Thanks, Echo! :D

I just realized something about my weight. I "hover" before I drop. I was hovering at 165-166 for the longest time, then 164-165, and now 163-164. I just looked at my weight loss graph on Fitday and noticed the trend. hehe. I'm actually happy about this! That means that my body is slowly adjusting to this whole weight loss thing and it's actually happening!! Wow. Ok, I'm feeling more confident about this whole calorie-counting thing now. :D

Will log back in later on today and fill in my food and exercise. Have a great day, gals! :hug:

Fresno26 - Have you ever considered that your not eating enough at that could be why you are hungry all the time? I'm not sure that any health professional would recommend that you eat under 1200 calories a day.

Here's a link for a 1200 calorie diet that maybe you could get some ideas from...

http://diet.health.com/2009/03/23/lo...n-7-days-diet/

I just know that from personal experience if I eat to little then I get crazy hungry and end up losing it and eating WAY TO MUCH. Sure if you eat a little more maybe the weight will come off a little slower. But if you restrict to much and end up over eating then your not going to end up losing anyway.

Hope that was helpful!! :hug:

You're welcome!

and that's so awesome!! that's exactly what your body is doing. its adjusting and recalibrating and getting used to the new weight.

i love your terminology hover, instead of plateu! more positive thinking ! great stuff!!! :flow1: :flow2:

Thanks for the diet link! :)
I appreciate your feedback!
I don't think it's my caloric intake that's doing it. Before I decided to lose weight, I really didn't limit calories at all (i.e. I probably took in more like 2,000 to 2,500 a day) and I was STILL hungry all the time. It's basically nothing new for me, lol.
That being said, I have decided that being hungry must just be the way I am...and I'd rather be hungry than fat. lol.
Pretty sure I must have been starving in a past life or something, and my body is constantly trying to make up for it. ;) That, or maybe I have a tapeworm!
LOL :)

:lol: I understand. I'm pretty much the same way as you. I sometimes think maybe I have a tapeworm to but go figure I looked up side effects once and I'm pretty sure "loss" of appetite was listed...

Maybe our bodies will just adjust after time...

Oh freshno26 - Do you exercise a lot?

Hi fresno, maybe it will be helpful if you talk us through a usual day for you. including any exercise you do. etc.
are you particularly stressful? as that can cause you to feel emotionally hungry.

and when you say you're hungry all the time, do you mean, like actual hunger in your tummy, where you feel it?

are there any times when you do feel satisfied and satiated.

what kind of things are you eating? are you getting in enough fresh vegetables and fruit, as i heard that sometimes you could be eating, but your body is starving for essential nutrients?

good question Melly!

btw love the photo in your avator hehehe, very inspiring indeed ;)

Food for today:

Breffix: 2 figs (74 cals)
Quaker Instant cinnamon oatmeal (170)
1 cup skim milk + 1 tbsp cocoa powder (125)
Total: 300

Snack: 1 medium banana (100), 1 slice blueberry coffee cake (140)
Total: 240

Lunch: 5 spinach and mozzarella raviolis (200)
1/4 cup toasted couscous, 1/2 cup frozen mixed veggies, 1 tsp grated coconut, 1/2 large onion (350)
Total: 650

Dinner: 2 cups homemade fried rice (still have to do calorie counts on this one), 6 baked egg rolls (they were so tiny! The size of cocktail sausages, hee hee)

Total for the day - dinner: 1190 :o I'm shooting for 1800 today, so that gives me 610 calories to play with for dinner. Not bad! I'm planning on exercising tonight as well. Didn't do a THING last night and feel guilty. Blah. I've just been feeling so lazy lately. Need to kick my own butt. ;)

Update: I didn't exercise tonight either. I sliced my finger while chopping veggies so I'm having a little pity party for myself. I didn't want to go for a walk. It's not like I walk on my thumbs, so I don't know what my problem is. GRRRR @ myself. :(

Melly - I sure hope they'll adjust! lol. It's torturous. :)
And yes, I exercise a decent amount. I usually try to go five times a week, for at least an hour at a time...sometimes two. That being said, I picked the 1,100 calorie limit, and try to burn off 500 calories with every workout. (Which sounds excessive, but is what I need to do to burn two pounds per week. My BMR is 1,650 calories or so.)

