Soluble fiber will fill you up. They have them in pills…but you have to make sure you drink lots of water (water makes the fiber swell). Take them with food, on an empty stomach, any time…I take about 9 a day, which is more than the recommended dose but I hear they can’t hurt you (I take them for IBS). Best brand in my opinion is Citrucil or drugstore brand versions thereof.
Depends how you react to caffeine, but I’d say no, unless you stick to decaf/herbal tea (an option, BTW; I like peppermint, lemon, and pretty much everything. Plus decaf Earl Grey with a bit of milk.). Caffeine being a diuretic, it will negate all the healthy water you are drinking. Plus I know I’m sensitive as hell to it, and more than a cup or two and I’m bouncing off the walls, and then I crash.
I like the fruits idea, plus it’s easy because they don’t need much preparation. Also protein for breakfast, although carbs are definitely my weakness as well. If you aren’t spaced out from low blood sugar, you are less likely to grab the easiest snack food at hand, which is likely to be something carb-y and/or unhealthy. Fruits with lots of fiber (apples, pears) work the best for me.
And the spicy food technique works well, but for a different reason: if I eat something that’s just about as spicy as I can stand, I am forced to eat slowly, so I eat less (and drink more water).
Start every day with a vitamin-tablet.
Only buy a brand that contains every mineral and vitamin known to man, with 100% of the recommended daily dosis.
Sometimes foodcraving is caused by your body needing its iron/selenium/zinc.
And if it doesn’t work, well, taking a vitaminepill does little or no harm either, well?
Planning and organization will be your best friends in this battle. If you can keep fast, easy, filling stuff on hand all the time, you’ll be less inclined to pig out on crap because you’re starving and don’t want to wait for real food.
Keep a bowl of salad greens washed, cut up, and mixed in the fridge at all times. That way you always, always, have a snack or side dish or meal handy. All you have to do is throw on some dressing (vinagrettes are very good, and relatively low in calories), and shredded cheese or croutons and chow down. Carrot sticks work pretty well for this, too.
Keep a bag of individually frozen chicken breasts in the freezer. In fifteen minutes, you have a great topping for a salad or pasta, or a yummy sandwich. (I have a recipe for chicken ceasar sandwiches that’s to die for, if you’d like it.)
Make a big pot of soup and freeze individual portions. The high water content of the soup will fill you up while keeping your calories low. All you have to do is pop the container in the microwave, and dinner is served.
Keep a lot of water on hand, not just in the house, but at work and anywhere else you can stash it, like your briefcase or purse. There are lots of yummy flavored carbonated waters on the market. Since they’re flavored and carbonated, it’s almost like drinking a soft drink, but you don’t have any calories or caffeine or sodium to worry with. The store brands are also a fair bit cheaper than soda, at least around here.
Keep a couple packages of shakes on hand for when you’re running late and don’t have time for a meal. Protein shakes, or Slim-fast, or whatever. That and a piece of fruit and a lot of water will fill you up and keep you filled up longer than grabbing a bagel or something on the way to work. Besides, they’re easier and neater when on the go.
Try to work your eating schedule around your work schedule when possible. I’ve found that I can go through the day with a Slim-fast for breakfast and dinner with a minimum of snacking, and not really feel hungry…provided I have a pretty solid meal before I leave for work. I tried the shake for breakfast and lunch then a sensible dinner, and it just didn’t work. I’d have my shakes, then go and run my ass off for 9-12 hours, and come home starving. Then, of course, I’d massively overeat. Or I’d eat crap from the vending machine all night. If I have something healthy but substantial to hold me through my shift, though, I do much, much better.
I’ve also found that it doesn’t do to make too many changes all at once. Make a few changes that you can live with for the rest of your life, and give them a while to become cemented into your lifestyle. Then look around and see if there are more changes you can make. Do it a little at a time, and the changes are more likely to stick.
No ice cream or chocolate in the house. Slimfast is good if you have it as a meal rather than with a meal.
But my one true secret of dieting (and man am I going to get in trouble for this) is called serzone - generic is nefazadone. It’s an antidepressant, it causes liver problems in some people so you have to get liver levels checked periodically. But man, oh man - no food issues at all - they just go away.
Pizza? No, I think I’d rather just have a little soup. Ice cream? Heavens no, I’m stuffed. Big gooey plate of fettuccini alfredo (my favorite in the entire world)? Well, perhaps, but only if you split it with me, and we’d have to get a salad as well.
It doesn’t have that effect on everyone, but I lost 40 pounds when I was taking it.
My recommended trick:
Mail all your food to me.
A few tips:
Vegetables are pretty close to zero calories, and they can be very filling. Just be careful with the high-calorie dips and dressings.
Drink water, water, water. Also, black tea and coffee are zero calories, and can be filling.
Protein (eggs, peanut butter, cheese) will stay with you longer than carbohydrates.
Walking - I don’t even need to mention this, you’re a New Yorker.
Instead of making a stir-fry and serving it over rice, I have taken to adding a lot of shredded cabbage to a really simple chicken and vegetable stir-fry (seasoned however you like). It’s really filling and not nearly as gas-inducing as you might thing.
