Murdering hunger

You don't need pills. They don't do anything anyway.

You don't need a special diet either (unless you have medical issues). Reasonable calorie deficit, some exercise, and a lot of patience will get you where you want to be.

My question is about hunger suppressants - both chemical (pills)

no

and 'natural', like water or some veggies.

yes

Buy a digital food scale and weigh everything. Also read up on how to set your macro goals. There are tons of good threads on MFP about TDEE, macros, etc.

I don 't know if you like soup, but it helps to fight hunger since there's a lot of liquid in it and it fills your stomach giving you the impression you're full without the extra calories.

I am a mental health counselor and after reading this my initial thought was that you may be substituting food for the "feel good" chemicals your body may not be producing properly on it's own. I usually recomend some sort of vitamin like Sam-e to help regulate mood while your body adjusts. There is a lot of information out there about how we use food to treat low levels of dopamine and seratonin. Good luck!

If I were in your place I'd start with small steps. Like Jestinia said, log everything you eat normally for a couple of weeks and then study the numbers and see what you can cut reasonably. In my experience anything too drastic will surely lead to failure. Take it slowly and be patient.

Fast food places have the calories listed on the menus now, don't they? Next time pick something that has fewer calories. Get the medium fries instead of the large, the grilled option instead of the breaded and fried...that kind of thing.

Make a list of fruit and veggies you like. Don't bother with those you don't -- no point in suffering. I keep baby carrots, mini cucumbers, and grape tomatoes at my desk. I try not to overdo the fruit because of the sugar content, but they taste better and are more filling than vegs imo. Some of my favorites are clementines, apples, grapes, and strawberries. Munch on those at work before you hit the drive-thru for lunch or dinner. You'll be less hungry and more likely to make better choices.

You didn't mention if you drink sodas or other sugary drinks. It's amazing how the liquid calories add up. If that's an issue, switch to diet sodas and artificial sweeteners if you can. Water, water, and more water.

Exercise if you can -- it doesn't have to be extreme, but burning a few extra calories by, say, taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes, will give you a few more calories to eat so you don't feel super hungry.

That's all I've got for now. Good luck and be patient!

Green tea

Chewing gum

earning extra cals to eat = exercise

Another good one is sunflower seeds. 150 cals for a bag, and they last a long time. Yeah, there's a little sodium thqat can cause a touch of water retention, but NOTHING like Popey's chicken eh!

And lastly- knowing you are going to have to get used to feeling hunger. Accepting it makes it alot more tolerable. Don't fight.

When you are "empty" feel it! The feeling passes pretty quickly once you accept it, and a sence of power and control comes!

I know a lot of people don't like the pills and either worry about them being unhealthy or consider them "cheating" but I am a lot like you and have trouble controlling my food intake and generally feel the need to keep eating until I'm stuffed. But my sister started taking Phentramin-D and it worked great for her so I started taking them too, and I love them. It just seems to help me not feel hungry all the time and it has gotten easier to resist food throughout the day. Makes me pee like crazy though! TMI...sorry :P

You can train your brain and your stomach to stop eating before getting to that stuffed point. It just takes time and consistency. I don't recommend using drugs to do it. You can't take Phentramin-D for the rest of your life, so when you stop taking it you'll go back to your old ways.

I say keep your diary honest and current. As delicious as they are, no one wants to write that they had two quarter pounders from Mcdonald's in their diary. And if you end up having to write that you had two quarter pounders, it will only happen once. Stuff your face with lots of veggies. No one likes feeling hungry, an I'm no exception. I drink loads of water and tea, and yesterday, I made a taco salad of sorts:

2 cups chopped lettuce/romaine/whatever lettuce you want (2 cups is a lot!)
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon salsa (I mixed the salsa with the sour cream)
100 grams of cooked ground chicken which had been seasoned with cumin, salt and pepper
...and I also like a dallop of hummus on my salads (I doubted that this salad would fill me up, so I added hummus...I probably didn't need it)

Anyways, the whole salad was around 260 calories and it murdered my hunger.

You don't have to starve or be hungry, I promise. I loooove food. You should too.

You can eat all the foods you currently eat but in smaller quantities. It's a learning experience. Get a food scale and log everything. Make small changes, you don't have to change everything at once. Incorporate new, healthier foods (fruits, veggies, protein, healthy fats) into your existing diet. Move more. Even if you're just marching while watching tv (I recommend NerdFitness body weight workouts). Never underestimate the power of walking. Walking is great exercise, especially when you're just starting out. Set small goals for yourself along the way. As you will hear over and over again, this is a life-style change, and the road to good health has no finish line. Good luck on your journey.

