Murdering hunger
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I'm still in the starting phase of my journey, and getting used to the ropes, but what has been working for me is:
-pre-plan ALL your meals that day -- I pre-log everything either the night before or the morning of. Sometimes I scrap the planned dinner and get what I am craving but I make sure it fits in my calories. I still eat out. But instead of the large combo w/ drink, I get the burger, a side salad, and then a kid's fries, subbing water for soda. I still drink soda at home (not at work though, I try to get my 64 oz of water in the 8 hours I'm at work) but I drink Sodastream which have 1/3 the calories than name brand sodas. I try to eat more veggies with meals to get that full feeling without getting crazy calories. For instance, I'm STARVING today, so I made a HUGE salad for lunch. If my pyrex container is to be believed it's 7 cups of awesomeness. For like 500 calories (and that includes my ridiculous amount of dressing PLUS a generous helping on cheese!) I will be full ALL afternoon.
-be completely honest with your logging, regardless if you went over on calories
-get up and move - even if it's just a 10 minute break
-take things slow. There is no need to make drastic changes like NO sugar, NO carbs, NO fast food, etc. Your goal is to make sustainable changes.
Overall, making these lifestyle changes take some time to get use to. I found it's harder to have willpower when I say 'can't" to food. So everything is something I CAN eat, and the question becomes do I want to, knowing how my body will respond?0 -
I also work at a desk job, and have a 45min drive each way.
Fast food is ok on occasion, but it doesn't satisfy hunger as well because it tends to use up calories faster. If you love your FF then save it for days you work out and have more calories to spare.
Reduce frequency, but you don't have to eliminate.
My advice...
- don't go for rapid loss... Go for sustainable loss. It will take longer to achieve... But you WILL get there, and will be way more likely to STAY there.
- you don't have to exercise for hours and hours a week... But when you DO exercise... BUST YOUR *kitten* doing it. Push hard. Sweat hard.
- remember WHY you are doing this. Figure that out, and use it to push you. Hopefully it's a long term goal worth long term commitment0 -
Desk job guy here too.
I think the main thing you need to work on is your willpower and getting mentally ready to do this for real. Just from your comments, it sounds like you know you will have a hard time sticking with anything.
Maybe wait a little while before you start and only commit to tracking every single thing you eat and drink here on MFP. Its easy to do after all, especially using the mobile app. Make that your only commitment at first.
After a month you can get a real understanding of what you consume and then decide what kind of plan you want to put in place. If you want to be serious at all.0 -
" I only drink diet soda. No sugar, for sure, but they seem to boost my appetite"
Artificial sweeteners have been linked to increased cravings and appetite according to my doctor.
I haven't seen the science to back this up... but personal experiences leads me to believe it's true. Anytime I've stopped drinking Diet Coke, my appetite and cravings have been curbed. Since I've started exercising and eating healthier foods, I'm finding my energy levels are higher, so I don't "require" caffeine any more. I'm only drinking water and protein smoothies.0 -
You've gotten a lot of great advice already, and I would second just about everything that was said (fiber, water, green tea, small changes that add up).
But, from what you wrote, I think that a lot of your hunger is not physical.
I was in a really similar place as you. I could manage to eat reasonable portions during the day, but by the time the evening came around, I would have a big dinner, not because I was really hungry, but because I wasn't satisfied. I told myself it was biological hunger, but it really wasn't.
From your message, it sounds like food is in charge of you instead of the other way around. You've got to change your mental game.
First, acknowledge that losing weight is hard. Accept it. Done. It's going to be hard. But, it will be so much easier if you just come to terms with that at the beginning, instead of trying to fight it. Yeah, there are tricks, and it's important to have them. but no matter how many tools you have, there will be some hard times. Decide that you will meet those hard times head-on, instead of running from them.
Mild hunger is uncomfortable, but it is not painful. Decide right now that you will find a way to be okay with a little hunger. Not a lot, not the kind that is truly your body telling you to eat, but small, low-grade hunger. Just make a decision that this is something you are willing to endure to meet your larger goals. You endure a lot of other things in your life in the service of your goals - make this one of the things that you are strong enough to conquer.
