I want to feel full.

i can relate. i used to do the same thing, eat ridiculous amounts of food in single sittings, almost to the point that it hurt. your stomach will never physically shrink, but eventually your brain will catch up with your new eating habits and you will get that full sensation after eating meals that are much smaller. hunger or feeling full arent very good indicators of how much food to eat, they are mostly mental feelings that come because of what your brain is used to food wise

Try eating more satiating foods and perhaps fewer meals. I'm pretty stuffed as I write this, having polished off a 1000 cal. breakfast. That said, I only plan to have 1 more sizable meal today with perhaps 1 snack. Experiment with what and how you eat to find what works for you, but you don't need to go hungry or eat daintly little portions to lose weight.

If you are "hungry" even after you have eaten, that is not physical hunger. That is EMOTIONAL hunger, possibly caused by feelings of deprivation.

You have a lot to lose and I would imagine that you have been eating for emotional reasons - to feel good, manage stress and other negative feelings. Until you deal with that, weight loss will be challenging because whenever emotional eaters feel something they don't want to feel, they eat instead of dealing with it. I used to be one!

The other advice I can give you is this - don't make your eating too restrictive. If you cut your calories too low, or don't allow yourself the foods you enjoy in small quantities, you will get into the mindset of deprivation and eventually most people binge.

If you want to learn how to eat normally for the rest of your life, try cutting back your calories gradually and modestly and adding in some exercise, which will allow you to eat a tad bit more. You don't have to starve yourself to lose weight and cutting back too much will make it hard to maintain.

Good luck!

Oh man... I feel your pain. So much. I lost a ton of weight about 8 years ago (was down to 145 -- the lowest I've ever been) and have gradually gained it all back and then some. I know (a) how long it took me to lose the weight originally and (b) how hard it was, so I'm finding it really difficult to get back on track.

I don't have solutions... just wanted to voice my solidarity. I feel you, girl.

I don't mean this to sound snarky at all but try different stuff too. I could down 2000 calories in a sitting with no problem but am FULL when I eat 300 calories from a turkey burger and a big bowl of broccoli. I often think I will want another as I am eating it but by the time I get to the last bite I am just done.

It's not a cure but is helps to shift to really dense food like the above. There's simply no way for me to gain weight if I only eat the above. I can not physically put that much food in my body right now.

I used to binge eat too, to the point where I'd almost be sick.

A couple things that helped me

- Removing all temping "goodies" foods from your house. This is a lot harder when you live with other people, I know. When I lived on my own I just wouldn't let myself buy typical binge foods. It's a lot different binge eating a bag of carrots and a whole other bag of lettuce hehe. Cereal on the other hand seems harmless, but I'd sit down and eat an entire box in one sitting, no problem. I actually was scheduled to go to an "overeaters anonymous" meeting when I decided I can conquer this on my own.

- Making sure if you are still hungry, or even if you just think you are, you eat veggies until you're full. Just as you mentioned at lunch, you ate a sandwich, chips, and a yogurt and you were still hungry. Bring along a cucumber or carrots or whatever else veggies you can. If you're still so hungry, eat those.

- Chances are it's not that you're actually HUNGRY, you just want more food. And I'm going to bet you probably won't want to keep eating extra broccoli or cauliflower after each meal. That's how you know the difference between hunger and just wanting more food. If you are hungry and don't care what it is that you eat, you just are that hungry, that's hunger. If you are hungry and all you want is potato chips and ice cream, that's being insatiated. You need to know the difference.

- Make yourself busy. If you're sitting on the couch thinking you're still hungry after you just ate dinner, go do something. It doesn't even have to be exercise. Read a book, play a video game, sleep, get a shower, anything to get your mind off of the fact that you just want food.

I could probably go on but I think I've written enough. I'm binge free for over 6 months now and I feel great. Haven't had a guilty feeling associated with food since before Christmas. Woo hoo

I feel the same way. I always felt hungry and could binge eat like crazy. I had to do several things. First I found several lower calorie foods that I enjoyed and could eat larger portions of. Always keep them for days I feel very hungry.

