I eat as well. The hardest part is not eating till you feel full. Just eat something, it can be small, and soon after you'll forget about the hungries. I always pished at people saying to eat some nuts, because after a couple nuts, I'm still starving....but if you wait a little bit, they actually help! For a long time, even! (I know longer than I wanted to not be hungry).
Other ideas:
- Eat smaller meals more often. It feels like you're eating more.
- Eat a whole bunch of something low cal. I go crazy for greens and vinegar. I could eat it all day long. Everyone has their one healthy thing that they can eat.
- Eat something small (handfull of nuts) and wait it out!
- DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK WATER!! Often our bodies confuse an empty tummy with hunger - when it's just thirst. You could fill it so full of water that it doesn't want any food!
First off - THANK YOU EVERYONE for your responses!!
I have thought a lot about this "crazy hunger".
This is my "plus" column -
+ I eat A LOT of veggies! Esp. at lunch!! (usually 2 cups)
+ protein with EVERY meal (eggs @ brekkie, chicken @ lunch, pork, chicken or beef @ dinner)
+ I do not drink my calories (except for the cream in my morning coffee)
+ I drink on average, 48-64 oz of water per day
+ I continue to count calories
+ I exercise 2-4 days per week; weight lifting, walking, swimming (swimming is now seasonally over)
Negatives?
- I do love my "treat time" each day, but I don't go overboard. 80% of the time I keep it to a 100-calorie count treat.
And that's really the only "negative" I can think of... even tho I don't really consider that to be a "negative".
The only thing I can see that I can change is to maybe eat MORE protein and either increase or decrease my exercise. I really don't see how decreasing my exercise can help... but... I'd be willing to try it.
Oh, and I am losing S-L-O-W-L-Y. About 1-2 lb per month. I deeply admire y'all that are losing 4-5 lb per month!!
Last edited by Beach Patrol; 11-10-2011 at 11:33 AM.
+ I eat A LOT of veggies! Esp. at lunch!! (usually 2 cups)
I was thinking more like.. 4-6 cups! When I eat cauliflower I eat the entire head (usually pureed, with a little milk), or 1/2+ entire head of cabbage, or 4 FULL roasted beets. My salads and veg stir fries don't fit into bowls- I have to use a medium-sized mixing bowl haha. I'm following Eat to Live which requires 2 POUNDS of vegetables a day. It's an absurdly large volume of food with very few calories (and tons and tons of nutrients) which gets me super full!
I don't mean to push this on you, just wanted to clarify what I meant by tons of veggies
I was thinking more like.. 4-6 cups! When I eat cauliflower I eat the entire head (usually pureed, with a little milk), or 1/2+ entire head of cabbage, or 4 FULL roasted beets. My salads and veg stir fries don't fit into bowls- I have to use a medium-sized mixing bowl haha. I'm following Eat to Live which requires 2 POUNDS of vegetables a day. It's an absurdly large volume of food with very few calories (and tons and tons of nutrients) which gets me super full!
I don't mean to push this on you, just wanted to clarify what I meant by tons of veggies
Good luck!
Another vote for high veggie volume here. I realized during this process that I love to eat large meals, big fun piles of food. And so I often forego something like a demure little 1/2 cup of brown rice in favor of an enormous pile of steamed broccoli for the same calories. The broccoli is more flavorful and has a fun crunchy texture too!
Eating tons of vegetables - roasted, steamed, sautéed, boiled, or raw - in great variety and great volume has been a great key to my success. It keeps my meals big, satisfying, and fun.
Another vote for high veggie volume here. I realized during this process that I love to eat large meals, big fun piles of food. And so I often forego something like a demure little 1/2 cup of brown rice in favor of an enormous pile of steamed broccoli for the same calories. The broccoli is more flavorful and has a fun crunchy texture too!
Eating tons of vegetables - roasted, steamed, sautéed, boiled, or raw - in great variety and great volume has been a great key to my success. It keeps my meals big, satisfying, and fun.
Of course, I have nothing against veggies (I eat more than 2 cups per day - I meant that I eat 2 cups AT LUNCH alone - sometimes more) - and I think it's great that you and others eat "big fun piles of food" & still stay on plan & manage to lose - BUT... part of my journey is not just losing weight - it's learning to stay within proper portion sizes of foods - because I am a binger, & that's VERY HARD to control... so, be it veggies, meat, treats, whatever. I feel like if I start eating much larger amounts of food (any food, including veggies) that I will start distorting the image of what a "serving size" is - and once that starts, it just gets out of control so quickly. And it's hard to increase ANY food without overall increase of calories, and since I'm a calorie counter... well... you see what I mean?