Reducing portion sizes is hard, but you CAN do it. The problem is that if we have been overeating for a long time, we no longer really know what it takes to reach satisfaction. Try putting what you would normally eat on your plate (honestly - don't cheat) and then take away 10% of it. Eat the 90% and then ask yourself - "Can I live with this? Yes, I don't feel as full as I want to, but can I just decide to endure this?" Usually, you will find that you can. In an hour, you probably won't even notice that you ate less. It was your mind that wanted all that food - not your body. If you are still hungry an hour later, you can go back and eat that 10%. But I promise you, you usually won't be. Over time, you can reduce your portion sizes. How much time varies by person. Some folks can get to appropriate portion sizes in a few weeks, some take longer. But if you try to cut back by 50% overnight, you will probably fail, not because of your body but because of your mind. You will feel deprived, and your mind is very good at taking action when you feel deprived.
If you simultaneously try to work in more healthy foods and smaller portions, you can have a lot of success. And more importantly, it's not something you are doing right now to lose weight, it's something you are going to maintain over the long term. Like decades.
Finally, I will tell you that one thing that really helped me is when I realized that this is all a choice. I know that might sound obvious, but I find I am so much more able to stick to my goals when I say "Today I am making this choice to eat healthy" instead of "Today I am forcing myself not to eat this thing I want to eat." It's a small shift but it has made a really powerful difference for me. When I want to choose to eat something massively high in calories, I do. And I do not give myself a hard time about it, I do not feel guilty. I relish it. But then I balance it later by making good choices. Sometimes I have to make a lot of good choices to balance out that indulgence, but I know that I am in control. It's my choice. That has really helped me.
Good luck. You CAN do this.0 -
I am exactly like you. IT job, sitting 9-11 hours every day.
On June 2013 I got my driver license renewed. Here were my vitals at that time:
Male
31 years old
5'10"
250 lbs
Then in July, I decided to start dieting and exercising in more earnest, despite my IT job and difficulties with willpower.
By December (6 months) I was down to 210 lbs. 40 pounds in six months.
How did I do it?
1. Get an app
2. Get a chest-strap heartrate monitor
3. Log EVERYTHING
4. Calorie restrict and STICK to it
5. Exercise 3-5 times a week - 30-45 minutes minimum
Logging helps you understand how to optimize YOUR PERSONAL restriction plan. There is simply no way to make it work over a long term without doing this. Atkins/Paleo/Whatever....these are not one-size-fits-all plans. They're untailored suits, and you've got to get your measurements and make the appropriate changes so it works for you.
The heartrate monitor means you can do exercising anywhere, not just at a gym. You just get your heartrate UP and keep it UP.
As an example. Here's my plan for the day:
Meal 1 - Two protein bars - 320 cal/20g protein
Meal 2 - carton egg whites (nasty) 250 cal/50g protein
Gym Time: 15 minutes chest strength, 35 minutes on the treadmill (minimum heartrate 150 bpm)
Meal 3 - post-gym shake - 240 cal/40g protein
Meal 4 - 6oz chicken+5oz rice (with chili lime sauce, yum) - 377 cal/40g protein
Meal 5 - 6oz chicken+5oz rice (with chili lime sauce, yum) - 377 cal/40g protein
Meal 6 - 6oz chicken+5oz rice (with chili lime sauce, yum) - 377 cal/40g protein
Total calories in:1974
Total calories out: about 500 (I only count the cardio calories, and I typically round down to the nearest 100 from whatever score MyFitnessPal gives me)
Calorie deficit (based on a 2000 cal lightly active/sedentary diet): 526
If I did that 3 times a week: 1560 calorie deficit. That's almost half a pound.
If I offset my non-workout day diets by just 300 calories (that's one less protein bar in the morning and half a portion of the chicken/rice meal at night), that's another 1200 calorie deficit in a week. 1200+1560= 2760. Getting closer to a pound a week by making a smallish change here and there.
And what if I just went for a 30 minute walk (120 bpm average) on my non-gym days? That's another 300 calories per walk. Or basically, another 1200 to the week total if I did it 4 times.
Now I'm 3960 deficit. That's easily a pound off in the week, every week, if I roughly stick to this goal.
It even allows some wiggle room, if I got my numbers off a little bit or if I snuck some chocoloate covered almonds in a moment of weakness.
The key is to really remember and believe and commit to this not being merely a diet. It's the new you. You don't have to obsess too much about it, but you DO have to think about it, way more than you used to. Sorry them's the breaks.
You're trying to form new habits. Health habits.
