Hungry!! Any tips?

[Roberta43]

I am on week 2 of the plan. When I started tracking my eating habits and calories on MyFitnessPal I was shocked to see how many calories I've been eating every day. I guess that explains the spare tyre round my waist. I am confused, though. Really confused. For health reasons, I have been on a mediterranean style diet for ages and I eat very healthy food. I ditched things like cake, crisps and so on ages ago. I also run three times a week and cycle almost every day for transport. For this reason I couldn't understand why I was putting on weight ... Until now. It is things like nuts, olive oil, yoghurt and fruit that seem to be the culprit ( ok, and wine ... And beer ). But I thought that nuts etc were healthy? I don't want to cut them out, as they are supposedly good for perimenopause issues, so I guess small portions is the answer but the portions seem dreadfully small. And what I am 'allowed' for lunch and dinner in terms of regular food seems awfully little too. One wholemeal wrap with ham and salad today, with a boiled egg. Fish and lots of veggies for supper, with one piece of bread. But the slightest bit of olive oil adds 119 instant calories to everything, and I am 150 calories over my allowance ... And starving ... This is going to be harder than I thought. I suppose that is just the way it is, and I have to wait for my stomach to get smaller?

[Sazzie]

Drinking lots of water is what my mum has always said to keep your tummy feeling full xx Also try the olive oil spray it might be less calories xx

[Roberta43 in reply to Sazzie]

Will try both ... Thanks!

[Caz28]

Hi, have you checked on the BMI calculator how many calories you should be eating? You don't appear to have eaten that much today? I would suggest you perhaps have a small portion of new potatoes with your fish and veg instead of bread, more filling and your lunch sounds good, fill up with more veg, fruit. did you have a good breakfast to start the day off well?

[Roberta43 in reply to Caz28]

The strange thing about me is that my body weight is within the healthy range ( though towards the higher end of the range) but my body fat is very high. At least, that's what the fancy machine at the local medical centre said when I weighed myself in it. The BMI calculator had no calorie suggestions for me, but MyFitness Pal said I should not eat more than 1,270 calories a day and I have been aiming for that ( and failing). Breakfast is usually something between 200 and 300 calories, which again means a very tiny meal. The potatoes suggestion is good, thanks for that. It would be more filling than bread and more nutritious too.

[teresina08]

Dear Roberta,

I'm Italian and I know the benefit of the Mediterrian diet myself. As you know the first rule of every (seriuos) diet is portion distortion. so, you'll be gaining weight if you eat too much, no matter how healthy you eat.

To feel starving is nornal at the very beginning, you'll no longer feel this sensation along the way. The solution is eating fibres, wholegrain pasta, bread and cereal, one or two slices of wholegrain bread at 11isham and 4pm do help. then ham is not a good option, turkey and chicken are better. I love olives as well, so 50g in your salad should be fine.

hope it helps and good luck

[Roberta43 in reply to teresina08]

Thanks Teresina! Yes, portion size is crucial isn't it ... I need to re- educate myself as to what a normal portion size is. 80 grams of pasta does seem like a little at the moment, I will try the whole grain options if they are more filling.

[IndigoBlue61]

It does take a while to get used to smaller portions 😕 Fill up on salad and veggies and drink plenty 😊 Good luck

[Hidden]

Sounds like you've made some very positive changes to your diet already, well done you!

I would definitely use the NHS BMI calculator to identify how many calories you should be having and go with the upper limit on this.

I struggled with hunger for the first week particularly, seems to be better - though not 100% gone - now in week 3. I do notice I actually confuse feelings of digestion with hunger sometimes, feeling hungry a short while after I've eaten but then if I go to eat anything else I'm actually full still. Weird, maybe that's just me!

I also find choosing sensible snacks helps. I had two (Quorn - I'm a semi- veggie) sausages yesterday when I got home as I was really hungry and these filled me up nicely for 200 kcal when I could have snacked on rubbish for far more cal and been hungry half an hour later. High protein foods make you feel fuller for longer.

The alcohol adds up unfortunately 😥😝!

The suggestion to use olive oil spray is a very good one, and whilst it is very good for you, it doesn't need to be eaten every day - maybe some days olive oil, some days nuts, some days olives... They've all got the same good stuff in them I believe.

The other advice has been to eat until you are half full. Which feels wrong, but I guess we will get used to it, and I must confess I don't think I need to eat less often if I stuff myself vs eating until half full!

Stick with it and keep an eye on those scales - are you losing weight and inches? - and let us know how you get on.

[Roberta43 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Butey, this is very helpful. Yes, I could alternate couldn't I ... Why didn't I think of that before? It is a great idea. I hope I will feel less hungry by week 3 too, and maybe at some point I will stop eating before I feel full and nit feel

[Roberta43 in reply to Roberta43]

Not feel so deprived! Thanks again.

[Hidden]

Hi, yes I agree that the correct portion sizes to lose weight are pitiful! But we've got to get on with it. I'd suggest:

stop all snacks between meals, even if they are "healthy snacks". Eat your calories at mealtimes

make yourself eat 2 large portions of low cal veg at lunch and 3 large at dinner, regardless of what else you eat. Stuff like broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, peppers etc. This will really fill you up for very few calories. Best to cook them, as that way you can get more down you!

stay off alcohol while you are trying to lose weight. I find even a small glass of wine (which I love), makes me feel as though II've not eaten for a week, so apart from the large number of cals in the drink itself, it then makes me eat more

you could try olive oil cooking spray rather than pouring out oil by the spoonful

nuts are good for you, but while losing weight portions need to be v. small. Think of them as a garnish, eg 2 walnut halves or a couple of almonds stirred in to your fruit salad. If that's too depressing, it might be better to do without them while you're losing weight. Once you're maintaining, you can go back to having a handful a day

I hope that helps, If you have only just started cutting back, then you should find you will get more used to it, and as you lose weight you could well find that you are determined to keep going and your motivation will increase as the weight goes down.

But I do also think that those of us who are too fat just have to face it that at some level we eat too much, and that "normal portions" might always be less than we'd like. Sigh!

[Roberta43 in reply to Hidden]

Yes, stopping the snacks is crucial. MyFitnessPal showed quite clearly that they add up, even when they are healthy. It would also allow me to have a bit more food at mealtimes and not feel so deprived. It is sensible to stay off alcohol, I will try and restrict it to once or twice a week only. I fear you are right re normal portions always seeming too small. My two sons and my husband eat loads and compared to them I have reasonably small portions but I am now realising i shouldn't have taken them as a standard. To make things worse I am really short (5ft 2 on a good day) and apparently I need even less calories than normal sized women

[Roberta43]

I will try the water ... I need to drink more anyway, and might as well do it before meals if it will help me feel fuller! Thanks!