Struggling with portion control page

[shadoemckee]

It's always been my downfall. I'm good for the day, but dinnertime is when I really pack it away. I've tried going for the veggies or the green leafies to fill me up, but that's not what I'm craving. I'm sticking to the PB pretty good, but my caloric intake is still too high. There's little chance of me shedding my couple extra fat pounds lingering on the hips until I remedy this issue. At 40, you'd think I would have learned by now how to control myself at dinnertime, lol. I am a bottomless pit with a hollow leg. Hormonal maybe? Any suggestions?

[Graycat]

Many people have said a large breakfast high in protein will keep their appetite at bay for most of the day.

Another appetite suppressor is going very low carb ketogenic.

[Gorbag]

Many people have said a large breakfast high in protein will keep their appetite at bay for most of the day.
Another appetite suppressor is going very low carb ketogenic.

Yep, or waiting with the breakfast until the afternoon works for many as well, but it may take a few days for the hungerhormone "grehlin" to adjust and get used to the new routine though

[EagleRiverDee]

Some tactics I use:

°High protein breakfast (and I always eat breakfast)
°Making sure I'm getting enough fat in my diet (nothing is as satisfying)
°Staying hydrated (so thirst doesn't confuse your body into thinking it's hungry)
°Having a light snack while cooking dinner to take the edge off, so I don't eat dinner ravenous. I know it sounds wrong to eat before eating, but as long as it's a small snack I usually end up eating less food, not more.
°Starting dinner with a low calorie soup (volumetrics, basically)
°Limiting the options at dinner. Who says there has to be 3 (or more) types of food? What's wrong with 1 protein, 1 vegetable? It's been proven we will eat more if there are more options because we want to get full on each type of food.
°Not cooking foods I love so much I won't stop eating. Fortunately most of those are non-primal.

[Sandra in BC]

I eat when I'm hungry. Sometimes I eat *a lot* in one sitting. Its not gluttony or bingeing if you happen to save up all your eating for one big meal.


You don't say how many calories you're consuming, what foods you're eating, what your eating patterns are for the rest of the day, etc.

[AshleyL]

Take time to taste what you are eating. Take smaller bites and enjoy your food. I tend to eat a lot when I get in like race mode. I eat fast for no reason. I get mad at myself when I realized I've finished my food and hardly tasted it. Slow down so your body can tell you it's full before you've crammed a bunch of food in it. Eat the vegetables first and cook in a way you enjoy them.

[LauraSB]

Psychologically, I prefer to save as many calories as I can for dinner. It's a meal I share with my family, there's often some effort in preparing it and evening is often my only down time during the day. I started out consuming about 1/2 my calories at breakfast and lunch. Over time I pushed breakfast later and later (not counting 2T heavy cream in coffee when I first get up). Once it merged with lunch, lunch started taking up about 1/3 of my total calories. Now and then, on a special occasion, I'll have an early lunch (brunch) and that works OK for me. A big breakfast, followed by lunch and a plan to be frugal at dinner has never worked well for me.

You should experiment with what makes you feel best, both physically and emotionally. Be prepared to find that what works best may change over time.

[Wulf]

I am never hungry in the mornings. Like never. So actually eating breakfast is anti-intuitive and basically tortuous for me.
But I do have a morning coffee, with fiber supplement and half and half or cream as creamer.

One thing I tried that sounds crazy (from CW standpoint) is to have "bulletproof" coffee in the morning, which is, 1/2 - 3/4 of an entire stick of butter, blended (with a hand blender is easiest) into hot coffee. I didn't need to sweeten it either, as the fat of the butter cuts the acidity and any bitterness of the coffee, and it tasted fine. There are 800 calories in a whole stick, so 1/2 stick is 400 calories, a decent amount for a meal.

This big dose of fat in the morning, without me eating a meal which I don't like to do anyway, really suppressed my appetite for the rest of the day and kept me from binge-eating or having cravings all the rest of the day and being tempted by bad things at work. This may help keep you from over eating at dinnertime. And if not butter coffee, then try to get another big dose of fat in the morning to control cravings, and as it isn't carbs, there is no insulogenic high and crash to cause increased appetite later.

[shadoemckee]

I am never hungry in the mornings. Like never. So actually eating breakfast is anti-intuitive and basically tortuous for me.
But I do have a morning coffee, with fiber supplement and half and half or cream as creamer.


This big dose of fat in the morning, without me eating a meal which I don't like to do anyway, really suppressed my appetite for the rest of the day and kept me from binge-eating or having cravings all the rest of the day and being tempted by bad things at work. This may help keep you from over eating at dinnertime. And if not butter coffee, then try to get another big dose of fat in the morning to control cravings, and as it isn't carbs, there is no insulogenic high and crash to cause increased appetite later.

This sounds like me a lot. Coffee with cream in the morning is all I can usually handle until around 9 or 10 AM. (I'm usually up at 5-5:30 AM) If I eat eggs and meat for my late breakfast, I usually just have a light snack around 2 or 3, like some jerky or kippers. I wonder if I take a big dose of cod liver oil for fat (I'm not ready to try butter in my coffee yet, lol), do you think it will help control the evening monster? I like to snack a tiny bit while cooking dinner as well, and it really makes sense that this would satiate. I tried it tonight and it worked well, so I'll play with this more. I'm totally going to save the majority of my calories for dinner from now on. I am very interested in researching more on ketogenics, and I will look into that here in the forums.

Can't thank you guys enough for all the great ideas. I feel like I have an arsenal of info now!

[HopelessDreamer]

shangri-la diet.
there is a thread here about it, and it has reduced my appetite to the point where i cannot - simply cannot - put that many calories into myself anymore. and i used to eat way too much also!
good luck