When I'm on the lower end of calories, I like to sneak in (healthy) treats. a banana with pb, 1/2 a cup of ice cream, something i like but don't regularly plan to eat. But if I'm really not hungry, I'm not going to eat.

However, it might be worth spreading a few more calories out throughout the day. Add an extra ounce of chicken to a salad, eat a little bit more for breakfast, try a cup of orange juice. Healthy little additions can help add up

We over-nutrition ourselves for years - and then, funnily enough, we start to worry about under-nutrition when we try to get back to a comfortable size! oh the irony.

I personally think one should stop eating when full and only eat when really hungry, even if that means eating under your calorie limit for the day.

I am reading The End of Overeating by David Kessler, and this is kind of the central theme of his book. Basically, our bodies have a natural system of telling us when we've eaten enough. However, foods high in fat, salt and/or sugar appeal so much to the reward system of our brain, that they overwhelm the system that says, "You're full!" because the reward system keeps saying, "This is so good!" The theory is that fat and sweet foods were hard to come by for primitive man, but their calorie-density was important for survival, so our brain developed a reward system to drive us to seek them out. But -- they were hard to come by so primitive man ate them only rarely. Fast forward to today -- fattening, sugary, salty foods are everywhere, but our brain still triggers the reward system when we eat them.

So when we sit down to something fatty/sugary/salty, our brain fires off all the hormones/chemicals that tell us to eat eat eat, but when we sit down to a bowl of broccoli, when we've eaten enough, our brain just says, "You're full." And of course, some people are more susceptible to this than others.

Interesting book -- I got it from the library and it definitely makes you think. He spends a lot of time talking about how the food industry has focused on the fat/sugar/salt combination to make us crave their products.


Edited to add: I never have trouble eating enough calories! I love almonds, peanut butter, dried fruit, etc, and they are so calorie dense that I have no trouble getting to my 1600-1800. And if I have a hundred or so calories leftover after dinner? Breyers ice cream bars in the basement fridge (140 cals), or 3 squares of dark chocolate from the pantry (70 cals). Though I also like to vary my cals, so if I get to the end of the day and have a hundred calories left, I might save them for the next day so I can splurge on something like a PBJ for lunch. :)

That's a real big unless!! No? Isn't that why most of us got to overweight - by overeating?

I absolutely have to be concerned with calories. I can't focus on *just* eating healthy. Healthy foods have lots and lots of calories too and I don't trust myself to stop when full. My turn off switch is busted. I need the forced accountability and built in portion control that calorie counting provides. Besides, why guess with something so vital? I don't just stop shopping when I feel I've spent enough. What if I've gone over my budget and than can't pay the bills at the end of the month? No, I need to know these things and plan for it.

Anyway, no, I never, ever had the problem of not being able to get all my calories in. If only ;).

But I do agree on what one poster pointed out, perhaps you haven't found healthy, nutritious foods that you LOVE and look forward to. It does take some time for you develop those tastes and FIND those foods.

I look forward to my daily salad in a big way. Nothing boring about it - there are SO many delicious add ins and combinations - baby spinach, shredded carrots, red onions, chick peas, hearts of palm, radishes, diced peaches, diced mango, sliced strawberries, mandarin oranges, colorful bell peppers, crunchy diced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, craisins, slivered toasted almonds or pecans. Then there's the proteins - tuna, grilled salmon, grilled chicken, chunks of turkey breast, boiled eggs. I'm getting hungry just listing it. There is no end - be creative.

Then there's veggies - roasting them elevates them to a whole new level - turnips, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, string beans, broccoli, zucchini, parsnips - again the list is endless.

Eventually you will find those foods - a few great breakfasts, a bunch of yummy lunches and dinners, and snacks. You'll get the planning and timing down pat and it will become more automatic and more natural to you. For now, keep on tweaking that plan, customizing, make it your own - making it enjoyable.

This is something I've been worrying a bit about lately. I'm following Paul Mckenna's system which involves eating only when you're hungry and I'm just never hungry anymore. I sleep late (student) so I'm never up in time for breakfast, I don't have snacks very often because I don't feel hungry for them, and I'm making healthy lunches and dinners. Last week I had to have two cupcakes to get me to 1200 calories, yesterday I had what I thought was quite a pig out day and had 1330. My BMR is something over 1900 so I'm a wee bit concerned, though at the moment I'm trying to just trust the process as it's worked so far.