A word on the chicken+rice thing. I mention this because I'm like you, no time to make and weigh meals. There's a fairly easy way to solve this on a nice relaxing Sunday night at home:
BIG CROCKPOT+CHICKEN BREASTS+TIME=MEAL PLAN UNLOCKED
1. Grab 5-6 pounds of chicken breasts, thawed
2. stick'em in a crockpot - LOW heat
3. Oh yeah throw something yummy in there, like a cup of Pace salsa or a cup of Chili Lime marinade sauce or some broth and taco seasnoning (the crockpots needs about 8oz or liquid to keep your chicken from dessicating horribly)
4. 7-8 hours on LOW
Cook up some rice
Or green beans
Or broccoli
Measure these bad boys into containers
Mark the calories on the containers
You now have 6-10 meals planned out from one crockpot session
It can be done. You CAN do this. You can be a total dieting badass. I know it, because I did it.
I'm 210 pounds now. I've got 20 more pounds to go. It's going to take me awhile, but I'm cool with it because this isn't just a diet, it's a better way of life.0 -
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!
Well what you had was GREAT and helpful information. And by the looks of your ticker you are going in the right direction! Good for you for offering helpful and positive information!0 -
You're off to a good start focusing on natural ways to feel full. One of the recipes I do is a ground beef/turkey/chicken bowl with a TON of vegetables... it's really easy and can be reheated for leftovers for days. (I love it for breakfast, too.) Given your schedule and goals, it might be worth a try. I saute any vegetables on hand (usually chopped carrots, onion, red pepper, and zucchini) in 1 tbsp of butter (you can use olive oil too), remove from the pan, brown a pound of ground meat (or 2 lbs if I'm cooking for my husband too), add spices to the meat (usually 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp paprika), and then mix the cooked vegetables in. This keeps me full for hours and is a great way to get in protein with more vegetables than one might normally eat at a sitting.
Don't forget, too, that even walking a few minutes at a time adds up. If you can't do a 30 minute walk at a time because of your job, 3-55 minutes per hour will still get you there fast!
Best of luck!0 -
Eat more fiber, good fats, and lean proteins. They keep you full longer.0
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p.s. I eat the majority of my cals in the evening when we have a nice dinner. Tonight is Spagetti and salad. Going to bed hungry has never worked for me.
itodd4019, thank you for the encouragement
so just big dinners, huh? is it working for you well, don't mind me asking? 0 -
Personally I find that if I am really hungry, eating a protein and fat based snack with a large glass of water really helps - I could eat carrot sticks all day long without it filling me up at all - but as you can see everyone's experiences are different.
If I were you I would definately track everything I eat, but also track how satisfied you felt immediately after eating and how long it took before you were hungry and want to eat again. From that you'll get an idea of what works for you in terms of keeping you satisfied for longer.
Just as a reality check though - whatever you do you will have to either reduce the volume of food that you eat, or change the type of food that you eat (or a combination of the two) and at first it will be difficult. You have to want to lose weight enough to make these changes and over time (just a few weeks) it will get easier. Your appetite will adjust and your tastes will change.
Good luck!0 -
Oh, that sounds so sad! Fat is important for satiety, taste and mouth feel. As long as it's accounted for and you get all the nutrients you need, it's OK to eat fats.7) Not a HUGE calorie-saver but a way to drop some calories here and there...If eating something super-fatty/greasy, dab it a bit with a napkin before eating (remove the pool of grease inside the pepperoni on your pizza, for instance). Every little bit of fat you remove will lower the calor-ifficness a bit but probably isn't enough to change the taste appreciably (I'VE never noticed a difference...)0 -
p.s. I eat the majority of my cals in the evening when we have a nice dinner. Tonight is Spagetti and salad. Going to bed hungry has never worked for me.
itodd4019, thank you for the encouragement so just big dinners, huh? is it working for you well, don't mind me asking?
Yes it is. I have just recently gone from heavy games, to once again getting my run back. SO- I am losing weight and cutting down big time. I did Ironman in 08, and weighed in at 185, then I trained for heavy games, specializing in cabor toss, and GREW to be 259. About 3 months ago I started to train my fiance for her first marathon, and I totally changed my diet and routine. I have dropped to 242 in the last 2 months. That's a consistent 2 lbs a week.
food routine (that works for me)
Brkfst- 2 pouched ggs, supplements, veggie smoothie - (300 or so)
snack- grapefruit, and yogurt (150 or so)
Lunch -lettuce wedge with black beans, almonds slices (300 or so)
snack - zuccine, oranges, or carrots and such (100 or so)
Dinner- tonight will be home made pastrami sandwiches and home made sweet potatoe fries, with large glass of almond milk. (maybe 1000)
desert - lowfat Frojo, then sweet dreams. (150 or so)
Also, I have made it a habit to feel empty before I eat again. On that empty feeling I like to drop a glass of water, and maybe a green tea, and feel myself be hungry. Embrace it.
