How do you manage to get satisfied with less?
Options
Replies
-
cbhubbybubble wrote: »I think I get you. I really don't think it's a matter of hunger, it's a matter of your desire being satisfied. I'm not sure it ever completely happens, at least not for me. I have to self talk myself to convince I don't "need" the extra, I just "want" it. I like food. I like the taste of food. I like high calorie food. I can have 2 pieces of pizza and my hunger is satisfied, but the part of me that likes food because it tastes good is not satisfied....I think that's what you're referring to. I haven't found a way to make me stop wanting that extra piece of pizza, so can't help you there. I just have to talk myself out of taking it. Sometimes I win that battle and sometimes I lose.
Yes this is what I meant. Not satisfied as 'not hungry'. And yes it DOES happen with fish or other things, just more rarely. I guess what I don't understand is why sometimes one piece is plenty, but one day a week, it's just not.
And yes I 'zigzag' my calories a lot, on days my willpower is stronger I'll try to keep a bigger deficit. And I guess overall I do eat quite a bit in volume.
Thanks for all the posts. I guess if it was easy, everyone would do it...
One thing you could pay attention to would be whether or not the cravings or higher hunger days correlate with the lower intake days. There's a possibility at least, that the lower intake days in your week are contributing to the hunger levels on the higher intake days.
That's not to suggest it's problematic if that's the case. Just something worth observing.0 -
cbhubbybubble wrote: »I think I get you. I really don't think it's a matter of hunger, it's a matter of your desire being satisfied. I'm not sure it ever completely happens, at least not for me. I have to self talk myself to convince I don't "need" the extra, I just "want" it. I like food. I like the taste of food. I like high calorie food. I can have 2 pieces of pizza and my hunger is satisfied, but the part of me that likes food because it tastes good is not satisfied....I think that's what you're referring to. I haven't found a way to make me stop wanting that extra piece of pizza, so can't help you there. I just have to talk myself out of taking it. Sometimes I win that battle and sometimes I lose.
Yes this is what I meant. Not satisfied as 'not hungry'. And yes it DOES happen with fish or other things, just more rarely. I guess what I don't understand is why sometimes one piece is plenty, but one day a week, it's just not.
And yes I 'zigzag' my calories a lot, on days my willpower is stronger I'll try to keep a bigger deficit. And I guess overall I do eat quite a bit in volume.
Thanks for all the posts. I guess if it was easy, everyone would do it...
I think a certain amount of that is normal, honestly. I definitely have hungry days and more satisfied days. I don't know why, although I suspect hormones.0 -
Everyone has given great advice so far! I especially agree with the high volume (low calorie density) foods, high protein, high fat foods and occassional splurging. I find that I need less food when I eat whole, unprocessed full fat foods (like a skin on chicken thigh instead of a skinless breast). Also, like LiminalAscendance above, I've found that the less I eat overall, the less I am able to eat in a sitting.
I do have a couple of points to add to the conversation:
1) Do you track on your splurge days? I find that I have an inclination to just give up on the day if I know I'm going off track, but I'm SO much more successful if I commit to allowing myself to eat what I want but to still track it (even if it's not the most accurate tracking and if I have to guess after the fact). This has two results. First, it keeps me accountable and I make (slightly) better (but still indulgent) choices. Second, I find that I'm not really doing as badly as I thought, which encourages me to keep it up.
2) I've recently discovered that diet soda has been my nemisis! I had always used diet soda as a diet aid since I feel satisfied with it without calories. I had dismissed all of the (numerous) studies that seem to indicate that diet soda is associated with over eating and weight gain. However, I recently have given up diet soda (and other artificial sweeteners) and have been shocked at how much my appetite has been reduced!!!! I just don't feel as hungry as I used to. I don't have that crazy "I don't care I have to eat" feeling that I used to get. It is especially surprising to me because I wasn't a big diet soda drinker before--usually just one/day and then I would have a tea with splenda too. I don't know if you drink diet or use artificial sweeteners, but if you do, you might want to try this and see if it works. I've found it's impact is greatest in situations like you describe because I used to just drink diet soda at get togethers to try to limit the unhealthy food, not realizing how counter productive it was for me.
Good luck!0 -
Yeah I track all my bad days. Which is why I'm totally expecting to be up a pound this week.
I don't drink diet soda and the only sweeteners I use are pretty much sugar or stevia in the raw.
