I’m hungry

I have my calorie goal set to maintenance. Anything less than that is a win and my brain hates seeing even a little in the red.

I also END my meals with the least enjoyable part. Yeah, yeah, I know eat your veggies first. The thing is if I'm eating what I like a lot last, then I want to keep eating. If the end of the meal is broccoli I'm much better able to say 'done now' and walk away from it, rather than continuing to stuff my face because I just love the taste.

I prepare and log my food in advance. I batch-cook breakfast and lunch a week or two at a time, and I make dinners that yield leftovers and eat them for 2 or 3 nights. It's great - I already know what I'm going to eat for the whole rest of the week, I know I can have that ice cream bar for dessert without worry, all I have to do is stick to the plan. I'm a good cook, so it's easy to eat what I brought and not derail when breakroom bagels or thank-you donuts or whatever the temptation du jour is makes an appearance. I don't panic about running out of calories anymore, or get paralyzed with indecision about what to do when it's 2:30 and I'm lagging and want a snack. I just eat the granola bar I planned on and get on with my life. And sometimes, since my whole day is prelogged, I know I actually DO have room in my budget to go get a slice of pizza instead of eating the cabbage rolls I brought for lunch that day.

The best trick is to prioritize your mental and physical wellbeing over quick results. A reasonable deficit and slower weight loss is easier on the mind and body, and you'll eventually get there in time. Trying to stick to low calories and having constant binge episodes won't get you there any faster.

If your calorie level is not too low, another way to increase your allotment is by moving more. The more you move the more calories you get to eat. I try to move at every opportunity in my day to day life, nothing strenuous, just walking around and doing stuff. The extra calories you are able to eat add up.

Through trial and error, find out what foods fill you up better. Don't assume just because some people find a certain way of eating satisfying/unsatisfying that you'll do as well. It's individual. For me, bread, potatoes, pasta, pizza...etc are satisfying. Carbs and bread texture help me feel full and having a handful of nuts would drive me nuts (I need at least 800 calories worth to feel mentally satisfied eating nuts). Don't box yourself into a certain way of eating just because you believe it's diet-friendly.

Occasional hunger is fine. Everyone gets hungry sometimes. Even before you started dieting you probably had times when you felt hungry but didn't have a chance to eat and it wasn't a big deal. It's a bit of mental work to accept that a little bit of hunger before meals is normal, and that you won't die if you felt stronger hunger occasionally for one reason or another (strong hunger that happens too frequently is not okay). It's a bit of mental work but it's worth the effort.

for me it's logging / planning my days meals in advance with a deficit built in. That way I know what additions can/cannot be made. The second thing is LOG, LOG, LOG everything, nobody is going to kill you if you have a slip. As you get farther into this you'll be able predict the impact of additions on the day so you can make good choices.

Try taking multivitamins first thing in the morning. I used to have to take them because I had an undereating problem and I always noticed if I took them in the morning it made eating throughout the day so much harder. I switched to taking at night and did seems to help a lot.