The same thing EVERY day! :[

Every day this happens.

Every night, I tell myself, "Oh, it's a new day tomorrow, I am on a strict diet tomorrow!"

In the morning, I have my routinely oatmeal with a banana.

My snack usually around 100-150 calories.

An ALRIGHT lunch, possibly a Boca burger loaded with veggies and some sweet potato fries.

Then.

With only about 500 calories left for dinner (1500 a day)..

I make healthy whole wheat spaghetti, proportions not distorted.

Bunch of stir fry veggies with light sauce, or none at all.

Perfect, and great.

Then. Desert. That dirty six letter word that I feel as if I need every day after dinner.

Oh, just one piece of my homemade Banana bread! With 1 piece of organic chocolate! Maybe one more piece, Ah, I have to pare it with another piece of gooey melty chocolate! I am not satisfied! More, more, more! This is where I eat my weight in banana bread and chocolate. Both are low-calorie (Four pieces of chocolate=180 cal, banana bread with applesauce and no butter, low sugar, whole wheat flour, egg whites) Not sure the calorie count there.

UGH! I can't stand this!

EVERY DAY!

It seems to happen, every night.

I am trying, I really am.

I always exceed my calorie limit.

I have been plateau-ing for a long while now.

Today, I have consumed twice as the amount of daily water needs to prevent me from over eating.

Just five more pounds before March first, please! Ha-ha.

'There's always tomorrow!'

Argh.

Maybe you need to switch things up a bit. Try having a lighter lunch and saving some of those calories for some sort of pre-portioned desert. And stop having oatmeal for breakfast. Just to emphasize the fact that "today" actually IS different.

I can tell you're frustrated right now though.. hope you feel better. 

I don't know if you want advice, but what helps me is:

-setting a cut off time for eating and sticking to it, telling myself no exceptions, but for low or no cal drinks.

-Hot drinks help. Low cal sugar free hot chocolate: Ralph's/Smith's/Food4Less (I think) sells a store brand for 25 cals, no sugar that is good. I think also Swiss Miss does the same.

- At a glance, from your meals, I might suggest that you need more (a lot more) protein. I've seen a lot of books and sites that say we need a lot less protein than we traditionally ingest, but I know for sure that doesn't apply to me. I don't have iron etc. deficiencies; I just never feel like I'm getting enough.

Whenever I get that ravenous, post dinner, dessert-is-inevitable drive, I have some baked, cubed tofu or fry some egg beaters and spices and it helps. I also have a cup of oatmeal some times as a snack with spices and mix in 1/2 scoop of soy protein isolate - I've seen others here who do that too. It helps the cravings a lot.

Good luck!
I hope it gets better soon.

I'm on a 1350 day. Hunger is always on my tail.

I found that eating a lot of very low calorie foods help me. I snack on cucumbers and tomatoes all the time. I could eat like 3 cucumbers for example (not that I'd eat that many... lol) and that would be about 70 cal then compare that to one little tiny piece of bread, 100 cal or worse, a bag of chips at 200+ cals.

Maybe if you try snacking on veggies inbetween meals or after dinner it will keep you from being hungry. Eat more volume at less calories.

 

I agree more protein, and maybe some healthy fats too. 

Can I also suggest that you don't tell yourself "strict diet tomorrow". Thats just setting yourself up for failure!

Maybe try "I am going to be healthy tomorrow (with a smile!)"

Also find something to do if you think you may be reaching for something you will regret later. I come on these forums or get on the telephone! Just anything to keep my mind occupied.

Best of luck!

I get really bad chocolate cravings after dinner. Something about wanting a sweet taste in my mouth because I've been conditioned to expect dessert after a meal. I find the best way to stave off my cravings is to brush my teeth or chew on a piece of minty gum. The fresh clean taste of mint signals my body that I'm done eating and usually after a little while I forget all about the chocolate. Now when I'm finished dinner, my body has been conditioned to expect mint instead of chocolate. There are days though when I could brush my teeth a hundred times and chew a whole pack of gum and it wouldn't help my chocolate craving. For those days I have a stash of Skinny Cow frozen desserts on hand. That way I still get to have a treat but it's only 100-140 cals and 1g of fat. It's the only treat I keep in the house so I'm not tempted to have anything else.

Hope this helps, it's my first forum post so I hope I did okay, lol.

Ok so so if you exceed your calorie limit make up for it more exercise...walk for an extra 30 minutes each day

My sister, the health nut says that if you continually exceed your calorie limit this might be your body's way of telling you that you need more calories...but just make them good ones...

Eat the sweets just let them be those 100 calorie packs by Nabisco...cause to me it sounds like portion control is the key

I love those 100 calorie things.   I usually do the one of the cracker packs, with a bit of Laughing Cow cheese, for my mid-day snack!

I find that if I try to be too restrictive on the calories, I start to feel icky (and I don't even realize it... until I snack on something).   how about you find some really tempting dessert recipes, that also are low calorie and or a little healthy?  Cooking light is a good source for recipes.  If I know I want something like that in the evening, that is when I make the low cal but VERY filling salad with kidney beans and/or cheese.  Then dessert is part of my "dinner" calories.

