Suffering :(

ndj1979

OP - raise your deficit from 2 pound per week loss to one pund that will give you an extra 500 calories a day ..you don't have to eat all them back every day but it will give you more foods to eat.

if you are truly starving then your body is trying to tell you something.

dieting does not have to equal misery

MGarcia0504

When I first restricted myself to a 1200 calorie diet, I felt hungry all the time. There were times I felt like my face was sinking in. It was crazy but it showed me how much I was eating before compared to what I was supposed to be eating. Whenever I'd crave something sweet, I would turn to fruit. If I had the extra calories I'd even put in some peanut butter depending on the fruit and it would help me out of the craving.

Timorous_Beastie

Not much you can do when you're out of groceries, except plan for next time.

Be sure to include some tasty snacks that won't kill your calorie budget. Like strawberries... you can have about 250 grams of strawberries (pretty much a big bowl) for the same amount of calories as one little pouch of fruit snacks. Squirt a little Reddi-Whip on top and you've got a full blown dessert.

Pay attention to portion sizes. A serving of most ice cream is only about 150 calories per serving, but unless you're weighing it, it can be easy to have two or three servings at a time. (*gives husband side-eye*) Sometimes buying something like individually wrapped ice cream sandwiches is an easier way to limit portions.

For a chocolate fix, Quaker 90 calorie chocolate chip chewy granola bars are pretty good. For a little more calories, you can get protein or fiber bars with more nutritional content, but for a little something sweet to tide you over, the Quaker bars are (sometimes) more satisfying than two little "fun sized" candy bars or 90 calories in M&Ms.

Plan your food diary ahead of time. This can give you room to include a nighttime snack.

If you stick with a 2 pound a week goal, remember that it's 1000 calories below your maintenance. You're not failing if you go over. Go over by 100 calories, you're still 900 calories under. Even if you go over by 250 calories a day, every day, you'll still lose 1.5 lbs that week instead of 2.

If seeing the red numbers bothers you, switch to a 1.5 pound a week goal. It's still a good weekly rate. Personally, I like to have my calories set about 100 calories higher so I don't get the red numbers. It's silly, but it's what works for me. I know logically, there's not going to be any difference if I'm over by 10 calories, but I'd rather see that I'm under by 90.

Machka9

Just about the whole time while losing the 15 kg I wanted to lose, I was a little bit hungry. But feeling a little bit hungry is a good thing ... much better than feeling stuffed full.