What to do when you're hungry?
 

Let me start this off by saying that I'm definitely Not starving myself. However, after eating a normal to small portioned meal, I'm still really hungry. If I stick to my guns and don't go for that second portion, I'm hungry which means I'm grumpy or get a headache, which means I usually cave and eat some more.

My husband says it's not healthy to go hungry, and when I'm hungry I should eat, but I keep hovering around 156lbs and can't seem to make any of it come off. :(

I hate counting calories, but maybe that's the way to go... any tips?

Do you eat lots of veggies? Generally, veggies will bulk up a meal and help you feel fuller.

I'm curious about what you eat in the course of a day. Can you list a typical day for us?

Jay

You both have good points-- I don't eat enough veggies... at least raw ones. I think part of my problem is being too lazy to count calories. guess I need to change that!

You can also drink a large glass of water before or during your meal. That helps keep you feeling fuller.

If I'm still hungry, I eat a healthy 100-200 calorie snack, whether it puts me over on my calories or not. I'm eating 1,400 calories a day now, and sometimes that is not quite enough.

The obvious things like drinking water and eating more fiber help you feel full.

JayEll--

typically I start the day with a bowl of granola + milk

a snack is usually fruit

Lunch is leftovers, pasta with sauce and veggies, veg. curry w/ rice, potato casserole, etc.

snack could be nuts or more fruit, or bread

Dinner is usually salad with a main dish (such as I listed above, though sometimes we eat bread with cold cuts and cheese)

I think my problem is that I always want or Need a second helping. I know the foods I eat could be healthier, but for the most part, everything I eat is cooked from raw ingredients.

hmm.... I get so frustrated sometimes because loosing weight seems so complicated. :S

I think soup is also very filling... might be worth a try?

I understand the urge for a second helping. I love seconds. Here's a few ideas.

-Divide your meal so you can can have seconds. Really, I love going back, and would rather have 2 small portions than one larger.
-Have seconds, but only of the veggies, or salad. They can really fill you up, for very few calories.
-Go ahead and count calories, but promise yourself it's only for a little while, since you really don't like doing it. It might give you a better idea of where you are. Maybe you don't need to restrict as much as you think.
-Learn the art of bulk eating. Don't hold back on those veggies. Cooked or raw is fine. (Did I say that already?)

I like to eat big meals myself, I feel more satisfied afterwards - and what that has meant for me is that as my routine has evolved, I have drifted away from starchy accompaniments like pasta, rice, and potatoes with dinner. Even though I am not by any means on a low-carb plan, I just find myself most of the time choosing not to eat those things.

Instead of spending calories on a demure little portion of rice/pasta/potato, I'd rather eat a larger portion of protein and a huge (and I mean HUGE) pile of vegetables sauteed or roasted with a little olive oil. I just find it more satisfying.

Different people feel satisfied on different mixtures of foods, so you may have to experiment - but for me protein/fat/fiber is the key combination; carbs are nice and I don't shun them entirely but they aren't necessary for making me feel un-hungry.

I also second zoodoo's advice on counting calories - you don't have to commit to do it forever, just do it for a week or so as a reality check, so you really know how much you are eating in your routine - and how many calories you are spending on each part of your meal. That's what I do, by the way - I have lost all my weight without strict calorie counting except for a couple days every month or two as a check.

If you switch to plain oatmeal you can nearly double the amount you eat without upping your calories. Granola is a nice treat but I reserve it for topping greek yogurt and limit myself to no more than 1/4 cup at a time.

Try a serving and a half of oatmeal with 1tbl nut butter and 1 serving fresh fruit/1/4 cup dried fruit/1tbl honey/ 1tbl real maple syrup/ 1 tbl all fruit preserves.

Try pairing it with a low fat string cheese, a half serving of cottage cheese, some greek yogurt, or a tbl of nut butter to make you feel fuller longer.

If you cut down the amount of starch (the pasta, rice, potatoes) and heat up an extra cup or so of veggies to stir into your leftovers you will cut calories but increase bulk.

How about hummus with fresh vegetables to dip in it or greek yogurt with fresh fruit?

Again, just eating more of the protein portion of the meal and increasing vegetables will help you feel fuller longer without increasing your calories.

I am of the opinion that being hungry enough for a headache requires something to change and usually people find that a little "dose" of protein takes care of it. So in a sense I would agree with your husband that you should not be ignoring your hunger when it makes you feel rotten. But to make the extra pounds you want to lose come off you will have to be careful about how you do it.

Okay, one more thing. I am usually loathe to criticize someones goal weight but I do think for your height that 110 is too low. You are likely very close to a healthy weight for yourself and that is why the weight loss has slowed. Have you consulted with your physician about what would be a healthy weight range for you?

When I'm hungry, I eat. Well, if I've eaten recently and am still hungry I assess whether or not I actually am hungry by waiting and drinking water. But if I'm still hungry, I eat more.

