Does eating less get easier?

Congrats on the decision to start again. It helps me to have some meals prepared ahead of time, even if they are just shakes and salads, so I can grab something healthy no matter what my mood or how my day turns out.

Are you drinking enough water? Sometimes I'm not really hungry I'm just thirsty. ....... And yes it does get easier. Start slow with a half pound lost to give you more calories and adjust the weight loss goal as you get into better eating habits. Everyone else's comments are also correct. Be forgiving of yourself. One day at a time. Good luck fit friend. It's a journey.... Not a race.

As others have said, yes it does get easier. Focus on fixing the "why" of overeating, and do not throw in the towel because of a bad hour, day, or even after a bad week. When I was losing, it helped that I planned my meals a week or so ahead of time. When life got busy, I wasn't tempted too badly to overeat because I had a plan. After a couple months, I felt more comfortable and balancing a healthy diet became easier such that I no longer needed to plan so far ahead. For the most part, I now only log meals on the same day I plan to eat them.
A helpful tip: if you're craving something, log a portion of the food FIRST into your diary and fill in everything else to help you meet your macros. This way, you're still keeping on track without feeling deprived.
Humans tend to be creatures of habit. Make healthy choices as routine as your daily shower, and it will hopefully become relatively easy for you.

I think it gets easier. I was 355 and decided to try Low carb high fat eating (LCHF). I eat between about 1500 cals a day and have lost over 90 pounds, no exercise, no cravings and not hungry all the time. I also drink more water than I used to. If you are interested in LCHF check out dietdoctor.com. My son decided to try it and lost over 20 in a month and a half, my brothers gf is doing it and has lost close to 20 in 2 months.

Yes, but you can trick yourself a little. Google "volumizing food" or "volumetrics" for recipes that LOOK like a lot of food, have lots of volume to make you feel full etc. That can help get through the tough times.

For example, make a small salad like normal then add double or triple the amount of lettuce, green peppers, cucumbers for virtually zero calories. Just dont add corresponding amount of toppings otherwise that have higher calories.

Oatmeal - make with double the amount of water, let sit overnight, etc. It will blow up huge but have same amount of calories as regular bowl.

Egg whites have very few calories - you can whip them (for a long time with beater) and add a VERY little xanthum or guar gum for thickness and use them for lots of things. It will actually make your stomach hurt they are so much/thick. I use them for pancakes (add some sugar free flavored syrup, protein powder, vanilla, etc, and bake - it gets HUGE, google for egg white pancake recipes). You can also just scramble them and add a little meat for an omelet. If not much flavor, add a single regular egg too.

Lots of ideas to eat large amounts for same or less calories. I get so absorbed in finding recipes I actually forget to eat for a few hours while looking them up Lol.

It does get easier. It's important to pick the right foods. Like @DetroitDarin said, I get full much more quickly on way less food. I eat 2oz of pastrami and that fills me up where I used to eat a full sandwich with double the meat on 2 slices of bread and could still eat more.

I eat Low Carb High Fat, and I'm almost never hungry now. I eat between 1000-1200 calories a day, and sometimes the last 200 calories are difficult to get down.

But the first few weeks, when you're making that change from your old way of eating to the new...some of it is actual hunger, some of it might be thirst so make sure you're drinking enough, and the rest is psychological. I feel hungry every time I see pastries. But it's in my head, not actual hunger.

aylajane wrote: »

Yes, but you can trick yourself a little. Google "volumizing food" or "volumetrics" for recipes that LOOK like a lot of food, have lots of volume to make you feel full etc. That can help get through the tough times.

For example, make a small salad like normal then add double or triple the amount of lettuce, green peppers, cucumbers for virtually zero calories. Just dont add corresponding amount of toppings otherwise that have higher calories.

Oatmeal - make with double the amount of water, let sit overnight, etc. It will blow up huge but have same amount of calories as regular bowl.

Egg whites have very few calories - you can whip them (for a long time with beater) and add a VERY little xanthum or guar gum for thickness and use them for lots of things. It will actually make your stomach hurt they are so much/thick. I use them for pancakes (add some sugar free flavored syrup, protein powder, vanilla, etc, and bake - it gets HUGE, google for egg white pancake recipes). You can also just scramble them and add a little meat for an omelet. If not much flavor, add a single regular egg too.

Lots of ideas to eat large amounts for same or less calories. I get so absorbed in finding recipes I actually forget to eat for a few hours while looking them up Lol.

I am big on volumizing, which helps. I will say that my thinking about food all the time did not get better. I just had to trick my body by volumizing and drinking tons of water. I think personality type is a factor. If you have an obsessive personality, it may or may not get better over time.

Why are you eating less? You should be eating better. When I was at it hard core I was eating 6-7 times a day.

6am Cheerios/milk 165
8-9 whole cucumber Italian dressing 60
11am turkey sandwich/salad 210
2-3bag if baby carrots 50
6 pm 2-turkey dogs (with buns!) salad 425
8pm Broccoli and Romano 100

6 meals for the day, all which I like, no crazy rice cakes for a grand total of 1000 cals.

At one point I was having a hard time eating more then 1200 calories.

It took me a while to figure out how to eat the foods I like and still keep it low. The sides are the key to it along with a good low fat/cal salad dressing.

It does get easier. I eat higher fiber and lower carbs. It helps curb the hunger and you get used to smaller portions. I also fill up on salad and other veggies.

It gets SO much easier. Over time you will find what foods make you feel full, and keep you feeling that way, and which ones are pretty much just going to leave you hungry in 20 minutes. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water because sometimes "hunger" is actually thirst. Find things to do, hobbies or something, when you are bored, stressed, whatever. They will tell you that exercise is great for this, which it is, but even sitting in front of your computer watching cute cat videos on YouTube is better than eating your emotions. You don't have to start all in either. If a 2 pound a week deficit is too much for you right now, start with 1 pound (that will give you an extra 500 calories a day) until you get used to it and work your way back up (or down, depending how you look at it lol). Better progress that is a little slower than doing something that is going to make you too frustrated and quit.

jimb0200 wrote: »

Why are you eating less? You should be eating better. When I was at it hard core I was eating 6-7 times a day.

6am Cheerios/milk 165
8-9 whole cucumber Italian dressing 60
11am turkey sandwich/salad 210
2-3bag if baby carrots 50
6 pm 2-turkey dogs (with buns!) salad 425
8pm Broccoli and Romano 100

6 meals for the day, all which I like, no crazy rice cakes for a grand total of 1000 cals.

At one point I was having a hard time eating more then 1200 calories.

It took me a while to figure out how to eat the foods I like and still keep it low. The sides are the key to it along with a good low fat/cal salad dressing.

You must have a caloric deficit to lose weight. What you eat is important but you could still lose on 1000 calories of cake a day. The foods listed total 1010 calories, way too low for a man.

It does get easier. However, it sounds like you have some emotional issues tied up with food. If you continue having problems with binging, you may want to talk to a therapist. You could also try some cognitive behavioral techniques to change how you interact with food - maybe the Beck Diet Solution.