How do you manage to get satisfied with less?

Francl27

It's the same advice I see everywhere... don't worry about big Holidays, just eat what you like in moderation. Order what you like at the restaurant, just eat half... It sounds so easy...

I've lost 80 pounds and I'm still struggling with this daily. Yesterday we went to visit family. It wasn't my first choice of food (hoagies, buffalo chicken nuggets, some salad but with dressing on it and nuts and cheese, cake and dessert, basically too many carbs, and I was up early so I already had some food to eat before I went there but I was STILL hungry and I ended up with massive carb cravings later, but I partly blame PMS for that too), and it was tough to say the least. It's not just that the food is there... it's that I'm not satisfied with a small portion.

See, that's random. Sometimes I'm satisfied after a serving or less. But sometimes (more often that not lately), it takes 3. That's with pretty much every food... Obviously sweets are worse. My question is... How do you make yourself satisfied with just a little bit? My sister in law has no problem with it... a small piece of something and she's happy. Heck I had no problem with it a year ago. Now it seems that for the first month in almost two years I'm going to end up gaining a pound instead of losing one. It doesn't always end up in a binge, and when I eat too much of something, it's still pretty much until I am satisfied (so it can be one extra cookie, or 4).

Advice? Short of avoiding foods that I end up eating too much of (which I'm working on, this week end just derailed me because my mom came to visit and brought my favorite cookies)... and which isn't really practical for Holidays etc.

starbinka

I don't blame you if you don't want to go this route but I have been using Belviq and they really help with the cravings. My other advice would be to bring something filling with you and eat it before the cravings (eg an apple) -- I know once I start eating sugar it can be hard to stop.

Marie047

Try increasing your protein intake, this keeps you fuller for longer, and also check that you are at the correct cal intake for your height, age weight etc.

Phrick

How is your fat intake? Even though I get plenty of protein (well above 120g daily), if I don't get enough fats along with it then I fall into the crave-and-cave thing. I have a hard time keeping my fats up, and really notice it if they fall below around 50g a day I totally stalk the fridge.

Francl27

Marie047 wrote: »

Try increasing your protein intake, this keeps you fuller for longer, and also check that you are at the correct cal intake for your height, age weight etc.

My protein is totally fine. And yeah I'm definitely not undereating, lol.

Phrick wrote: »

How is your fat intake? Even though I get plenty of protein (well above 120g daily), if I don't get enough fats along with it then I fall into the crave-and-cave thing. I have a hard time keeping my fats up, and really notice it if they fall below around 50g a day I totally stalk the fridge.

Always over 60g. Closer to 70-90 lately. I agree that I need fat too, but I also have a hard time finding higher fat foods that actually fill me up.

GauchoMark

Look into flexible dieting.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/a-guide-to-flexible-dieting/

Also, take a look at this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1317252/the-mental-part-of-losing-weight

What you are describing is akin to the elephant getting out of control and running loose for a while (from the second link). It might be better to give the elephant what he wants more frequently so you can control the beast!

Caroljeanbennett

I am having the same problem. Was doing so good and now have gained back over half of my loss. I am so discouraged almost to the point of giving up. At this point.. simply cannot get satisfied. Please someone here has to have some help

xcalygrl

Making sure your are meeting your fat and protein goals will help you feel full. I know if I have a low protein and/or fat day, I'm pretty much always hungry. Those days are hard for me to stay at/just below my calorie goal because I feel constantly hungry.

When you feel like snacking, even though you've just eaten, try to drink a big glass of water or some unsweetened tea. If, after drinking the water/tea, you are still hungry, try snacking on something high in fat and protein (cheese with a little lunch meat, nuts with some chicken, etc.).

Also, when was the last time you recalculated your calorie needs? As you get close to your weight goal, you should increase your calories closer to your maintenance needs. You'll still be losing, but when you're within 20 pounds of your goal, you should only look to lose 0.5 pounds a week. Double check that your weight loss goal in MFP reflects this. (If you still have over 20 pounds to lose, you should have your weight loss goal set to 1.0 pounds per week.)