Original Post by teaandhoney:

Eat more volume at less calories.

 

 I agree with this post wholeheartedly, I have always been a big eater, and if I ate "normal food" like bread I would easily consume half of my calories by lunchtime.  I would be famished by dinner and stay that way all night . I discovered that if I eat a lot of low calorie foods I can be full and not suffer, and not snack my way to 2000 calories every night.  I eat tomatoes and Wasa crackers (rye),  stalks of celery, rice cakes, popcorn, cucumbers, lettuce wrapped around tomato wedges, radishes, snow peas, grapefruits, lean ham, beef and chicken. Honestly I eat all day long and never go over 1400 calories and I am not hungry.  If I was hungry at all, I would never be able to stick with it.  

Also, you could just stop making that banana bread. Even though it sounds tasty and overall quite nutritious, there's no sense in keeping something in the house that is going to provoke you to binge. Just a thought. That being said, banana bread and melty dark chocolate!?! we may have very similar taste in sweets

Original Post by frehug:

Ok so so if you exceed your calorie limit make up for it more exercise...walk for an extra 30 minutes each day

30 minutes of walking burns maybe 150 calories. 

Upping exercise in order to sustain a somewhat higher calorie intake is a fine thing. If I was sedentary, my calorie intake for weight loss would be 1260. I much prefer exercising, being more fit, and eating more.

But for some folk who binge, the concept of exercising more and eating more isn't such healthy advice.  The amount of exercise to burn off a pint of Ben and Jerry's is excessive -- as is the idea of overeating and then exercising for hours to burn it off. 

Can someone look at her menu, anyone?  A serving of oatmeal is 140 cals plus a banana avg 120 thats 260.  Lunch is a Boca burger, 70 cals,  load with vegis, how much could you possibly fit on there so 15 cals, assuming that there is no cheese, you did not include it, a serving of sweet potato fries is about 200 cals assuming that its one serving so so far you have

540 cals between brkfst and lunch.  You have 1010 calories left!  You still have dinner One serving of spaghetti 200-210 cals, we all would agree and stir fry vegis at most a couple cups is 50-60 cals, do you use oil.  If not that puts you up to 900 calories.  EVEN WITH OIL ITS 1020 calories.  YOU STILL HAVE 480 left.

Your starving yourself during the day, and unless your a veg, there is no meat.  Include a few ounces of meat with dinner. Have a mid afternoon snack of 100-200 cals.  My personal fav ALL-BRAN. 130 cals with 1/2 c 1% milk and fills me up.

RETHINK YOUR MENU.  why in bold, I want you to see it.  Good LUck

oops posted twice.

I found the best way of avoiding dessert is not to buy it in the first place. I used to buy chocolate 'just in case' I desperately wanted some but now even when I get the cravings, there is none to eat so I have to find something else to curb my craving.

You can buy Options Hot Chocolate in the UK which is delicious (especially the mint chocolate one) and I know it's not quite the same but it has been a life saver for me. It only has 35 calories and only needs hot water saving calories in milk! If you're from the States or elsewhere, I'm sure there is something similar. I hate it when people offer me fruit when I want chocolate but grapes are also a yummy food to pick at. Hope this helps x

jjlewis, I think you missed her mid-morning snack for 100-150, plus if she's eating a Boca burger then she's probably eating a burger bun with it, although we don't know if that's a light bun or a regular bun, nor do we know what size it is.  So she's got at least 200-300 more calories there between lunch and dinner. 

Oh God, your soooooo right.  I'm losing my damn mind this morning.  I'm so sorry, really.  I'm going now.

Well I don't know what your weight height or activity level is but I find that when I try to go down to 1500 I am so hungry I can't control it eat more cals anyway. I find that I can stay around 1800 and keep a better handle on my hunger.

I am 23, F, 5'9, 146 lbs, I have a desk job but I work out at least 6 times a week. I can't seem to go under 1800. Shoot...a little over 1400 is my BMR. 100 extra cals over my BMR isn't going to sustain my activities. Are you sure you should only be eating 1500?

No matter what I eat for dinner or how much I eat for dinner, I always feel the need to have a snack afterwards. It as if I think I will starve to death before breakfast the next morning. So, I just allow it. Just work it in. You need to prepare yourself mentally to say I need just one piece of banana bread. You have to make it a habit to eat just one piece and then, sooner or later, you will just want one piece and feel satisfied with it. You can do it. Oh yeah and saying that you are going to put yourself on a strict diet is just setting yourself up for failure. I think most people on here would agree that this website promotes more of healthy lifestyle change then a quick fix diet approach.

Original Post by comfortablynumb:

Then. Desert. That dirty six letter word that I feel as if I need every day after dinner.

Desert is a dry, arid, sandy place. Dessert is a treat that I definitely need after dinner everyday. Hope you're feeling better!

hey-- i hear ya.

 

This is what i do.  I know i will eat at night time.  its just what my body needs. so i save some calories-- doesnt matter when u eat ur calories just as long as u get them-  for me  ilove smartones sundae. 170 calories.  so i save that so i dont over eat-- cause its okay.