keeping motivated is hard

[miamia]

For some reason I've been really hungry the last couple of days, You know the type of hunger where you just need something to fill you up. I don't like this feeling and I don't want to go down this route. It's easy to fall into bad habits. For me I don't want the extra weight (of course) and equally the feeling of letting myself down.

[Kenny25]

Hey miamia, I think a lot of us can relate to this. I have hungry days when I just don't feel full. I have abused my body with the wrong foods for so long that the wee voices are still trying to tempt me go for high carb junk. If I'm feeling hungry now though I go a get a drink of water. If I'm still feeling hungry after that then I get something healthy to eat. I chop up some fruit and eat that. I also make sure during the day that I'm eating loads of fruit or veg. If I'm feeling hungry then I know that ignoring it is going to make me feel worse. So there's no point in doing that. The difference with old me and new me is that before I would be raiding the biscuit tin or eating crisps or chocolate. Now I'm grabbing some dried date or apricots (30g) or eating some fruit. I'd say don't go hungry, just make the right choices.

[miamia in reply to Kenny25]

Thank you. Really helpful.....especially making the right choices......

[miamia in reply to Kenny25]

Thank you, good advise and good to hear others have these issues. Making the right choices is the key.....

[Venusflytrap]

Hi miamia , me too last night. I had a lot more carbs than usual yesterday, with 3 thins spread over breakfast and lunch. Last night I could not stay away from the sugared breakfast cereals and I don't even like sugar! I had several small bowls of multigrain hoops and flakes. All dry as we were low on milk. Will have to guess the damage today as I have a compulsion to log my intake. But last night didn't do anything as sensible as weighing or even counting the number of bowls. It also reminded me that I had a previously unlogged bowl too on another day.

But I had a really good week last week, losing 4lbs including the 3.5 I had put on the week before. So back down to my lowest in 30 years. And that is the message really. You can have a once in a blue moon binge and still have good losses. In fact it is one of our tactics for getting the losses going again when there's a plateau. But it is worth tracking it and seeing if you can work out why it hit you. Sometimes there's a really obvious link like my 3 sandwiches, or a delayed meal. Sometimes there isn't. But since our aim is mindful eating, any information helps, doesn't it?

What I have learned is my off plan eating is less serious if I can really focus on exactly what I want to eat. Because if I don't get the right taste, then I eat more of the make do foods. Yesterday I wanted a savoury taste. I did myself no favours by sticking to the sugared carbs. Should have broken out the toast, butter and marmite! But it seemed like more work than just a grab out of the cereal cupboard. Although by the 4th grab, it would have been quicker to toast.

So don't panic. You have already recognised the danger point, which is having little unscheduled nibbles every time you pass. So always make yourself up a plate or a bowl, make it as attractive as possible and eat it slowly. Then your habit is still for meals and not an on the hoof snack, with your head in the fridge or the cupboard. That is the dangerous habit. It does help if you have some emergency snacks. Mine are melba toasts. With 6 crunchy toasts in a pack for around 80kcal, it doesn't take much to make them look like a treat with a little low kcal yog/quark and some fruit pieces or salads to decorate them.

Semi-plan your emergency snacks, then you have them under control. Good luck to both of us for the rest of this week and a good loss at the scales. We can do it, with just the occasional hiccup!

Venus

[Osiris275]

Are you getting enough protein? I find that is my downfall. They recommend 50g a day on average but I find I need closer to 100g each day otherwise i get snacky and my fingers wander.

[miamia]

That is so strange, that is exactly what I thought this morning.....my body needs so protein, i am very bad for that. I am going to give it a try as I am struggling.....