If you're following the MFP calculations and exercising, are you eating back your exercise calories? If not, you might want to start eating back 1/3 to 1/2 of them back to see if that helps. MFP is set up to give you a deficit to lose even if you don't/can't exercise.

Francl27

GauchoMark wrote: »

Look into flexible dieting.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/a-guide-to-flexible-dieting/

Also, take a look at this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1317252/the-mental-part-of-losing-weight

What you are describing is akin to the elephant getting out of control and running loose for a while (from the second link). It might be better to give the elephant what he wants more frequently so you can control the beast!

No, I've always incorporated those things in my diet!

999tigger

The first target in my diet is to avoid hunger because id find that annoying and more difficult to deal with. Ive switched from the empty calories or very dense caloried junk food to more fruit and veg, complex carbs plus lean protein, which gets me a lot more for my calories and is easier to meet my nutritional targets with. I then have an amount left for treats and higher density foods.

So your question was how do you make yourself satisfied with the smaller amount? And you are talking to a person who would have a massive plateful. Veg is not a smaller amount but still a massive plateful. That takes away the hunger.

Which then moves you onto the next question how do you deal with the fact you get 1 slice of cheesecake rather than the whole one? I enjoy and appreciate the portion I have, chew more or just take longer to eat and then keep my eye on the target that I want to lose weight and get healthy and fit more than I am bothered about treats. Once I have focused, then am always keen on completing and doing a good job as efficiently as possible.

I do have a safety valve though, which I think helps. I keep it all in perspective. I neither deny myself food and I know that if I really want a break or a pizza then its not a big deal if I have one, especially if I hit a target. Thats to be used sparingly though as im more interested in getting to target, but I always balance my own happiness against that and look at the bigger picture. This means im not stressed about it because it stops you feeling trapped. Willing lifestyle change v tortuous.

Another safety valve is to try and find an alternative that gives me most of the satisfaction of what i wnat to eat but is just lowe calorie. there was a thread for people who had a chocolate craving.

The other safety valve I use is exercise. I simple do my fare share and will do enough to blunt any binge i might have had or want to have. Its one of the more active ways you can supplement your need for food or treats. Hard work sometimes, but i think its often overlooked and like fighting with one arm tied behind your back if you ont use it as part of your strategy.

A lot of this is just mindset, but its importnat to think things through as it helps you feel more in control. Hope that helps.

Francl27

xcalygrl wrote: »

Making sure your are meeting your fat and protein goals will help you feel full. I know if I have a low protein and/or fat day, I'm pretty much always hungry. Those days are hard for me to stay at/just below my calorie goal because I feel constantly hungry.

When you feel like snacking, even though you've just eaten, try to drink a big glass of water or some unsweetened tea. If, after drinking the water/tea, you are still hungry, try snacking on something high in fat and protein (cheese with a little lunch meat, nuts with some chicken, etc.).

Also, when was the last time you recalculated your calorie needs? As you get close to your weight goal, you should increase your calories closer to your maintenance needs. You'll still be losing, but when you're within 20 pounds of your goal, you should only look to lose 0.5 pounds a week. Double check that your weight loss goal in MFP reflects this. (If you still have over 20 pounds to lose, you should have your weight loss goal set to 1.0 pounds per week.)

If you're following the MFP calculations and exercising, are you eating back your exercise calories? If not, you might want to start eating back 1/3 to 1/2 of them back to see if that helps. MFP is set up to give you a deficit to lose even if you don't/can't exercise.

I do TDEE and I've pretty much been eating at maintenance for a month. I mean, I'm trying to keep a deficit, but I'm hungry after a couple days of that, so I typically end up eating at maintenance in average.

I typically eat 120+ grams of protein and 60-70g of fat. I do the tea/coffee thing (water doesn't do anything for me and I drink a ton all the time anyway). I've found that fiber with protein and/or fat is what satisfies me the most. I do need to try to find more fat/protein snacks to munch on though (nuts just really aren't my thing and don't fill me up anyway).

@999Tiger yeah I do all that, it just seems it's not working lately (although I always try to keep baby carrots in the house because they help a lot, lol).

