Learning how to eat

sarah44254 · January 2011

So I get hungry. I search the kitchen and cook myself up something that I figure is healthy. I take a small portion, and a huge glass of water. I sit down and I slowly eat whatever it is.

But I'm so hungry. So hungry!

Many days, all I want to do is add more and more food to my breakfasts and dinners. I want to have a huge bag of chocolates, or an entire pot of spaghetti.

Now, I know that in order to lose weight, I need to eat less than my body uses so I can burn the excess fat. I know that drinking water helps quench the appetite. And it does! It totally works. But it works about 15 minutes after I have eaten my small portion. 15 minutes after I have stared down and successfully ignored the bag of candy.

What other things can I be eating to help me feel good while eating? What ways are there for me to avoid feeling incredibly hungry between meals? How can I still eat chocolate every day without going over calories?

I'm wondering if the healthy choices I've thought I've made aren't really the best after all. I do drink 80-120 oz of water every day, and I eat a small item every 3-4 hours. Thank you for any thoughts or opinions!!

katevonr · January 2011

Take small bites and chew each bite thoroughly and swallow before preparing another bite on your fork. Studies have shown that people that do this eat less. This is because this process slows you down when you are eating, giving your body more time to recognize it is full.

Also, drink that big glass of water while you are cooking, or BEFORE your meal by about 10 minutes.

Finally, enjoy chocolate, but try to stick to dark chocolate. I keep hershey's nuggets (dark chocolate with almond) at my desk and treat myself to one when I have a craving. For chocolate lover's, the hardest part is stopping at one. If this is your problem, put one in your purse to bring to work every morning. If you don't have more available, you can't eat them.

Hope some of this helps!

jesseroyal · January 2011

So I get hungry. I search the kitchen and cook myself up something that I figure is healthy. I take a small portion, and a huge glass of water. I sit down and I slowly eat whatever it is.

But I'm so hungry. So hungry!

Many days, all I want to do is add more and more food to my breakfasts and dinners. I want to have a huge bag of chocolates, or an entire pot of spaghetti.

Now, I know that in order to lose weight, I need to eat less than my body uses so I can burn the excess fat. I know that drinking water helps quench the appetite. And it does! It totally works. But it works about 15 minutes after I have eaten my small portion. 15 minutes after I have stared down and successfully ignored the bag of candy.

What other things can I be eating to help me feel good while eating? What ways are there for me to avoid feeling incredibly hungry between meals? How can I still eat chocolate every day without going over calories?

I'm wondering if the healthy choices I've thought I've made aren't really the best after all. I do drink 80-120 oz of water every day, and I eat a small item every 3-4 hours. Thank you for any thoughts or opinions!!

I eat chocolate fiber bars. They are about 140 calories, taste pretty good, and give me the chocolate fix i gotta have. We have similiar goals and started out at about the same weight, feel free to add me if you want!!

lfondots · January 2011

Well, I would say eat about every 3 hours and small meals. I know I had to do that so I wouldn't get ravenous. When I was extremely hungry I had trouble stopping eating. Also eating 'free' veggies helps curb the munchies. Salad with low cal dressing. I found that Kraft light zesty italian has very low calories. Drinking lots of water also. Also it is shown that eating protein helps curb hunger. Good protein of course. Good luck and we have all been there. Once your stomach shrinks (yes it does happen) you will see eating less at a meal isn't that hard and I find that I can't eat that big plate of speg. that I used to.

L

colochel · January 2011

Like you (and tons of other people), I crave chocolate. To satisfy my cravings I go for a 60 calorie dark chocolate Jello-pudding, or a bag of 100 calorie Oreo mini's/ bars/ or cakesters and pair them with a glass of skim milk. The milk helps keep me full, and I try to do this in the evenings so I'm not laying in bed starving, later. Sometimes I'll even indulge in ONE bad piece of chocolate (my favorite is Lindt's Lindor truffles, 60% dark), but only once in a while if the rest of my day has been in check. And only if I know I have the willpower to not scarf the whole bag.

Other foods that I've found to be filling... oatmeal. Anything with true whole grains (I try to not include too much whole wheat, because it's still pretty dense) such as quinoa & whole grain brown rice.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

jenlen65 · January 2011

Definitely eating several small meals throughout the day helps you feel like you're not starving! Also, I found sugar free fudgcicles (40 cals) and they are excellent. It satisfies my chocolate craving really well. We think about a lot now since we are so aware of what we are eating. I look at labels at the grocery store and end up putting lots of things back. But I will NOT cut out every single thing I like. The key is portion. It makes a huge difference. Also keep things on hand like veggies. For me I love celery and I can eat lots of if without many calories and it satisfies the urge for something crunchy. You can do it!!

PhilBlock · January 2011

eat 3 meals spaced evenly throughout the day and breaking those up with a snack twice a day. you may want to look at what kind of calories you are eating. some things(even when we think they are healthy) don't stick with us. try getting a protein source at EVERY feeding, whether a snack or meal. make sure you get your daily allotment of fiber( helps keep you full) and drink a glass of water before eating. I've found that helps. bottom line is, if your body is telling you that you're hungry you should eat. just be mindful of what it is. If you just feel like you should be eating..get a drink and something munch on like celery( which takes more calories to burn off than what's in it ;-) ) Little things like this have really helped me keep my weight off and pursue my 6 pack. I've got about another 4-5% body fat to go....but I'm determined! Let me know if I can help with anything else!

Phil
:-)

sarah44254 · January 2011

Sounds like I need more veggies! I'm already eating every 3-4 hrs, I'm not sure that I can manage every 2 hours. At home, sure. At work, likely not. Maybe a mini veggie tray sitting near where I work so I can snack on one when I pass by

1 piece of chocolate only is so hard! I def. have to work on that willpower. Those fugcicles sound amaaaaazing.

I'm already trying most of the things mentioned here, I bet I just have to get used to the new changes. This is only my third week!

Thanks so much for all the good wishes and good ideas

Learning how to eat

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