Week two and so hungry!

dortilolma

I am sitting at work fighting the urge to go down to the shop and buy a nibble that will be high in calories and just bad for me. But I am just so hungry and feel like I need something satisfying (not fruit in other words ... getting a little tired of fruit).

Week one was grand - I think I had the balance right and felt great all week. This week I'm always hungry. I just want to nibble at things!

Do other's find week 2 hard? How do a I manage this hunger?


Bit of background - I'm trying to loose a little bit of weight and break a lifetime of bad eating habits. I have never had good portion control and eat when I'm bored. I was my ideal weight in 2010 and over the past three years have slowly gained 22 pounds.

djeffreys10

How big of a deficit are you maintaining?

mckellipgirl

It's so hard at the beginning. I felt as though I was hungry but I really wasn't, I just wanted all of the bad things I should have!

Stay strong, it gets better!

dortilolma

How big of a deficit are you maintaining?

About 500 calories - I'm trying to be careful that I don't go over board.

dortilolma

It's so hard at the beginning. I felt as though I was hungry but I really wasn't, I just wanted all of the bad things I should have!

Stay strong, it gets better!

Thank you! I'm trying, only an hour of the day left to go then home and making dinner!

carriespence1

It's just a craving. (Though it feels like you're gonna just die) drink a glass of water and see if that helps. That's what gets me through most of the time. Besides you'll feel so guilty after eating crap it'll ruin your whole day. If u must have sweet buy those Atkins endulge. . They help

djeffreys10

Hard to give any input as to what you can do different without being able to see your diary.

dortilolma

Am ignoring craving and drinking herbal tea!

Hard to give any input as to what you can do different without being able to see your diary.

My bad - didn't realize that was locked down.

Rooooose

Just keep going! This is my second week too, and sometimes I feel really hungry too but I see losing weight as a mental challenge too and that really helps me. Also, when I feel I really need to eat something, I just eat. But very slowly and small bits, and do some extra exercising to compensate. If you are more a sporty person like me this might help you

nicola1141

Yeah I think the 2nd week is difficult. The "shine" is off from the first week and your body is starting to realize you're feeding it less (whether true or just in my mind), so you start to want to slip back. Be strong - try to find things that really fill you up (for me, a little bowl of oatmeal as a snack really helps quiet the growly tummy). Do some more exercise so you can earn yourself more food to eat. Drink lots.

jangier

Try to have some snacks with protein to keep you fuller longer. You could pair the fruit with peanut butter, or grab veggies with hummus. Other protein ideas would be greek yogurt, almonds, deli lunch meat slices, hard boiled egg, cheese stick.

howardheilweil

You don't have to just have fruit for snacks... You should mix it up a bit... low cal cheese sticks, nuts, seeds, veggies and low cal dip. I try to bring different things with me to work every day.

Lizzy622

I usually have about 400 calories for breakfast and make sure to have some protein ( egg, greek yogurt, peanut butter). If I eat less I am starving before lunch. To compensate I have made my dinners smaller.

mckellipgirl

Thank you! I'm trying, only an hour of the day left to go then home and making dinner!

Haha It's funny you said that because I've had many days like that. Watching the clock for the next time I can have my snack/meal. It does get easier, your body adjusts and you start feeling much better.

AliceMpls

Drink a glass of water or chew a peice of sugarless gum. If you're still dying of hunger in 15 min then have a snack. Sugarless gum is a life saver for me sometimes

dortilolma

Thank you everyone!!
I got through the day without hitting those snacks and got home to a lovely stir fry my fiancee had cooked up!

Today my breakfast has felt way more satisfying (boiled egg, half a grapefruit and a piece of dry toast).

Thanks for the advice, I will be stocking up on some more varied snacks this weekend!

amy1612

Thank you everyone!!
I got through the day without hitting those snacks and got home to a lovely stir fry my fiancee had cooked up!

Today my breakfast has felt way more satisfying (boiled egg, half a grapefruit and a piece of dry toast).

Thanks for the advice, I will be stocking up on some more varied snacks this weekend!

I always find eggs more filling for breakfast, with porridge I'm hungry within an hour. I'd maybe have 2 eggs though, keep you going longer.

Youre diary isnt so bad,I'd say you could probably get away with eating more (below 1500 is quite a low calorie goal). If you're hungry, eat. Maybe keep some nuts at work or something. I like to snack on meat (ham or turkey)

JesterMFP

Thank you everyone!!
I got through the day without hitting those snacks and got home to a lovely stir fry my fiancee had cooked up!

