fed up with dieting and getting hungry between meals
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This is your first day and you are fed up already?..........
No I've been tracking calories and trying to stay under a calorie limit for about 2 1/2 weeks now. But yesterday was my first day trying out a new daily diet that I hoped would eliminate the same problems I was having on my old diet, as well as being overall healthier.billieljaime wrote: »I used to be the same way then figured out that aside from breakfast, I am not a "meal" kinda person, I am a grazer.
I think this may be the case for me too.
I tried to add more protein today, so for breakfast I had 3/4 cup of boiled lentils, a nonfat plain Chobani yogurt, one slice of whole grain bread, two cups of salad greens, and one cup of water to drink. It was 400 calories and I felt full afterwards, but then at 10 AM the stomach growling came back. I was annoyed because yesterday I started getting hungry around 10 AM also, which means adding more protein didn't really do anything.
However I decided to make the best of it so I took my two mozzarella cheese sticks out of my lunch and had those as a midmorning snack, which was 160 calories. I also drank a lot of water from the water fountain. Hopefully that will last me until lunch. Then for lunch I will have one serving of whole grain crackers, a can of tuna, a little bit of raspberry dark chocolate, and about two cups of water from the water fountain flavored with True Lemon. I also have a cup of Cheerios for an afternoon snack if I need it. That leaves me a little over 500 calories for dinner. I really hope this works out!As an example of the protein/fat thing, on the weekends I eat a bowl of bacon for breakfast. Just bacon, cooked in the oven, about 400 to 500 calories worth. By dinner time, I could eat, but I'm not starving, and I don't think about eating all day.
So you think adding more meat would help? Maybe adding more fat to my breakfast would help too. Hopefully I can find the 2% Chobani plain yogurt at the store next week, but if not, I will just add a bit of extra virgin olive oil to my lentils, or drink some unsweetened coconut milk.
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I eat every 3 hrs. Just works better for me0
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Consider adding more veggies/fruits too. They are very filling (especially when raw, I have found) and low in calories. You get a lot of bang for your (caloric) buck with fresh produce.0
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Everyone is different. Some people require more protein, some require more fiber, some more carbohydrates. Generally though, we need WAY less food than we give ourselves credit for. I eat three meals a day, 8am, 1pm, 8pm and have an afternoon snack around 5pm. My afternoon snack consists of a handful (like 8 or 9 pieces) of shredded wheat and a cup of tea. Hot drinks REALLY help me to quiet the discomfort of an empty or actively digesting stomach. Next time you start feeling really snacky and don't want to eat, try having a nice hot cup of tea or coffee, caffeinated or not, and a very very very small portion of pretzels or wheat based food stuffs.
That's what works for me - maybe it can work for you, too! Good luck!0 -
brightsideofpink wrote: »One day of calorie counting is not long enough to be so dramatic as to say that MFP is ruining your life.
We all need to vent sometimes, but I encourage you to take a breath and step back for a moment. There are many many positives here.
At 5'4" and 128 lbs, you are in the normal BMI range. If you want to weigh less, that is your business and I'm certainly not going to tell you not to. However, consider this. You have been doing well. If you were absurdly exceeding calorie goals before you started to "diet" you would be far heavier than you are now. This means that you shouldn't have to make big or dramatic changes to lose the few pounds you have identified. 1600 calories is very doable. Consider that there are people who have been very successful with this who were accustomed to eating many more in a day than I would guess you are accustomed to.
You've got great advice here on how to spend your calories wisely so that you don't feel hungry all day long, and based on your responses, it sounds as though you are willing to try them. That is great! Too often people blow off good recommendations. Just cut yourself some slack and see this as a lifestyle change, not a diet that is going to anger you on day 1. You are very young and you need to figure out what is going to be sustainable for the next 70 years. You can do this. I think you are far closer than you are giving yourself credit for.
It's been a couple of weeks actually, not just one day, but it was the first day of trying this new diet plan out.
I want to lose weight more for the future than for anything else. It kind of scares me that I gained 10 pounds since I graduated college, without even noticing. When I have kids in the future I will probably gain 40 pounds and have to lose all of that. I want to have my healthy eating habits down now, so I don't have to think about it in the future.0 -
I personally am sated for longer and more comfortably on fewer carbs and not sweating the fat too much. A 300 calorie breakfast of yogurt, oatmeal and fruit would leave me incredibly hungry a couple of hours before lunch. Bacon, eggs and an apple (Surprise, same calorie count) and while I'm quite happy to HAVE lunch, doesn't have me in that GOTTA EAT NOWWW!! frame of mind.0
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SpockAdventures wrote: »Everyone is different. Some people require more protein, some require more fiber, some more carbohydrates. Generally though, we need WAY less food than we give ourselves credit for. I eat three meals a day, 8am, 1pm, 8pm and have an afternoon snack around 5pm. My afternoon snack consists of a handful (like 8 or 9 pieces) of shredded wheat and a cup of tea. Hot drinks REALLY help me to quiet the discomfort of an empty or actively digesting stomach. Next time you start feeling really snacky and don't want to eat, try having a nice hot cup of tea or coffee, caffeinated or not, and a very very very small portion of pretzels or wheat based food stuffs.
