Advice on healthy but filling food

[Mia5662]

i have started to keep a food dairy which helps me track of what i am eating and what are good and bad foods but i keep on getting a empty feeling at the end of the day and but i want to keep up and not give into temptation please help

[Hidden]

The food diary will help you see what helps you and what doesn't. Write in there at the end of the day how you are feeling physically and mentally as well. You can quickly forget the positives when changing your diet. I found that if I eat an egg or other protein in the morning, I manage my hunger much better during the day. I have it with 1 slice of wholemeal toast and a bit of butter. If I have porridge or museli, which I love, I feel very hungry throughout the day and have trouble managing, but especially at the end of the day.

I buy snacks for my kids, who frankly need the calories, but in single portions and have trained myself that I don't eat any snacks that I have to unwrap. But I will eat home made cakes etc. But only small bits, because I after I track it, it's off putting.

And I have yet to master not eating last thing at night. So I just keep cutting down rather than cut it out completely.

[Mia5662 in reply to Hidden]

I am used getting lots of snacks so i am trying to get out of that habit and not eating before i go to bed cause i know thats bad. Thanks this helps.

[Rh7586 in reply to Mia5662]

You may find that eating small amounts more regularly is the best way to go. I Have diabetes type 2 and that's what they recommend I try. Also I have a few crackers with low fat cheese spread before bed so that my sugar doesn't drop in the night.

Experiment with what works for you.

[deekay64]

Hiya food diaries are great! Are you doing it online or in an actual diary?

I do the 5:2 way of eating so am used to getting filling food for low calories. I agree with the comment about about porridge. It fills you up but seems to kick start your metabolism somehow and you're hungry again very quickly after.

Other cereal, shredded wheat which I love, lasts much longer.

I eat lots of veg. I make a big pan of soup on Sundays for my work lunches - traditional bacon broth this week. I only have bread with it on non-fast days. I also eat brown rice with veggies cooked like a risotto and Wholemeal pasta with veggies roasted in spray oil.

Veg are really good at filling you up and obviously so good for you - I hardly eat any fruit this time of year.

I deal with evening emptiness by recognising it's boredom or habit mostly or if I'm really hungry I'll have a cup of tea which seems to take the edge off.

One thing 5:2 has taught me is hunger pains actually go away after 5 minutes or so and don't return for a couple of hours

Well done for starting and good luck

[Mia5662 in reply to deekay64]

before i decided to start i started a diary an actual book where i write all my the food and then circled all the bad food that i used eat without really thinking and now i am sticking to foods such as wholemeal bread, milk, salad, rice with fish and eggs. And since i am still on holiday from my uni i am trying to keep my self active and not get bored cause i eat way to much.

[SurreyMan]

The foods I find filling but still have low calories are as follows:

- Porridge (Ready break) or Weetabix for breakfast

- Any freshly made Soup. The following Parsnip soup recipe was quick and tasty.

itv.com/thismorning/food/fe...

- The Apple flapjack in the above recipe was also tasty and filling as oats are high in protein.

- Greek Youghurt with freshly cut fruit such as strawberries for desert

- Chicken Stew from Jamie Olivers Save with Jamie recipe book.

The following blog explains the recipe - The Stew is tasty even without the dumplings, but it is

worth using generous amout of fresh Thyme herbs.

mylittlekilburnkitchen.word...

We tend to make an extra quantity of this stew and use it the next day to make a really tasty

Chicken Lasagna or Pie.

I follow the 5:2 diet so I tend to look for good filling low calorie meals for my fast days and then eat normally on the other five days. My overall calorie intake for the week is reduced due to the reduced calories on the fast days (Monday and Thursday) and I was able to loose the weight I wanted to and generally been able to maintain that weight since. On other diet regimes I always put the weight back on when I stopped the 'diet' as I didn't really change my 'lifestyle'.

The reason Monday seems to be a good fast day for me is that it was to allows me to deal with any excesses I may have had over the weekend and psychologically gives me a fresh start to motivate myself for the week.

Good Luck with your diet!

[SurreyMan]

One tip regarding Jamie Oliver's Chicken Stew recipe is to halve or even quarter the quantity of flour and butter for the dumplings as we found that this gives room for the dumplings to expand and fluff up nicely. It is also healthier as it reduces the calories in the dish.

[YummyG]

Quinoa and bulgar wheat are my go to foods when I want to feel fuller for longer. A boiled egg in the morning, water and green tea during the day. Lots of vegetables to supplement my chosen grain for lunch. Cherries or melon as snacks and oven baked fish and salad for dinner. I just don't crave for sweet foods when i have planned my meals. It may seem difficult but when I want to motivate myself, I just meditate on the reason why I am on my weight loss journey and that helps.

[Mia5662 in reply to YummyG]

Yeah i am trying to add more veg and fruit in my diet cause i can see that i lack a lot. And been having more water which i can feel the difference.