So a thing is finally happening that I've wanted to happen for a long time, and I'm seeing that it comes with a downside.

I've finally detached myself from the idea that I must have certain things, like sweets or snacks or wine, for my day to be happy and complete. I'm actually at the point where I eat for results and not reward, which is what I've needed for a long time. The downside is that I'm discovering it takes a lot less food to fill me up than I thought, or possibly than I need. Focusing on clean foods without the nightly crackers, cheese, and wine (just as one example) means I have a lot more calories to play with every day, which should be good except that I regularly find myself stuffed long before I should be. I then have to force myself to eat when I'm already full, which feels gross. I'm hard pressed to understand how I can get to this point on, say, 1100 calories per day, which I believe is dangerously low for most people. Maybe it's just that clean food is more satiating, but it still makes me nervous to have that kind of calorie intake for more than a day or so. I'd never want to rely on it for weight loss since it's not sustainable. Which means...I gotta eat more food, which is really hard now for some reason. It's also weird for someone who used to snarf half a bag of those toffee almond chocolate nuggets at one sitting.

I should add that I like the food I'm currently eating, and the only thing I particularly miss at the moment is wine but I think that will ease up over time. So I'm not wishing I could go back to the chocolate-snarfing days. But I am wondering if I got maybe a little too detached where food is concerned. Anyone else run into this?

Foods that are high in fiber or protein tend to be more filling. Unhealthy diets are usually low in fiber, so it's easier to eat more.

I recommend doing some weightlifting at least twice a week. It'll speed up your metabolism and you'll be able to eat more.

Eating more healthy fat can be an easy way to add calories. For example, just 1 tbsp of olive oil is 120 calories. I always put olive oil and garlic on my vegetables.

I lift weights four times per week, and it definitely makes a difference. My metabolism isn't slow, as far as I can tell. I'm having a tough time balancing between getting additional protein to support the lifting and not feeling so miserably full from that protein that I can't get enough calories. I like your idea of adding fats like olive oil because it's a lot less filling. I'm also going to try to eat more during the day so I don't have to stuff myself at night.

Is it possible that you eat too much protein? Do you count your macros?

Do you increase the amount of weight that you lift as it becomes easy?

I change my lifting routine about every six weeks or so. For example, I just dropped unweighted lunges and started doing split squats with a kettlebell, and I'll probably increase my squat reps soon. I'll shortly change my upper-body routine, probably by going back to heavier weights after a higher-rep phase. I have to be cautious and limit myself more than I would wish due to a chronic injury.

On a good day I can push my protein grams to about 90. Most days it's between 60 and 70. All of those numbers are nowhere near what I should be getting, which is why I've been trying to eat more. Carbs are between 80 and 110 per day. I do avoid refined carbs, but beyond that I'm not stressed about staying low carb.