That's what works for me - maybe it can work for you, too! Good luck!
Lol ... ok. EVERYONE requires a decent amount of protein. Not just some people. And in fact no one REQUIRES more carbs. Or any really (no... not even for your brain function, your body makes the glucose you need for that). You eat them because you want to, and that's fine.0 -
It just takes time to figure out what works for you. For example, I've tried to incorporate lentils to help with hunger, but they don't do anything for my hunger or energy levels and make me feel weighed down but hungry at the same time. Probably too many carbs along for the ride with the protein. Eggs, 2% or full fat Greek yogurt, a little bit of nut butter, these are things that make filling breakfasts for me.
I'm also usually hungry at least every 3 hours, so I try to eat meals at 7:30, 1:30, and 7:30 with snacks at 10:30 and 4:30. I might still get hungry in between, but it's manageable. Your body takes time to get used to a new eating routine, so you might feel hungry even though your breakfast was filling (the hunger hormone ghrelin is partially regulated by typical eating time, so your body will pump it out on a schedule).
It can be super frustrating, but just think of it as a puzzle you're trying to solve. And don't expect to have it all perfectly figured out. I might just be a slow learner, but it's taken me yeeeears to develop a really good idea of what works for my body, and I'm still learning as my body changes.0 -
Listen, it's not worth driving yourself crazy over 10 lbs! If you eat healthy and move your body at least 30 min a day, your weight will stay steady. Keep track of it, weigh every month, and if it goes up by more than 5 lbs then re-evaluate.
As others have stated, your food choices themselves can be tweaked to help with your hunger if you want that. There are some good recommendations in this thread.0 -
Also, were you eating salted nuts before? Reasonable portions of nuts are a great addition to the diet, but you need to portion them out and put them away so do not overeat them. Added salt will make it more likely for you to want to overeat them as well.
Why are nuts good? healthy fat. So if not nuts, just focus on ways to add reasonable portions of fat to each meal. A reasonable portion would be 100-200 calories worth, or 1oz nuts, 1 Tb oil. Avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, chia, coconut chips, full-fat dairy... Of course, you'll need to make it fit into your calorie goals, but worth it!0 -
I have been where you are and I know how miserable it can be feeling hungry and deprived all the time.
I previously tried cutting down my calories, and not looking at what I was actually eating (diet/reduced fat). I was miserable. I constantly felt hungry and cranky. I decided to change my approach, and switched from chemically laced everything to real food. I cut out grains and dairy until I can learn to have a healthy relationship with them. I focus on eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies, good quality meats, and drink tons of water, and I feel so much better!
You mentioned that you had a healthy relationship with food before using MFP. It seems like you may be overthinking it?
At the end of the day, you need to listen to your body. What works for others may not work for you. Feeling miserable every day is a set up for failure. If you are hungry, eat! If MFP doesn't work for you and makes you miserable, delete it!0 -
bananas are super filling. If you eat 2 or 3 it should definitely curb your hunger0
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I hear your frustration and totally understand! Been there
Start educating yourself so you have right expectations and can adjust your lifestyle effectively to lose weight, keep it off AND enjoy the process!
I started with Body For Life by bill Phillips. Check out his website. Also hussmanfitness.org has some great information. Also Mike Matthews - GREAT articles:
http://www.muscleforlife.com/category/food/
BTW, with what you listed you ate above, I would expect you to be hungry at the times you listed0 -
I would be hungry too if I had crackers and cheese for lunch! And it's more than okay to be hungry 3 hours after your last meal.
For breakfast I alternate oatmeal and eggs so I don't get bored. Snacks are things like cottage cheese, edamame, carrots. Lunch is usually a huge salad and tuna and then tons of veggies for dinner with some chicken.
Drink water all day and have a few glasses before each meal.0 -
bananas are super filling. If you eat 2 or 3 it should definitely curb your hunger
At 100 calories a pop, so 200 to 300 for a snack I hope would be filling.
You may have to experiment to see what works. I've found that if I focus on getting at least 20 grams protein per meal, don't sweat the fat content and make sure I get enough calories at breakfast and lunch, I stay pretty sated. I don't typically eat a morning snack, but my energy flags in the afternoon, so I plan for a snack then with some protein in it, preferably no more than 100-150 calories. I'm totally hooked on Tanka Bars, but they're kind of spendy so I have to ration them. Boiled eggs and those little Babybel cheeses are another go-to for me. I keep dried fruit on hand if I need a little sweet boost. Crackers with some fiber and heft to them -- think Triscuits or those wonderful gluten-free Crunchmaster seed crackers -- keep me going longer than saltines.
Do I recall you mentioned cheerios? When I start eating cheerios, it almost sets off a chain reaction where I want to keep eating and eating and eating. Thank goodness I'm almost done with the last box I plan to buy! (sorry, can't bear to throw out food.) You might take notes on what you ate
I think there were also some questions in this thread as to whether Chobani makes full-fat Greek yogurt? Yes, they do... and it's heaven. Oh, my.
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