of shelled sunflower seeds. So I'll set that out to snack on.
I have learned to savor my food - in two ways: Rather than shovelling in a huge bite and chewing and swallowing nearly whole (which used to result in horrible heartburn), I eat things slowly. I used to laugh at my mom who would take 3 bites to eat a single almond. But you know what - when I do that as opposed to shoving a handful at a time in my mouth the way I used to do, I actually TASTE the almond and enjoy it more. And eating slowly like that means I know when I'm full as opposed to eating past the point of fullness because I'm eating fast.
The other way is that I don't do anything else when I'm eating. I dont' watch TV, I don't surf the net, I don't read a book, I don't do anything that will make eating a mindless something to do *while* doing something else. If I'm going to eat something, I'm going to enjoy it and savor it and pay attention to the food I've chosen.
(Not to say I'm perfect, there are plenty of nights that I eat airpopped popcorn in quantity while watching TV or a movie but in general I try to stick to the above as much as possible becuase it helps to keep me accountable to myself.)
Are you using fitday or the daily plate to record what you're eating? The typical menu plan you posted looks really low in vitamins (your only fruit+veg is just some green beans?) and high in processed carbs and low in fiber (the snack packs and white rice), and high in salt (rice cakes, cheese, snack packs and chinese food) and very high in fat (chinese food, cheese, eggs and snack packs)
Oh, I'm assuming you are buying the chinese food vs. making your own with no/low fat
I'm glad you're happy with the weight loss progression you're experiencing, but you might want to try a day that has higher fiber + vitamins and lower fat (say, no more than 30% of daily cals) on some days to see if your body reacts to that.
I have been "dieting" for 2 weeks and have lost 5 pounds but I am slowly figuring out what works for me. I have found that I have to eat protein throughout the day to keep my energy up. I have also found that I need to get use to eating something before going to the gym or I don't get as good of a workout. It's SO different for everyone. Also, I limit myself to one splurge meal a week. This week it will be pizza at my favorite place with my Dad. I actually have not splurged for almost 2 weeks, but if I only do it once a week then I enjoy it much more than when I was going out to eat 3-4 times a week.
Since you are just starting your weight lose journey more than likely you are still eating much like you did before. I know when I first started out the first couple of days were hard because I needed more food than I was getting on my food plan to fill me up. I drank in excess of 100 oz. at that time and I still felt empty.
That time does pass though. It does take awhile and if you resort to a binge before your stomach actually does have time to shrink, you will be back right where you started.
For example, there is a favorite buffet place my DH and I like to go to eat once a week. Two years ago I could fill three dinnner plates with food like looked like a small mountain. NOW, there are times when I am lucky that I have five food items on one dinner plate! It just seemed to happen "naturally" over a period of time. I really didn't force myself to eat less, it evolved.
Again, I think some of the suggestions here are excellent. I am a recovering compulsive overeater ( almost 13 years) and doing the emotional homework really helps in curbing the need to binge or overeat for emotional reasons. I rarely binge these days for emotional reasons. In fact, I think the last time that I binged for an emotional reason was about two years ago. It doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future but I have learned to recognize when I am heading in that direction and I take measures, like posting here on this website, talking to a friend or journaling, so that I only need to eat when my body needs it.
Another important thing that I do is make sure that my trigger foods aren't in the house either so if I have a day where I am more hungry than others, I will eat more of one of the foods on my food plan. If I allow my trigger foods in the house, well........that is just more stress than I need right now in my life. Trigger foods for me are high gylcemic carbs including most processed foods and foods with sugar in them.
I read all of the other posts here. There are a lot of good ideas here. I copied and pasted them for future reference. I understand your desire to see "quick results" but after the initial flush of losing some weight you need to shift gears to looking at this as a long term effort.
Try focussing on your daily meals. Ask yourself if you are eating a well balanced food plan? Are you getting enough of the right nutrients overall? Are you dealing with some of the tough stuff in life in non-food ways? Are you moving more in some kind of activity that will eventually become a part of your new life you are creating? Are you finding sources of inspiration that help you keep motivated?
If you look at this venture as one that is truly life changing then you will see that it will be something that you will want to take your time to learn how to live a new life without excess food and excess weight. I am sure that you will be able to do it.
Don't get discouraged. We are here for you if and when you need us.
10 pounds in four weeks is great. There's no reason you sholdn't continue to be successful at losing weight,so please don't anticipate getting discouraged and giving up. Finding a way to eat healthily that works for you is part of the journey. Some of the ways you try may not be as successful as you expect. Learn from the experiences and try something else until you find what works for you. Then when you reach your goal weight you'll have set yourself up for success for maintenance. I look forward to reading about your journey.
I am a reformed big eater
There's no reason you sholdn't continue to be successful at losing weight,so please don't anticipate getting discouraged and giving up. Finding a way to eat healthily that works for you is part of the journey. Some of the ways you try may not be as successful as you expect. Learn from the experiences and try something else until you find what works for you. Then when you reach your goal weight you'll have set yourself up for success for maintenance. I look forward to reading about your journey.
