Portion Control Makes Me Hungry!

I have a bowl of plain almonds available in the kitchen. When I'm hungry I take 5 and a glass of water. Together they fill me up. I may do this a few times each day. I think the fiber is filling, the fat is sustaining and the water is just plain good for me. And unsalted almonds don't make me want to eat more than 3-5 at a time. Best of luck.

Protien and fiber fill you up, as you have read.

Chia Seeds. They are phenominally healthy and filling. I eat a tablespoon right out of the bag before meals. It swells to many times it's size and fills you up. It is a great source of a whole lot of good stuff.

Flax, Nutritional Yeast flakes. Sprinkle those on everything to bulk up the fiber, nutrition, and fill you up factor to all your foods.

Cut out anything white. White flour, sugar, rice, causes me to have ridiculous cravings. Anything fried at all will drive me crazy with hunger an hour late. When I have been off of white for 24 hours, no more cravings, no more hunger. I have to remind myself to eat.

A generous bowl of steel cut oats with fruit or shredded wheat cereal with lowfat milk or scrambled eggs with tons of veggies and a little cheese for breakfast and you will not be hungry for hours. It's all good, healthy, positive food that you need. No chance you are going to go nuts with shredded wheat serving size!

You don't have to worry about portion size if it is a nutirent rich, low calorie food. If you have a giant baby spinach salad with a light spritz of olive oil and vinegar dressing before lunch and dinner, you won't be as hungry when it comes to portions of meat and carbs.

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I keep reading this as poison control makes me hungry.....

Carry on

Make sure you get enough healthy unsaturated fats. If you are not giving your body some fat in your diet, it isn't going to be satisfied. Avocados, olive oil, etc. Even a little butter. No one can live on veggies and a little protein.

drink more water.
go for a walk, call a friend, weed the yard, sand down and refinish the moulding, crochet a sweater (basically busy yourself so you aren't fixated on food).
do the eat more diet, where you split your ordinary portion in 1/2 and supplement with good for you foods. i.e. your portion control diet allows you 1 egg, 1 slice of whole wheat toast, and 1 teaspoon hummus, 1 1/2 cup spinach and 1 sliced of onion for breakfast with 6 oz juice and 1 cup coffee and 2% milk. eat 1/2 of it a 7 am, together with a cup of water, and one serving of grapefruit or something similar. at 10am, have a cup of water, 15 celery sticks, and the 2nd half of your breakfast. same for lunch and dinner. the supplemental food is uber low calorie. you end up satisfied, and you don't have long to go between eating as you are eating 6 times a day, and you are slowly re-training your body to get used to less.

you must be disciplined about what you are supplementing with, fruit and veggies, a handful of almonds etc. but all food is ultimately caloric, and if you have very thin margins to begin with, this might not be for you.

good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

Diabetes diet, which is 6 total meals - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. I had to go on this when I had gestational diabetes and I only gained 15 lbs during pregnancy. The snacks were healthy - nuts, coldcuts and crackers, etc. Always mixing carb with protein or vegetable, and only 15grams/carbs max for the snack.

Part of it is probably in your head, and your body needs time to adjust to the smaller portions. You WILL feel hungry because your stomach is used to being filled to an unhealthy level. It's a habit your body got used to.Drink water to put something in your stomach, or perhaps some tea as it has flavor and you can fake out your taste buds.

Keep up the good work!

GUM lol.

seriously. i am with you. i lost 25 from august to december of last year and have been struggling since. i just started (again) again this week and i invested in GUM. the trick is to eat less, and by eating less, your stomach shrinks down. gum stops the stomach growls.

that's my tip of the day! (also, carrots for some reason make me unnaturally full for a LONG time. it might just be me though. like, really full. like almost stomach-ache full. it's wierd)

Whenever I feel hungry after eating my allotted portion I always imagine the pains are of my body transforming itself. Like growing pains... (or sometimes when I'm in a dark mood, that my body is eating itself and this is where the pain is from.) I also imagine that the pain is of my stomach shrinking back to a normal size. Like I had stretched it out abnormally from eating too much each meal and now when I ate a normal sized portion, it left a lot of empty space behind and it was re-adjusting. (Mental trickery to convince myself that the pain wasn't from hunger, but from anything but hunger made it easier for me to stay away from eating more.)

The only advice I can give you is distraction. Find a project you can throw yourself into and you'll forget you're hungry after a while. Before you know it, it will be time for your next meal.

Sorry, no tips . I feel your pain!

How long have you been at it? If your body is USED to eating more at a sitting and your stomach is stretched out and used to that over-filled feeling, it'll take some time to adjust.

Have you tried drinking a glass of water BEFORE you sit down to eat? In addition, pour yourself a nice tall glass to drink WITH your meal and commit to finishing it at the same time as your meal (few bites of food, few sips of water). It will help fill up your tummy while you get used to smaller portions, AND it'll slow you down as you eat to give your brain a chance to send the signal you are no longer hungry.

Last, sometimes hungry and thirsty get crossed in our minds. Especially in the summer time, I find myself wanting to eat all day before I realize I actually just need a something to drink! Try a glass of iced tea, or another cool drink and see if you feel any better. Something fruity (but not full of sugar) would be cool and refreshing and might do the trick :)

Oh one last thing... A friend of mine had GREAT success a couple years back with buying smaller plates (like a large salad plate... not tiny, just smaller than her usual dinner plates)! I know it seems silly, but with a smaller plate she still got that visual of having a very full plate, and that seemed to check that psychological box for her. Worth a try.

