@Overly Serious mentioned this to me, but eating a large salad prior to your meal makes you feel more full for less calories. And it doesnt need to be just leafy greens either.
If you love cooking, that actually is a big asset in losing weight because preparing a good meal is a great way to appreciate what is going into your mouth and also to control when you eat - if you're focused on making a really nice meal you don't want to spoil it by snacking beforehand. However, from the sound of it you tend to cook carb-heavy stuff. Try being a bit more ambitious than Fettuccine Alfredo (pasta with melted cheese and butter, basically). Where's the fibre and where's the protein? And it's going to be one very big sugar-spike. As @Squanto Airi mentions, a salad before the main meal is a big help. And salad is an art form itself. There are a hundred different forms of salad once you go beyond the basics. What this will do is firstly start expanding your palette. As you get more variety of food and flavours white pasta and cheese will start to seem pretty bland to you - really. You'll start craving the missing vegetables and protein.
I do have an issue with portion control, my job had me extremely active so I could basically eat whatever I wanted and still end up losing weight some weeks but there have been quite a few changes and it wasn't until I stepped on the scale the other week that I realized I need to make some changes or I'm gonna die early. I quit drinking coke zero after realizing I was going through 24 cans a week and I think there's something in it that stimulates your appetite and makes you crave sugar and carbs because dieting is significantly easier for me now that I'm not drinking it anymore
the more Whole Foods (autoincorrect always makes me look like I’m talking about the store, I’m not) you eat typically the more you can eat.
My appetite comes and goes. I mostly find myself having more appetite the day before my next dose, but four months in and that happens less and it’s generally more stable across the whole week. My feelings of hunger have started to come back, but they feel different. Not this all consuming desire, sometimes the feeling is fleeting. Like I’ll feel hungry but can’t eat and then an hour or so later I realize I’m not hungry anymore. I feel like I’m finally feeling more like everyone who doesn’t struggle with their weight does.
Thank you for all of this; it's very helpful.
I wish my mom would have gotten diabetes.
We were cracking up on the AVGN page earlier about how disgusting those factor meals and Soylent really are. There are pictures online of people who have found cat whiskers and literal screws in their food.
Hubby and I got Factor for almost 2 years and never had any sanitary issues. Though if I found cat hair, I'd probably blame my own cats LOL. They are cheaper if you buy more per week. We were ordering 10/week...5 apiece. My husband is a vegetarian, poor bastard, and he really enjoyed the variety (Neither one of us are cooks, to say the least), and I enjoyed getting nice seafood which I'd never make for myself at home.
It’s funny because it’s true. I learned the hard way that I can’t eat peppers anymore without nausea.
Beans? Cup of dry beans, onion chopped up, 8 cups of water, and some variety of spices. Toss in some protein (ham hock or bacon is traditional) and you'll have ~3-4 meals, more if you add something like cornbread or rice to extend it out.
Trying to lose weight with drugs looks like hell to be honest.
Well done both of you. Doing some weightlifting whilst dieting can help offset the muscle loss and keep the BMR up so it's great. Takes a bit of extra will power, but it feels great. Kudos.
I track my calories on a weekly basis along with official weigh ins once a week at the same time. Whenever I get to that plateau, I up the calories I need to burn while upping my calorie intake for a week or two then drop it back down. I can usually maintain my weight for those 2 weeks and then it drops againWell done both of you. Doing some weightlifting whilst dieting can help offset the muscle loss and keep the BMR up so it's great. Takes a bit of extra will power, but it feels great. Kudos.
If you're finding the rate of weight loss slowing a little that's normal as the body adjusts somewhat to lower calorie intake and frankly, needs to burn less energy when you're lighter as well. But once you've found something that works and is sustainable, it's just a matter of keeping going with it. I've read that it takes about six months to really engrain a habit. I think it's less but either way, the longer you can keep it going the easier it becomes. There can be a bit of a rebound swing at the five to six month mark you have to watch out for, when the body suddenly realises what you've been doing to it.
Or maybe that's just me!
