Tips needed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ

EDIT: If you are hungry eat. Just make it a pc of fruit, nuts or a veggie. Better choices=better results
Bad choices=defeat and longer journeys

I like to use grapes to snack,protein shakes to curve hunger...I also have kids and I know it's hard.I drink water all day and I also have been taking walks, being gone from an hour to 2 hours a day, when ever I have time sometimes late...being on here and talking to people helps too.u need a diet buddy,some person to talk to everyday and help u with your cravings.I like to brush my teeth when I'm hungry...I also chug water.the first three days are the hardest.and believe me,before this "diet" of mine began about 5 days ago I was eating everything about every hour,I eat when I'm bored.and now..like I said walking helps and chatting. keep eating healthy girl.

Up your protein- it helps you keep muscle while eating at a deficit, and it keeps you full! Shoot for .5 to 1 g protein per lb of your body weight. Best move I ever made.

Also why not snack all the time?? Just make sure that you prepare WHAT you will snack on. I have cut up carrots and celery currently, frozen blueberries for when I crave sweets, and raw cashews and almonds for when I'm seriously hungry and need a snack. (Though I had to ban pistachios from my foods- once I start on those I just don't stop!). Just be prepared. It's easier to refuse those office sweets when you have your snack in front of you

Food is your friend. The enemy is the chemically processed stuff that we substitute for food . Once I started eating "clean," which for me meant choosing most foods as natural 1- ingredient choices, and avoiding any artificial ingredients and flour based foods, I saw a huge difference.

Good luck!!

Remove bad snacks from the house. It will be better for you and the small kid. Replace them with healthier snacks.

I started my journey at 271lbs. I had absolutely no control what-so-ever. I wish that I was exaggerating a bit, but I was that person who would hide junk food and eat it all at once. My boyfriend would head to work and then I would run to the store and buy junk and eat all of it before he would return or store it somewhere that he wouldn't think to look so that I could finish it off later. I would eat way too much of everything and did absolutely no exercise. This changed a little bit when my boyfriend and I started working from home and adopted a dog. I was still eating a lot of everything, but it was less of the big boxes of brownies since my boyfriend was here to see it. I did start to take my dogs on several walks, though. I started to dislike myself as a person and could not stand all of the cravings. I decided that enough was enough and joined MFP. The best way to increase your will power and control is to just continue moving forward. I know that doesn't make much sense, but as you continue you will see what I mean. The first step is to log absolutely everything that you put in your mouth. Oh and having your diary public is a must. This will help you feel shame and feel accountable for your actions. It must be a mental thing because it helps a lot. I found myself wanting to have a better diary for everyone to see. I was not very good at first. I was still eating a lot of fast food (large meals with cookies/ice cream and all of that good stuff). The thing that I was able to do, though, was exercise. I exercised so much and for so long. The one thing that I did do was never go over my calorie intake. I didn't pay attention to all of my macros at first and only focused on staying under my calories. I was losing weight and got excited. The more that I lost the more focused I became.

I remember vividly the first time my will power showed itself. I was about a month or so into my journey and I was in bed with a chocolate cake craving. If I craved something I would get it - it wouldn't matter how awful it was for me, I'd eat it without thinking. I was talking to my boyfriend who was telling me to just let it pass - the craving would fade away. I was in bed awake for hours with this craving and eventually fell asleep - my first large victory.

It wasn't until I started to only lose about a half a pound a week that I really changed my diet. By then I had lost 20ish pounds still keeping my eating habits (only adding exercise). I loved seeing the number on the scale go down and was determined to keep going. I should also mention that when I first started my boyfriend surprised me with an elliptical - so I think I also felt obligated to keep going. I was excited by this point. I decided that I was going to try to watch what I ate more and watch my macros. The first week I had lost 4.5lbs and from here kept going strong. Do not get me wrong, I was still snacking. I still had chocolate as long as it fit into my day. I let myself eat anything I want as long as it fits in both my calorie limit and my macros. With that being said, I made the change. I found that the cravings were easier to replace with exercise or a healthy snack. To be honest, I actually found that I could eat more of all of the healthy stuff - so I was pretty full most of the time.