You need to eat something every 3 hours or so. It's ok to have a morning and afternoonn snack. If you're still so very hungry you need to recognize if it's in your head out of habit or are you truly hungry. If you're truly hungry then you're not eating enough. It's about portion size and about what you eat. Some foods just don't keep a person satisfied for 3 hours. It's ok to graze if the food is healthy. Eat a carrot inbetween. As you lose weight you'll need less food to maintain yourself every day. It'll get easier.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

I find I'm hungry if I'm not eating enough protein.
Fiber will also help to make you feel full - drink plenty of water with it.
You can put your metabolism into famine mode if you cut too much too quickly and then your body will burn so little it makes it almost impossible to lose weight.

I'm working on this too, and struggle periodically to stay on track. What has worked well for me is:
- Look for water-rich, low calorie foods that will fill you up without overloading calories. This means - fruit, lots of vegetables. HUGE salads, with some protein and some high flavor item (salsa, herbs, etc.) help keep me satisfied.
- Substitute high calorie things for low calorie things -- example, substitute steamed veggies instead of pasta or bread.
- Add lean protein to every meal & snack. A half turkey breast sandwich on whole wheat bread, with extra tomato, red peppers, lettuce, no cheese, no mayo with some baby carrots on the side is about 200 calories, but can keep you going all afternoon. Protein just helps everything stick with me longer.
- Write down what you're eating, and when, and evaluate substitutes & trade offs. Example: If you crave something sweet in the afternoon, you can have a 1/2 cup of ice cream, OR, you can have 1/2 cup of greek yogurt AND a handful of strawberries.
Try to look for your appetite triggers. Are you really hungry, or are you bored? Are you hungry because you associate eating with certain activities? like eating while you watch TV.... or having an after school treat with the kids... knowing what your triggers are to mindlessly eat, can help you change those habits by avoiding those triggers, or substituting a healthier item. Change your routine. Try to plan your snacks and meals, and stay busy enough in between that you don't think about food! Your appetite will adjust over time.

Make sure you're drinking plenty of water. More water than you probably think you need. Thirst can be mistaken for hunger. Drink water before you eat so your stomach is fuller to begin with so you feel full when you finish eating.

If you are significantly cut down on your portions, then you would feel hungry. I suggest that you cut down slowly. I am counting calories using "Lose it" app and it's very easy to track how much I am eating. It also modifies my calorie intake, based on my current weight and my weight loss goal.

I find the first three months of eating properly to be hell. Once your body gets used to it you won't feel so hungry all the time. Tell yourself this is temporary.

I am also trying to AGAIN lose a significant amount of weight (two years ago I dropped 100lbs). I hate portion control and I hate being hungry, so I totally feel your pain.
Here's my tips.
Excersize in the morning if you can. It gets the endorphins going and you will have more energy throughout the day.
Eat a breakfast that has protein. No small bowl of cereal is going to do it for me!! I have egg whites, peanut butter, a hard boiled egg, slice of ham, oatmeal...(well, not all at the same time!) I also have a serving of fruit with that.
Make sure to drink TONS of water. So much that you feel like you are constantly peeing and are going to float away.
Let yourself eat HUGE portions of veggies, smaller portions of grains, protein, and fruits.
It's okay to cheat. In fact, I lost the 100 lbs in about 7 months and I cheated every single solitary Sunday. Big breakfast, yummy desserts. Ate like a kid. And then on Monday it was back to the grind.
It sucks having to lose weight, but I am right there with ya!!
L.

I understand that apples are great for filling you up and keeping you full.

Also, try to drink a lot of water.

Finally, I've heard exercise will curb your apetite, which doesn't make sense to me. Seems like you'd be hungrier after burning up some calories!

Good luck!

Try starting your meals with a cup of veggie soup. Oh and veggies will not make you feel full for very long when they are by themselves. You need to eat some whole grains with those veggies. Like tofu stir fry over brown rice...mmmm now I'm hungry! And you do need fat in your diet. My fav breakfast is a whole wheat english muffin sandwhich, with an egg white, 1/4 of an avocado, 1 tomato slice and 1/2 slice of cheese. So good!

Try giving yourself permission to eat a little more, but you have to wait 20 min first. One "diet" I tried let you eat as much as you want but you had to start with the recommended portion and wait 20 min before getting those 2nds. Now I'm not saying fad dieting is a good idea or that this particular diet was anything to rave about but the 20 minute thing has stuck with me and helps. I will still be feeling starving but by the time 20 minutes has passed a lot of times I'm not hungry anymore - and knowing that I CAN have more if I wait 20 minutes makes it bearable. Good luck!!

If it were only that easy. You say you have to lose a "significant amount of weight", how much is that? 20? 50? 100 lbs? I have been coaching people to SUSTAINED weight loss for over 6 years now and here is what I know to be true:
1. going on "a diet" and exercising alone do not make for sustained weight loss. Incorporating essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients are necessary.
2. Water is the key - half your weight in oz daily ie: if you are 200 lbs you need 100 oz of water which is almost 13 8 oz glasses.
3. To lose weight you must do so in 10lb increments. When you try any more than that you will do a serious dis-service to your body.
3. a 200lb person needs about 2000 calories and moderate exercise to maintain that weight. If a person wants to be 150lbs (from 200lbs) it does not mean only eat 1500 calories, they will starve. It means incrementally drop thecalories weekly to get the desired results.
4. Weight loss is NOT A QUICK FIX. It is a lifestyle.

If you have any questions or want a free conversation, just PM me.

B.
Success Coach

Dish up your normal portion (including 2nds).
Cut plate in half and eat the first half
Save the 2nd half for 30 min-3 hours later

Your stomach will gradually get used to smaller portions AND this tricks your metabolism into running faster.

AFTER you feel stuffed on a half portion, halve it again and space the 2nd part later.

Do this until a 'normal' portion is twice as much food as your body wants AND keep eating the 2nd half later.