Trying to undergo a "lifestyle change"...

[xboxist]

I've made the commitment to change my life. I've never been very fit, and I'm damn sick of it. So about two months ago, I decided to change it. I'm smart enough to know that a traditional diet would serve no purpose here, and that I just need to eat smaller portions, of better-for-you items,... forever.

Well, the excerise part is going great. I feel fully committed to that. I lift weights and play raquetball/swim/jog 6 days a week. But when it comes to my eating... I'm having more trouble. With these smaller portions of foods, it's a complete and utter struggle to go meal to meal. I get very irritated between meals because I feel super hungry. I don't think it's supposed to be this way, is it? I'm sure it's not mental or anything pathetic like that. I feel starved. Am I not eating enough? Am I supposed to struggle through this because it will get better?

FYI, I'm 24. 325lbs. 6'3". After reading many resources on the subject, I've set a strict 2200-calorie/day limit on myself. Normal for my size and weight is something like 3500.

Any advice/shared experiences would be helpful.

 

[MacBaine]

Drink water all day until you pee out your ears

 

[FoBoT]

does your water intake affect how starved you feel in between meals? i mean, are you getting enough straight water?

 

[Borracho]

yes water is your friend, chug it untill your brain starts to swell

 

[Mr N8]

Try switching to a 5-6 meal a day diet. Have a normal breakfast, and then very small meals throughout the day.

 

[dabuddha]

What exactly are you eating?

 

[AEnigmaWI]

what are you eating to make up your 2200 calories a day??

If you were used to eating much more than you need to, it is going to take time for your stomach to adjust to less food input. Also, if you are eating the wrong kind of foods, you won't get to eat much before you are at 2200 calories.

You can snack on vegetables in-between meals, and it will have very little effect on the total amount of calories you absorb. Raw veggies take energy to process and are very filling. They also provide you with fiber, which is extremely important and usually neglected.

I am 25 and have been working on diet changes for a year or two.. =)

 

[xboxist]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
does your water intake affect how starved you feel in between meals? i mean, are you getting enough straight water?

Yes - I forgot to mention that. Water has fully replaced soda. I haven't had a lick of soda in two months, and I drink about 3-4 20oz's of water as it's replacement.

 

[Yossarian]

how many meals a day? you should be having 5-6. yes drink lots of water. but even if you're doing all that, a meal program that is leaving you feeling starving is no good. try upping the calories by a few hundred and see if you're still making progress toward your weight goal. better to take longer to get there than starve yourself until you just quit completely.

 

[blackdogdeek]

have you heard of body-for-life? i tried it and it helped a lot with coming up with a diet where i wasn't hungry all the time. it may not be perfect for you but there are some ideas that i liked in it. it's also a workout regimen but it sounds like you're primarly concerned with diet alone.

it's basically eating 6 meals a day, with about 3-4 hours in between meals. each meal consists of 1 portion of carbs and 1 portion of proteins from a list of foods and 2 meals should have a portion of veggies. a portion is considered about the size of your open palm or your closed fist.

i rarely got hungry because another meal was almost always around the corner.

it also allows for 1 day a week of eating anything you want. anything. that helped me get through the week.

pm me if you have any questions. i think they also have a website if you're interested.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Here are some things to try:

Do the Atkins Induction /South Beach induction thing for 2 weeks. Strictly protein, little carbs, etc etc. This will help, trust me.

Also make sure you have a good balance of protein/fat/carbs in your meals.

 

[StageLeft]

I've found that caffeine (try not to take in too much, because it's easy!) and also cups of ice water while I work do something to assuage my feelings of hunger, but what you're feeling is pretty normal - at least for me. I personally aim for 1800 calories/day, but I'm smaller than you, so we take in around the same relatively. I eat 6 protein-rich meals a day and I'm constantly hungry. There is absolutely no way on earth for me to feel "satisfied" and at the same tmie lose weight unless I'm doing vast amounts of cardio, so I've chosen the minimal cardio + moderate and constant hunger. I let things go once a week (sometimes two...actually too often it's two. bad skoorb!) where I'll eat my pathetic meals up until around late afternoon, then I'll just do whatever. I find it works wonders and I'm able to get through the week, knowing that a big feeding is coming soon. It's not necessarily the healthiest thing to do, but the alternative for me is constant eating, so this is the next best thing. It's basically the body-for-life approach to eating. It's worked well for me and a couple of close friends who are in exceptionally good shape because of it (very thin and muscular, and just eat like piggies once a week).

 

[edro]

Here is my story / diet: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215285

Search around Forum.BodyBuilding.com There are TONS of success stories there. They are very friendly. The three best forums there are Nutrition, Post Your Pics, and Fat Loss. They all contain TONS of info.

 

[xboxist]

Hey, thanks for all of the great tips and suggestions. I'm at work so I can't keep up with your comments, but I'll be looking into things more thoroughly tonight when I'm home.

 

[CPA]

try The Leanness Lifestyle. I have been involved with this system for 4 years now. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.

personally, I think you have decreased your calories too much, too quickly.