Let me fast forward. I am now down 70.5lbs (as of Friday's weigh in) and weigh 200.5lbs. I am about half-way to my end goal and like the person that I have become. I make healthier choices and have given up fast food completely. I still snack, but I typically do not. I no longer feel the cravings and when I do I let myself indulge because of how great I have been doing overall.

Basically, there is no secret that I can tell you on how to change the way that you look at food. I have given you my story, but you are going to have to do what works for you. What works for each of us might not work for you. Some people are able to give up everything cold turkey and others (like me) took the slower approach and gave up the stuff slowly. Actually, I really shouldn't say that I gave the stuff up. I no longer consider eating something unhealthy as "cheating". I do not give myself a cheat day, but I let myself have something if I want it bad enough to make room for it in my day. I recommend planning out all of your meals. Maybe the day before or the morning of? I have found that having a food schedule (especially for someone like me that is so food based) has made my life so much easier. I can see what I am going to be able to eat throughout the day. You know what snacks you have at home and you have a sense of what you have at work. Do not cut yourself off completely because I personally believe that will set you up for binges/failure. Just try to make smaller and healthier choices -- one of this instead of five is a great way to slowly become more healthy. Temptations do not go away - but you handle them better. Once you find yourself healthier you might find that you do not want to eat all of the stuff that you used to. I definitely think that preplanning is best and will help you stay focused. This also helps me from grabbing random snacks. I am less likely to go into the kitchen and grab a handful of something if I know that I am going to be able to eat this or that at a certain time. It is all about playing with your schedule and options and temptations in order to find a perfect path that works for you.

As I said somewhere above, it is hard to tell you how to control your temptations. I can tell you for a fact that you should not feel hungry...ever. If you are hungry then you need to fix your diet and grocery options. This was my issue. I always thought that dieting meant being hungry - until I fully started to pay attention to nutrition. Now? Now I hardly ever feel hungry and if I do feel hungry then it is usually because I forgot to eat or I was doing more exercise and thus allow myself to eat a bit more. It is really all a matter of determining what works best for you.

I know I wrote you a book lol so I apologize for that, but you sound so much like I did 7 months ago that I had to respond. Feel free to send me a message or a friend request!

What you're looking for is tips to stop you from grazing, not controlling hunger. If you're hungry then your body needs food, and not allowing yourself that will only make you feel grouchy and overeat later. If you feel like snacking, set yourself a timer for 20 minutes and see how you feel once that runs out - if you still feel hungry then that's actual hunger, but otherwise it was just a craving.

Your problem is one that lots of people have, and that's eating when you aren't hungry (either because it's available or emotional eating etc). I used to be really bad for it - I would just snack constantly and it really affects your diet because you don't pay attention to what's going into your body. My best tips are 1) chew gum while you're around food/cooking so that you don't snack, 2) brush your teeth when you're done eating a meal, you won't want to go back for seconds/a snack because you'll ruin your minty breath/food tastes gross after brushing your teeth, 3) drinking lots of water will make you feel full, and hot drinks can be as comforting as snacking if you're an emotional-eater, 4) set aside some of your calorie allowance for a "treat" for each night (I usually have a bit of ice cream or some short-bread).

I like to remind myself that - while food is nice and it's good to treat yourself every now and again - we eat to live, not live to eat. That slice of cake I'm craving will taste good, but it's not special if you have it all of the time and it definitely isn't worth ruining my diet for.

People say they can't resist - they can but usually choose not to.

Plan all foods and only eat what is yours. I plan mine the night before and ALWAYS say "never on a weekday" to extras, even on maintenance. It's easy tor remember and colleagues pick up on it and even say it back to me now.

Drink plenty of water! to help you feel full. Do whatever you have to to make water taste good. I was a huge pop drinker, around a 12 pack a day habit a year ago. Then I wanted to get off pop, so I started with flavored carbonated water. That really helped. Now I just drink plain water 99% of the time. Since I have started my lifestyle change this January, I have started eating healthier. I have noticed that if I just stick to like 5 small meals a day, that I can ward off the junk food. I have noticed that if I give in and have like a 100 calorie bag of junk food, then I start craving it all the time. Its best for me to just not indulge at all in that and grab a piece of fruit or a protein bar (they are like my candy bars now!).

