need help

[Ateista]

i'm currently back into doing the gym/eating healthy, and while i'm doing a great job of accomplishing both of these; i'm still having a very hard time putting the fork down. which is pretty much wasting the hours i spend at the gym...

too be honest, over the past few years i've let myself go; and by "let myself go", i mean, i've gained roughly 120 lbs. yep, you just read that. i'm weighing roughly 318 lbs. and while gaining all this weight, i've sorta learnt the bad habit of not putting the fork down, even when my belly is full.

so, yeah, it's a tad bit embarrassing for me to even ask this question, but i was curious if any of you workout junkies know of anything i can do to help inhibit my appetite? yes, i'm drinking a lot of water. yes, i'm still powering through my belly being full of said "water" and still shoving a lot of food down my throat... quite literally embarrassing, but i'm trying too be honest here.

please note that i want accomplish this without the use of gnc (and anything related to them) products.

any advise would be greatly appreciated.

edit* i forgot to mention that i do make small plates, but i will just end up getting up and making more. this is starting to hurt my wallet a bit, since healthy food isn't cheap. i'm seriously at a loss, and don't know if what i'm doing is psychological at this point.

[Dtloweca]

I was in a similar situation like you. Now what I'm going to say isn't meant to be offensive to you it is just the realization I came to one day. I sat down and thought about how I basically turned into a fat piece of excrement. I just couldn't say no to grandma's home made cherry pies and my cousin's head chef cooking at home every day. All the only thing you need to inhibit yourself and stop yourself is you. I realized that I was fat and overweight because of me. I turned into something so disgusting I wasn't even worth being laughed at by women. So I stopped. Take control don't look for "Tips and tricks" or supplements or even gimmicks to help lose the weight. You either wanna lose the weight or you don't you will be your own fault or success. Take it by the balls and enjoy the fact its going to suck. Everyday you go to bed a little hungry, put away the extra food, and ignore the fast foods is one step closer to becoming the you that you wanna be.

Also tbh you don't need super healthy like organic foods to lose weight. Stick with whole unprocessed foods like potatoes, rice, oatmeal, beans, and chicken as well as some nut butter and olive oil for your essential fats in the US where I live at least eating whole foods is actually cheaper than typical shopping.

I wish you good luck and be patient.

[Spectral]

The best thing you can do, in all likelihood, is to shift over to foods that have really high satiety to calorie ratios. Typically, these are going to be leafy greens and lean proteins. That sounds a bit bland and uninspiring, but you can make it more interesting. One of the foods I really enjoy is a sort of Korean-style (my ex was Korean) stirfry that's heavy on cabbage, with some lean pork, fried with other chopped veggies, a bit of sesame oil, and red pepper. That's got some kick, some crunch, and it's damned near impossible to overeat on. Check around on nutrition sites for other high satiety foods and focus on incorporating them into meals so that anything you're eating gets filling before it crests whatever the calorie amount you're shooting for.

Honestly, you're going to be hungry sometimes. It's going to suck. You won't enjoy that part at all.

Best of luck to you!

[Mongo42]

One common suggestion I hear is to drink a glass of water before you eat to help give you a full feeling. Otherwise it may be purely psychological. Comfort food isn't just a phrase. I often tell people, food probably isn't your problem. Food is how you're dealing with your problem.

[Nafrayu]

I was in a similar situation like you. Now what I'm going to say isn't meant to be offensive to you it is just the realization I came to one day. I sat down and thought about how I basically turned into a fat piece of excrement. I just couldn't say no to grandma's home made cherry pies and my cousin's head chef cooking at home every day. All the only thing you need to inhibit yourself and stop yourself is you. I realized that I was fat and overweight because of me. I turned into something so disgusting I wasn't even worth being laughed at by women. So I stopped. Take control don't look for "Tips and tricks" or supplements or even gimmicks to help lose the weight. You either wanna lose the weight or you don't you will be your own fault or success. Take it by the balls and enjoy the fact its going to suck. Everyday you go to bed a little hungry, put away the extra food, and ignore the fast foods is one step closer to becoming the you that you wanna be.

Also tbh you don't need super healthy like organic foods to lose weight. Stick with whole unprocessed foods like potatoes, rice, oatmeal, beans, and chicken as well as some nut butter and olive oil for your essential fats in the US where I live at least eating whole foods is actually cheaper than typical shopping.

I wish you good luck and be patient.

Currently going through exactly what you are OP, and this is about the only advice I can give too. Its more of a mental battle than a physical battle if you ask me. First thing I did was look up calorie guides, and trackers, and began to understand how to use them, and wherein each item I ate was in terms of carbs to proteins to fats.
Then came sticking to a very strict diet "time". I was never a breakfast person, but I am MAKING myself eat breakfast. It usually consists of some toast with peanut butter and honey or jam, a piece of fruit or 1 cup of berries, an egg, 1/3cup of porridge oats, 1 portion of greek yogurt(because it is high in protein)(has flax, bran, raw oats, whole wheat pieces) and then top it off with a protein shake(basically a premix, but I make it with peanut butter, an egg, and some oats). Not including the protein shake, that gets me to about 800 or 900 calories of my daily 2400 I need. Quick snack at around 10 of a piece of fruit, some carrots, half a tomato, celery, whole grains. Basically any food items worth about 200 calories, but sticks around, doesn't digest immediately, and is good. A heavy lunch around noon that equals about 1000 calories, always either pasta rice bean potato or something like that heavy. Keeps the massive carb intake points to first thing in the morning, and mid day, when you will be awake to continue burning them. Afternoon snack of some cottage cheese or nuts/seeds at like 3. And then a light dinner, generally a salad with nuts.