Mind you, I’ve lost 58 lbs since March by following Weight Watchers and the above -restricting my calories to ~1500-~1800 in a day, as well as working out. However, your walking for about two hours a day is worth more ‘activity points’ than my hard workout for 30 minutes 3-4 times per week.
Good luck. If I can do it, you certainly can. I started out as Fatty Arbuckle, but am swiftly approaching Mabel Normand.
GWTW? Tsk, tsk, Eve. How about “Exercising and fat-burning, now and forever, one and inseparable!”
I’m with you on the craving for pizza/chinese food. When I’m trying to lose weight, I set a date when I will have a pizza. Maybe once every three weeks. That way, I know pizza features in my life. Pizza is still my faithful friend. Just not my instant friend. It’s like making a date with the pizza. You wouldn’t want to ruin the date because you got over-excited and caved too soon, would you? No.
Same goes for Chinese.
Well, “diet starts tomorrow.” I’ll stop off at the farmer’s market on my way to work for healthy junk to munch on. If memory serves (“my serve, Maude!”), the first two weeks are sheer hell, then your body just goes “oh, to hell with it” and one’s need for food drops off . . .
Previous posters have mentioned it, but it’s worth repeating. Keep a food log! If you can just do that one little thing, you can attain your goals. You’ll never really know what mistakes you are making calorie-wise until you do. Once you log everything down, it becomes plainly obvious where you are making mistakes and well as where you are doing the right thing.
For me, everything is a cost/return issue. With the log, I can make a better decision on weather the cost of that brownie in calories is really worth the fact that my daily calorie balance is now out of wack for the day.
If you like gadgets, they make several food logs for PDAs. The one I use has a stand alone version for the desktop (for those folks without PDAs)
Try to sneak some strength training in somewhere. Muscle mass requires more energy to sustain itself than fat. More muscle means you will have a higher metabolism. This means more calories burned just sitting and reading the Dope.
I have seen your photo. Please tell me you would never even think about doing violence to that beautiful nose. It’s wonderful to see a woman with a nose that’s an actual feature instead of just a tiny bump on which she can barely balance her eyeglasses.
I know that tea is a diuretic and if you’re sensitive to caffeine, it’s not good to drink a lot of it, but I find that drinking a lot of green tea (with or without the caffeine) helps kill my cravings for lousy food. I also write down what I eat every day, and I read the nutrition label on anything before I eat it.
It was hard for me to get into the habit of eating more healthy foods, but now that I’ve been doing it for almost a year, I seem to have less intense cravings for the more unhealthy things.
Good luck!
For me, keeping busy is key. If I’m sitting around I tend to find myself in the kitchen snacking. Which leads to; no snacking! You’d be amazed at how many calories you can pack on with a Hershey’s Kiss here and a cracker there. Also, keep food put away, off the counters, etc. If you don’t see it you’ll hopefully not want it. If you must, three bites of dessert is the limit-- any more and you’re not going to really appreciate it anyway. Feel everyone’s amazement at your restraint when you push that cheescake away.
My meal plan is: a low-cal yogurt, piece of fruit, and half a bagel for breakfast. Lunch is a serving of fish or chicken, a serving of carbs (pasta, rice), and two servings of veggies. Repeat for dinner. I define a serving as a half cup for carbs and fruit, one cup for vegetables.
This works for me because I needed to move the focus of my life away from food, so I made it predictable and rather unexciting. 160 lbs down, twenty to go. Before I forget, does your doctor agree with your goal weight? It can change depending on age, ya know.
When you feel hungry, mastrubate instead. It’ll take your mind off the food and burn a few calories at the same time.
Hey, it can’t hurt (unless you’re doing it the wrong way).
Somewhere on the planet they may “mastrubate,” but you know what I meant.
Aw hell…this got all serious.
And just when I was going to prescribe the one weight loss method I know is foolproof…crystal meth.
I don’t think the fruit is such a hot idea. Atkins, et al, are against it. I checked out the carb content on OJ and 2% milk the other day, and MILK wins by a mile. I have 7 or 8 lbs to lose, and I was doing so friggin’ good up until last week when some asshole put a box of Trinidads out at the office…right next to the can of caramel corn…on the day of the company luncheon. Then I went home and ate a pound of pasta and a can of artichoke hearts. Now I’m downing Slim Fast like its my fucking job. But I’m doing a 15 minute workout EVERY morning while my tub is filling.
Oh yeah…don’t snack. Just eat two or three meals a day. If you must munch on something, make it cucumbers, carrots, or low fat animal crackers.
I already know that I’m eating the wrong things, what they are and when I eat them. The main problem is stilling my hunger pangs and developing some will power. My tummy is growling righht now, but I am trying to translate it as “you’re losing weight . . . you’re losing weight . . .”
The flu is always a sure shot for weight loss. Perhaps you could go visit a few elementary school playgrounds?
If your tummy’s growling, drink a glass or two of water and wait fifteen minutes. Then, if you still want something, have something with a mix of carbohydrate and protein. You won’t eat as much of it, and it’ll stay with you longer.
Actually, I notice it’s nearly lunchtime, so just go with the water and tough it out. Drinking a glass of water fifteen minutes before a meal is another good trick to reduce the amount you eat.