Also I love sweets so I figured out that if I eat things like ice ream, candy, or cake 10 to 15 min after I have eaten it is a million more times easier to stick to a small portion like half a candy bar. I get the sweets without over doing it. I never ever eat them when I am hungry because that is when I want to eat two king size candy bars or an entire pint of ice cream.

I always make sure I have a filling breakfast like eggs or oatmeal. I have learned to love them after I realized how full I feel.

You don't have to drink shakes for your protein. I found it helps me to eat my protein.

Most importantly give it time. I was worried about cutting more calories as my weight has gone lower but I feel more satisfied than I have ever felt. It gets easier and easier every day.

I only skimmed your diary, but if you're always hungry, upping your veggies can really help. Spinach, broccoli, chard, and other deep green veggies will give you the ability to eat a huge bowl in one sitting without breaking the calorie bank. When I'm feeling ravenous after already eating a big meal, I make a huge salad.

I looked at your food diary and I didn't see anything horrible in there. I noticed your snacks consist of mostly fruit which is great but it may help to add a snack or two that is a little more filling and also to eat a little more at breakfast. If you spread your calories out it may help to tame the hunger.Try adding different foods and see what makes you full. For some people it's more fiber, others more protein etc.

As far as eating everything on your plate maybe you could try serving yourself less and saving leftovers for lunch the next day. Try not to think of it as wasting food but as saving money.

It gets better. Once your body is used to eating less each meal, you won't feel quite as hungry as you used to.

For example, a weakness of mine is pizza. I could eat 4-5 slices with a beer or two no problem in the past and then I would feel "full." But after going on MFP for a couple months, I find that 1-2 slices with some salad greens and a big glass of water makes me as full and nearly as satisfied.

And even if you leave the table not quite full, after about thirty minutes or so you may find that you feel totally fine. It gives your body time to realize that it ain't gettin no more!

With a meal, I often eat 5-6 servings of very low cal veggies (cauliflower, or green beans, etc) just steamed and then with mrs. dash. I like those steam bags from the freezer section. I also drink 2 glasses of water. Then after I eat that, I eat my "meal". This gets rid of the hunger.

I think you need to first determine if your balance of foods isn't allowing you to get that full feeling or if you are dealing with BED. From the sounds of your first post, it sounds like the latter. I have been fighting BED with my doctor's help for the past year. The only caveat is that my BED is often triggered by my PMDD. My doctor and I spoke about all the contributing factors and we determined medication was a good route for me. Its not for everyone but it really helped me get my emotions in check and control my need to binge. We have a lot in place for a natural approach so that my mind and body are not contingent on the medication. I meet with a therapist, stay on top of my workouts ( super important), Meet with my doctor monthly to monitor my blood sugar, . cholesterol, etc. and work with a nutritionist. Its a lot of work but I knew I couldn't conquer it on my own. You have been given a lot of great advice such as upping your veggies, fruit and etc. and how to determine the difference between hunger and just wanting more food. Its important to balance your meals to control your appetite. Have you tried adding in some higher intensity workouts? These can often curb appetite but will greatly help with mental state. Remove the trigger foods. If your issue is that you are binging in private, become more social! Or make a phone call, anything to keep you busy. I know its tough but one step at a time and writing your feelings down is a really good step!

Good luck!

I've found that when I add more veggies and fruits that are very low cal I tend to stay full longer because I get to EAT MORE! lol.

My snacks for today for example - an apricot, a mini cucumber, and baby carrots for under 70 calories total and it is 2+ cups of food.

Protein and fiber are important for feeling full as well.

I'm trying to keep away from 100 calorie snack packs because they never seem to fill me and therefore I eat MORE calories trying to get full. I'm not anti-processed food at all, but my body seems to be satisfied more with foods that have needed nutrients.