Today my breakfast has felt way more satisfying (boiled egg, half a grapefruit and a piece of dry toast).

Thanks for the advice, I will be stocking up on some more varied snacks this weekend!

My advice (bearing in mind that different things work for different people) is to try to incorporate more of the foods you actually like into your daily diet, regardless of whether they are viewed as "healthy" or have a "low cal" label on them. There are always going to be moments of self-denial when you are restricting your intake, but it doesn't need to be this difficult. If it feels like you're on a diet, then you're less likely to stick with it long term.

I read on your profile that you're looking to create healthier habits, which is great. Habits take time to change, but it will happen. I think most people that use MFP over time end up changing their overall diet, even if they hadn't really planned to. I would just caution against trying to change everything at once. Make small changes that you can live with so that you have a better chance of sticking with them.

Just as an example, when I started trying to lose weight, I though that I had to give up some of my favourite treats like chocolate, or hot buttered toast, or homemade brownies. I realised that if I gave all that stuff up, I wasn't going to last very long, so I made a point of including them in my daily diet, just in appropriate portion sizes that fit with my calorie goal. So now, I eat chocolate nearly every day (and did throughout my weight loss). I don't only have the famous "1 square of dark chocolate"; I have all kinds, but in small portions, and far less than I used to. I don't have toast every day, but every few days maybe, and when I do it's a doorstop of homemade bread with a decent amount of real butter. I don't bake as often as I used to, but every couple of weeks I'll bake and enjoy what I make, sharing most of it with family/friends. So, I eat the foods I love, don't feel deprived, but my diet has changed over time anyway. I now focus a lot on meeting goals for fibre, protein and micronutrient intake, which means that most of my diet is made up of nutrient-dense foods.

Sorry that turned into a ramble, but my point is that yes - you do have to learn some new techniques to deal with cravings and change habits, but at the same time, you can make it as easy on yourself as possible by not giving up foods you like and creating a diet that you know you can maintain forever.

markdavies120

If peckish like that carry something like a slim fast treat about or something along those lines. i know the slim fast ones are around 95 cals but certainly will do the trick and beat that fix.

i love crisps and even though i would eat the lower cal ones i knew it wasn't the best. I have switched to the slim fast treats as an alternative and these have done the trick for me and haven't eaten a bag of crisps for a while now.

amy1612

If peckish like that carry something like a slim fast treat about or something along those lines. i know the slim fast ones are around 95 cals but certainly will do the trick and beat that fix.

i love crisps and even though i would eat the lower cal ones i knew it wasn't the best. I have switched to the slim fast treats as an alternative and these have done the trick for me and haven't eaten a bag of crisps for a while now.

No offence, but you'd be better off eating some real chocolate, or making your own bars. This is the ingredients list for the slim fast chocolate bar.

CHOCOLATE FLAVORED COATING [SUGAR, FRACTIONATED PALM KERNELOIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), LACTOSE, DEXTROSE, SOY LECITHIN, NATURALFLAVOR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM OIL], CRISP RICE WITH COCOA [RICE FLOUR,SUGAR, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), SALT], POLYDEXTROSE, FRUCTOSE, WATER, ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), INULIN, MALTODEXTRIN, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), NONFAT MILK, CHOCOLATE, GLYCERIN, MALTODEXTRIN, SUNFLOWER OIL, BUTTER (CREAM,SALT), PALM OIL, SALT, MILK, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SOY LECITHIN, SUGAR, WHEY, SUCRALOSE AND ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (NON NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS), SODIUM BICARBONATE, ENZYME MODIFIED BUTTER [MALTODEXTRIN, BUTTER (CREAM,SALT), BUTTERMILK POWDER, NATURAL FLAVOR, ANNATTO AND TURMERIC (COLOR), ENZYMES], CITRIC ACID, DEHYDRATED BUTTER (BUTTERMILK POWDER, CREAM, SALT), SHORTENING POWDER (PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SODIUM CASEINATE), GUAR GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, ANNATTO AND TURMERIC (COLOR).

VITAMINS AND MINERALS: CALCIUM CARBONATE, VITAMIN E ACETATE, NIACINAMIDE, FOLIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12), THIAMINE MONONITRATE. SWEETENED WITH NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS AND NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENERS. CONTAINS MILK, SOY AND WHEAT. MAY CONTAIN EGGS, SESAME, ALMONDS, CASHEWS, COCONUT, WALNUTS, PECANS AND PEANUTS .