I'm having a hard time

Well, it's been close to 2 months and i have lost 6 lbs - which is great. 

At first, maybe for a whole month, it was not all that hard.  I was only trying to eat a couple hundred calories less than needed to maintain my weight.  I could do that pretty easily, and would fluctuate with days that were a few hundred less, and others a few hundred more - but the overall total was within the right range for healthy weight loss.  I have also been eating a lot healthier - due in large part to this site.  I'm made huge improvements in the quality of what I put in my body.. I do feel better, and that's great and all, but what I really want is to get rid of my "spare tire" .. It has gone down, but I have a ways to go still.

My problem is that, for the past week, my calories have been off the map - all of the sudden I just really want more food - it's so wierd - I would think my body would be adjusting to the new way of eating and I would crave less - but I'm just having a tough time of keeping myself even within my *maintenence* calorie range.  I just did an average for my daily calories for the last month and it now averages a little MORE than I need per day to maintain my weight.  So basically, I'm starting to totally reverse the results I have so far.

I wish I could take something to make me less hungry, but I don't like "diet pills" that make you all speeded up - they make me uncomfortable and cranky.  I have been trying to eat loads of cauliflower and salad between meals, in an effort to fill up without a gazillion calories, but I'm just going throught a rough patch where my hunger is kind of crazy.  It helps somewhat, but not enough.

I don't have all that much experience dieting ... what should I do?  Is this just a phase (I hope?)  Any ideas on how I can keep within the allowed calorie range would be appreciated.  It depresses me that I have so little control over my own behaviour - especially when I see people on here eating much less cal. per day than me and not freaking out like this!!

OK.  Put your head on my shoulder.  Breathe.  That's better.

Now, let's fix the problem.  I would like to suggest that, when you get hungry and want to snack, reach for water instead.  Sometimes, you will think your body is telling you it's hungry when it is really thirsty instead.  Go out and buy yourself a nice big water jug with the ounces clearly marked.  You should be drinking at least 64 oz per day - some people suggest you drink half your body weight ounces (ie if you are 200 lb, drink 100 oz water).

The next thing is to look at your diet carefully.  Study the types of foods you are eating.  I always make sure to start my day with some good, filling foods- for example oatmeal, yogurt with a good fibre cereal and fruit, etc.  You need to include some foods that 'fill you up'.  Fruits & veggies are good and you can and should snack on them whenever you want but, let's face it, they don't really fill that empty spot so make sure you get a good quantity of protein and fibre and satisfying carbs.

Another thing you can try is having more meals per day.  If you normally have 3 meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner - with a couple of snacks here and there, change it up.  Start planning your day so you give yourself a small meal every 2-3 hours.  It's a lot harder to get hungry this way!

Hope some of the above helps.  Most of all - keep your chin up and keep trying.  Perfection usually requires some practice and mistakes will happen along the way!

Thanks so much for your nice reply!  You have some great suggestions.  I didn't think about protein - I have not been eating that much.  I have been doing OK with drinking a lot of water, but I have to make myself do it  - it's not a habit for me yet. I started taking a multi-vitamin daily too.  Maybe I was craving something I was missing, who knows.

Thankfully, I managed to get past several surplus-calorie days -including Easter- without the scale showing any difference, so I'm very happy about that.  Right now, I'm not having that "hungry all the time, must keep eating" wierdness that I had the other day - hopefully it is a hurdle I have passsed - at least for a while.  If it happens I will sit down with a big bottle of water and read your post again very sloooowly..

Thanks so much for your kind suggestions & support!!

hey! I know its hard but.. i agree protein is a great fix! OR- you could try just drinking tea--- fills me up!! but if i have to have something-- a slice of deli mea and a slice of cheese.. i just thought today that a great snack would bea soup at hand! i never thought of soup as a snack but some are 100 calories-- it would take a while to eat and would be filling-- a lot of sodium so iguess would drink more water.

:) glad its going well.

Ny68, I just noticed that you have added me to your friend's list.  Thank you! I have added you to mine.

All my good advice aside, I am in the middle of a very nasty, stubborn plateau so, hopefully, we can keep one another motivated!   Drop into my journal anytime and I will suggest you start a daily journal too.  It really does help to keep you focused and I think more "talking" happens in the private journals than in the forums here!

I am the exact way! For a while I adjusted well to healthy dieting and then one day of overeating...and now my hunger is out of control. It's as if I am never full! I could have a a whole plate of food and would just want more because I still feel hunger even if I had a bunch of food earlier. Now i'm gaining weight :(