I'd say you're probably not feeling satisfied because you are very carb-heavy in your meals. Fat, fiber, and protein are much more filling for me and simple carbs and sugar just make me want to eat more.

What's helped me a lot is incorporating raw, non-starchy veggies. I don't usually limit those and find I eat way less than the amount that would make any real impact on my calorie count. If you need a second helping, maybe make that include raw veggies? It's not the most exciting food in the world but it helps stave off hunger. And I have come to really enjoy them.

If I am hungry, I eat.

If I am hungry and there is no meal anytime soon (like starving before bedtime) I have a plain protein shake (unflavored protein,12 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, vanilla and maybe 1/4 packet of stevia). 140 calories

If I am trying to tide myself over until a meal that is coming (like I am starving while cooking dinner and I dont want to taste test a whole meal while I cook) I have a mug of veggie soup. I make pots of "cream" soup (unsweetened plain almond milk gives a beautiful rich texture in place of cream). Depending on the batch it is 50-80 calories a mug.

Starving is never productive to me. Either I cave and inhale hundreds of calories of crap or the next day I cave. Remember that if you are eating a reduction level of calories then you are not going to GAIN by eating 200 calories of healthy foods if you are starving

I'm not seeing a lot of protein in your meals.

I agree w/others... WHEN I'M HUNGRY, I EAT. :hungry:

You may not be getting enough nutritional foods for your body. Sometimes we consider ourselves hungry if we are not "full" - which is NOT the same thing. Eating a "regular meal" (i.e. no seconds, no "huge" portions, etc.) can seem daunting when we have become too accustomed to stuffing our face. It took me quite a while to get used to the feeling of "eating less." But once I did, now I can't even imagine 2nd helpings on most days.

BTW, counting calories is really not so bad! I was opposed to it for the longest time, until I finally realized that I can eat ANYTHING I want (I just can't eat EVERYTHING I want ;) ) and stay within my caloric range, and STILL lose weight. I have come to heavily depend on FitDay for counting my calories. Sometimes I don't (like on holiday weekends, vacation, etc) but I can still get a nice general "feel" for a basic guesstimation of how many calories I'm taking in. AND IT'S WORKING.

So I would suggest that you give calorie counting a good honest try! - and if it's not for you, don't sweat it! Keep trying different "diets" until you find one that works for you. :hug:

How I wish someone would have told me about the Glycemic Index chart when I first started...Google the term..there are foods that will satiate you and keep you full so that you don't feel the need for more and more food...

p.s. LOVE Switzerland! :)

I would tend to agree with H82Sweat--get more protein in there. It will help you feel more satisfied. And Ennay makes a good point--a couple hundred more calories of mostly protein is not going to hurt your weight loss.

If you want an extra helping, make it more protein, not more carbs.

Jay

That depends on what you mean by hunger. If it's actual hunger, I'll find something to eat. I'll make sure it's something relatively healthy--I have hundred calorie nut packets, I have greek yogurt, I have pickles, I have roasted seaweed snacks.

If it's "hunger", then I'll make myself have something to drink, and then walk. Over the past six months, I've gotten pretty good at telling the difference.

I agree with everyone else you need to look at your meals and rethink them. you can be eating a ton more at the same if not less amount of calories. You need to add more veggies fruit and protein into the mix.

If I'm grumpy or have a headache from hunger, I've waited way too long to eat, and am likely to overeat because of it. I have to prevent hunger from getting to that point, because it's a lot easier to prevent out-of-control hunger than to reign it in once it's raging.


I also hate calorie counting, but I love my exchange plan. Exchange plans are a short-hand way to count calories, and once you get the hang of it, it's as simple as checking off boxes on a little worksheet (you can find worksheets online, for example at tops.org in their tools section. I made my own because I wanted a lower carb exchange plan, so I swapped out some of the bread exchanges for protein).

I had to eat lower carb, because I'm far hungrier on 3000 calories of normal eating than on 1000 calories of low-carb. I find that the more carbs I eat, the hungrier I get - It sometimes seems that I can't eat enough bread, potatoes, rice, or pasta to ever get full (even when they're whole grain sources).


You might find that restricting carbs (or at least the quickest digesting, highest glycemic ones) helps control hunger. You also might find exchange plans easier than counting calories (or you might not. The learning curve is very similar to standard calorie counting, but it's far easier to memorize and guesstimate with new foods). Just as with standard calorie counting there are paper and online sources to look up food values for most foods, and popular restaurants too.

I never used to think low-carb diets were healthy, but I discovered that I have a very difficult time losing any other way - at least not without feeling unbearably hungry all of the time. To have any semblence of a normal life, I have to keep quick digesting carbs to a minimum. I can even binge on fruit, which is why the exchange plan comes in handy. Much of the balance is already built in.