So hungry!! I've been tracking my calories

KatProf27

for a couple days and even though I'm eating protein along with fruit/whole grains. I am feeling so hungry! I've never been good at 'dieting' but really want to stick with this plan. Tell me your tricks. What do you do to get over the food obsession and cravings? How long does it take for your body to adapt to less food?

sgv0918

i remember feeling that way for the 1st week and a half or so. Power through and it gets easier

lwagnitz

Mine usually takes between 2-3 days, but I was never really a big eater, I just hadn't been eating good foods. I think a good trick was just to eat slowly and drink a lot of water to help you feel full. It takes your brain 20 minutes to realize your full, so slow it down. I've heard the trick to put the fork down between bites, or put the foot down, if finger food. That helps you eat slower and feel more full more quickly. The less of junk food you eat, the less you crave it, so it's just going to take a little time to get over that hump.

JenMull44

I felt that way for the first 6 weeks. I went from 1800 to 1200 calories per day.
ITs hard to go too bed hungry but eventually you get full faster and you get used to
smaller meals.
IT really does work !

melsinct

Your diary is not public so it is hard to give you specific advice other than make sure you are eating enough calories. Also, don't think of it as a diet. You are changing the way you eat because you don't want to be overweight anymore. The old way of eating is gone forever!

After a few weeks I got used to eating less and after a few months it was practically second nature. It does get better!

MrsRando

i remember feeling that way for the 1st week and a half or so. Power through and it gets easier

^^ this. The first week or so is the hardest. It's mind over matter and will get easier as you go along. Keep with it.

ColleenRoss50

I have found eating lots of raw veggies and salads to be very helpful, especially at first. You can eat humungous salads (not too heavy on the dressing) and still be consuming relatively few calories. If you add things like sliced cheese, chicken, tuna or salmon you almost have a complete meal in itself and it is quite filling (at least for me).

julieh1973

A few things that have helped me were: drinking a ton of water, cutting an apple into small bites and mixing with a small handful of peanuts (sweet, salty & satisfies the need for lots of chewing), gum, giving up artificial sweeteners (diet sodas). Eating lower calorie foods will also allow you to be able to eat more. For example bread that is 40 calories a slice, grilled seafood, lower calorie salad dressings, lower calorie soups, watermelon, tomaoes, egg whites, etc. but I have no idea of the foods you enjoy so you may do better to look for low calorie snacks on the internet. There is a post on here (MFP) where someone has made a list of 88 snacks under 100 calories that is wonderful. Also, do have a snack if you allow yourself to get too hungry you are more likely to overeat.

rprussell2004

It took me a while, but now I'm (mostly) able to differentiate between two kinds of hungry.

The first is genuine HUNGER. I need FOOD.

The second is more of a "my stomach's used to getting something about now, so it's growling."

Can you tell whether you're HUNGRY or if it's just out of habit?

I found it's easier to ignore or at least postpone the habit one, or stave it off with water or something....

Dhemeyer

It certainly is tough in the beginning. HIgh proteine foods will take your body longer to break down, so keep up with the protien at every meal and consider adding more. Also add in nutrient dense foods (my fav's are Broccoli and barries, or if you need something quick and easy I drink Shakeology every day too).

Finally, try eating lots of mini-meals. Not only should this help keep you from feeling hungry all the time, but it should help prevent a plateau later on down the road. Eating often… every 2.5 – 3 hours helps prevent your body from going into a starvation mode (the slowing down of your metabolism when your body isn’t getting the fuel it needs) and staves off the hunger panges. My eating schedule looks something like this:
7am = Breakfast

9:30am = Snack

12pm = Lunch

2:30pm = Snack

5:30pm = Dinner

8pm = Snack

Good luck and best wishes!

soehlerking

Personally I started out at losing just 1/2lb each week so I could ease into it. that put me around 1700calories/day. I recently dropped down to 1200, which was really hard at first, but you do get used to it (as was previously said). And YES, eat often! I'm hypogylcemic, so I have to eat often or I get dizzy and cranky, but it's good for all of us.

myfitnessnmhoy

You need to open your diary up so we can see what you are eating, but here's some generic advice for what it's worth.

1. It's OK to ease in to this. Really. You didn't race to put the weight on, you don't need to race to take it off.

2. Start tracking proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and sugars. Make sure you are getting enough proteins, and not too many sugars. Try to keep fats right around goal. Let carbohydrates fall where they may. I found in the beginning that my diet was made up of excellent components (fruit, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, etc), in horrible proportions. I was a carb hound and my proteins were LOW, so I got hungry. A few quick swaps - a little less fruit, a switch from bread to a wrap, some additional meat and cheese in my turkey wrap, BLAMMO, I was a lot less hungry for the same calories. Switching my bagel breakfast to oatmeal and an egg was also a HUGE hunger-saver, as was converting from three meals a day to 5-6 smaller meals.

3. Water. Lots of water.

4. Cinnamon gum. Cinnamon is an appetite suppressant and the strong flavor/odor masks the smell of tempting foods.

lucyannp

I'm on 1200 and it was a challenge at first but I now find it a lot easier. I'm not super strict though so anywhere between 1200-1400 suits me and that allows me to eat a bit more if I have a 'hungry' day.

I'm a snacker too... my day looks like this:

9am breakfast (I take it to work with me)

11 am snack

12:30 lunch

4 pm snack

6:30pm dinner

I also eat my main meal in the middle of the day as often as possible so that I stay full and just need a top up at about 4pm. This means I have all afternoon to burn off my calories! Eating at 4 also stops me being starving when I get home so I eat less at tea.

If you drink tea or coffee at all make sure you're using skimmed milk and cut back by using no butter or get a low calorie spread. The small changes will make the difference. I got my dad doing this and by changing his snacks and type of bread (and a bit more walking the dog!) he's lost 7lb. I'm down 9lb I keep sugar free jelly in the fridge for those munchie times!

kierstin1976

Several low calorie, high protein snacks. I would watch the clock waiting for my next snack.

avt85

might need to open up your diary to the public if you need people on the forum to offer suggestions and see what you need tinkering with your daily diet.

but all I can say that has worked for me (coming from someone who used to consume 3,000 calories per day minimum) to now eating at a comfortable deficit of 1,000 per day, is to re-evaluate the food that you eat and try to substitute any high calorie foods for low calorie ones.

If your main problem is snacking or dessert, there are alot of low calorie type of foods out there. Air poppped popcorn, sugarfree jelly, oatmeal, etc....

spngebobmyhero

up your healthy fats and your vegetables. Lower your fruit intake for a bit. Those are just my suggestions and they have worked for me. Fruit makes me hungry.

mangohead100

I have the same problem. I've been on mfp for two months now. I do alright for about six days on a net 1200-1250 calories, but then I have some kind of mental block and end up binging on carbs and sugars on day seven. I exercise every day (mixing walking, biking, swimming and weight training) to be able to eat the calories I want. Maybe I need to up my net calories? I can't even imagine a day where I could only eat 1200 calories, so I exercise to be able to eat more.

I eat a big breakfast (usually eggs, greek yogurt and some fruit), drink 8 or more glasses of water or herbal tea a day, and snack on veggies plus lean protein. My meals are usually lean protein with vegetables. My grain intake is really low.

I am really curious about any advice because I sure could use some help!

caraiselite

eating fat in the morning helps me to stay full.