lots of low-cal foods vs. a few high cal foods

ok, so the way I lost weight was by eating lots and lots of really low calorie foods. I was never hungry and I still lost weight.  However, my stomach (inside, not out) never actually shrank since I was still filling it up.

Now I'm getting ready for the holiday season and trying to shrink my stomach (if that's the way you want to put it) so i can eat the tasty food, but be able to stop myself after a small portion. If I keep eating large amounts of low-cal foods, i won't get full after a morsel of pumpkin pie and will most likely overdo it.

So do i just start preparing now and eating more high-cal foods in smaller portions to get myself used to it, or is there a way I can do that without being hungry?

I think it's really important to keep in mind that a calorie represents the amount of heat needed to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius. Simply stated, it is a measure of energy. Therefore, higher calorie foods will tide you over for longer amounts of time. You're more apt to be hungry if you just ate a salad an hour ago than you would be if you just ate a slice of pizza.

Perhaps you're experiencing emotional hunger and just want your stomach to truly feel full, because many times calorie-dense foods may be small. I suggest drinking water.

 

It's very easy to combine high-cal and low-cal foods to get a balanced diet... and you should be doing that already. If you only eat low calorie foods that's not nourishing.... One way to look at it is to think of a dinner plate. In a balanced diet 1/2 the plate is full of filling, low-cal foods i.e. vegetables and salads, 1/4 plate contains lean proteins and 1/4 contains complex carbohydrates. Add to that a little oil/fat and that's a balance. Desserts are always an add-on.

If you then sit down to a celebration lunch, for example, and you've got 1/4 of the plate filled with roast turkey , 1/4 filled with roast potatoes and 1/2 filled with vegetables (or whatever they serve in your neck of the woods) and some gravy over the top that's going to be a balanced, satisfying, filling meal. And then a small portion of pumpkin pie is going to be a nice way to round it off.... and you'll be able to stop, no problem.

actually i had the exact same problem. What i found was that i needed to just give in to what i was craving for during the months of dieting: starchy carbs. and guess what? i'm satisfied before i get totally full=smaller tummy, stay full and satisfied for longer. the trick is to just cut down a bit on the protein and fat portion, and of course sweets, but thats fine for me, cuz i love rice and oatbran.

its IMPOSSIBLE to shrink your stomach, or make it smaller.

Start your day with a big dose of Dietary Fibre. That keeps you feeling full, so you can afford to eat a small amount of high calorie food if you feel like it.