Great advice everyone, it's mostly what I've been trying to do, it just doesn't seem to help with the moderation thing.

Caroljeanbennett

Thanks. This is such a good program and I am going to try to get on track this very day. I am going to try to concentrate on the tea/water and small snack of cheese and nuts. Also this is my first day to post and I believe maybe the personal encouragement of others may help.

GauchoMark

Francl27 wrote: »

GauchoMark wrote: »

Look into flexible dieting.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/a-guide-to-flexible-dieting/

Also, take a look at this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1317252/the-mental-part-of-losing-weight

What you are describing is akin to the elephant getting out of control and running loose for a while (from the second link). It might be better to give the elephant what he wants more frequently so you can control the beast!

No, I've always incorporated those things in my diet!

Maybe so, but you are describing a situation where you get out of control nonetheless. If you are knowingly overeating and can't stop yourself, then that still might indicate that you are too restrictive. It could be that since you have been dieting for so long you need a mental break - it happens.

It just sounds like a mental obstacle you need to figure out.

LiminalAscendance

My experience has been that my appetite (hence my cravings) lessens as I decrease the amount of food that I eat. It's not a conscious effort of avoidance, or nagging when the need isn't met.

I've been told that your stomach doesn't shrink (which I won't dispute), but I certainly know my appetite does (perhaps I'm "special," would like to think so).

What works for me is consuming smaller quantities of food at each sitting (I'm not recommending anyone go below their healthy caloric intake), which may result in more frequent, but smaller (of course), meals.

No, this isn't needed to lose weight, and it may work for no one else but me.

About a week ago, I went out and "splurged" on a modest-sized dinner (burger, fries, and appetizers). I was feeling uncomfortably full towards the end of the meal...a situation which would not have happened previously.

Lourdesong

For me, moderation is ideal because I'd rather have a small portion of foods I love than no portion, or worse - so big a portion that I'll put on weight. Sure, I would prefer to eat as big of a portion as I desire and not suffer any consequences, but the universe doesn't appear to be designed to cater to my wishes in such a way. And I am just going to have to deal with that fact by eating the foods I love in moderation.

SideSteel

Here is my opinion so far:

This is one of those things that doesn't necessarily have a simple solution.

It SOUNDS to me like the issue may not actually be hunger in a traditional sense as much as it could be hunger when you start eating hyper-palatable food. So for example if you had a meal of plain boiled potatoes, broccoli, and tilapia I would question whether the need to continually eat is still present. Maybe it is, I don't know as I'm only speculating based on what you're describing.


So the next question I would have would be whether or not you NEED to address this by trying to reduce your portion sizes of those food items.

What I'm getting at is this --- suppose you allow yourself to over-eat when you're at a restaurant and you also allow yourself to over-eat when you're at a social event. But you don't do these events frequently enough to derail your progress as a whole. IF this is the case then I'd say rock on.

Can you do these things infrequently enough that you still make progress?

GAV8dq

Foods low in energy density help too and don't over complicate it.. Increase the protein intake lower the starch. It is a case of making it too much of an issue too

spikrgrl503

When I feel this way I'm usually dehydrated. Make sure you're drinking enough!

GAV8dq

and will power, there are no excuses. you simply just have to say no!!

cbhubbybubble

I think I get you. I really don't think it's a matter of hunger, it's a matter of your desire being satisfied. I'm not sure it ever completely happens, at least not for me. I have to self talk myself to convince I don't "need" the extra, I just "want" it. I like food. I like the taste of food. I like high calorie food. I can have 2 pieces of pizza and my hunger is satisfied, but the part of me that likes food because it tastes good is not satisfied....I think that's what you're referring to. I haven't found a way to make me stop wanting that extra piece of pizza, so can't help you there. I just have to talk myself out of taking it. Sometimes I win that battle and sometimes I lose.

999tigger

Probably what gaucho said about being too restrictive. You also havent managed the right balance and mindset otherwise your willpower would be dealing with it, when you come to going off the rails a bit. You have the choice eat three slices or stick to one.