Does anyone else still need a large amount of food?

My stomach is too acustomed to McD's to be full from it anymore. I can eat a Big Mac meal no problem and still want dessert (sundae) although I resist cuz I just "think" I'm still hungry and I'm not. McD's is a weakness of mine. A Happy Meal is on occasion, a meal for me...when I "need a little something" or I have the big craving for fries...I find that the Happy Meal satisfies in that case. I make sure the rest of the day is more reasonable (better choices of foods) cuz we all know McD's is not terribly good for us. I drink TONS of water to try and counteract all the salt from the (most yummy) fries.....
I believe in most cases we eat a lot cuz we're eating the wrong foods. Some days I really want and actually do...eat everything in sight. I have an issue with eating too fast too....my brain is way behind my mouth....I have to concentrate on eating slower so my brain has time to tell me I'm full. Your lunch example is yummy....it actually seems like more than 500 calories. I'm not debating that though....just commenting on the yummy factor. How much water do you drink a day? I only ever drink water (when I eat at McD's I drink Diet Coke) so I pretty much always have room for the minimum 8 cups/day. Every day, every meal is different for me too...some mornings, Im good with a homemade smoothie, other mornings, I want eggs/toast. The protein/eggs seem to make me feel fuller 'til lunch whereas the smoothie doesn't...I usually have a protein bar or something mid morning.
I read people's diaries every day and wonder how they can be satisfied on what they've documented too...and other times, I think..."wow, they ate all that"???? Different strokes for different folks

I'm really curious about this... I've seen several times people mention things like 'I just have a kids meal at McDonald's and I'm full for hours' and all I can think of is 'WTF?'. Quite sure I'd be starving after 2 hours if I only had a kids meal...

For example, at lunch I had 6oz of ground beef (95%), a whole zucchini (large, 330g), 2/3 cup (130g) of rice with veggies, a couple hazelnuts covered with dark chocolate, and 10oz of coffee... 500 calories total. I expect to be full until 4pm, maybe... and that was a LOT of food.

Is it just me? Ok, some days I'm hungrier than others, but still, I can't imagine a small sandwich and an apple would fill me up enough as a meal...

My lunch was 500 calories as well, but I don't eat breakfast. It had 26g carbs(3 fiber), 21g fat and 51g protein and I will be full for a looooooong time (from experience). I can eat a happy meal, and be full, but I will be starving again shortly, because there's just not enough protein in it for me, even if I go milk over other drink options.

My dinner is usually smaller, consisting more 300-400 cal and I am fine with that. I'm not strict on it, but I have noticed that I rather naturally fall into an IF pattern of 16-8 with the vast majority of my eating (most days) falling between noon (or later) and 8-9pm.

I do today........probably around 4000 with booster rockets ready.

Yeah. I feel like I'm always hungry and never get enough. I get to work @ 7, and by 9 I'm hungry. Eat lunch somewhere between 11 and 12, hungry again by 2:30-3. I don't think I'm eating THAT bad (try to balance carbs/protein/fat relatively well), but I just never seem to get enough. Sometimes I see low-cal diaries and get hungry just looking at them.

You're not alone! My meals are similar to yours. I fill my plates and myself up with LOTS of veggies. It's the portions of high cal foods that I keep in check. A small sandwich would just get me hungrier than not eating anything.

Actually one of the reasons I do a form of IF. I do a partial fast two days a week. On those days I skip breakfast, have a 150 cal lunch and a 350 cal dinner. It is easier for me to not eat for as long as possible on those two days. As soon as I start eating....I get hungry. So at lunch time on a maintainance day (having eaten breakfast), I am often hungrier at lunch time than on my fast days. Go figure.

I love love love food. I have been known to out eat a 6 foot 350 lb man & honestly I can say it is all about the quality of the food. A kids meal from McDonalds wouldn't put a dent in my hunger, I'd still be hungry right after eating it, but give me a HUGE salad with a ton of veggies, chicken, low fat cheese & some light dressing & I am full for quite a while. I guess it just depends.

I'm ALWAYS hungry. I can't imagine many meals that would keep me full for 4+ hours that's 'reasonable' calorie-wise. I have found a few things that do satiate for longer (hard boiled eggs, reduced fat cheese, quest bars), but I usually eat at least every 1-2 hours. People who are satiated for "hours" eating egg whites??? Lucky- I'm full for about twelve seconds

i ate 9 mc-chicken nuggets the other day and classed that as a snack, i could easy eat 3 big macs and still have room for a mcflurry :drinker:

To put it simply, yes. I'd rather eat eat eat and then burn it off. It's been working so far!