merlygirl

I really want to do this, but I swear I am hungry all day long. I think about my next meal almost as soon as I am done with the one I am eating. In fact, keeping track of my food intake, which is very informative and does help me make better decisions, makes me think even more about my next meal. I can only do celery as a filler for so long before I want something like sweet potatoe fries with buttermilk dressing.

emilymckelvain

Hi merlygirl, you might try bulking up your meal with non-starch vegetables and snacking on whole fruits in between. I also will have a snack sometimes of a piece of double fiber bread with some peanut butter and a little honey on top. Sometimes I have that for dessert!

Since my garden is out of commission during the winter months, I use lots of frozen vegetable mixes. Tonight for dinner, I had frozen shrimp and scallops with frozen vegetables. I didn't eat it frozen, of course! Toss it all up in a skillet, and then I added a bit of low fat sour cream, thyme, and blue cheese crumbles, and it made a wonderful, creamy, and filling one-dish meal for only 230 calories!

kathietaylor

I find that drinking crystal light, or something similar really helps. It satisfies the craving for something sweet, and it makes me feel full. I also eat an apple and an orange everyday between meals. This also helps satisfy the sweet craving and keeps me from being really hungry. However, having said that....my sister says...if you want to lose weight you have to get used to feeling hungry. LOL!! Not sure I agree with her there, but perhaps we have to get used to not being "full" as we used to be.

showmenow

Make sure you are getting enough fluids. Sometimes it is easy to mistake thirst for hunger. I drink a ton of iced tea since I am not much of a water drinker. I make a fresh pitcher every morning and by the evening it is gone. It keeps me hopping to the bathroom but I think it helps me not to retain salt that way.

I also make stir fry like Emily does. Just start throwing in the veggies and before you know it, you have a plate full of food with very little calories.

I am a salt lover- chips etc. Some people like sweets. Thank goodness that is the one thing I do not and have never missed! I make homemade Chex mix when I feel like a snack.

I use pretzels- no fat, rice chex- no fat, oyster crackers- very little fat. I lay it all out on a cookie sheet and spray it with the no fat butter spray. Sprinkle it with Ranch seasoning and a little Cajun spice and pop it in the toaster oven awhile. Comes out tasting like regular Chex mix minus all the fat. Another thing I do is measure absolutely everything. If the pretzels say a serving is 19 for x amount of calories- I count out exactly 19 pretzels, same with the rice chex and crackers. If I know I only have 100 calories left for the day for a snack- I count accordingly and only make that much.

Another thing I eat are the great big pretzel sticks- the ones that are about the size of your finger. Depending on the brand- 3 of them only have 60 calories- no fat. I make a dip of fat free sour cream- (2 tblsp are only 30 calories) and salsa -again no fat.

I am not much of a snacker but there are times when I do want something. I try to focus more on my meals and get the most bang for my buck so to say. Veggies, veggies and more veggies! Even a baked potato has no fat and is very filling. I will bake a potato for dinner, add ff butter spray, ff sour cream, turkey or ham, brocoli and even a slice of ff cheese, have some salad on the side and still come in around 250 calories.

Another favorite are Boca Burgers. I absolutely love those things! A hamburger with ff cheese on an Orowheat Sandwich thin- 200 calories. Throw tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle or whatever you like and it feels like you are eating a "real burger". Slice up a potato into fries and bake them. Burger and fries for a little over 300 calories and only 1.5 grams of fat! If you get full during your meals, you are less likely to WANT to snack.

cclaus

Hey Merlygirl I also am hungry all day long. I am not sure if it is hormonal or what but I have found that I just have to ignore the hunger until it is time for a snack or a meal. Sometimes I can eat a high fiber, filling meal and an hour later I am starving again. I then do as you do and think about my next meal and what I can have. Eventually you will get used to feeling like you can eat something but not be consumed by it. Hang in there - it could take a couple of weeks.

mandies2happy

Hello all,

I just started my diet about 2 weeks ago and I totally understand you pain. The first week was killer for me. I thought about taking down a whole bag of cheetos or eating the cheese sticks in the freezer (i know i should throw them out) but i held strong.

One thing that has really helped me is pretzels/ pretzel crisps or the new jello mousse (dark chocolate is my fav). I try to eat something that is alittle close to what i used to eat cuz if i don't i will have to be pulled out of burger king covered in ketchup and onion rings and laughing like the joker
I know that if i cut my self off completly from all my fav foods i'll fail at this diet. I'm 7 lbs down now and that has given me hope to hold on for the long haul.

Good luck,
mandies2happy