I know that insane ravenous hungry as heck, first edible object is history hunger you speak of. Glad it's not just me :D

I find I need protein AND fiber/starch with each meal. A salad alone won't hold me, even with cheese meat and eggs on it, but a salad and a 100-calorie whole wheat "slimwich" (nothing in it) keeps me satisfied. Especially if I add a 16oz bottle of water to it. I think the bread soaks up the water, something the salad itself just can't do. An apple by itself doesn't fill me up, but an apple with 2 tablespoons peanut butter is almost as good as a meal.

I agree with all Cassie's points. Your body is as individual as your fingerprints. Find the amount of protein that works the best for you whether that is 30, 35, 40 or 50%.

Don't underestimate the importance of healthy fats in your diet. Fat is necessary for nuerologic function and nutrient transport. This along with fats' hunger satiating effect make it essential to a calorie restrictive diet. I believe many who fail at a calorie restrictive diet do so because the buy into the 'fat is bad' myth and without healthy fats in their diet their body is always telling them they are hungry. I like to eat about 10 unroasted almonds and a big glass of water to fend off cravings.

Lots of great advice in this thread. I'm eating more calories than you, about 2,000, but when I'm on my routine I find I'm never hungry...in case what I do has any suggestions buried in it:

Breakfast is usually oatmeal and a whey protein powder mixed with soy milk or lowfat (not nofat) milk.

I usually take the same snacks with me and switch between what I have mid-morning vs. mid afternoon. These are usually 10 mini carrots, 1/2 cup of high fiber and good vitamin dry cereal, 10 raw almonds, and 5 small pieces of dried unsulfured apricot. Most often I crunch on the carrots in the morning, and have the rest a couple hours after lunch to get me through that afternoon push.

Lunch is most often a salad. I try to bulk up on the low cal stuff like lettuce or spinach, broccoli, cucumber, but I'm sure to add garbanzos, cottage cheese, some sunflower seeds and when they have it an ounce or two of lean chicken breast.

I also often bring dinner leftovers for lunch. I think my lack of hunger is less to do with what I eat for lunch and more to do with those snacks. I also have my desk stocked with emergency snacks for when I forget to bring stuff or am just hungry.

I can't say enough about drinking lots of water. The more you drink the more regular it will seem. It's also good for making you get up from your desk regularly to refill if you can.

On the bright side of all of this is that the difference between when you used to skip lunch and not be hungry and now is that you're metabolism is working, and working for you. You're not starving your body and forcing it into a protective shell where it wants to store fat. This is a good thing if you can work out a system of eating that keeps you full.

Best of luck!

Oh, and the one thing I forgot is that if you combine protein with carbs (preferably good carbs, please), the protein is thought to slow down the (glycemic?) impact of the carbs when they hit your system. This can also help avoid hunger and sugar crashes. Eventually I just conditioned myself to try to pair carbs with a protein, as avoiding the carbs does not work for me. I think that goes along the line of what Lizzy was saying; I'm much the same makeup as she is, I think.

What Good Information!
 

Thank you for such wonderful insights! I feel SOOO empowered!:D

The Whey protein looks VERY interesting. I do enjoy my oatmeal in the morning and was wondering how to insert protein into this breakfast instead of eating eggs/meat all the time for protein in the morning.

Any suggestions on the Whey I should buy?

There's a good link on here somewhere about protein powders, and maybe someone can point you to it.

There are so many different ones. I actually have two, one that is moderately high in protein and has a lot of other nutritional values I like, and it's the one I have at breakfast. The other is very high in protein and not much else, and it's the one I have with a fruit juice and yogurt after workouts in a smoothy.

When you're shopping for protein powders it's great to have a recommendation about one that will mix well, and keep an eye on the calories. A lot of times they will measure by the scoop and have different values for one scoop versus two. Some of them can be very high in calories so be careful there.

Some health food stores will let you sample them, also. I use them occasionally and find that some taste funny, even ones that other people say are great. Apparently it's an individual thing, and they are generally sold in rather big jugs, so if you know you like it before you buy it, that's a plus. Right now I just have my local grocery's brand and I like it better than the Optimum Nutrition I dumped a chunk of change on back in the summer.

I can't add anything to what's already been said, but you mentioned something about oatmeal, and I feel compelled to share my recipe for power oatmeal I used to make in grad school (which only ended 2 weeks ago.... but it seems like so long ago now!).

Basically, you mix your oats with a scoop of vanilla whey, about a tablespoon of flaxseed oil and a teaspoon of real maple syrup, add water or milk, and nuke it in the microwave for a minute or so. Stuff will fill you up for a good six hours or so, especially if you use whole milk. :)

No whey?
 

If you can't find whey protein, or it is looking a little pricey, just old fashioned powdered milk, non-fat, works fine. Since I bake bread in a machine pretty frequently, and most of the recipes call for dried milk rather than liquid I usually have some around.

BTW I cannot stand the stuff made up in water! I am not much of a milk drinker anyway, but the powdered stuff is pretty vile.

Tandoori your oatmeal recipe sound wonderful. I'll give it a try later this week.

Off topic for Tandoori
 

Congrats on finishing your degree - that's huge! And adopting your healthy lifestyle at the same time is a real triumph. Way to go.

What's your degree in?