I don't hav a ton of fat, so dropping 1.5 to 2 lbs a week is tuff.
Calorie timing really makes no difference. It's really about what works for you to feel successful and happy with your progress. When I go empty, and have those squishy touching sides feelings, I feel like I am "working for it" It contributes to my sense of accomplishment, it is not "bad" suffering. It's willing to suffer.0 -
Good morning everyone, I want to thank very much everyone who responded. I'm reading this thread another time, I must make frequent breaks as the description of meals you made make me hungry and I have to go and eat :-)))
I'm very encouraged by your success stories and I hope in some time I'll be able to share mine, too!
It's funny how many IT/other office staff are here... I don't think you can find a job that's worse for your fitness than that...
Have a great week and at least 1 pound less by the end of it! :-)
- Adam0 -
I am another IT person, just try to get up every hour and walk around. The building I work in actually has a big aisle that goes the length of both buildings on both stories, and walking is encouraged, they even have the mileage posted.0
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I was starving last night after eating all I logged, so I drank water, waited 30 minutes, then ate a hard boiled egg and a slice of ham....I woke up this morning over a pound lighter. Even with only eating back half my exercise calories I was in the low 1300's...but I was not losing much for a few weeks there and I think it was because I wasn't eating enough. I don't think my hunger signals are messed up, I think my body says it is hungry when it is really hungry (although I know sometimes recognizing hunger signals is a problem). Anyway, I concur on the protein, I eat more protein than carbs, about 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fat.Personally I find that if I am really hungry, eating a protein and fat based snack with a large glass of water really helps - I could eat carrot sticks all day long without it filling me up at all - but as you can see everyone's experiences are different.
If I were you I would definately track everything I eat, but also track how satisfied you felt immediately after eating and how long it took before you were hungry and want to eat again. From that you'll get an idea of what works for you in terms of keeping you satisfied for longer.
Just as a reality check though - whatever you do you will have to either reduce the volume of food that you eat, or change the type of food that you eat (or a combination of the two) and at first it will be difficult. You have to want to lose weight enough to make these changes and over time (just a few weeks) it will get easier. Your appetite will adjust and your tastes will change.
Good luck!
Editing to add I eat lean protein, I eat lots of fish and poultry, not that I dont' eat other things. I was low yesterday becasue I chose Chilean Sea Bass for my Mother's Day dinner my husband grilled for me, and I had Swordfish for lunch, but it was really good.0 -
There is no easy way out. You will either change, which can be very challenging or you won’t and be frustrated. Sit down with a pen and paper and write a letter to Popeye’s and McDonalds and tell them you’re ending the relationship. Get angry, cry about it if you want then move on to discover new foods you like and will like you back.
I had to end my relationship with cigarettes, jellybeans, along with biscuits and gravy. Biscuits and gravy! Where I grew up they are considered a health food. So, I understand it’s not always easy. However it can be done and there are thousands of success stories at myfitnesspal to prove it.
The best hunger suppressant is providing your body with what it needs, not what you desire.0 -
I work from home in a sitting job, which is like being sedentary at the office, but with a fully-stocked kitchen right next door.
The first 2 weeks of actually monitoring and carefully watching what I was consuming wasn't fun. I drank a lot of weak tea. Having to get up to make it distracted me and it meant that I drank loads of water. 2 weeks seemed to be enough to break me from the grazing habit.0 -
(...)write a letter to Popeye’s and McDonalds and tell them you’re ending the relationship
In fact I am against divorces :-)I had to end my relationship with cigarettes, jellybeans, along with biscuits and gravy. Biscuits and gravy! Where I grew up they are considered a health food.
I had to google biscuits and gravy and I never heard of them. WOW. But they do look yummy))) I did divorce cigarettes, too, after 20 years. Congratulations on the lost 33!!! I hope to be joining your success soon 0 -
Beat the hunger with coffee. In the morning I have no breakfast, cup of coffee when I wake up and then one an hour or so later. Lots of water too. Sees me through to lunch at 12:00.
Then if I'm on a mini-fast day (<1000 calories) I have homemade soup/stew for lunch. This comes in at about 60 calories, hot and filling, all veg.
Then throughout the afternoon if I need it I'll gave an apple or maybe a boiled egg, but try to get the coffee in to help me though.
You get used to it.
Then when I get home I have a fair amount of calories I can consume, harder I find in the house as not busy like in work so the nagging feeling to eat, eat, eat is always there!
That's how I do it anyway, it is on the way to an extreme way of doing things mind. But then I'm on an 8 week cutting body fat mission.0
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