Acclamating to new diet/lifestyle

eat lots of protein and drink lots of water

I find if I drink a glass of water with my meal and then drink a glass right after , I am very full for most of the day

Protein will be your friend

I found it took me about a week to get used to the new, lower calorie routine. I think my body almost went cold turkey with the lack of excess sugar- I woke up in the night a few times in the first week, feeling jittery. But once that first week was over I got used to it and now I can easily eat what MFP recommends and I feel full and energetic. I eat back most of my exercise calories, which helps.

It depends a lot on what you ate today. I eat more often than i used to but smaller portion.
Also, like xcalygrl said, it depends on how much quantity of food you cut out. Most people eat about 2k cals, or close enough, so losing about 1k overnight can be pretty hard. I would suggest, like she said, drop 250/500 cals per day for week (so from 2k to 1.7k for a week and 1.4k the next week and finally 1.2k)
The hardest part is to distinguish cravings and hunger. Drink a lot of water, if within 20 minutes your are still **physically** feeling hungry you are probably hungry, yes. By physically I mean your stomach is grumbling, or you feel it working on air. Otherwise, try to distract yourself, go for a walk, do the dishes, call your mom, etc... and after 5 minutes you'll stop over thinking it.

It took me about 2-3 weeks to be accustom to the quantity of food 1.2k was. What helped me was munching very low calorie food. I ate A LOT of side salad, spinach, celery, etc... at the beginning. You can eat so much of it without really sacrificing many calories. 6-8 celery stick are about 5 - 7 calories and although I don't feel full eating that, it trick my brain and take space in my stomach. Also, tell you if you go over by 20 calories because those 20 calories helped you feeling full or busy all day, it's worth it otherwise you would of make even worst and more caloric choices.

Make sure your plate looks full. If you're having half a chicken breast, a handful of broccoli and 1/2 of cooked rice, you'll still feel like eating afterward if you use to eat double or more that amount of food before. Add a side salad, or double, triple the broccoli, cook the rice with a 50/50 ratio rice and veggies, etc... so when you eat, the quantity is still big. Satiety feeling comes both from the amount of calorie/protein/carbs/etc eaten and the actual place all this food will take in your stomach.

So, today I started my "be anal about tracking food intake" and I'm already hungry shortly after eating lunch.

The problem is, I'm not sure if I think I'm hungry because I know I'm eating less or if I actually am hungry.

So.. how long does it take for the initial shock to go away and for it to become the "new normal"?

You actually need to provide info about yourself and your meals if you want real advice. Did you eat an appler or a big mac for lunch? Are you 5' or 7' tall? Anyways, make sure that you're eating enought. 2-3 oatmeal packets is probably good. Eat a snack in between breakfast and lunch dinner. Give it maybe 2 weeks to feel less hungry.

there will be no shock if your body is getting the correct amount of nutrients it needs. If you are still hungry after just eating lunch you probably aren't eating enough nutrient rich foods.