Getting used to not eating ALL the time.

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humpback_houlihan
humpback_houlihan Posts: 17 Member
in Getting Started
Just started counting again after some time and even though I'm eating just under my calorie goal (2 days now,) I feel "hungry" more than I think I should.

Just looking for protips. How do you get your mind off food?

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  • secrets424
    secrets424 Posts: 17 Member
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    I don't. I'm always thinking about food. I think a lot of us are.
  • Passionately_Positive
    Passionately_Positive Posts: 38 Member
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    I think about food more than I would like to. I try to distract my brain with meal preparation for the following day. Or lose myself on the internet lol. Try not to look at any advertisements though lol.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Make sure that you're getting enough high fiber foods and high protein foods. (Beans, like black beans and white beans are good for this!). They'll help you feel full longer.
    I found it helps to think about meal-planning for the future. I'll see a commercial for something that looks good and think about how I can make it healthier at home.

  • Ashtoretet
    Ashtoretet Posts: 378 Member
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    It took me about 4 months before I stopped constantly thinking about eating. I still have the occasional regressive day, but it's mostly pretty easy to stay within 100 calories of my daily goals.
  • L_Master
    L_Master Posts: 354 Member
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    humpback_houlihan wrote: »
    Just started counting again after some time and even though I'm eating just under my calorie goal (2 days now,) I feel "hungry" more than I think I should.

    Just looking for protips. How do you get your mind off food?

    Hmm, pretty much my issues that have been keeping me from goal weight are:

    1) Too much junk food
    2) Consistent grazing (which I found out was adding up to 500-1500 kcal a day. Yikes!)
    3) Late night binges

    The general goal I have in mind has been to work to decouple to some extent the idea of food from pleasure. Not meaning I don't enjoy eating, but more the idea of eating sugar/fat/salt in an emotional way, as a reward for doing something, or out of boredom.

    So far, I'm about three weeks in. First week really sucked. Even though I was eating clean I felt totally weak and unhappy. And felt like I was super hungry ALL the time...

    Unless I stopped and actually checked how my stomach felt and realized that I actually felt closer to full than hungry. Wierd sensation those cravings give.

    Second week and third week I've felt really good. Well satiated almost all the time, even with a deficit between 500-750 kcal, and the cravings and thinking about food is lessening. Not gone by any means, but instead of thinking about eating something hundreds of time a day, it's down to just a couple dozen and usually transient.

    When I've been getting any sort of craving for food my process has been:

    1)Check to make sure I'm not bored, or that I'm trying to talk myself into food as a reward for doing something
    2)Check my hunger. If I think about it and decide that I would totally love a plate full of brocoli and nothing else, I eat a small 200-400 kcal snack, else #3
    3)Do 10 pushups and then go do something productive/engaging for 15 minutes

    Been working really well for me so far. Admittedly just 3 weeks, but I'm really happy with how much less I'm battling feeling hungry or having vicious cravings.
  • tomatosoup3
    tomatosoup3 Posts: 126 Member
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    i don't think about food all day, but i think that's just because i work many hours and am always very busy (not just a desk job... then i probably would eat all day!)

    maybe make a list of activities you like to do (doesn't have to be active ones, just ones to keep you busy) in order to keep your mind off food.
  • humpback_houlihan
    humpback_houlihan Posts: 17 Member
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    L_Master wrote: »
    humpback_houlihan wrote: »
    Just started counting again after some time and even though I'm eating just under my calorie goal (2 days now,) I feel "hungry" more than I think I should.

    Just looking for protips. How do you get your mind off food?

    Hmm, pretty much my issues that have been keeping me from goal weight are:

    1) Too much junk food
    2) Consistent grazing (which I found out was adding up to 500-1500 kcal a day. Yikes!)
    3) Late night binges

    The general goal I have in mind has been to work to decouple to some extent the idea of food from pleasure. Not meaning I don't enjoy eating, but more the idea of eating sugar/fat/salt in an emotional way, as a reward for doing something, or out of boredom.

    So far, I'm about three weeks in. First week really sucked. Even though I was eating clean I felt totally weak and unhappy. And felt like I was super hungry ALL the time...

    Unless I stopped and actually checked how my stomach felt and realized that I actually felt closer to full than hungry. Wierd sensation those cravings give.

    Second week and third week I've felt really good. Well satiated almost all the time, even with a deficit between 500-750 kcal, and the cravings and thinking about food is lessening. Not gone by any means, but instead of thinking about eating something hundreds of time a day, it's down to just a couple dozen and usually transient.

    When I've been getting any sort of craving for food my process has been:

    1)Check to make sure I'm not bored, or that I'm trying to talk myself into food as a reward for doing something
    2)Check my hunger. If I think about it and decide that I would totally love a plate full of brocoli and nothing else, I eat a small 200-400 kcal snack, else #3
    3)Do 10 pushups and then go do something productive/engaging for 15 minutes

    Been working really well for me so far. Admittedly just 3 weeks, but I'm really happy with how much less I'm battling feeling hungry or having vicious cravings.

    Awesome advice! I love the "if I'm hungry enough to eat a plate of broccoli, I'm hungry" mentality! I've used it myself. Thanks!
  • longlostyeti
    longlostyeti Posts: 27 Member
    edited January 2016
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    have you tried intermittent fasting eating only two huge meals everyday? pushing your breakfast until noon hits. Then dinner time comes around you still have your macros left for the night. the reason im suggesting this type of eating it will totally free you from feeling hungry because your eating huge meals when dinner time its like tricking your brain, but your still eating same amount of macros you need. But again we are all different maybe for you you like eating six meals a day for others they only like eating only two. If you can give it a try for a week and see how loosing weight is like walk in a park.
  • Forest91
    Forest91 Posts: 1,203 Member
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    I started food planning last Sunday. So far I have planned three weeks ahead. I look at my diary as so as I wake up and I only eat at meal times with planned snacks and I noticed so far I have not gone to eat food what is not on my plan and I don't feel like I need to eat all the time.
  • michellesz
    michellesz Posts: 428 Member
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    I love to eat a healthy breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. All healthy food options broken down througout the day fill me up and keep me satisfied. Hunger pangs are never an issue this way. Also some hunger pangs are from boredom. Stay busy and helps to keep hydrated. :smiley:
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
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    I don't stop eating, well essentially. I eat something almost every 2-3 hours. I keep each meal low in calories, protein shakes, applesauce, nuts, fruit, i do have breakfast lunch and dinner but I make sure I keep eating small snacks in between ranging from 50-100 calories. It helps to keep my metabolism moving also
  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
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    I think my nieces, sister, neighbors, old neighbors from before this last move, and old college friends must be aware that I'm thinking about food all the time, because I've taken to sending chatty messages about interesting recipes. It reminds me of what I heard about the Ernest Shackleton expedition to the South Pole, when the crew were stuck on the ice for many weeks and entertained themselves at night reading a single recipe from a cookbook they'd saved from the ship, and discussing it for hours. Well, they all survived, and so will we! I love the advice about figuring out whether something is "real" hunger. There's a big difference between "I'm ready to eat; something to eat would be nice right now" and "I'm running on fumes here." When the novelty wears off, I imagine I'll quit obsessing about recipes. I already feel much less hunger, now that my stomach has shrunk. Also, I get three meals a day, and the rest of the time I've simply begun to regard as "not a time for eating, period." Definitely no more late-night binges. When supper's over, I'm done till morning.

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