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: CPA
try The Leanness Lifestyle. I have been involved with this system for 4 years now. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
personally, I think you have decreased your calories too much, too quickly.

Not raggin' on you or anything, but it's funny that the first thing I saw on that page was "TRANSFORM YOUR BODY in only 8 weeks!"

haha... lifestyle...

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CPA
try The Leanness Lifestyle. I have been involved with this system for 4 years now. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
personally, I think you have decreased your calories too much, too quickly.

Not raggin' on you or anything, but it's funny that the first thing I saw on that page was "TRANSFORM YOUR BODY in only 8 weeks!"

haha... lifestyle...

well, most people experience change in 4-8 weeks in any program. And while he may market his program with that slogan, I can tell you from experience that the overall goal is to make the changes a habit, a lifestyle. Yes, you will see changes within 8 weeks, but unlike most programs, he pushes you on making this a lifelong change. He doesn't pose a magical 8 week pill, he provides steps in changing your habits and your life. And unlike almost all other program, Atkins, Body for Life, etc. you have daily contact with the coach himself.

 

[edro]

I understand... I just thought it was ironic.

 

[Ogg]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CPA
try The Leanness Lifestyle. I have been involved with this system for 4 years now. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
personally, I think you have decreased your calories too much, too quickly.

Not raggin' on you or anything, but it's funny that the first thing I saw on that page was "TRANSFORM YOUR BODY in only 8 weeks!"

haha... lifestyle...

well, most people experience change in 4-8 weeks in any program. And while he may market his program with that slogan, I can tell you from experience that the overall goal is to make the changes a habit, a lifestyle. Yes, you will see changes within 8 weeks, but unlike most programs, he pushes you on making this a lifelong change. He doesn't pose a magical 8 week pill, he provides steps in changing your habits and your life. And unlike almost all other program, Atkins, Body for Life, etc. you have daily contact with the coach himself.

Guys I found a pic of CPA!!!!!

 

[Coquito]

If you don't mind extra weight training, eating some more of the right food would have a nice effect.

 

[GasX]

halfing your caloric intake is going to trick your body into starvation mode and it will hoard energy. If you anticipate 3000 caloris will be good for you at your target weight, then eat a lot closer to that number and focus on the exercise.

 

[TechnoPro]

I used to tip the scales at the 300 lb mark, so I know where you are coming from. I am now 230 or so...

Something I found is that it is possible to eat too little. May seem obvious, but when I seriously cut calories, I would not lose weight. I was tired and cranky and irritable and thought about food too much. I did some research and found that when you cut calories too drastically from your norm to a lesser level, your metabolism can slow which defeats the whole purpose of your lifestyle change.

As far as numbers go, I used the Harris-Benedict Metabolic Equation to figure out the total calories I burn daily. My research suggested that I lower this by 10-15% percent once every 2 weeks. So if my baseline was 3,000 calories, I would cut 300 to eat 2,700. Then 2 weeks later, reevaluate and make the appropriate change. The logic is that this slight decrease won't set off any internal alarms that would trigger a metabolic slowdown. Also, you don't notice that kind of drop - it's like a few cookies or whatever less per day.

What people say about the water is so true. I don't know if water inherently promotes weight loss, but since many people eat when really thirsty, drinking is a must.

Another must is getting adequate rest, and keeping stress levels in check. Cortisol is an enemy to weight loss. Look it up...

PM me if you need any inspiration. And good luck!

 

[petejk]

yea...i used to be a fat teenager...legs rubbed together...used to be embarrased to take my shirt off etc...

i pretty much stopped eating alot...
i drank alot of water, ate carrots, and skipped lunch.

the hardest part is the first 2-3 weeks of the 'lifestyle' change...
cuz for me...

my stomach hurt when i didnt put as much crap in it....after a couple weeks
your stomach should get smaller and be more satisfied with less food in it.



also...i used to eat chips w/ alot of hot sauces...this way i could eat....but it would
burn my mouth...and force me to drink alot of water....this way i could in a way
get full and eat at the same time....and the pain from the spicyness prevented
me from eating more


the first 2 months will be the hardest...if you give it your all you can do it


oh ya...listen to some "tony robbins" material...it will pump you up

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: Ogg

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CPA
try The Leanness Lifestyle. I have been involved with this system for 4 years now. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
personally, I think you have decreased your calories too much, too quickly.

Not raggin' on you or anything, but it's funny that the first thing I saw on that page was "TRANSFORM YOUR BODY in only 8 weeks!"

haha... lifestyle...

well, most people experience change in 4-8 weeks in any program. And while he may market his program with that slogan, I can tell you from experience that the overall goal is to make the changes a habit, a lifestyle. Yes, you will see changes within 8 weeks, but unlike most programs, he pushes you on making this a lifelong change. He doesn't pose a magical 8 week pill, he provides steps in changing your habits and your life. And unlike almost all other program, Atkins, Body for Life, etc. you have daily contact with the coach himself.

Guys I found a pic of CPA!!!!!

LOL, I wish. That's actually Tom Roehl, another member who has been with the club a long time. My pics might be up there somewhere, not really sure.