the beginning of a diet is awful

I can't do diets because they make me feel deprived. Instead of dieting, try just exercising portion control for a couple weeks - eat the foods you love, but in smaller quantities. Start eliminating as much processed stuff as possible, and replacing it with non-processed. Take it slowly and don't expect quick results. Might be easier on you, body and soul

Try snacking on fruits and Veggies. Not from a can tho. Either fresh fruits or frozen unsweetend, & either raw veggies or steamed (not boiled). This will fill you up fast. I do lots of fruit smoothies with no milk or sugar, just add water & ground flax seed.
I usually put in a banana & frozen peaches. mmmmmmmmm. put in a food processor or blender. You should never be hungry.

bump

sorry if this sounds harsh.... but... diets don't work, diets don't work, diets don't work, diets don't work.

To have long term results you need to have a lifestyle change. Examine your eating habits, start slowly, and replace good habits with bad-- GRADUALLY. If you completely overhaul your life in one fell swoop you will freak out and stop because it will feel like a diet.

How do I know this??

Over the last year I have lost and maintained a 50lb weight loss. It takes a lot of hard work, but it is a great thing to do for yourself. Please don't have a "diet" mentality. I promise, making small changes and eventually having more good days than bad will give you the results that you want.

Hmmm. I think it depends. (Not a very satisfying answer, I know!) I *don't* think you should feel "sick" and weak. Whenever that happens to me, it usually means I'm not eating enough. Sometimes when we switch from unhealthy to healthy foods, we miscalculate how much food we actually need. I think that's when its especially important to count the calories and don't "overdo" the deficit.

BUT. I often have the feeling of "not feeling exactly well" on the first few days. Your body will run on whatever you give it...but if you drastically switch the fuel, your body has takes a few days to adjust. So...if I've been eating a scone and latte for breakfast, McD's for lunch, and mexican takeaway for dinner, my body learned to run on that. So, when I suddenly switch to cereal, a chicken salad, and a normal, home cooked meal for dinner, its going to tell me "I'm missing something" for a few days. NOT weak or sick, but...that feeling of not feeling satisfied, even though I've just had my 2nd bowl of beef stew. What does it want? That scone! So, I just give it a 3rd bowl of beef stew instead. By day 3, things usually even out. People deal with this in different ways...some white knuckle through it. I don't like feeling deprived, so I just throw healthy food at it...not necessarily low cal "diet" food...but good quality food. So yes, I have been known to eat 3 bowls of mung beans or beef stew, have an extra bowl of rice cereal, or eat two sweet potatoes instead of the one I had planned. I know there are tons of "calories in, calories out" proponents out there for whom this is heresy, but an extra bowl of rice, veggies, or sweet potatoes probably isn't how most of us got fat. And even if it would...it wouldn't do so in the 2 or 3 days that your body will take to adjust.