Echo - OK, here goes! I think that yes, I am legitimately HUNGRY most of the time. It's always way above the 50% level of hunger. My only thought is that my years of overeating led to my stomach getting stretched out and now it won't shrink much and is never full, lol.
I would say that work can sometimes get stressful, but I'm probably actually the least stressed I've been in years.
So, my typical day.
Breakfast is usually Fiber One, or two packets of oatmeal, either of them with lowfat soymilk. I sprinkle ground flaxseed on the oatmeal, generally.
Lunch varies. Sometimes peanut butter/banana sandwich on low cal whole wheat bread; sometimes a cup of cottage cheese and peaches, and protein shake (low cal, low carb, low sugar, high protein); many times leftovers, like vegetarian chili or homemade veggie soup. (All broth-based, low fat and low salt) Sometimes a big salad with low-cal / low salt dressing, and a piece of low fat string cheese.
Dinner is almost always either whole wheat pasta with marinara and a salad or piece of fruit...or a 'fake' chicken patty or Boca burger on a wheat bun with tomato and lettuce, and a trace of mayo and, again, a piece of fruit or side of veggies.
Snacks are almost always fruit or veggies. Mainly grapefruit or apples, and baby carrots or those single-serve packs frozen brussel sprouts or peas with Parkay spray (5 cal) and light salt/pepper.
Snacks can also be cereal, which I have confessed as one of my biggest indulgences. Still, always Fiber One or Kashi Go Lean Crunch. (Cannot seem to get ENOUGH of it) lol I just started Fiber One probably two weeks ago, after learning how awful my usual Raisin Bran actually was.
I take a multivitamin nearly every day, as well as two capsules of flaxseed oil. I try to drink 100 oz. of water on most days.
I usually work out every day except Sunday, unless something strange is happening in my schedule. (Skipped last night, as I am on call for work this week.) I generally go to the gym after work, around 6 or 7 pm, and try to stay for an hour or hour and a half.

Any advice? I appreciate both of your responses!

String cheese - 60 cals
For lunch:
tuna salad with crackers - 170 cals
wedge of cheese - 35 cals
yogurt - 80 cals

a bit of shrimp for snack, and maybe lean cuisine or turkey burger for dinner!

wow that all sounds very healthy and very strict! i'm impressed!!! sounds like you're doing all the right things, snacking on healthy things like fruit etc.

i was listening to Paul Mckenna's podcast earlier on today, and there was a woman that called in and said that she feels hungry most of the time, and he suggested to her, that everytime she feels hungry, to go and drink a couple of glasses of water, and that if after a little while her tummy rumbles abit and she is indeed hungry, to then go ahead and eat.

he said that 75% of the time, when you're supposedly "hungry" you're actually dehydrated, that you're actually thirsty. so he told her to give it a go and see if that helps.
maybe you can do the same?

also am i correct in assuming, you are ONLY eating 1100 calories a day? that seems awfully low, your body might be on borderline starving. great that you are eating flaxseeds !!! as they are an excellent source for omega oils or something hehe. so well done! but i do get the impression, you're not eating much :) so im not suprised you're hungry most of the time! :) when you finish your particular meals of the day, whether its lunch or dinner - are you pleasantly satisfied and full at the time ?

My confession for today:

breakfast - 600ml of water.

exercise - 30 minute walk in the garden (my pedometer wasnt attached properly to my trousers, so the steps didnt get registered for those 30 minutes much to my dissapointment lol).

and then went for a 40 minute walk before dinner.

dinner -
1 date.
small bowl of fruit salad.

1 and half slice of homemade pizza with some ketchup. 1 onion pakora. Salad. (time taken to eat meal - 23 minutes. felt satisfied and comfortably full).

2 cups of pink tea (aka kashmiri chai, sabaz chai).

total water intake - just under 1 and half litres of water.

total steps - 13, 699

Gosh, Echo. You're on my list of heroes because I would not be able to control myself after having eaten nothing all day. Good job!! :carrot: