The MyFitnessPal app for iPad has gotten much better than when I originally used it 3 years ago to lose the baby weight. It is easier to find food, the food list is much longer (for ex, it had soupergirl local soup on it), it breaks down th sodium, cholesterol, carbs, sugar, etc in graphs and pie charts, etc.

Your one day example of food isn't good. You probably have fulfilled or surpassed your cholesterol for the day just with breakfast, perhaps even your sodium. There aren't many whole foods on there. And you don't mention your portion size, which most people, like 99%, so you're not alone! grossly overestimate.

What others have said. You are likely not eating too few calories but the food you are eating is not satiating. Special K, pasta, crackers, should be treats, not a staple. I work out a lot and although I am not trying to lose weight I am relatively lean and don't need that many calories to maintain my weight. I have found that my hunger level does not depend on the calories I consume but instead on the volume of food I eat. If my stomach is full I'm not hungry. The only way to keep my stomach full is to eat lots of nutrient dense foods with high volume. This means LOTS of whole foods.

For example, a typical lunch is large salad containing spinach, red onion, mushrooms, celery, red pepper, radishes, cucumbers, chickpeas, sometimes avocado, and olive oil and lemon juice or an equivalent dressing. Dinner varies, last night it was quesadillas made with grilled chicken grilled onions, zucchini, and red pepper, and montery jack cheese on whole wheat tortillas. Breakfast was fage 2% yogurt with a peach and blueberries mixed in and coffee with heavy cream.

I second the recommendation for myfitnesspal. It's a huge PIA to log all your food but it really is an eye-opening experience. I tracked for about a month and it really helped me shape a diet that works to maintain my weight, fuel my workouts, AND most importantly feel good throughout the day.

Good luck OP.

Track your eating on MyFitnessPal app and you can see your caloric intake. You might be surprised at how many calories you're consuming, esp liquid ones, as well as how much sugar vs protein. Protein and fiber help you stay fuller longer. Don't eat chips and bagels, Special K, crackers, and pasta. Substitute apple with peanut butter, Greek yogurt with fresh fruit, tuna fish on crackers if you need crackers, nuts, hummus or homemade guacamole with carrots or sliced peppers, for example.

You have too many carbs in that eating outline. And what is your portion size????

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are you eating, OP? If you give us a sample of what you eat during the day (including slip-ups) we might have additional insight for you.

8:30 - 2 eggs 2 turkey sausage
10:30 - mini bagel w cream cheese, mini bag chips
1 - chicken curry w rice ( from home) and Greek yogurt
4 - cheese and crackers and an apple
7:30 - whole wheat spaghetti w ground turkey and fruit
9:30 - cereal like Special K w milk

The morning and afternoon snacks are the danger zones for junk. On bad days I will get a donut or cupcake or muffin. Lunch may also be Subway or Chipotle or chopped. Dinner could also be fish and vegetables which I try to do especially when I have a less healthy lunch. So it's not horrible but I know I could do better. I could switch out nuts for the bagel. Or cheese. haven't found a raw vegetable I like enough to snack on though. It's also hard to cut down the number of times I eat since I'm legitimately hungry at those times. Since I have been working out this is pretty typical. My trainer suggested a protein shake.

Thanks for the tips. I think the key is keeping healthy snacks around which I am better at but not perfect.

This is a lot of food, I would say about 1800 calories for the day. I could not lose weight if I eat more than 1300. 95% of losing weight is eating less. Excercise makes you stronger, but does not burn much calories. For example, you mini bagel and cream cheese are close to 200 cals, and you will have to run 30min to burn that much.

Cut the carbs, they are calorie laden and make you hungry. Replace them with cooked green vegetables, which are very low cal and filling. Raw verges are even better if you like them - I just cannot stand chewing like a bunny to eat 1/2 lb of leaves. Also, fish and lean meat are a lot better than carbs.

the cereal with special k and milk will make you hungrier. same with the chips. also try some large salads with nuts and dried fruit and cheese. the fats are fine.
carbs are what make you crave more carbs. some are okay, but other foods will keep you not hungry and full.

Also portion size. A whole mini bagel or half? How much curry, white rice? Etc. And a lot of your foods could be sweetened, like the bagel. Or made of refined carbs.

There was an interesting article in the Post today about how women get hungrier after workouts while men don't. Check it out. There's a biological basis for it.

Anonymous wrote:What are you eating, OP? If you give us a sample of what you eat during the day (including slip-ups) we might have additional insight for you.

8:30 - 2 eggs 2 turkey sausage
10:30 - mini bagel w cream cheese, mini bag chips
1 - chicken curry w rice ( from home) and Greek yogurt
4 - cheese and crackers and an apple
7:30 - whole wheat spaghetti w ground turkey and fruit
9:30 - cereal like Special K w milk

The morning and afternoon snacks are the danger zones for junk. On bad days I will get a donut or cupcake or muffin. Lunch may also be Subway or Chipotle or chopped. Dinner could also be fish and vegetables which I try to do especially when I have a less healthy lunch. So it's not horrible but I know I could do better. I could switch out nuts for the bagel. Or cheese. haven't found a raw vegetable I like enough to snack on though. It's also hard to cut down the number of times I eat since I'm legitimately hungry at those times. Since I have been working out this is pretty typical. My trainer suggested a protein shake.

Thanks for the tips. I think the key is keeping healthy snacks around which I am better at but not perfect.

You need more protein since you're building muscle. That's why you're feeling hungry. Eat if you're hungry, there's no need to starve yourself but eat things like almonds, string cheese, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, grilled chicken and other lean protein.

What are you eating, OP? If you give us a sample of what you eat during the day (including slip-ups) we might have additional insight for you.

I agree with all above poster's. I started a Tabata program, and I get quite hungry throughout the day. These healthy mini meals help me to be more productive and take the edge off before my next meal. I like greek yogurt, almonds, hb eggs, cottage cheese, cold cuts...anything that is quick, easy, and not too messy.

Snack on nuts/fruit/veggies. Crunchy veggies like carrots and celery. Drink coffee/tea. I make small, 100-calorie snack bags (I look up calories in say, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or roasted soy nuts and measure out that amount-- a few TBSP usually-- and keep just what I will eat for that day in my desk drawer. (If I keep a week's supply or something I'll eat them all, especially when I work out a lot.) Good luck, OP!

Healthy snacks throughout the day. Make them pre-packaged (either yourself or buy them that way) and don't allow yourself to buy other unhealthy food instead. Things like almonds, a cheese stick, berries, etc. make sure if you're eating something with carbs your balancing it with proteins so it "sticks" with you longer. The longer you can go eating healthy, the less obsessed you usually become, so take comfort in knowing this is probably a temporary obsession.

The first things that come to mind are to eat frequent small meals, drink lots of water and make sure your meals are high in protein. Don't cut your calories too drastically. A lot of people fill up on low calories foods but personally I can't stand carrots and celery. I opt for cottage cheese mixed with fruit, greek yogurt, protein smoothies, etc. Good luck!!!

I started with personal training and intense workouts with heavy weights. I get desperately uncomfortably hungry every couple of hours. I can not concentrate when hungry either. Food is on my mind all the time I'm not a totally unhealthy eater but I sometimes reach for junk when starving like this.

I'm overweight but have never been obsessed. I used to eat what I wanted and that's kind of how I got this way. I am trying to lose weight but I actually gained a couple of pounds since I started these workouts. I am kind of at a loss. Being hungry is making me anxious. Uh... Help? Diet plan? Tips?