Trying to eat less

[Anonymous]

I have a big problem with portion control. I know I need to eat less, but my stomach will start to growl at inopportune times. What do you all eat that will fill you up but not add too many calories?

[Anonymous]

1. Drink lots of water. You can feel hungry when you are really thirsty.

2. Make sure you meals have some protein, some healthy fat and some fiber in them and they will keep you full longer.

3. I keep pre-portioned snacks in my drawer at work. So if i feel hungry, I can pull one out. I find that if I allow myself to snack at will, I'll overdo it. But if I keep the snacks pre-portioned it helps.

4. Yogurt. One container of yogurt, while not pleasing to the salty-snacker in me, does satiate my hunger.

5. Avoid artificial sweetners. After years of eating them and then stopping, I realize that they actually make me feel hungrier. I don't know if this is true for everyone, but it might be worth a try.

6. Don't overdo caffeine.

7. Don't eat anything sugary for breakfast (or first thing). If I eat something like a muffin or donut I feel hungry all day long and crave sugar.

8. Don't cut your calories by too much. I think a lot of people (me included) try to eat too little, which ends up with them starving and then scarfing down twice the amount of calories they would have consumed had they let themselves eat enough during meals.

[Anonymous]

Drink a lot of water.
Eat a lot of vegetables.

[Anonymous]

Don't eat everytime your hunrgy or your stomach growls. In a couple days, you will not be as hungry and your stomach will stop growling all the time. Its tough but once you scale back, you will be eating less every day.

[Anonymous]

This is actually THE KEY to weight loss. I have lost over 40 lbs just by redcuing my intake - NOT adding any exercising or special food combos or such silliness. Here are the things that really helped me - drink a HUGE glass of water before eating. It really does help. Have a salad or major mound of vegetables with every meal. Skip bread as much as possible. Eat protein with every meal, it keeps the hunger away longer. Dont eat just because its "meal time", only eat if you are truly hungry and drink a big glass of water first to make sure its not thirst. Do not eat between meals. I struggle with night time cravings that arent real hunger and that comes down to self control and will power plain and simple. I still struggle with it but know I can beat it. If I gain a little weight back I wear pants that are a bit tihht to remiond myself. Yoga pants or sweat pants make it too easy to ignore the added tummy bulge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is actually THE KEY to weight loss. I have lost over 40 lbs just by redcuing my intake - NOT adding any exercising or special food combos or such silliness. Here are the things that really helped me - drink a HUGE glass of water before eating. It really does help. Have a salad or major mound of vegetables with every meal. Skip bread as much as possible. Eat protein with every meal, it keeps the hunger away longer. Dont eat just because its "meal time", only eat if you are truly hungry and drink a big glass of water first to make sure its not thirst. Do not eat between meals. I struggle with night time cravings that arent real hunger and that comes down to self control and will power plain and simple. I still struggle with it but know I can beat it. If I gain a little weight back I wear pants that are a bit tihht to remiond myself. Yoga pants or sweat pants make it too easy to ignore the added tummy bulge.

Here's the deal, ladies: The more lean muscle mass you have the more efficient your body is. So you can eat more (healthy as usual) and burn off more calories.

So I wouldn't put exercise and silliness in the same sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Drink lots of water. You can feel hungry when you are really thirsty.

2. Make sure you meals have some protein, some healthy fat and some fiber in them and they will keep you full longer.

3. I keep pre-portioned snacks in my drawer at work. So if i feel hungry, I can pull one out. I find that if I allow myself to snack at will, I'll overdo it. But if I keep the snacks pre-portioned it helps.

4. Yogurt. One container of yogurt, while not pleasing to the salty-snacker in me, does satiate my hunger.

5. Avoid artificial sweetners. After years of eating them and then stopping, I realize that they actually make me feel hungrier. I don't know if this is true for everyone, but it might be worth a try.

6. Don't overdo caffeine.

7. Don't eat anything sugary for breakfast (or first thing). If I eat something like a muffin or donut I feel hungry all day long and crave sugar.

8. Don't cut your calories by too much. I think a lot of people (me included) try to eat too little, which ends up with them starving and then scarfing down twice the amount of calories they would have consumed had they let themselves eat enough during meals.

