Eat to satisfy not to feel full

This is a really hard one for me, too. I want to keep eating until I feel full. But I have learned that I feel much more energetic when I just eat a light meal. Honestly the only way I have learned this is from tracking my food - I know when I've had the portion that I've allotted myself, and even though I would normally eat more, I stop. I'm slowly getting used to that light feeling after a meal and I actually like it. I imagine that eventually I will crave this feeling and not want to eat to fullness anymore.

One of the things Ive noticed about myself (and you might be doing this as well and not realize it).. have you ever felt yourself in the middle of eating a meal, you feel the need to "****sigh**** - a feeling of contentment...

THAT is when I stop... Ill grab a glass of water at that point and push the plate away...

Because in 20 minutes, the brain finally catches up and realizes "WOW, you got food in there!"...

I actually just pre-measure/weigh out all my food for the meal, put it on my plate and that is what I get. I tend to take my time and savor more when I can see that all this food is mine and when it's gone it's gone. If I think I'm still hungry, I go workout or drink water. But that nearly never happens. You will get used to not eating until you are full though. It just takes time.

okay im gonna tell you the same thing my parents told me... when you start feeling like your gettng full but youre still hungry, eat a little bt more then pull yourself away from the table. it will help alot, and if you find yourself having a hard time with that then try to eat little bits of meals a day, you will train your body to accept little bit of meals.

It's been said, but deserves repeating. Slow down.

Another thing that I learned from the book, "French Women Don't Get Fat" (and when I went to France in March I did not see fat French women. Only fat American tourists. And I could tell the difference because the Americans were wearing bad clothes and athletic shoes and the French women were dressed in a chic manner and were wearing awesome heels!) is that the first bite of something is the best. That is when you really get the full impact of a well made meal, the flavors, spices, etc. And if you savor your food, really taste and enjoy it, you will eat slowly and more mindfully.

I always look at the side of packaging to see what they suggest for a serving size - and that's what I measure out for myself. I don't worry too much about limiting/portioning veggie's and fruit (lets face it - people don't get fat from eating too many strawberries or cucumbers lol!)

So I have this problem when I'm eating I'm always eat until im full and I'm not sure how to tell when I'm satisfied and when to stop. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to train myself?

When the stomach gets full it releases a hormone. When that hormone reaches the brain it will make you feel full.

The problem is that the hormone takes around 20 minutes to get to your brain. So you could actually be full but you won't know it for 20 minutes. That's a lot of time to keep stuffing one's face!

So the common technique to not outrun your feeling of satiety is to eat slower. The slower you eat the less you'll eat on top of what has already filled you up.

Words to live by- "Eat to live ..... not live to eat"

Welcome:) one last thing... when you eat those little meals you have to eat them 4-8 times a day to equal up to 3 full meals but spread it out. it will help alot. and even though you will still feel hungry, wait about 5 minutes and your body will think it is full and you will loose the weight while doing so. i know what you're going through and its hard to do and when you have been in the military, its harder because you have been told three meals a day or starve. but all-in-all, good luckk:)