By no means am I a pro at any of this, but making the choices I have, and changing my diet the way I have, alongside my workout regiment, has gained me quite a bit of "firmness" and a net loss of 15lbs in just shy of 28 days(tomorrow ^_^)

TL;DR myfitnesspal calorie tracker, and stick to it RELIGIOUSLY. Do NOT allow yourself to overeat regularly. One or two mistakes a week wont kill your plans, but every time makes it harder not to the next time. Try to only have a "bad item" once a week, or much smaller portions once a day to reward yourself on a good day of eating proportionately. Time the food out, lots in the morning, lots early afternoon, light in the evening. Limit cola intake(if any).

[Ateista]

I was in a similar situation like you. Now what I'm going to say isn't meant to be offensive to you it is just the realization I came to one day. I sat down and thought about how I basically turned into a fat piece of excrement. I just couldn't say no to grandma's home made cherry pies and my cousin's head chef cooking at home every day. All the only thing you need to inhibit yourself and stop yourself is you. I realized that I was fat and overweight because of me. I turned into something so disgusting I wasn't even worth being laughed at by women. So I stopped. Take control don't look for "Tips and tricks" or supplements or even gimmicks to help lose the weight. You either wanna lose the weight or you don't you will be your own fault or success. Take it by the balls and enjoy the fact its going to suck. Everyday you go to bed a little hungry, put away the extra food, and ignore the fast foods is one step closer to becoming the you that you wanna be.

Also tbh you don't need super healthy like organic foods to lose weight. Stick with whole unprocessed foods like potatoes, rice, oatmeal, beans, and chicken as well as some nut butter and olive oil for your essential fats in the US where I live at least eating whole foods is actually cheaper than typical shopping.

I wish you good luck and be patient.

no offense taken.

i live alone, so sometimes a good helping of reality from anyone is usually what can get me going.

and yeah, i guess i shouldn't of said expensive foods. i am pretty much buying what you guys have posted on here already (i really need to try that korean dish though. loves me some cabbage, yes i do.) i'm pretty much guessing that my fight, as of right now, is mostly psychological. although, my heart is in the right place at this point.

i will take this advise for foods and power through, and hopefully in a few months i can update you guys on all the good things that i'm sure are down the road for myself. i just need to keep at it, and don't let the first month dishearten my hopes. i just know that i am pretty much sick of the way i look, and feel, at this point.

thanks again guys!

[Jijek]

I started at 340 pounds when i decided to do something about my weight. I didn't change how I ate at all initially as I didn't have too. I weighed so much that going to the gym and lifting did a lot of it for me. Try doing more weights at the gym (Not heavy... but use weights as it will train your joints/tendons to handle the load better) along with whatever else you are doing. As for healthy food.. it's the cheapest possible stuff you could buy.. Chicken breast, white or brown rice, beans, broccoli.. and you're good to go.

[Projali]

Count your calories every meal, every day. Weigh yourself Monday morning every week at the same time. If you aren't making progress, decrease your calories more.

It takes 4-6 weeks to develop a habit. It will suck until you break through your old habits.

[Tradewind]

Drinking water before and with a meal will help increase satiety sooner. Also slow down while you eat. The natural satiety response isn't instantaneous, it takes time for your brain to catch up to the fact that you're full. As the caloric intake and subsequent leptin response is gradual, not instantaneous. Other things such as enjoyment of the flavors help increase satiety, the expansion of the stomach wall releases ghrelin which triggers a satiety response as well. More fiber will also increase the rate at which your digestive system creates cholecystokinin (CCK) which is another hormone tied to satiety. CCK is that bastard that makes you want to eat more and more often when you try those "small frequent meals" diets.

In short. Eat slow, drink water with meals, more fiber. You'll find that you can in fact eat less without going hungry.

[Tommy T]

Eat smaller meals throughout the day so you're not hungry at any point.

I find apples, a mouthful of spinach leafs, and a pint of water control most hunger urges. You're going to have to grin and bear it for the first month or so, but after that, it should be a lot easier.

I was a couch potato a year ago. Changing my diet and lifestyle was the single best decision of my life. Just use that willpower.

Good luck mate

[OhpUldum]

Ateista it comes down to there being another reason for you not putting that fork down.

First let me be clear, this is not a projection this is merely myself sharing my story and if it sounds similar to your life then yes it is psychological but that's OK. Psychological can be helped because that is what counselling is for.

I was overweight. I hated my image and in turn ended up hating myself on a regular basis. I stress ate, I would eat to the point of pain in my stomach because while I dealt with that pain I didn't have to deal with the real issues of my life. Eating for me became a coping mechanism that would give me some comfort for a moment but then it would wane away and I'd need to eat more.

I didn't face my eating disorder until I sought out counselling for my depression. Now with that being said I've been exercising regularly, lost over 60lbs, dropped my body fat % by over 8%, changed my diet up but I take supplements from GNC. No diet alone is perfect and gives you what you need. Part of my personal success has been supplementing meals with protein shakes. I buy my powder from GNC, multivatim, creatine, and BCAA's. If you don't want to support the company then I can understand that but to do away with supplements all together I don't think is a wise choice.

By all means this is your body. You are the one living with it every day. It's you walking around in their and not me. So if you don't want to use supplements then that is your right but I personally saw faster gains once I started supplementing because there was gaps in my dietary nutrition.

Good luck and remember its about long term dedication because this is a lifestyle change more than anything else.

PS. Your stomach won't decrease in size if you keep jamming food in there. You have to give yourself time for your stomach to shrink, there will be times you are hungry. Hungry is not a bad thing. Hungry is OK. When men were hunter / gatherer's do you think they had the comfort of eating 3 - 6 meals a day? Hell no, they went hungry at times and so can you.