It definitely depends on my hormones or something though. It's weird. Today I'm hungry (stomach rumbling and all) but I don't feel it at all the way I usually do (where I NEED to eat something or I feel I'm going to get sick). Which is totally ironic because I've had the most carb heavy breakfast I've had in a long time.
But yeah, I wasn't talking about hunger/feeling full as much as being satisfied with having had enough of a taste of something.0 -
People are routinely brainwashed to expect joy with eating food. Forget about the culinary indulgence of it, and just eat for the function of living. Re-teach yourself that you only eat for the function of life.
That's total BS, IMO. We're not brainwashed, we're just humans. My kids won't eat what they don't like either.. and it started when they were 1! Heck even my CAT won't eat things she doesn't like, even if she's hungry.0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »I don't manage. If I want a double serving I will have a double serving. A sliver of cake is pathetic, and no I'm not going to have 1 oz of chips unless 1 oz of chips is what I want. If that's what moderation means, then I don't want it.
The most important thing is to eat your meal knowing exactly what you are getting yourself into and that you are knowingly consuming a very high calorie meal. That you may have to work extra in the upcoming weeks to compensate or maybe even skip a meal here or there. Or if making up for it is not in the books, that by eating this meal you will be postponing further progress for a few days.
If all of the above sounds like a reasonable price to pay for a great tasting full size meal, then by all means go for it. Sometimes I feel it's not worth it, other times I feel it is. You have lost 80 lb so far, so what you are doing is working for you.
I have lost 90+ pounds as well, and I have had many of these conscious diet breaks, some I made up for, some I didn't. I even chose to maintain for a few months once. As long as I get up and start again every time, then it's just a temporary pause that won't affect the fact that I'm losing and will continue losing in one way or another.
Just do whatever is you feel is best.
I use a modified version of this mindset using further exercise as a punishment of sorts. That sounds horrible doesn't it? But it works because I loathe exercise. But alas, it's a necessary evil in order to lose weight.
Aw man that double fudge german chocolate cake looks amazing, just one slice couldn't hurt. That one slice will cost me X amount of calories, do I have the calories available today? No. Hm, that means I'll have to work out an extra X amount of minutes to make up for the increased calorie intake...
Depending on how lazy I'm feeling, it usually cancels the craving out and I walk away. Other times, like Friday, I ate two packs of peanut butter Kandy Kakes. TWO! ugh. AND Totinos Pizza Rolls. Yeah, I peddled my butt an extra 50 minutes on the bike for that and actually lost weight as a result.0 -
For me, it really helps if I make sure I have lots of veggies around. Try eating a decent portion of your favorite veggies (for me it's spinach sautéed in garlic and a little olive oil), and then eat the foods you're having trouble with overeating. Once you eat your portion, wait for at least 15-20 minutes before you decide if you want more. Your body needs to time register that it has had enough, and it takes about that long for the signal to get to the brain. Don't tell yourself you can't, tell yourself you'll wait an see. Personally, if I go in with the mindset that I'm denying myself, I'll eat it rather than feel deprived. But if I see that I have that 6oz steak AND a giant Caesar salad with parmesan, I'll see it as a lot of food, and it's still pretty low in calories.
Also, your body often mistakes thirst with hunger. If you're not satisfied with your portions, there's a pretty good chance you're not getting enough water. A quick way to get an estimate of how much you should drink is to take your body weight, divide in half, that's how many oz of water you should drink. (Example: If I weighed 100 lbs, I'd drink 50 oz of water. 100/2 = 50).
Another thought is that when I don't count my carbs for each meal/snack and make it fairly even throughout the day, I don't feel satisfied because my blood sugar is off. Maybe try making your carbs pretty even throughout the day, and avoiding high sugar counts? Works for me.0 -
If you feel like your eating is out of your control, see a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. They can help people who don't have eating disorders, but do have issues with uncontrollable eating.
Some people find that working in a little junk food on a regular basis helps them. Others find that just eliminating it entirely helps them. I don't think there is one right answer for that, binge-wise.
For me, staying full helps. I can eat a boatload of fruit and veggies for very few calories. If I eat only fresh, healthy food, I can stuff myself silly and still not reach the calorie goal. Eliminating diet pop was a huge help. There is no doubt at all in my mind that it made me crave food and especially sweets. I was on and off it so many times that I noticed the pattern. Water was a tremendous help there.
