Need help reducing calories per day but staying full!!???

Hey i really need help reducing my calorie intake but having a hard time as have a large appitite,

I need to eat about 1500 max, I find it hard to eat below 1800, usually its 1900, this week i only lost 0.5  but i have lost 9lb in a month, i am over 200lbs though so really want to lose 2lb a week, i go to the gym about 3/4days a week

i usually  eat bran flakes and yoghurt for breakfast, soup with some crackers/ dairelea, then like a cooked meal for dinner fish with veg or sweet potato etc, i also am hungry after work i finish about 10pm, if i eat then thats usually when i tip over my calorie limit.

any ideass?

Water might be your best friend.

Try just downing 3 or 4 cups when you really get that feeling.

And you might want to look into an appetite suppresent.  There's been talk about Hoodia on this site before.  I currently have been using an EC Stack that does a decent job with the whole hunger thing.  When it wears off I down water and it keeps me moving and not doing too much craziness.

Popcorn isn't too bad, if you can make your own not from a microwave butter pack.

I have the same problem with evening hunger.

Please do not take an appetite suppressant!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are making the soup yourself, it shouldn't be that many calories but if it is out of a can, the high sodium content might make you retain water.

To  jay_breaze when l am hungry water does nothing for me.

Eat lots and lots of veggies, according to my curves book you can pretty much eat all the green leafy veggies that you want with a few exceptions because they are so low in calories. Becareful with salad dressings though, read the label!!.

l eat tons of carrots esp when that hunger hits in between meals, check the calories in your yogurt, greek yogurt has like 100-120 calories per cup, l buy the fat free ones, it has 7grams carb, and 22grams of protein, l sweeten it with unsweetened applesauce or frozen strawberries.

Eat wholegrains, 100% wholewheat breads, brown rice, 100% whole pastas e.t.c they are more filling and full of fiber. Eat a protein source with your meals to keep you full longer, try to spread out your calories so you eat every 3 to 4 hours that you will keep you from being too hungry and possibly overeating.

Goodluck

So you can drink 4 glasses of water and still throw down a bunch of food? I can't. For me its just remembering to grab the water instead of a bunch of stuff in the fridge.

And what exactly is so bad about an appetite suppresant? I didn't suggest she take meth to keep it together. You dont have to take it forever. But in the begining when you aren't used to  the low cals it could be very helpful.

I understand everyone wants to be healthy and do the "best" thing but there isn't only one route to the finish line. And every other route isn't as terrible as some seem to imply it is.

Read the Volumetrics Weight Control Plan, feeling full on fewer calories is the focus of the whole book. 

Original Post by jay_breaze:

And what exactly is so bad about an appetite suppresant? I didn't suggest she take meth to keep it together. You dont have to take it forever. But in the begining when you aren't used to  the low cals it could be very helpful.

 

 

The short answer is if she suppresses that hunger long enough and losses weight, she will just gain it all back and more when she starts eating again. Our bodies need a certain amount of calories just to survive, so she doesn't have to stop eating to lose weight!!! l have lost 30lbs since Nov and l have never skipped a meal yet.

http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/healthwei ghtlo_sjlq.htm

If your work is reasonably active and you're exercising three or four days a week I think 1500 might be a little too low for you.  Maybe increase to 1600-1700 as your new average.  On your exercise days, 1800-1900 is going to be fine.  You've lost 9lbs in a month (average just over 2lbs a week) so your eating patterns aren't stopping you losing weight.

My suggestion would be to add a lot more vegetables to your intake and also to have somehealthy snacks during the day.  If you had a mid-morning or mid-afternoon banana, for example that might put you on until the next meal.  If your soup is canned try putting together a home-made vegetable soup with some lentils to thicken.  You can make massive amounts for very few calories that way.  Leave out the dairylea because the lentils would be enough protein.  Add lots and lots of vegetables to your evening meal as well.

As a later snack have you tried a little hummus served with lots of raw veggie sticks, cherry tomatoes etc.?  Or some other low-calorie yet filling option would do.  If you know you'll feel hungry after work it's better to plan a snack rather than come home ravenous with no game-plan

I don't think appetite suppressants are the way forward either, for what it's worth. ...

hey thanks for the advice,

the problem i have at evening meal is that i am usually at work n can only eat something cold or microwaveable, so i usually have a micromeal which is about 300-400 cals,

the soup is canned but its a low fat/sodium one,

the dairealea i cant give up!! i miss cheese as it is, the homous n veg is prob a good idea after work,

what about sweet snacks though? i really miss bakery stuff/biscuits :(

Sadly, baked goods (refined carbohydrates) and sugary foods will only make the problem 10 x worse than it already is because of the effect they have on blood-sugars.... ie. set up sugar cravings and hunger-pangs.   You could maybe plan your favourite cake or biscuit as a weekend treat and incorporate it into your calorie allowance, but it can't be an everyday food if you're already struggling..

Eating more often helps me with this.  I do much better when I eat about every 2-3 hours, rather than only three times a day.  I'm careful with my snacks -- keeping them to about 100 calories each.  This method has kept me from being hungry and encouraged me to notice the difference between hunger and cravings.

Laura

Original Post by curvy_gurl:

...i have lost 9lb in a month, i am over 200lbs though so really want to lose 2lb a week...

So, you want to lose 2lb a week, and you're currently loseing more than that on average. So what's the problem? why do you need to eat less? you're already loseing about as fast as you can safely do.

Also, eat more veggies, eat them at every meal, and eat them between meals.