PS - A great tip from many others on MFP... each morning pre-log what you'll be eating for the day, then there's no guess work and no disappointments when you log at the end of the day and realize you've gone over your calories. Hope this helps!

2 cups chopped lettuce/romaine/whatever lettuce you want (2 cups is a lot!)
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon salsa (I mixed the salsa with the sour cream)
100 grams of cooked ground chicken which had been seasoned with cumin, salt and pepper
...and I also like a dallop of hummus on my salads (I doubted that this salad would fill me up, so I added hummus...I probably didn't need it)

Anyways, the whole salad was around 260 calories and it murdered my hunger.

You don't have to starve or be hungry, I promise. I loooove food. You should too.
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I make a very similar salad but with 1/2 cup of taco meat, an oz of cheddar, some avocado, and twice the salsa and light sour cream. I also add cucumber and red onion. Still only about 450 calories, tastes delicious and very filling

I'll echo what a couple have said about veggies. You can eat LOTS of them without as many calories as the other stuff. As for soups, try blended squash or potato; you can add just a dollop of cream but get that same creamy consistency. And broaden your horizons for broth and juice based soups. Many different flavors to try that way.
Can you request a standing desk? A friend of mine in an insurance office recently lost close to 60 pounds, and that was one thing that helped. If not, SCHEDULE breaks away from your desk, even if it's 5 minutes to go ask someone in the building a question rather than emailing. It makes a bigger difference than you think.
Baby steps!

SO here I am hungry, haven't eaten since 6:30, had my 2 poached eggs, suppliments and veggie smoothie for breakfast. (320 cals)

I feel empty- I am having a cup of grean tea, and eating baby carrots. (sub 100 cals)

It's feeling good, and I am hanging in there.

I remember when I used to have oatmeal with butter (500 cals) before I left the house, then right about now a breakkfast burrito and potatoes at this time. (1000 cals easy!)

I'm winning!

You will too, believe in yourself man!

OH- and get out of that chair, walk around some every hour.
Sit on a swiss ball and keep your core activated all day long. Peeps may look at you funny at first, but it's so good for you, who cares.

OK, I will leave ya alone now. Just tryin to poke ya and encourage you a bit!

hey there, you and I are in very similar spots so I wanted to offer some dietary advice from one big man to another. I'm currently 250lbs down from 270ish.

First, I'm not saying ditch McDonald's, Popeye's and all that great tasting stuff completely but you do need to cut down. I love the big Mac with a side of fries at McDonald's, but I will easily become hungry again in 2 hours tops. It's a lot of calories without a lot of fill. I'd rather go to chipotle and get a burrito bowl with brown rice. Still a lot of calories but keeps me much fuller longer.

Keep Lean Cuisines in the freezer at work and try making sandwiches at home to bring to the office. My favorite is using Arnold's Arnold's - Sandwich Rounds, Multi-grain (100 cal) and using black forest ham for the meat and one slice of cheese. Very healthy lunch and you can have 2-3 of them.

I also recommend keeping reasonable snacks to help fight off hunger at the office. As we speak I have two boxes of Nature Valley Trail mix bars roughly 140 calories each and I have a box of goldfish which I measure out using a kitchen scale I leave at work.

Biggest tip, make sure you record EVERYTHING.

My next suggestion is get used to cardio. My drive home from work is about an hour too in traffic, so I got a gym membership close by work. I generally do an hour of cardio and squeeze in 20-30 minutes of weights. Even if you only did 45min that'll be a long way to help you become healthier and increase your food allowance. Also, elliptical using a heart rate monitor so far has been the best bang for my buck with burning calories. I average 750 calories working at 70-80% of my max heart rate on the elliptical.


Generally speaking, I'm not consistently starving so far on this diet, neither should you. You can do this++

Butternut squash soup is amazing, and can be used as a base for all sorts of sweet/savory soups and stews.

Chilis are also a good option. Experiment with different meats like ground turkey breast, pulled pork tenderloin, stuff that is leaner than beef. Also, experiment with different beans and veggies, and try roasting peppers, chilis, onions and tomatoes before putting them in the pot to make them sweeter and more flavorful. You can make some extremely healthy, low cal chilis that are packed with protein and veggies.