new to mfp (again) - and I'm starving!

Open your food diary so we can see what you are eating

How do you unlock the food diary?

Have you tried making smoothies with protein powder? I actually use a slimfast add some tofu and fruit. I have that at night after working out and it keeps me full through the night!!

Setting, diary settings then open

If your still hungry try eating oatmeal for your last snack thats what I do you can use it when your hungry instead of popcorn,fiber bars etc and not the wimpy instant in the individual. Real stick to the rib oatmeal

I was kind of in the same boat as you when you started. People can give you all sorts of advice as to what to eat to make you feel full and whatnot but it isn't the same for everyone. My advice: tough it out! You're stomach will shrink (especially if you're eating enough according to MFP which is significantly less than you were) and you won't be as hungry.

That's what happened for me. I felt STARVING for the first two weeks, and now I'm fairly satisfied throughout the day. There is an adjustment period that you have to tough out. And it may take longer for you!

Don't get discouraged yet

I know some folks swear by the 5-6 small meals thing.
I gotta tell you it didn't work for me. @ 1200 calories that's only 200 calories a pop. I never got un-hungry.

Once, I went for the 3 300-350 calorie meals and used what was left over for snacks, what a relief it was.

And some folks swear by drinking a bazillion glasses of water. (I keep in mind something a nutritionist told me 1 cup for every 25 lbs of body weight. & I refuse to stress over hitting that.)

Watch your sugar intake.
Sugars and artificial sweeteners increase your appetite.
If I have a DIET COKE, no way I can stay under 1200 cal.
More foods now than ever before have hidden sugars in them and are sold as "real foods"
If I'm going to eat the sugar I want a cookie, gosh darn it!

I've also read about folks "zig - zagging" their calories. This I seemed to do naturally and worked out fine for me.
I would do 2-3 days at 1200 cal then a day at 1400-1500 cal (on my high days I just made sure I stayed under the maintenance calories for my GOAL Weight)

Good Luck,

Try drinking some teas, maybe artificial sweetner if you have to have the sugar effect...find some snacks you like...I read that apples turn to zero calories after digestion...don't know how true that is but how can you go wrong with apples...I felt hungry for about the first 3 days...now I'm okay...Im also drinking more water...I force myself to do that.,,,go to your food diary setting and change it from private to public...good luck

Have you tried making smoothies with protein powder? I actually use a slimfast add some tofu and fruit. I have that at night after working out and it keeps me full through the night!!

slim fast has never kept me full for more than 2 hours.

It does look to me like you are eating a lot of sugar.
That really increase your appetite (artificial sweeteners too)

You can add one more category to track. Pick sugar at least for a week or so and see if you feel a difference when you reduce

(I get 25g of sugar a day. that's about 1 yogurt.
I see you've got yogurt (22-28g) Slim Fast shake (18g) Banana (14g)
Watch sugar in Lean Cuisine some are okay, but some are really high.
My favorite cookies have 9g for 15 cookies I use that as a reference point)

I am very rarely hungry. I simply make sure that, first, I get a LOT of bang for my "calorie bucks" with lots of fruits and veggies, etc and second, if I am still hungry, I just earn more food by working out. I have doubled my normal loss rate since being on MFP (from 1/2lb a week to 1 lb a week) and I am eating twice the quantity of food (& quality) as I ever ate when not trying to lose weight. I eat almost all my exercise calories, staying just short of my daily goal. I kind of have a feel for how many calories I need to feel comfortable for the day and I just make sure I earn them! If you look at this as a diet and as it being restrictive, it will not be sustainable. I know that I have to eat this way pretty much forever, so I make it as easy as possible on myself--trying to eat as healthy as possible while not freaking out over a processed food now & then and I definitely need a treat or 2 every day. You can do it...it just takes some planning! Feel free to browse my diary...don't keel over at the length of it!

OMG! I would be starving, too! Honey- you are not eating nearly enough food. I eat all day long. Every 2 hours from the time I get up until I go to bed (I eat as late as 11pm sometimes). The key is plan plan plan. Before MFP, I lived on coffee all day long until 7pm and then ate dinner and a snack. Me? Eat breakfast? Yeah right! The new me has a meal plan that typically resembles this:

On drive into work: EAS advantedge choc protein shake - 110 cal
Around 9am: yogurt (greek or light n fit)
Around 11: piece of fruit and granola bar (south beach twice protein)
Around 1: Half sandwich (35 cal per slice bread, light mayo, meat- any kind...tuna, ham, chix, turkey) w/ soup or veggies. Sugar-free jello cup
Around 4: handful of nuts or other small snack
Dinner 7pm: 4oz meat (I eat beef, chix, turkey, ham and pork...as long as its lean n measured, eat it!), 1/2cup starch (rice, potatoes, pasta...just avoid added butter and salt), 1/2 plate veggies using zero cal spray butter)
Evening snack: 60 cal sugar free jello pudding and/or turkey slices w/special k crackers

I drink coffee, but have significantly decreased sugar and cream (yes, I have cream . My friends use skim milk and splenda in theirs. I don't drink juice. I switched to skim milk with dinner. If I eat bread, I exercise. I eat minimum half my calories back if I exercise. And I cheat sometimes. Took my boys to dairy queen the other night and ate what I wanted. But the next day, I followed my eating plan and put more effort into my workout. I sometimes go a whole week without exercising.

I have lost 14 pounds in 8 weeks eating more than I ever have. Make small changes each week. My challenge this week is to eat more veggies and fruit.