oh man....its my first day...didnt know it was going to be this hard!!

Hello Everyone,

I am so excited about this site! I love it, but i just found out that I am close to my calorie intake for the evening (which means no snacking).

Any suggestions on what I can do to get rid of this feeling?

Excited, but missing my snacks!

Art

I joined this site today.I have recently found motivation to get in better shape and I was or am a emotional eater and I also ate because I was bored.I have found that if I keep myself busy with no way to keep track of time I can usually stay busy and not think about eating.I have found that the gym is a great place to do this they don't have a clock any where and they keep tv's on the wall for us to watch and listen to.

As for just snacking I was told that eating a stick of celery is 3 calories but it takes the body 4 calories to burn it so your burning more cals by just eating it,don't over due it but its a snack its health but its healthy.Just something to look in to.

If you don't have a gym membership check your local gyms with the econemy so bad most gyms will wave all enrolment fees and even give you 3 months of free stuff to sign up. I have been in the gym for a little over a month and today I burned over 1000 calories so my breakfast and lunch were free calories. I don't know how much I can help you but yea I am around if you wanna chat about something.

The good news is it will get easier!

Here are a couple things you can do when you're feeling "snacky."

• Go for a walk
• Work on a project
• Drink some water
• Drink some tea
• Eat something low in calories - everyone has their own favorite low cal snack. At the moment mine is frozen blueberries (80 calories for 1 cup). Other people like air-popped popcorn (30 calories for 1 cup).
• Have a small portion of whatever you are craving that still fits within your calorie allowance

Also, make sure you have an appropriate calorie target. Ideally, you should be eating between 500 and 1000 calories fewer than you are burning daily, and looking to lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week. If your calorie deficit is too high, it's difficult to stick with - plus it's not optimal for weight loss.

The first few weeks are the hardest, but if you can stick with it, I promise it does get easier.  Drink lots.  Water, tea, diet (zero-cal) drinks, whatever helps you.  I know a lot of people are anti-artificial sweeteners but if it helps in the rough early days, go for it.

Lots of raw veggies to snack on throughout the day.  After a while of clean eating they will taste better than they do now.

Just never let yourself be without a healthy snack option.  Finding yourself out somewhere, with nothing healthy, will lead to a bad outcome.  Be prepared.

Hi guys!  i remember my first day very clearly.  and just about that whole first week was tough.  but just keep telling yourself it is for YOU.  The feeling of being healthy again is amazing.  ( For some motivation, feel free to look at my before/after picture.  Also, just playing around on this site and hearing stories of people's successes has helped push me to continue this journey.)

To help with the snacking, I found that going outside just to get some fresh air really helps.  If you are still hungry, (or maybe just bored), have a glass of water with something citrus in it.  My favorite is lemons and limes squeezed into ice water, but i'm sure you will find your favorites as time goes by!

Good Luck Everyone :)

Lots of good advice here already.

Make sure you eat frequently. Don't go long stretches without food, or you will get hungry and use poor judgment on what you should eat. I always carry something healthy with me so I don't go crazy. Eat breakfast, have a small mid-morning snack, eat lunch, have a midafternoon snack, and then eat dinner. You will almost never feel terribly hungry.

This actually gets to be fun! Try planning your day's food intake the night before - you can play with the food log and click on foods you'd like to eat - see how many calories they are. If they are healthy, low calorie foods, tag them - then you'll eventually accumulate a nice list of food choices.

Thanks Peoples for your input, inspiration and support. I do believe that it will get easier as time goes by. I never had this problem when I was younger...age is something else, but I will also envision those 6 pack abs by next summer! :)

Welcome and trust me, it will get easier.

My first day:  I was diligent about writing down everything I had eaten and really thought that I was making healthy food choices. My nutrion score for the day was an A-.  My calories were close to 3500! It was a wake-up call.

We've all been there. What is great is that after a while, you realize that healthy choices and smart eating become more natural. And the times in which you really want to have a treat -- you can do it without feeling guilty because you know how many calories it has and you account for it.

Good luck!

I understand that. I used to eat in the evenings a lot! I think you received a lot of good advice already, but I would just like to add something.

Eat walnuts! Well, not now of course, since you've almost eaten your daily alotment of calories. I have found these to be a GOD SEND when it comes to hunger highs and lows throughout the day. I take a 1/4 a cup to work with me, and slowly munch on them throughout the day so I am never actually starving. I have never found a food that reacts this way with me more than walnuts! Yes, its an additional 200 calories, but it is TOTALLY worth it.

Second thing. Alright, now you are hungry. Have a glass of water. Take another walk. If you work out then you will have a few more calories to eat!

I saw a post on this site a month or so back that talks about how thirst triggers a similar feeling to hunger or something more smart sounding.  I don't remember exactly what it was, but... it pretty much said that if you're hungry, drink some water first incase it's not hunger and just thirst.  I started doing this ANYtime I get hungry, and it's helped.  Come to find out, a lot of times during the day when I'm hungry, I'm just thirsty.

I'd say definitely give it a try.  Plus it helps you get more water into your routine.

I agree with what everyone has said, and hopefully I don't sound too repetitive!

One of the biggest things is recognizing when you're hungry in your head as opposed to your stomach.  You're programed to eat when you feel like it, while your body may not actually need food right then.  Drink lots of water and be sure to eat every few hours.

The first few days of when I started writing down what I ate, I did it mainly to see how much I was really eating, then I eased into creating a deficit.  It's not going to be easy, and you'll make mistakes.  It takes a while to overcome previous habits and mindsets.  But you'll get there!  Even the smallest adjustments make a difference!

Good luck :)

Thanks for you words of encouragement. I have to say that I feel good today. I made it my first day out...still loving this site and its members!!

it's my first day today and i had no idea it was going to be this hard, either!

well, actually, it's my first day, take two.  i tried starting on sunday, but i tried to go cold-turkey, from what i normally eat (unhealthy food in excessive amounts) to super healthy and of course, it didn't work.  i waited too long to eat and i was out of my mind with hunger, so i ended up totally going overboard.

so i re-grouped yesterday, put together a meal plan of healthy, easy-to-make meals that i'll be able to mix and match, and so far it's going much better.  i find that i have to eat in the morning as soon as i wake up, even if i'm not hungry yet, because if i don't, i get REALLY hungry by noon, and this also stops me from overeating all day long.

i'm also trying to look into different healthy foods.  if you live by any well-stocked asian supermarkets, try konnyaku (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konjac). it's a kind of gelatinous food made out of a plant in the yam family, and it's eaten as noodles sometimes or in desserts like tapioca.  it has almost no calories but it's very high in fiber, so it's used by a lot of dieters.

good luck and hang in here!  we can do this!

and thanks to everyone for the awesome advice! :)

Original Post by teletuby:

As for just snacking I was told that eating a stick of celery is 3 calories but it takes the body 4 calories to burn it so your burning more cals by just eating it,don't over due it but its a snack its health but its healthy.Just something to look in to.

 http://caloriecount.about.com/negative-calori es-myth-explained-b349703