Tips on sticking to your calorie limit without feeling like you're starving

I've just blogged a list of personal reminders about what helps me, and it occurred to me that they might help others to keep on track too.

Even better, you might have tips to add.

See my list here.

I agree with one of your tenets...the one about imagining eating a "junk food" in great detail.  I can take it a step further though.  If I smell pizza or doughnuts or something else just as unhealthy that I would love to eat, I just take big whiffs of it.  Smell is a big part of taste and by inhaling the food scents deeply through my nose into the back of my throat I am able to "taste" the food without ingesting it.  That coupled with imagining I am actually eating it usually does the trick.  This is not for the weak-willed.

A coworker has a candy dish always full of little hershey bars. I find when I smell them I get the same high as if I were actually eating them!

Isn't it weird how that happens?

Hmm, that's an interesting one. I'm almost scared to try it--heh, I'm not very strong-willed! But I'm curious too, to see if it works.

something I do at dinner in particular - I eat a large helping of low cal veggies before the main part of the meal (a salad would also work).. I usually just sprinkle a little seasoning on them (no dressing).. Im nearly full so I can enjoy the small portions of actual meal that I have left and still feel full.

Original Post by cklnh1:

something I do at dinner in particular - I eat a large helping of low cal veggies before the main part of the meal (a salad would also work).. I usually just sprinkle a little seasoning on them (no dressing).. Im nearly full so I can enjoy the small portions of actual meal that I have left and still feel full.

I do this too.  I put two servings of vegetable on my plate with one serving of everything else (meat, carb) and start with the veggies.  Then I go in a kind of circuit..meat, carb, veggies...meat, carb, meat, carb, water, veggies.  Drinking water between bites also helps.  It fills your stomach but also cleanses the palate.  I think people start to overeat sometimes because the taste of the last piece of food they ate is still on their tongue and they want more of that taste.  Water takes that taste away so one can pause between bites instead of snarfing.  Also, if I still feel hungry at the end of my meal I just eat more veggies (low cal and it fills you up).

exactly!  I have fresh tomatoes and cucumbers in my garden.. so everyday they are available to pick I have some before dinner.. I never thought of the cleansing of the palate.. I will have to try that one.. and with my main part of the meal I eat what everyone else is eating - chicken, pchops, whatever.. just a lot smaller portion than what I used to.. I can't stand diet food (other than the 100 cal packs and frozen treats)...

You can't beat the taste of sun-warmed fresh veg from the garden.

it is amazing how much better veggies from your own garden taste without all the pesticides and whatnot.. my cucumbers are almost sweet!  sliced with a little salt and pepper...yummy ;-)

Another fantastic one: eat home made soup! In my country we use to eat soup before the main dish. It is filling, very healthy, and extremely tasty. Sometimes I have to wait for one or two hours after I eat my soup before I can eat anything else.

ohh thanks a bunch - that's a good one.. I am going on vacation next month and I think that is an excellent way to make sure I don't overdo it since we will be eating at a lot of restaurants.. I also plan on stopping at a grocery store to pick up a few snacks for the hotel room so I am not forced to eat out of the vending machine when I get hungry in the hotel.. 

One small thing about restaurant food (I'm definately thinking in terms of soups right now)...they tend to over-salt the food.  They kind of do it in general to all the food. So drink plenty of water and fluids when you eat out. ;)

wow you guys have been a huge help.. your tips have been awesome!!

Something I discovered about soup after I started counting calories is that it's not as low-cal as it looks. I thought it would be as low in calories as a drink, but I find a bowlful can be 200 calories or more. Am I doing something wrong?

Well... when I wrote about soups it was about the soups in my country. They can be 200 calories or more but they are much more filling than other foods. These days I will try to post some of my recipes for soups. They are tasty and some of them are very low in calories. Some of them are almost as high in calories as a main dish (I still eat them from time to time:).

I would say the trick on the soup would be... try not to pick anything cream based (dairy fat raising the calories).. something with less fatty meat (chicken as opposed to pork).. more veggies.. and I think the idea is to have the soup and by the time you eat that you may eat only a very tiny portion of an entree.

Very healthy low calories soup. I hope you like them

1. Cauliflower soup – 6 servings,   99 calories per serving

-       &n bsp; Cauliflower – one head, medium (575g, 144 calories) – small flowerets;

-       &n bsp; carrots – two large (144g, 60 calories) – chopped

-       &n bsp; onion – one cup chopped (160g, 64 calories)

-       &n bsp; parsnip – one medium (65g, 50 calories) – chopped

-       &n bsp; red pepper – one cup chopped (150g, 45 calories)

-       &n bsp; one egg yolk (from a large egg, 17g, 54 calories)

-       &n bsp; yoghurt – low fat or fat free plain yoghurt (225g, 130 – 150 calories)

-       &n bsp; parsley – one cup chopped (60g, 22 calories)

-       &n bsp; salt, pepper

-       &n bsp; 3.5 l water

Bring the water to the boiling point. Add all the chopped vegetables, the salt, and the pepper. Boil everything for one hour and a half. Mix well the egg yolk and the yoghurt in a large bowl. Add hot soup from the pot with a ladle and continue to mix until the bowl is almost full and the all the ingredients are completely homogenuous. Add the mix to the rest of the soup and boil it for another three to five minutes. Let it cool for half an hour, then blend it. Add the fresh parsley at the end. It is a very good soup for the summer days if you eat it cold, but you can eat it hot as well. 

Very good points: low in saturated fat, very high in dietary fiber, high in manganese, magnesium, niacin, potassium, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin B6, B12, C.

1. Potato soup with tarragon – 6 servings,  140 per serving

-       &n bsp; potatoes (no skin) (750g , 578 calories)

-       &n bsp; one medium onion – chopped (110g, 44 calories)

-       &n bsp; one garlic clove (3g, 4 calories)

-       &n bsp; 10 sprigs of fresh tarragon (10 calories)

-       &n bsp; 225g fat free or low fat yoghurt (130 – 150 calories)

-       &n bsp; one egg yolk (from a large egg, 17g, 54 calories)

-       &n bsp; 3.5l water

-       &n bsp; salt, pepper

Bring the water to the boiling point. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes in small pieces. Add the potatoes, the chopped onion, the salt, the pepper, and the garlic. Boil everything for about an hour. Add the mix of egg yolk and yoghurt, the same way you do for the cauliflower soup. Add the tarragon and boil for another five minutes.

1. Green beans soup – 6 servings, 113 calories per serving

-       &n bsp; green beans (1,000g, 310 calories)

-       &n bsp; carrots – two large (144g, 60 calories) – chopped

-       &n bsp; onion – one cup chopped (160g, 64 calories)

-       &n bsp; tomatoes (300g, 54 calories)

-       &n bsp; parsley

-       &n bsp; salt, pepper

-       &n bsp; 3.5 l water

-       &n bsp; one teaspoon of whole wheat flour (68 calories)

-       &n bsp; one tablespoon  olive oil (119 calories)

Chopp all the vegetables, except for the beans (you can leave them the way they are). Heat the olive oil in the pot you want to use for the soup. Add the chopped onion, and the flour. Mix continuously until the onion becomes golden. Add the water, the rest of the vegetables, except for the tomatoes, the salt and the pepper. Boil for about one hour. Add the chopped tomatoes, and the parsley. Boil for another 10 minutes.

God, those soups look absolutely delicious! And vegetarian, too. Thanks for the recipes.

You are welcome! :)