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happy2btxn 10-12-2012 11:50 PM

how can I lose weight without starving?
 
Hi all,

Everytime I try to lose weight, I feel like I'm starving to death! Then I go and binge. And IF I managed to lose 1 lb, of course I gain it back plus a few more. Please HELP!

cjohnson728 10-13-2012 01:07 AM

Hi there; welcome! Here are my thoughts on your question.

Eat enough so you don't feel like you're starving. Use FitDay to calculate how many calories you burn per day, then figure out what is about 500-1000 calories per day below that (for a loss of one to two pounds per week), and eat that many calories. A general rule of thumb is not to go below 1200.

Also, be sure not to skip meals; don't go more than 4 hours without eating. Many people do well having 6 smaller meals as opposed to 3 main ones; others have regular meals but small snacks in between. Protein and healthy fats keep you fuller than carbs, so make sure you're eating them and not just jumping on the fat-free bandwagon. Finally, be sure to get your fiber...that also keeps you feeling full.

Feel free to join in the forums...lots of tips and laughs there!

RunbikeSki 10-13-2012 08:00 AM

I agree with everything Cassie wrote. I will add that it takes some time to figure out what works for you, but really, the idea is to improve your eating habits for life, not just long enough to lose a couple of pounds. So start with eliminating 1 bad habit at a time. Do you drink a lot of soda? Starting replacing the soda with water, iced tea, or other non calorie beverages.

FitDay really helped me figure out "trigger" foods. Those are the things that once you start eating it is hard to stop. Nuts, ice cream and potato chips are trigger foods for me, so those are things I really need to avoid.

As Cassie said, keep in touch - we are all in this together! ;)

Rubystars 10-13-2012 09:36 PM

Hi. I know lots of tricks on how to eat a lot of food without too many calories. Sometimes you just need to have that full and satisified feeling in order to feel normal and healthy.

Be open to trying new things.

One thing that helps me is eating winter squash. It's in season right now. You can literally eat bowl fulls of the stuff (including canned pumpkin) for very few calories. For lunch you can eat half a head of lettuce and then a tuna sandwich.

Or you can eat a bag full of steamed carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Oatmeal is a great choice. 2 servings of oatmeal (about a cup dry) make a big bowl of oatmeal prepared and you can eat all of that and feel pretty full (Switch out regular milk for 30 calorie almond milk and you can use artifical sweetener to sweeten it). 2 servings of Quaker old fashioned oats have 300 calories. And it does make a big, hearty bowl.

Try to eat protein with every meal. Eggs can help as a low calorie source. If you can learn to like meat substitues then Quorn or Boca burgers can give you some meaty foods with lower calories than actual meat. 98% fat free hot dogs are a good substitute for full fat ones once you get used to them.

The trick is often to find foods you like and then find lower calorie substitutes for them.

If you're tempted to binge, then plan a cheat meal every week, but still try to keep the calories somewhat reasonable on it.

La Choy Chow Mein in the can is low in calories and you can eat the whole thing and feel pretty stuffed. That might not be good for an every day meal because of the high sodium in it but it is tasty and filling and low in calories.

Have a pumpkin pie treat by putting canned pumpkin in a bowl, heating it up, adding a dash of pumpkin pie spice and some sweetener. It tastes great that way.

A cool "mind trick" you can use is to take wax beans (They are yellow versions of green beans) and sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on them for flavor with salt and pepper. It looks like macaroni and cheese, and it kind of tastes like it, so you can feel like you're eating it without all the calories.

Also you can take a can of mixed vegetables and add them to a can of low calorie soup like progresso to bulk it up and make it filling. This creates a big bowl of soup for very few added calories and can really fill you up!

fatlossfactoring 10-20-2012 04:32 AM

I purchased Hip Hop Abs when it first was advertised on tv and I have to say I LOVE it. Once I got to where I wanted to be I slacked off and now I'm back in the groove again. Now I have my 17 year old doing it with me to keep him in shape when he's not playing sports. I go here for reviews. Check it out!

Kathy13118 10-20-2012 07:39 AM

If you keep in mind that a fat gram has 9 calories and a protein OR a carb gram (both!) has 4 calories, you'll see that you can eat a lot more food that will make you feel full and less hungry when that food doesn't have much fat in it. One good simple way to 'eyeball' this advantage on a nutrition label on a food is the 'percentage calories as fat' or just look at the total calories and then the fat calories. I'm looking now at a can of wild alaskan salmon (bought on amazon, cheaper) that has 60 calories in a serving and 10 calories are from fat. Very tasty with just a smidgen of canola mayonnaise (Hellman's Canola mayo).

What would, say, fish sticks come in as? Mrs. Paul's crunchy fish sticks come in 3.35 oz servings. I love those things - crunchy, salty, hot, yummy! But 230 calories for that serving and 90 calories come from fat (total fat is 10 grams so multiply 9 x 10). That's a little more than a third of the calories coming from fat. I would never eat just one serving, too!

It is true that the calories in the canola mayo are nearly ALL fat. But, then, when I say a 'smidgen,' I mean just enough mayo to barely moisten the already-moist-enough salmon. I just like the taste. It's zero saturated fat and a lot of monounsaturated fat, adding up to a healthier fish filling for a sandwich (pita).

Think about what you could be eating instead of what you do eat now - and what tastes good, what might taste good enough or better AND be lower in calories and better for your health. Do that for a couple of weeks, draw up a game plan of stuff you do like and fits well in your diet. Then stick to it and tweak it as you go along.

Will you binge? Maybe. But you'll do that, recognizing exactly what your choices are, what's wrong or missing in the binge-fest. Protein (lean) and fiber will make you feel fuller quickly. If you eat out of boredom or to 'tickle your palate,' the effort is going to be much greater to stay on track, so deal with those issues, too.

nicholelakey 11-19-2012 03:17 AM

I have the same issue. Every time I've tried to lose weight in the past, I cut calories too low, end up very hungry, then binge by the time I get home. This typically happens on day 1 for me! I'm currently trying to eat a bit more (1,800 calories a day) spread out equally over the course of the day to see if I can lose weight at an adequate rate this way (adequate rate being 1 pound per week minimum). I've successfully managed this for a week now. I've also been drinking a lot more water than I have in the past, which seems to be helping with managing the hunger.

ann8512 11-26-2012 12:28 AM

try drinking a glass of water before a meal

canary52 12-17-2012 03:19 AM


Originally Posted by happy2btxn (Post 90410)
Hi all,

Everytime I try to lose weight, I feel like I'm starving to death! Then I go and binge. And IF I managed to lose 1 lb, of course I gain it back plus a few more. Please HELP!

I have the same problem.

For me, I find:

I have to eat throughout the day so:

PORTION SIZE.

I love nuts as a snack but cannot be left to my own devices with them so I buy 100 calorie packs (they have cocoa and cinnamon ones too) or I portion them out. I portioned my breakfast ham (lean, low fat) into packages and use one with egg whites and veg.

FRUITS AND VEG help. I know, I know, so original. But they do help.

Find snacks you like and have some,the key being SOME. Feeling deprived, as you know, is what makes us binge.

PLANNING helps. I have been stuck at the same weight forever it feels like. So I make plans and try to stick close to them. I do leave room for spontaneity but at least I have a strategy. Plus I track it on FD and see what works. If I gain weight back, I look back over my "good days" and try to stay with that.

MOVEMENT. I am very physically limited but even a little walking is better than nothing.

So no great insight...But yeah this is tough. I wish you the best with it.

bedrik 12-26-2012 10:45 PM

Already lots of tips you got here


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