Good luck!!

I agree when I am having a busy day I prepare my meals ahead of time-this is truly a journey into learning-I use to almost 100 pounds heavier-and I had to learn to eat healthy-I can tell you protein is very filling-and get bad snacks away-and replace them with veg.and fruits-also water will fill you up-look at labels and say to yourself is this really worth it-I also use to eat a lot of junk food-but if you are hungry don't starve yourself-because later you can overeat0since I start this journey I make choices and plan my meals ahead-and have egg hard boil egg whites and veg and fruit at the front of my fridge-also I love green tea -log everything to learn your eating habits-also I like quest bars-if I am craving choc.give it time you will learn what works for you-this is a lifestyle journey-but also make sure you are getting enough calories-I drink water before every meal that helps-are green tea- I myself do not drink soda-also use a smaller plate that way you will feel like you are getting more-I also eat at the table-because I don't eat in front of tv are at computer-that way you really feel like you are eating-you will find what works for you-

As others have said, it helps to learn to distinguish real hunger from grazing because food looks attractive. I like the suggestion of setting a 20-minute timer.

I was reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" last night. His basic advice is to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." In the section where he explains what he means by "not too much," he notes that Americans tend to stop eating when their plate or bag of food is empty, whereas the French stop when they are full. Like all generalizations, there are limits, but in general, we Americans do seem to rely on extrinsic clues to tell us when to stop eating. When there's a lot of food always available, that's a problem. You need to learn to develop an intrinsic sense of when to eat, and when to stop.

That said, in my first 3-4 weeks on MFP, I got real hunger pangs, often. I was training myself to live on about 550-600 calories fewer than what I needed to maintain my weight, and therefore about 600-650 calories fewer than my body was used to eating (I had been slowly gaining about 6 pounds a year). Until my ability to draw on fat stores improved, I was frequently hungry. I just sucked it up, because my eyes were on the long-term goal. I did, and do, find low-calorie, high-bulk snacks to be helpful: especially pickles and celery. But after over a year of running a deficit (except for three weeks over the holidays!), I no longer need snacks unless I'm really hungry.

Today someone brought in homemade chocolate chip cookies -- seriously!!! I wanted not just one but the whole bag -- I wanted to steal it away and hide in my office and eat all of them... but I don't want to be fat --- argh --- so I didn't even have one. I wish I had something revolutionary to tell you - it's hard - everyday,. hour, minute, second.... it's hard. I just tell myself that fitting into my smaller clothes this summer will be worth walking away from the chocolate chip cookies and everything else. Also - I take all my meals and have my entire day planned in the morning so I don't have to think about where I'm getting my next meal. It takes about 30 minutes in the morning to get it all together but it helps me. I also workout almost everyday and that allows me extra calories to eat and drink..... Good luck - stay strong!!

What are some of your strategies to keep on track when goodies are all around? What do some of you do to keep from snacking all of the time?

Either eat them, enjoy them, count them, and make them fit... or avoid them.

Lastly, what are some suggestions to help control feelings of hunger as my body adjusts to proper portions? (The last question is probably the most important because I feel like portion control is what I struggle with the most.)

Eating enough. Get that protein, fat, fiber. If you feed yourself appropriately, you won't be hungry. No need for "proper portion" worries.

Exactly what he said and prepare your meals the night before so you know what you're eating and work in anything you might want. I truly believe you can have everything in moderation

A glass of milk goes a long way with me. I'm not really a huge fan of drinking plain milk. But it really makes a difference in how you feel. It satisfies both a thirsty and hungry feeling. There are some solids in the milk-fat and there is protein for energy, and it really takes away that between-meal munchy urge and the hunger that sometimes comes earlier than expected. Plus, and extra boost of calcium and some vitamin D, good stuff.