Dieting without feeling hungry? My food yesterday...

[Sleepmoreneeded]

I have been awake since 4am with a rumbling empty feeling tummy. Trying to cut out junk food starting yesterday but ended up eating biscuits before bed as was hungry. Obviously the biscuits were not good. I wasn't hungry during the day. Does my body simply need to get used to not overeating/bingeing in the evening?

Porridge, semi skimmed milk with berries
Salmon and vegetables
Boiled egg, salmon and salad leaves
5 biscoff in evening

I don't have goals for fat or carbs, but do try and eat the recommended amount of protein because otherwise I get really hungry

The very best of luck.

Reminds me of when I did the James Duncan diet which is basically protein and fruit and veg.

You only do it for 7 days it's some extreme. Less than 1000 cals per day

You need to up protein and have some snacks for when you are starving- boiled egg, celery, tomatoes, carrots, Greek yogurt, apple and peanut butter (carful with the last one). This will take away the edge.

I'd have on a 1200 calorie day
B: 20g porridge and almond milk
L: ham egg cucumber tomatoes melon grapes banana (over the day)
D: salmon brocoli carrots
0% Greek yoghurt with fruit

You say you have a lot to lose (could be 10 or 2 stone) so you will have been overeating in some
Way. And it will come and a shock but the hunger will go. Eat a boiled egg or half an apple and wait 10 minutes. Big glass of water or a hot drink. You need to Relearn hunger

Nutracheck is better than MFP. IMHO

You absolutely need more than 1200 calories a day. If you were eating 2000, aim for 1750.

I'm not a big believer in all of this kale smoothies and good fats fads. Yeah - good fats are good for you and so is kale - but you'll be starving, fed up and they're expensive.

You need a diet to suit you for it to work for you. I did a personal training qualification in my younger days and I also had an absolutely brilliant personal trainer for many years.

You need carbs to feel full - my diet used to look something like this (I'm pretty boring and would consistently eat the same things);

Breakfast: porridge with banana
Scrambled / poached eggs on toast with heck chicken sausages.

Lunch: tuna pasta / chicken and rice / salmon and sweet potato

Tea: chilli / pasta with some form of protein / steak and rice ect.

No matter what my current calorie target was I'd leave 300 calories for snacks. I'd have two boiled eggs or cashew nuts and I'd leave 100 for a good snack! Like a biscuit, or a small chocolate bar.

You don't lose any extra weight by eating 1750 calories of kale and avocado. You'd lose the same amount by eating 1750 calories of toast. The most important think is the calorie deficit. Good luck x

@ihatewinter2 I think the calorie deficit idea has been disproved, it really depends on how calories are absorbed from food. Zoe has a lot of good information on this
https://www.google.com/amp/s/joinzoe.com/learn/why-calorie-counting-doesnt-work.amp

Listening to Tim Spector. Interesting.

OP's example, her calories seemed to comprise 32% carbs, 40% each protein & fat. I don't think that counts as an example of high carb or low fat or even low protein.

I imagine that at target weight OP wants, her TDEE is about 1800. 1200/day would be 600 deficit/day or > 1 lb weight loss per week, which is actually fairly fast for not obese people. A deficit of 300 kcal/day would be more sustainable, is basically what everyone is saying. Even the ZoeApp people, when it comes to weight loss, say to plan for slow weight loss because it's more sustainable strategy. But maybe OP's goal-weight-TDEE would be more like 1500, so then 1200/day is about what she should have.

Has ZoeApp been proven to cause people to lose more weight, or keep the weight off for longer, over any other common weight loss strategy? Is there a randomised controlled trial they did?

Sorry to wheel out the mumsnet clichè, but get a massive salad on your plate!

The easiest way I find to lose weight is to eat what I normally would for each meal, but only give myself half of what I normally would. The other half, I then load up with lots of really nice salad: juicy tomatoes, spinach, red onion, sweetcorn, grated cheese, bit of naice coleslaw, bit of balsamic.

I find that I still feel full, and I don't feel like I've gone without because I've still had whatever I would have made, not a 'diet' version.

@lljkk I think the zoe app is too new to have any long term findings. There have been other randomised control trials though. Summary of several here showing that the number of calories injested is not directly linked to weight loss.
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/79/5/899S/4690223?login=false

You don't lose any extra weight by eating 1750 calories of kale and avocado. You'd lose the same amount by eating 1750 calories of toast. The most important think is the calorie deficit

This is why asking for weight loss advice here is ill advised. Yeah you can eat your calories anyway you want but if you eat the avocados and kale you are eating unprocessed foods that are nutritious and help you feel full for longer. You can eat fish and chips for the same calories and feel like shit. A calorie is just one measure of a food - it’s not the be all and end all.
In addition Zoe is an all round health programme which can be beneficial for anyone - not just for people who want to lose weight

Purely from personal experience if I ate 1750 calories of toast I'd want to eat another 1750 calories of toast. It doesn't last as long and kicks off cravings for more toast.

If I ate 1750 calories of kale and avocado I'd probably be full, although feeling I'd had a rather weird diet for the day.

you'd be on the toilet for long spells after consuming a 1kg of kale

Watched a couple of Zoe videos earlier. Food stuff seemed to make sense. (But I find every theory convincing when I read/listen!)

There was a really informative video on the menopause as well.

I think I could feel so much better if I deal with perimenopause as well as diet/weight.

I'm going to try to eat healthily without a specific plan or measuring/counting for a couple of weeks.

Think I probably need to cut processed sugar things altogether though. Have ordered greek yoghurt, fruit, seeds, nuts for if I have cravings. All of which I like.

Fasting is your answer.
Intermittent Fasting is great for peri menopausal and menopausal women.
I don’t believe in cutting out food groups completely, just reducing carbs/ sugar.
Incorporate moderate exercise

I wasn't suggesting she eats fish and chips, I was highlighting that dieting can be flexible and you don't have to feel like you're been starved to death in order to lose a few pounds. A diet where you have to stuff your face before bed because you're starving is far less sustainable than a one where you factor in 100 calories worth of treats a day. If you read my previous post further up you'll see an example of my daily diet that is 95% healthy and has 100 calories factored in for a treat so that I don't feel like I'm starving. Im also not saying it works for everyone, but neither will this Zoe thing.

I'm genuinely speaking from 10 years of experience and a personal training qualification. It's sad to see women think that they need to starve themselves to look good. They just need to educate themselves. Sorry I caused you any upset! X

This is a very sensible decision. Good luck, OP - I'm sure with this approach you'll not only address the hunger pangs and lose weight, but you'll have much more energy.

This thread is bonkers and typical of how weight-loss threads always go on MN.

Count calories.
Don't count calories.

Carbs fill you up.
Carbs don't fill you up.

Fat doesn't fill you up.
Fat does full you up.

Fasting is the answer.
Eat three square meals a day.

I take from it that different things work for different people!!