Fruits really will satisfy a sugar craving if you give them a shot. They taste really yummy and have sugar, so not a huge surprise.0 -
People are routinely brainwashed to expect joy with eating food. Forget about the culinary indulgence of it, and just eat for the function of living. Re-teach yourself that you only eat for the function of life.
Extremes on either end can be bad. Eating exclusively for "the function of life" seems just as disordered to me as eating exclusively for pleasure.
There's a massive middle ground that many people can exist in quite comfortably.
0 -
I remind my body that it's view of a 'serving' is all out of whack, and show it the side of the box when it puts up an argument.
see... right there, 3 cookies = 1 serving. told ya.0 -
OP: Congratulations on losing 80 lbs. That's awesome. You definitely know how to do this.
My personal way of dealing with that psychological sense of not being satisfied is to expect it and consider it the current "normal." After all, at a cellular level your body doesn't know you're only planning to lose weight until you reach your goal. As a biological system, your body simply reacts to the fact that if you kept on eating at a deficit forever, you would eventually starve to death. So of course your body is going to activate every alarm at its disposal -- your endocrine system, your emotions, every relevant gland and so on -- to tell you to EAT! LOTS! NOW!
For me at least, what works is to stand one step apart from the cravings and say, "Yup. Those are just notifications that my body is burning up its stored fat and losing weight. This is what losing weight feels like."
I don't expect to feel satisfied. I try to focus on the fact that being dissatisfied at choosing to eat less food is a relatively minor issue in the overall experience of being human. It's not actually physically painful.
Also I eat plenty of protein and fat.
0 -
So here's what works for me, although it might not work for everyone.
I love food, and I love cooking. As part of the "compromise" of having smaller portion sizes I try to compensate by having higher quality/fancier foods, ex. having home-cooked grilled shrimp and veggies versus getting fried shrimp from a fast food chain. I find it more satisfying because I get to prepare the meal (anticipation) AND enjoy eating it (because I can season it however I like best). I also try to limit distractions around meal-time so that I can really concentrate on how the food tastes, feels, smells, etc. I found that by doing this I am way less tempted by most of the junk food found at social gatherings because I realized that while I craved it and enjoyed it if I ate it fast, when I took the time to really process how it tastes, I no longer wanted it. Also, I just resign myself to indulging during the holidays. Whatever you eat (unless you're eating whole turkeys/pies), 5 days (Thanksgiving, day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year's) should not derail an entire year of proper dieting.
Another way I deal with feeling unsatisfied is by doing the four smaller meals + snacks routine. If I'm constantly snacking on high-quality foods AND get four awesome meals, my stomach is waaay happier than sticking to three larger meals and minimal/no snacks. What this ends up looking like is: small breakfast with coffee, fruit, medium lunch, afternoon snack (usually veggies and hummus or more fruit), small dinner, and an evening snack (usually fruit and desert). Depending on my schedule/hunger, I might make the morning snack more substantial to make it a second breakfast, or if I'm staying up late the evening snack will become a very light second dinner.
I also find that my food satisfaction decreases dramatically whenever I'm approaching my period, so I usually end up eating quite a bit more than what I should. I've given up trying to limit my intake at those times, since I'm more likely to be angry all day if I do. Instead, I just increase my fatty protein intake and run off my excess calories (which helps with PMS anyway).
Best of luck!
0 -
bump for later0
-
For me, it helps to pick out the stuff I really want -- the good quality stuff. I'm sure you know this, but part of tracking for me was figuring out that I was eating a lot of stuff that was just meh. You know, eating the rest of my kids' goldfish because they were there, or eating a crappy chocolate cookie that tastes like wax and sugar more than chocolate. And then I'd also go and eat the stuff I really wanted, the good chocolate or delicious cheese I'd been looking forward to. So when you get to the party or gathering or whatever, scope out the things you really really want, like the awesome baked brie or dark chocolate cheesecake. And take out of contention stuff that doesn't look amazing. Salad with crappy bottled dressing? Nope. Hoagies pre-made on a platter from the supermarket? Nope. You can do better. (I'm just giving examples, not commenting on the quality of the stuff actually at the party.) That way, if you splurge a little, at least you're doing it on the right stuff that will actually scratch the itch you've got.0
-
People are routinely brainwashed to expect joy with eating food. Forget about the culinary indulgence of it, and just eat for the function of living. Re-teach yourself that you only eat for the function of life.
