why people cheat

guys , i need some feedback.

When i was on a 1500 calorie a day diet back in 2004, i never cheated. I drank water and coffee and diet pepsi. I didnt do any exersise but i was on the zone 40 30 30 . I lost 40 lbs in about 8 months.

I then just gained back 25 pounds in the last 4 months and started back on changing my diet at 178. I lost about 4 pounds water weight in the first week, so i ignored that , so my start weight is 175.  

well, now i weigh 172 and its been almost 3 weeks. I recently found this AWESOME site, and after reading many posts, i went down to a 1200 calorie a day diet for the past week.

For the first few days was great. Easy. But then all of a sudden, yesterday, i kept eating, and was never full, and in fact was hungry again 1/2 hour after i ate.

I take it we consider this 'cheating' . Even though my binging was balanced 40 30 30 and i ended up 300 calories short of my maintinence, I am thinking this is a common problem for many of the posts i have read.

I am wondering if my body is in fact literally starving at 1200 and is calling for more food, which is not the way to lose weight.

any thoughts?

1200 is too low for a man in my opinion.. you have to remember that most of us on here are women.. and we naturally need a lower number of calories a day.. what does your expendature/allowance tools say?

if you were so hungry that you wanted to eat everything in site then i think that yes.. 1200 is too low for you.  just my 2 cents.. :)

obsidyan is right.  I think 1500 is a good number for men, you said yourself that you lost eating 1500.  I think you should try to go back to that.  1200 is too small for a man.  I (a woman) eat between 1200-1300 cals a day.  hope we helped you some

thankyou guys

i still cant get over how HUNGRY i was.....

Yesterday I ended up eating less than 900 calories because of a light dinner but I was so full I couldn't eat anymore. So today I'm trying to make up for those missing calories. So I do think that when you go too low you end up being hungrier which in turn puts you at risk of binging on bad things. It's better to keep your daily calories higher.

Rather than calling it cheating-someone said we should call it a 'maintenance day', since that's what you'd be eating to maintain your goal weight. :)

awesome choc

i couldnt agree more!!!!

tomdavie...you should eat more foods that are low in calories; this way, you can fill up as much as you want without "cheating." I know...lettuce and spinach aren't the best-tasting foods all the time, but they're great for you and super-duper low in calories.

Also, try eating hearty soups. Studies show that when people eat soups, they usually consume less because the combination of solids and liquids makes you more full. The extra water in the soup is great for your body. I've been on a soup-craze these past couple weeks. Here's a soup I usually make: two cups of low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth, shredded chicken breast, frozen/fresh spinach, zucchini slices, and one tsp. of pesto sauce. It's delicious, healthy, and very filling.

I swear, the best way to stick to a lower-calorie diet is to learn how to cook! By experimenting with foods and cooking, you won't grow bored (which will easily lead to binging on junk food). Once your stomach gets used to the smaller portions and healthier foods in your diet, your hunger pains will eventually subside. You'll notice that you can't eat as much as you used to...your stomach won't allow it. (I learned this last week when my office had a potluck for St. Patrick's Day...I was completely stuffed after one plate...in the past, I would've eaten three times more.)

For the first few days was great. Easy. But then all of a sudden, yesterday, i kept eating, and was never full, and in fact was hungry again 1/2 hour after i ate.


This is exactly what happened to me this weekend!!  What's going on here???

Hey Yall,

True your not getting enough if you are Hungry ( needing to eat, make sure that it is a need to eat, and not just wanting to eat ;)  What I have found to work with me on days like that is to eat somthing small ( 1/2 p. of fruit or small handful of nuts or veggies) and give yourself 10 to 20 mins. Then go brush your teeth. We all know things are not that good to eat after you brush your teeth.  It works for me. Stops me from eating tooooo much.

dvang, that's good advice.  and i am sure that by doing more of our own cooking  we are burning more calories with all the shopping, preparation and dishwashing.  so it's a win-win situation! 

i know a lot of people don't have time for this, but even without the cooking, eating your own choices in your own kitchen (or dorm room) is far better than choosing from restaurant menus.

Dude, add me to that... I felt that way too! I do a good 1200 on the weekdays without feeling too hungry between meals (bout 4-5 small) but on the weekends, I feel hungrier than ever. I, like you felt hungry half an hour after every meal yesterday...

But then again I spent an hour on the stationary and an hour on the ski machine at the gym... And about a half hour doing resistance... I came home from the gym starving... I think I was pretty low on energy cause I fell asleep at noon after I got back from the gym! That could have been what caused all the hunger. I ate a 200 calorie breakfast and worked off about 700-800 at the gym before lunch even came... Then ended up playing some basketball for an hour... so again, was starving before dinner.

But, we're back to Monday, so here we go again! :)

I had a day like that last week too....I just didn't feel full or satisfied for any length of time.  Maybe it has something to do with the combinations of foods we eat too?  I've always heard protein helps you feel fuller longer and try to eat a little more of it....

It could also be that you are thirsty.  Often the body gets its
signals a bit mixed up and you think that you need more food when all
you really need is a glass of water.  If you're eating a healthy
portion of calories you may want to try the water.  Can't hurt you
if it turns out that you are actually hungry :-)

wow

lots of good posts gang:

i was told earlier in the post that i should up my calorie to 1500, and thats what i have done. Men should take a few more cals....and even doing nothing the chart says i should consume 1600 to reach my goal by sept. I guess i am guilty as anyone to want that weight off now!!!!!

but the other advice on diff foods and more water is great!! I drink 2.2 litres of it a day, but a little more couldnt hurt!!!

thankyou