Make sure you are eating enough protein.  Personally, I am famished in half an hour after eating cold cereal.  It is a waste of my time.  I am much better off with an egg AND cereal.  My calorie limit is only 1200 calories.  So I know you can work in some protein with your breakfast and lunch.  The humus will help.

To save on calories skip the yogurt and have your protein with skim milk. 

Now this one is of personal taste - I expect few to understand, but I have been known to eat 1/2 cup of cold beans (kidney beans are a fav, they are sweet) for part of my breakfast.  They fill me up far better than cereal.

Weight Watchers Bagels and Pitas have 9 grams of fiber.  If I have a sandwich on either one of these, I'm full. Water does help too.

Add a few extra large servings of steamed or raw vegetables every day. They fill you up without adding too many calories, and provide you with a bonanza of nutrition.  Snack on them!  Eat them first when you have dinner and lunch.  Put them into an egg white omelet for breakfast. 

If you don't plan snacks, try to have small ones in between your main meals.  I find that it really does help. 

By the way, those veggies can be cooked up into a low calorie soup.  Hot soup feels more filling and it makes great snacks too.

You have hit what you call a plateau.

I know this sounds weird, but aim for FIVE small meals [I'm talking 300 calories each.. or better yet, make your breakfast 400 calories, and the last/5th meal 200 calories] instead of just three main meals.

Space each meal out about 3.5 hours apart... you'll have more energy throughout the day, and it will keep your cravings under control since you're eating frequently. If you don't eat every 3-4 hrs.. your body begins to eat away at your lean body mass... which is something you really don't want, considering thats what helps you burn more fat in general.

More lean body mass = burn more calories [re: fat] at rest.
Not eating often = starvation mode = your body begins to feed on its own lean body mass --> end up burning less calories at rest = same efforts aren't as effective

[you do the math]

Also, grazing throughout the day keeps your metabolism up, so you're burning more calories.

Also, try to eat a portion of complete protein WITH EVERY meal.

You probably don't want to hear this, but if you've hit a plateau, you HAVE to increase your cardio... so if you do it 3/4 days a week,  aim for 5 days a week.If you don't already do so, do it in the morning before breakfast to make it even more effective.  Aim for 20-45 minutes per session.

And no matter what, keep at it.

As Tom Venuto [natural bodybuilder + sports a 3% body fat] says, "Extraordinary results call for extraordinary efforts."

Good luck!

WATER!

really it is the best thing!

I try to have 10 glasses a day - that is alot but I find I'm not as hungry as usual when I keep note of all the glasses I'm intaking.

the standard is 8 glasses to keep good, and an extra glass per each extra 25 lbs you want to lose.

it's been helping me! and another great treat that can subside your hungar until you eat is green tea!  have it plain with nothing and you will enjoy it! and there is a little taste and a higher temprature, so it's a good for you and good for what you need!

Lots of veggies, fruits....I'm pretty sure that things that have a low GI and are harder to digest leave you feeling fuller longer.  Grapefruit and broccoli are two great ones.  If you eat 1/2-3/4 cup of oatmeal (yep good old fashioned oat meal or oat bran...and not the instant stuff, the real thing) and a banana in the morning it will keep you feeling full.I also like protein powder with skim milk. I think that having smaller meals more often, as suggested, is very helpful.  Good luck.

I like Kombucha.  It has 75 calories and is carbonated, so it reduced appetite while giving you amino acids and probiotics. 

WHen I am hungry late in the evening, it helps me a lot if I eat 2-3 carrots.  the hunger dissapears and they do not have many calories.

good luck

i totally agree with most everyone here....altho i, too, do not agree with man made 'solutions'...those usually ar short term solutions but one can become so 'addicted' that it becomes a long term non-solution....i am not so familiar with them anymore but when i was younger i had tried xenadrine and it was a flop...good at the beginning, sucky at the end...and when you stop...as with all other "diets"...you go right back to where you were before!  all one can do is try to make healthier choices and stick with them--even when it's frustrating...it does take time....for the better part of 15 years i limited my caloric intake (truthfully more out of lifestyle-i was running around from school to job to school to...... -than a conscious decision to lose weight....in fact doing this made me GAIN a ton of weight!) to one main meal a day-usually at the end of the day and a large and heavy one at that...while the rest of the day consisted of coffee/tea, bagels, muffins, chips....anything fast....i barely ate fruits and veggies, was always hungry but found that if i ignored it for long enough the hunger went away...at least for a while....

now....the changes i've made this past year has made a huge difference in how i look at things.....i have lost about 40lbs which is much less than i had wanted to but i just keep telling myself slow and steady.....i want to keep this weight off!  my major frustration came when i hit a three month plateau...my weight didn't budge!  keep going and do what u can.....

with regards to how to keep full...as has been said....veggies veggie veggies!!  if you feel hungry make a salad complete with lettuce, carrots and peppers...keeps u full and fibre is your friend!  :)

i also like to mix my all bran with another cereal...all bran for protein and fibre and the other cereal to add volume...and i mix my skim milk with a soy drink....again, adds thickness...bran flakes i would think are higher on the glycemic index than all bran...the GI is a great thing to look at for ideas on how to keep full longer.....

re:sugar.....fruits are full of it and it is better than a 'fake' sugar.....altho sometimes we just need that chocolate!  :)

but try to stave off a craving with something else...strawberries, grapes, whatever....i find that as soon as i cave in and have something else it's never just a little......so the majority of the time be "good" but do allow yourself a treat......just portion it out and practice willpower!

i started at 248lbs and am now (finally!) approaching the 200 mark.....i will definitely allow a treat then...but the back to business.....never dwell on what you did wrong...resolve to do it better next time!!

good luck!