That's total BS, IMO. We're not brainwashed, we're just humans. My kids won't eat what they don't like either.. and it started when they were 1! Heck even my CAT won't eat things she doesn't like, even if she's hungry.
Totally agree. Eating is fun. Eating is pleasurable. Eating is emotional. If you told me I couldn't eat for pleasure anymore, it would be as though you had cut off a limb or deprived me of something important like my sense of smell. And eating like a robot, with no focus on pleasure or indulgence, is no way to spend the rest of your life.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »cbhubbybubble wrote: »I think I get you. I really don't think it's a matter of hunger, it's a matter of your desire being satisfied. I'm not sure it ever completely happens, at least not for me. I have to self talk myself to convince I don't "need" the extra, I just "want" it. I like food. I like the taste of food. I like high calorie food. I can have 2 pieces of pizza and my hunger is satisfied, but the part of me that likes food because it tastes good is not satisfied....I think that's what you're referring to. I haven't found a way to make me stop wanting that extra piece of pizza, so can't help you there. I just have to talk myself out of taking it. Sometimes I win that battle and sometimes I lose.
Yes this is what I meant. Not satisfied as 'not hungry'. And yes it DOES happen with fish or other things, just more rarely. I guess what I don't understand is why sometimes one piece is plenty, but one day a week, it's just not.
And yes I 'zigzag' my calories a lot, on days my willpower is stronger I'll try to keep a bigger deficit. And I guess overall I do eat quite a bit in volume.
Thanks for all the posts. I guess if it was easy, everyone would do it...
I think a certain amount of that is normal, honestly. I definitely have hungry days and more satisfied days. I don't know why, although I suspect hormones.
I think it's just normal. It's one reason I hate to see the advice given to force in spoonfuls of PB when someone posts that they're just not hungry one day and aren't hitting their calories. If you listen to your body, you're probably going to have days when you want less than your goal and days that you want more. Those will balance each other out if you just heed your body's messages.
But if you force yourself to hit a hard goal 100% of days, you're telling your body its feedback won't be listened to. That's how we disconnect from our hunger signals in the first place-- by consciously ignoring them.0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »To add to my previous post: I recently adopted my own personal version of modified intermittent fasting, so I don't restrict my quantities unless I want to. Here is what I do:
1. I eat at will, logging everything. On days when I don't have access to logging I try estimate my intake to the best of my abilities.
2. Even though I eat at will, I try to make smarter choices, like eating low-calorie things when I'm hungry but not particularly craving something. This makes some of my days lower in calories than others.
3. At the beginning of the day I look at yesterday's intake and carry the leftovers to today. Say my goal is 1500, and I ate 1800 yesterday - meaning I ate 300 calories extra, I use the quick calorie option to add 300 to today. If it's the other way around, my goal is 1500 and I happened to eat 1200, I use the quick add option to add -300 to today.
4. Once my carry over reaches more than 1000 calories I have a 500 calorie fast day. This is easier than you expect, because you only need to have willpower for this one day. I skip breakfast and lunch and have an early dinner single 500 calorie meal. I may need to do this again after a one day break if I really let myself go and accumulated more than 1500.
5. If my carry over reaches -1000 I either have a splurge day or just keep going, knowing that there will be a day when I will be eating nonstop and these extra calories will be handy.
6. Rinse and repeat.
I call this perpetual banking (as opposed to people eating on a weekly calorie plan or banking for a certain event)
You can take a look at my diary to see how it works. It works for me because on some days I just don't feel like eating much, but on others I could eat too much or have a night out or a party.
Experiment with things and manipulate plans to form your own diet that works for you.
i love this... out of curiosity, how long does it take you to hit that 1,000 calorie mark where you either fast or splurge?0 -
meridianova wrote: »i love this... out of curiosity, how long does it take you to hit that 1,000 calorie mark where you either fast or splurge?
It depends. Took me 2 weeks the last time and only 2 days this time (had a big day out with all you can eat).
I like 5:2 and every other day diet, I liked weekly calories, and I like general daily deficit, but they didn't exactly fit me so I modified the rigid nature of intermittent fasting, the inadequacy of daily restriction and the unpredictable weekly intake to best fit the chaotic nature of my eating because I tend to have pretty high and pretty low days naturally.
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.8K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 396 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 970 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions