Portion Control is a killer!

Hunger is a feeling that you probably gave into your entire life.
If you can, allow yourself to be "hungry" for 5 hours. I can pretty much assure you that after 5 hours, the hungry feeling will get easier. If you ate at noon, your body does not need more food at 3:00.

Instead of popcorn, try a hard boiled egg.....
Instead of bran flakes, try some chicken breast.....


After 2 weeks of a high protein diet, I am seldom hungry. You can do this. We are all here for you!

Debbie

There are some really interesting comments here and I can see that people have lots of assumptions so let me clarify.
For breakfast I eat a whole grain hot cereal concoction that includes oatmeal and textured vegetable protein. I also use sugar free coffeemate (Diabetic)
I have an apple for a snack either morning or afternoon. I have a small chef salad without dressing for lunch.
I have lean meat and veggie for supper.
That covers my calorie allowance for the day.

At least 5 times a week, I exercise. Today it was pushing the mower for a good hour. It's usually 30 minutes to an hour of cardio, maybe yard work or my treadmill. That allows me extra calories. I exercise for fitness but since I started MFP in September, I exercise so I can eat more. Back to the original complaint ~ I'm hungry!

For extras I have popcorn a couple times a week and sometimes a bowl of bran flakes with or without raisins.
I checked my diary for the past week or so and saw the following cheats: bag of Cape Cod chips, a couple of Detour protein bars, some raisin bread, a cookie, a slice of coffee cake.

A few folks commented about adding more protein and I hear you. It does seem to give me longer satisfaction. That's why I add it to my breakfast and have meat on my salad instead of simply the greens. My real hunger shows up after 3:00.

It sounds like you are eating satisfying, nutritious things. If you're still hungry, you may just have to allow yourself more calories, then. Maybe trying going up 100-150 calories? One thing about your snack, though: I love apples, but they ALWAYS make me hungry. And apparently it's not just me, because I have read recommendations to pair apples with something with protein and a little fat, to help keep you satisfied. Now if I have an apple as a midday snack, I also eat a little cube of cheese, or a handful of nuts. Try that?

To stay full i try and load my diet up with high protein and high fiber foods.

Look at what you are eating the cereal and fruit breakfast is bowl full of quick release energy. Although fruit is good for you the higher sugar content will mean that you feel hungry sooner after eating it in comparison to, say, spinach.

Also when you start a diet it will take your body a few weeks to get used to the change, either go straight into it and accept that you will feel hungry or alternatively start off on a calorie allowance nearer your pre-diet number and drop it down 250-500/week until you are at your weight loss calorie target.

With a really tight allowance you can not afford to eat much food that contains plenty of calories and little other nutrition. Ideally most of the food you eat will also contain protein to keep your hunger at bay or fibre to make you feel like you've eaten a meal rather than a snack.

Chips/crisps are a perfect example of what not to eat. These have plenty of carbohydrate and plenty of fat with little fibre and little protein. They contain plenty of calories and thus take up a valuable part of your calorie allowance without giving your body the things other than simple calories that it needs.

Try swapping these foods for lean meat and fish and plenty of fruit and vegetables. The meat and fish gives you protein as well as calories and the fruit and vegetables gives you vitamins, minerals and fibre as well as calories. Eating these food you are much more likely to be able to avoid hunger without eating too many calories.

Finally do make sure your weight loss goal is realistic. People don't become fat overnight and it is making hard work of it to try to become thin again overnight as well as in extreme cases risking being ill.

Why are your calories so low?!!?

OP, make sure you're getting plenty of water, and all of the vitamins and nutrients you should be getting. Lean proteins and leafy greens could be really helpful to you.

1250 sounds too low. Even mine is 1350 to lose 1.5lbs a week. Also, one thing I like about this site is that when you work out, it adds more caloreis for you to eat. That way you feel like it's a little reward. Plus, for some reason I feel a little less hungry when I work out then when I don't. But yeah, what you eat determines if you are hungry or full. whole wheat, grains, protein, all those keep you fuller longer.

I agree.

I'm 5 foot exactly and have set my activity level to sedentary and at losing 1 pound a week, MFP gave me 1390 calories a day (although I struggle to stick to even this!). It could be that I have a lot more weight to lose than you do though?

I know portions can be hard to control because I have the same problem. You could try buying the small serving bag of popcorn and then it would be okay to eat the whole bag. I also love baked potatos. I have stopped using butter and use Butter Buds instead. They are found in the seasoning aisle and once you sprinkle them on your vegetables you have butter flavor. They are only 10 calories a serving. Good luck and rest assured there are others here to support you and who are also experiencing the same problems!

bump

Using a food scale is so important, you do not realize how small the portions are listed on everything. My scale measures grams and ounces it is always on my counter and i have begun measuring everything. In the beginning if i wanted two portions i measured out two portions and was honest with myself when putting it in MFP.

My problem is potion control and knowing that you have to take a serious approach to your lifestyle change. Do I want to remain fat or do I want to get and stay healthy? Well my family and I are all trying to get and stay healthy. Which after 6 months I still find it frustrating grocery shopping, reading label, after label, after label. Then going home and measure everything so that my portions are in line. Still a struggle but the weight is coming off.

At least 5 times a week, I exercise. Today it was pushing the mower for a good hour. It's usually 30 minutes to an hour of cardio, maybe yard work or my treadmill. That allows me extra calories. I exercise for fitness but since I started MFP in September, I exercise so I can eat more. Back to the original complaint ~ I'm hungry!

Oh my god. Please eat more! Seriously. Others might disagree and say eat more of this or more of that but who cares - you are hungry woman, it's not what you're eating, it's the fact that you're not eating enough! And you won't stick to the plan if you are hungry and feel deprived because being hungry SUCKS S****. You are exercising so you should still be able to create a deficit and lose weight.

I'm so passionate about this - people simply cannot stick to diets where they feel hungry all the time - also it seems like 1250 calories is below your basal metabolic rate. I know there is much confusion floating round about BMR but take it from someone who studies biochemistry - you SHOULD NOT, I repeat, SHOULD NOT go under your BMR - this is the minimum level of calories that your body needs to perform basic day to day functioning. The more you weigh the more your BMR will be so if you are anywhere upwards of 140 pounds then 1250 calories a day is simply not enough (no matter what MFP says) and that is why you feel hungry!

I use this calculator:

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

and then just use MFP to get the amount of calories in the food I eat.

OK, I've finished preaching - do what you will but I say eat more!

For me, if I am eating too many cabs and not enough protein/fiber/fat, its almost impossible to control portions. What are your ratios? I'm not suggesting a low carb diet or anything. But, your diet should be balanced. For me it works best if I have some of each macronutrient each time I eat.