How do you get full?

sarahi2009

I just started this program and I love the site I think it has great tools. I read that some people are having difficulty spending their calories. I on the other hand have the opposite problem. I seem to have a negative balance. I don't think I am eating a lot and in fact, I have cut a lot but I still end up with a negative balance. What is more important, the calorie count or that I am spending my calories eating healthy food? Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

mlb929

My trick is water water water - a good quality - not large breakfast, small am/pm snacks, I have my dinner calories for lunch, and a very small dinner, then nothing before I go to bed. But my key to not eating too much is drinking water first whenever I think I want something.

Thorneapple

I load up on veggies whenever possible. Low calories and filling.

ashlee954

Calorie count is key to losing pounds. You do want to eat healthy, however. Some ideas for low cal healthy foods include: fruit, egg whites, veggies, light popcorn, fish, chicken, lean meats, etc.

chillyrodent

On days when I can make a big salad for one meal, I feel more satisfied all day long, and often end under my calorie goal. Two birds/one stone: I'm eating fewer calories AND eating healthy food.

Sherri71

High fiber, high protien, low sugar, low salt and WATER, WATER, WATER to stay full. Also, eating something light every 3-4 hours instead of eating 3 large meals. It's always best to stay in the green when you close your log each day, even if you only have 2 or 3 calories left for the day. If you are in the red every day, you won't be able to lose weight at all. Having an off day here or there is OK, but do not make a habit of it. If you are in the red (negative) at the end of the day, fit in some exercise to get you back in the green or at least close to it.

Alisha28

Dont get to caught up with trying to cut cals to 1200, if your use to eating lets say 1800 or 2000 start by cutting back 300 and exercise. The more your tummy shrinks the more full you will get, I promise. Also dont go hours without eating smaller snacks throughout the day helps.
Hope that helps:)


Alisha

sarahi2009

I find that even though I am eating well the calories are just adding up. I do drink tons of water as well. I was under the impression that if I eat well balance fruit and veggies it woudn't matter if I went over the calories am I wrong?

hobojo

i limit my self to a 1200 calorie a day diet, any less and it can do the whole starvation mode i was reading on, its all based on what you personally can do, any ways, ya the best thing to do is most calories during the day at lunch and least around dinner. another way is to portion your snacks and lunches and breakfast, i try to go by the whole cup of which ever and cup of this, and take your time when youre eating, it will also help.when you intake you have to burn it off, and the whole point of counting your calories are to burn whats in your body along with still feeding it. its like trying to burn off all that reserve fuel that your body has stored, but you gotta kick start it by feeding it first. if you intake more than what you plan WITHOUT exercising the extra off, its hard to lose it, but if you exercise and work off more than what you intook then you're good to go. and yes i agree with MLB, water is a good thing. if your not a big fan of water 24/7(not many are lol) try sobe life water 0 calories, they have about 5-7 different flavors, and there is basically nothing in it except a few nutrients, its like flavored water basically, it has a natural sweetener so no sugar or equal and they are a break away from bland water( if you dont like using flavor packets either). but def try to plan out your breakfast lunch and dinner a day in advanced so that way you can adjust as needed. i researched different calorie levels of different foods and food amounts and id say def sticking w/ veggies and fruits are an easy way to snack and still limit calories, and jus be sure to read labels in the stores. :happy: i hope this helped a bit.

dspearsb

You have to find what works for you. I need a nice sized breakfast with lots of fiber. Lots of fruit and veggies with lunch to stay full. Then my dinner takes most of calories. Also, I try to drink 1-2 glasses of water before I eat, so i don't inhale the kitchen! If you're still really hungry maybe you should up your calories a little.

chauncyrenayCHANGED

For me, I have found that the trick is eating food that is low in calories, yet filling. Every morning I have oatmeal and it fills me up but isn't too many calories. It is definitely important to stay under your calorie goal for sure!

hobojo

if you like look up calorie density in food, and you will find different foods that will fill you up but have a low calorie level. Google will become your friend

wolfchild59

Lots of water and eating slowly. I make sure that from first bite to last with lunch and dinner that 20 minutes passes. I don't remember where I found it, but back when I first started MFP I would hit the Internet for tons of questions about stuff. And one of the things I found was taking 20 minutes to eat since that is the average time it takes for your brain to register when you're no longer hungry. So I gave it a try and it made a huge difference. I went from eating my lunch then counting down that last half hour to my snack to sometimes not even realizing that my snack time had come and gone. And I didn't change what I was eating at all, I just took longer to eat it.

sarahi2009

ok, well I will try eating less calories during the day so I can eat more at dinner. I know it sounds crazy but dinner is the only meal I get with my family so whatever my husband makes is what we eat so whatever that is I need to save my calories for then. Thanks guys

atucker0821

i agree with water, water, water...i drink a bottle of water before a meal and then a bottle with my meal...that isn't hard for me because i grew up drinking myself full and hearing the dreaded "clean your plate" speech...i think that is what contributes to my binge overeating...there is my oprah couch moment...lol...

but i drink alot and snack during the day to stave off hunger...

indkate

I try to go high fiber/high protein, and stay away from just carb snacks (which is hard b/c they are my favorite).
Apples, pears
Greek yogurt
Carrots/celery with hummus
Edamame (lightly salted)
Low-fat string cheese (sargento is just 50 calories per string)
.....and a ton of water!

Good luck!

julianpoutram

The key is protein

ronchap

I eat a good amount of low calorie but filling stuff egg whites, lean chicken, tuna. At first there was days I struggled but over time I I wasn't feeling hungry or if I did maybe I'd get a carrot or celery with laughing cow cheese. It'll all come together.

girlruns

Can we see your diary? It might help with some more specific examples. Also, if you have your weight loss set to 2 pounds a week, you can up your calorie allowance by changing it to 1 pound. And make sure to add in your exercise (MFP system adds those back in for you to eat).

Otherwise ditto on the small snacks, water, fruits and veggies comments.

Grokette

Water, Water, Water

Adequate FAT intake - This is extremely important

Adequate Protein Intake - This is second on the importance list

Loads of veggies

aippolito1

The most important part is eating the right amount of calories. If you are eating healthy foods, you should be able to achieve this. Even though you're eating healthy foods now, you probably just need a different variation or rotation. Instead of say, an apple for a snack, try almonds. It's a little higher in calories but the fiber and protein will fill you up longer. If you're eating carbs, pick something lower in calories that's still healthy. If you don't like whole grain pasta, try multigrain pasta. Also, serving sizes. You can also shave calories just by cutting the serving size. Say, something is 170 calories and you only have 150, only eat 3/4 of the serving size vs. a whole one.

chillyrodent

You'll be healthier overall, but if you eat more calories than you burn you'll gain weight. Doesn't matter if they're "healthy" calories or not.

But, if you're set up to have a 500 kcal/day deficit and you consistently go 100 over your goal, you'll still lose weight (with a deficit of 400 kcal). Is it possible your goal is set too low, and you're trying to lose too fast? That could leave you hungry.

sarahi2009

thanks for all of you suggestions, I think maybe is the choice of foods that are killing me. I am trying to be more aware of what I eat without going over my calorie intake. Since I am pretty new at this and the calorie counting thing I guess it will take a few trial and error to get to where I can figure out what my body needs and how often. I am also keeping a food diary so I can go back and see what is or is not working, Im loading up on water and trying to have a small snack every two hours. My goal is to loose a pound a week whiich I think it's reasonable but if I make the right choices.