How to survive first few days of diet?
 

Hello. I'm new to Fitday and new to this forum. I do think most of what I eat consists of good food choices.

But because I'm only 5'3", I easily go over my calorie allotment. I mean, even skim milk and chicken breasts add up relatively quickly!!! I guess my portion sizes are too large, or I eat too often.

Anyway, I have a feeling if my stomach would shrink a bit I would lose weight. The problem is that when I cut back I get soooooo hungry...I feel like I'm starving! How can I make it through the first few days? Usually it's at the end of the night that I make those bad choices, like eating peanut butter out of the jar :(

I know what you mean Mintchip01.
Welcome. I'm also new, even though I was on here years ago for a little while. :-)
I'm your height, and weigh 74 kg (164 pounds) and want to go down to 60kg. Just started with calorie counting yesterday as I can't fit most of my shirts anymore. Big belly, like I'm pregnant but I'm not. Pear form, if you know what I mean.

I have the same thing....at night I get those urges to eat. Yesterday I went great with the calorie intake, up to almost midnight. Watching tv and people in the movie were eating. I got this urge for oisters with some bread with a bit of red wine.....so there I went. I bet I was way over my calorie limit.

So...have to fight those moments with something. Still figuring out how and with what. I have to be stronger and choose for a strawberry or carrot to nibble on. I did walk the dog for a good 20 minutes last night, in a brisk walk.

So trying to compensate the extra food we take, with exersize is one thing we could do, right? What do you think?

Oh..forgot to mention....Ophra Winfrey one time said: when you're on a diet....every time you feel hungry, you are loosing weight.

Maybe that helps you? The idea that that annoying hunger feeling actually means your body is getting rid of the too much fat .....maybe drinking water at those hungry moments can help.

I drink flavoured water beside tap water and that does help a little with hunger feeling.

Something that helps me is getting in a LOT of vegetables - they're really good for filling you up without adding lots of calories. Lately, I've been on an asparagus kick, getting it from the local farmer's market - soooo good. Also, I like 0% fat Greek yogurt for a good dense food with lots of protein.

I know it gets frustrating - I'm 5'4", and from my signature below, you can see I started out close to 200 lbs. Nowadays, I really have to make sure I get to the gym a few times a week, and keep my calories around 1300/day by eating veggies, and finding low calorie alternatives to my favorite stuff. For instance, one of my favorite indulgences is low cal bread with whipped cream cheese and low sugar jelly - one slice of toast with those toppings is only about 75 calories, and it's like I'm eating cheesecake! (Okay, not quite, but it works to tame the cravings :D)

Mmm....that sounds like a great snack Bojibridge! Never tried that but I loooove cheese cake. Do you buy the wipped cream cheese and low sugar jelly in the grocery store?

Yeah, most grocery stores carry some kind of low calorie bread. Mine has a 35 cal/slice bread, but the usual I think is 45 cal/slice. The whipped cream cheese in pre-whipped (you can buy Philadelphia, but I've seen store brands too.) The reason I like the whipped is because a.) it's easier to spread, and b.) it's less calories per tablespoon. Of course, you could get the same calories with normal cream cheese and just using less, but I feel like you don't get the same coverage and spreadability :) The low sugar jam is Smuckers, I think? It's with the other jams. It's not the same as the sugar free jams, which use artificial sweeteners. It's just lower sugar than normal jam, which to me is just fine. If you use the sugar free, it'll be even fewer calories than the low sugar by like 15 calories, but I think there's something to be said for sticking with natural products when the fake stuff doesn't really buy you that many more calories, if you know what I mean.

Other things I use a lot include Laughing Cow cheese wedges, only 35 calories/wedge. I use it on sandwiches, and it's spreadable, so it acts both as cheese and mayo. You can get them in all sorts of flavors, too. There's a thread around here somewhere with other great recipe ideas people have come up with using Laughing Cow.

I also use Egg Beaters (although the store brand.) This saves you a lot of calories, 'cause a serving is 25 calories, whereas an egg is about 70. (And also saves you a bunch of cholesterol, because it's made with egg whites!) One of my favorite sandwiches to makes is 2 slices of low cal bread (toasted), cook some egg beaters, so they're kind of like a fried egg, Laughing Cow cheese, a couple slices of turkey, and maybe some spinach, or jalapenos or something. All together, I get a yum hot sandwich for about 175-190 calories. Have that with some carrots, and you've got an uber low calorie lunch.

Finally, Progresso light soups are yummy, and often as few as 60-80 calories per serving.

Fiber fills you up, too...so veggies, fruits, whole grains, etc. Nature's Own makes a bread that is 50 cals per slice and high fiber (I think five grams per slice).

Mintchip,

I think part of this might be mental. If you are viewing this as a "diet," then subconsciously you're already preparing for the time you go "off" the diet. You have to start by convincing yourself that there is no "end" of the diet, that you're building good eating habits for a lifetime.

The other part is food choices. Anything with fiber and protein won't leave you feeling hungry, and your body automatically regulates how many calories you absorb from each. In other words, not every calorie of protein you ingest is actually absorbed by your body for energy. Same with fiber. Both, however, affect hormones that signal how full you feel, so if you're trying to restrict calories both of them are essential to helping you control your late-night hunger pangs.

Good luck!

Yup I hear you about being short. I'm 5'3" or 5'4" depending on the day and the meter :D. And you know what's worse??? The more weight you lose, the less you get to eat! That part sucks. :(

Cassie and others are right... build some muscle, lots of it if you can. Don't worry about looking like a guy, girls don't put on muscle the way guys do. And keep up with an aerobic exercise. Running, swimming, biking, anything that will get you heartrate up for 30 minutes or more. I have found that when I really want to drop a few pounds it is the running or biking that helps more that anything.

And remember, it can be done! It will just take a little time and experimentation to figure out what will work for you. So don't give up and don't give in:p

My two cents
 

Well, this is my first day on my lifestyle change, but I did learn something from this book, Why Women Need Fat... maybe you need a portion-controlled dinner with a dessert... I added an ice-pop to my dinner, and my craving for sugar dissipated... I think that desserts with meals is better that sugar on an empty stomach... binges after dinner leads to LOTS of weight gain... Behlor