I remember reading a study a few years ago which found that people who drank diet soda actually consumed more calories than those who drank regular soda. I don't remember the exact theory of the researchers, but it was something along the lines of: the artificial sweets make your body think it's going to get the sugary treat and when it doesn't, it goes looking for those calories anyway and overcompensates with more calories than were in a regular soda. I'm probably getting the details all mixed up, but I do remember that you'd be better off with the regular soda and that the researchers thought there was a physiological not psychological mechanism at play.

[Anonymous]

If you can stick it out for 2 weeks eating smaller portions and eating nothing sweet you will get used to the small portions and your body will stop craving sweets. Everyone is different, I can still drink diet soda and use sweeteners in my coffee without getting the craving for sweet foods, some people need to cut out everything

Drink tons of water

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually THE KEY to weight loss. I have lost over 40 lbs just by redcuing my intake - NOT adding any exercising or special food combos or such silliness. Here are the things that really helped me - drink a HUGE glass of water before eating. It really does help. Have a salad or major mound of vegetables with every meal. Skip bread as much as possible. Eat protein with every meal, it keeps the hunger away longer. Dont eat just because its "meal time", only eat if you are truly hungry and drink a big glass of water first to make sure its not thirst. Do not eat between meals. I struggle with night time cravings that arent real hunger and that comes down to self control and will power plain and simple. I still struggle with it but know I can beat it. If I gain a little weight back I wear pants that are a bit tihht to remiond myself. Yoga pants or sweat pants make it too easy to ignore the added tummy bulge.

Here's the deal, ladies: The more lean muscle mass you have the more efficient your body is. So you can eat more (healthy as usual) and burn off more calories.

So I wouldn't put exercise and silliness in the same sentence.

But, you don't NEED to exercise to lose weight AND factually, exercise increases hunger.

[zumbamama]

Exercise makes me less hungry. The days I'm sedentary are the days I snack too much. I guess everyone is different.

You could try six smaller meals, instead of 3 bigger ones. Or snacking healthy between meals.

5 minutes before you eat, drink first and eat a few almonds.

Mint makes me less hungry too.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, everyone, for all of these great tips! -- OP (who doesn't drink nearly enough water and who is committed to going for two weeks to stop the stomach growling)

[Anonymous]

Fiber Fiber Fiber!!! I lost all my baby weight and then some on weight watchers. It is all about portion control! I found I was hungry a lot, so I ate high fiber snacks in between meals. Any of the weight watchers snacks you can find in the stores (cookies, brownies, muffins) have 5+ grams of fiber in them and should keep you going for awhile. Also, Fiber One bars are awesome options, and they have multiple flavors.

[Anonymous]

Protein. Also fiber and having a small meal every couple of hours - just grazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually THE KEY to weight loss. I have lost over 40 lbs just by redcuing my intake - NOT adding any exercising or special food combos or such silliness. Here are the things that really helped me - drink a HUGE glass of water before eating. It really does help. Have a salad or major mound of vegetables with every meal. Skip bread as much as possible. Eat protein with every meal, it keeps the hunger away longer. Dont eat just because its "meal time", only eat if you are truly hungry and drink a big glass of water first to make sure its not thirst. Do not eat between meals. I struggle with night time cravings that arent real hunger and that comes down to self control and will power plain and simple. I still struggle with it but know I can beat it. If I gain a little weight back I wear pants that are a bit tihht to remiond myself. Yoga pants or sweat pants make it too easy to ignore the added tummy bulge.

Here's the deal, ladies: The more lean muscle mass you have the more efficient your body is. So you can eat more (healthy as usual) and burn off more calories.

So I wouldn't put exercise and silliness in the same sentence.

But, you don't NEED to exercise to lose weight AND factually, exercise increases hunger.

But, you will not be healthier. Exercise is part of healthy living, beyond just losing weight. Increasing cardio, flexibility and strength = healthy. Plus, if you don't exercise, you may lose pounds (by focusing only on diet) but you will not looked toned. Anyone who leaves exercise out of the equation is doing themselves a disservice.

[Anonymous]

You can also try chewing gum. I pop a piece in my mouth after eating a meal. Minty "Ice Cubes" are my favorite...the flavor lasts a long time.