Diet & Exercise

[thistlechaser]

I had intended to write about the small meals diet plan in last night's post, but forgot. When I went back to do it, I saw the post was kinda long as-is, do decided to just wait until another day to post about it. Today's another day!

Long story short: I really don't like the small meals idea. On top of the issues I've previously written about (too much time spent thinking about food, too much time making it, eating it, etc), there's a new one: I feel like I'm eating a lot more food... and yet I'm hungry all the time.

With the small meals, I never get full. I get "not hungry", which is not the same as full. I'm not sure if I'm normal or not, but I like being full. Being "not hungry" is not the same, and is not a satisfying/settling feeling. I guess that makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint, since your body wants you to eat as much as you can whenever food is available...

Anyway. After a small meal I'm not hungry, but that doesn't last long and soon I'm hungry again and watching the clock. All of my small meals have some kind of protein, some kind of plant, and sometimes something bread-y.

Saturday I did small meals and was generally unhappy all day. Sunday I ate "normal" and was generally happy. Hmmm!

Exercise! When I had seen my doctor, she said something like "Doesn't exercise make you feel good!". I kind of went "Um, yeah, sure..." while in my head thinking that she was insane. This morning something clicked. I had been dragging my feet, not wanting to go back to work, whining endlessly... but after exercise I felt totally different. Ready to take on the world, to be cliche about it.

Hope that feeling continues!

Comments

[teslanomaly]

How long have you tried the small meals strategy? One of the things about eating more small meals is that after a while, your stomach shrinks - less food makes you feel full, so you are apt to stop eating sooner even at big meals. It definitely takes a couple of weeks, but that not-hungry but not-full feeling will shift to a feeling-full habit. I'm not a dietician, but this has been my experience when I've come away from a location where I was forced to eat three large meals (NOT a condition my body likes) rather than multiple small meals. There's always an adjustment period where my body wants more food in one sitting - then it gets used to smaller portions more frequently.

I think not-hungry is where you are actually supposed to stop eating, but that might just be me. If I feel full, I am uncomfortable at best, downright ill at worst.

Hope this helps!

Hang in there, you can do it!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Huh! I hadn't thought of that. I only tried it two of the last four days. You're right, I have heard about the stomach shrinking thing... Okay, back to trying it!

[achika-soladia.livejournal.com]

I agree with Elisel. One day isn't long enough for your body to get trained to say "Hey, I'm getting less food so I need to learn to deal with it." Give it a couple weeks.

What kind of meals did you eat? If I may make a suggestion, salads have a tendency to make you feel fuller than you actually do. That, and maybe have a small bit of a lean cut of meat on the side if you absolutely must have meat.

On top of that, and I'm sure you're already doing this, water. Lots of water. It also makes you feel fuller, and it's not even a food! You can always get a sugar free drink mix singles packet for it, those typically won't throw you too off.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh man, Crystal Light is a lifesaver! The fruit punch one is soooooo sweet. I love the stuff!

I've been trying to eat at least one salad a day. The supermarket makes spiffy pre-made ones with 250-300 calories (comes with dressing, meat or egg, and other little add-ions) -- perfect minimeal!

[achika-soladia.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite meals that can really be snacked on is chili. Whether you prefer Texas-style or Cincinnati-style, if you make it just right, a small amount of it typically satisfies me. I typically make either one out of a chili spice pack though, with alterations. I always use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and I still drain the grease before I put the chili mixture in with it. When I put the chili mix in, I also throw in a low-sodium beef bouillon cube.

And it's full of proteins which are a good help in weight loss, with very little bad things to it.

If you want, I can try to find you a recipe for chili that isn't bad for you and is simple enough that you can add ingredients if you want to. =D I'm considering trying to make one from scratch soon. I'll be making Cincinnati-style, of course, but I'm sure I could find a Texas-style one easier than that.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but I'm not a chili person at all. Even the most mild spices are too much for me. :} *is a wuss!*