Whatever works for you, Beach. We all have to find our own path to sustainable weight loss.
It's a very tough balance to strike, finding the best approach for yourself. We have insights into various aspects of who we are and how we eat. And we have to make decisions about which of those aspects we need to change (because something has to change if we're going to lose weight), and which of those aspects we need to work with (because we are who we are, and we need change that is sustainable for ourselves).
For me, I learned that a plan of demure little delicate portions of food is simply not sustainable. I am not a demure little delicate person, and I need to feel like I've eaten something! I looked at my desire to eat big portions, and instead of trying to change it and train myself to eat less volume, I worked within it to find a plan that worked for me, by making the bulk of those big portions into vegetables in a way that fits within my caloric limits.
You, or someone else, might look at your desire to eat big portions, and decide that is an aspect you need to change, rather than an aspect to work with as I did. That's fine too. Only you can know what kind of approach is going to work for you - really only trial and error will tell you. But at any rate, you don't have to justify your approach to anyone. I don't take it personally if someone finds my approach to weight loss isn't right for them. Goodness knows there are things other people find success doing ("skinny cow" desserts? protein shakes?) that could never, ever be a part of a successful plan for me.
it's learning to stay within proper portion sizes of foods[/U] - because I am a binger, & that's VERY HARD to control... [/B]so, be it veggies, meat, treats, whatever. I feel like if I start eating much larger amounts of food (any food, including veggies) that I will start distorting the image of what a "serving size" is - and once that starts, it just gets out of control so quickly. And it's hard to increase ANY food without overall increase of calories, and since I'm a calorie counter... well... you see what I mean?
I'm a calorie-counter too, and for me a serving size is derived not from a standard cup size or percentage of the plate the veggies are taken up. It's derived from weight. Because different veggies have vastly different weights, a serving of spinach looks VERY different from a serving of sweet potato.
Someone might say "a portion size of veggies is half the plate" or "1/4 of the plate." But that doesn't make sense to me- it only takes 15 pieces of spinach, or 1/2 of a beet to fill up half the plate. However, it does take a much smaller amount of sweet potato to do so. Yet the calorie counts are WILDLY different. A sweet potato may be 130 calories while those 15 leaves of spinach are less than 10 total.
So instead I weigh, and know that 100 g of sweet potato will give me a different calorie count from 100 g of spinach. And that 100 g of spinach will look HUGE, but it's delivering the same calories, more nutrients, and filling me up.
So yes, eating literally a bowlful of spinach will increase my overall calories (from otherwise those 15 pieces), but only from around 10 calories to 100 calories.
I love having most of my calories coming from veggies. They are nutrient dense and voluminous. But like carter said, you know your body best, so trust your own judgment. I know nothing about binge behavior and only you can identify what is best for you. Good luck!!
Of course, I have nothing against veggies (I eat more than 2 cups per day - I meant that I eat 2 cups AT LUNCH alone - sometimes more) - and I think it's great that you and others eat "big fun piles of food" & still stay on plan & manage to lose - BUT... part of my journey is not just losing weight - it's learning to stay within proper portion sizes of foods - because I am a binger, & that's VERY HARD to control... so, be it veggies, meat, treats, whatever. I feel like if I start eating much larger amounts of food (any food, including veggies) that I will start distorting the image of what a "serving size" is - and once that starts, it just gets out of control so quickly. And it's hard to increase ANY food without overall increase of calories, and since I'm a calorie counter... well... you see what I mean?
I do---and you took the words right out of my mouth! I was just going to post a similar response. Even if something is low calorie, I try to still eat a normal portion size. I'm trying to train myself to eat correct portion sizes because for years it seemed like only two or three platefuls of food were ever enough for me.
I do---and you took the words right out of my mouth! I was just going to post a similar response. Even if something is low calorie, I try to still eat a normal portion size. I'm trying to train myself to eat correct portion sizes because for years it seemed like only two or three platefuls of food were ever enough for me.
Exactly!! I swear... it's difficult!!! but I'm learning! (baby steps, beach patrol... baby steps!!!)
but... I'd be willing to try it. 
And it's hard to increase ANY food without overall increase of calories, and since I'm a calorie counter... well... you see what I mean? 
