A
female
age
,
anonymous
writes:Hi there, I m very confused about dieting and weight loss, and because I would love to get in shape I really would like to share some experiences. So it is harder to lose weight at menopausal age, as I heard, but I was getting conflicting advice. Some people thinks, eating 1000/1200 calorie/ day. is not enough, and you will starve. But if I eat more than this, I will not lose any weight. However I do feel hungry a lot.Is this normal to feel hungry when you are trying to lose weight? It feels there is a taboo around this subject, like it would be somehow the most misunderstood fact.So is this a myth or a fact, that losing weight will not work without feeling hungry?I eat very healthy, and try to have all the nutrients in my diet. But cutting back my calorie intake is definitely makes me hungry. I do exercise, not heavy stuff , just normal/ walking, Pilates. Please help, I need some encouragement, I really would like to lose weight, . Im 30 pounds over on my normal weight, so I need to work hard. Thanks for any input.
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female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (18 December 2012):
 It's very very hard after age 35 for women to lose weight.
congrats on wanting to take control
Honeypie has excellent advice.
My take on this:
1500 calories a day is good NEVER less than 1200
what you eat is important too... good protein, good fats (nuts, avocados and such) lean meat/chicken/fish lots of veggies and some fruit...
lots of non-caloric fluids (not soda soda messes with your brain and makes you hungry)
I like herbal teas both hot and iced
soup is good for filling you up
drink a glass of water before a meal
exercise is critical
walking is excellent do at least 30 minutes a day. or more if you can. and if you can't do it all at one time, break it up
3 15 minute walks are better than nothing....
my doctor says that exercise needs to be like a second job... 6 hours a week!
If you like Pilates, I can suggest also checking out Yoga... yoga is great for strength, flexibility and general conditioning. I am allowed to do yoga instead of physical therapy...
You don't want to drop your calories too low, what you want to do is increase your metabolism with exercise...
if you are able to do strength training I suggest you try that as well.... that stays with you a long time. I was lifting weights and i felt strong and powerful. I miss it but I'm no longer allowed to lift due to degenerative disc disease.
I suggest you see your doctor for medical clearance before starting a weight lifting program.
Also, if it's available to you consider some meetings with a certified nutritionist. I see one and we work with what I like to eat and how I like to eat to make a program that works best for me.
I eat breakfast (a protein shake)
i have a mid morning snack usually a hard boiled egg
lunch tends to be soup and salad and maybe some whole grain chips
afternoon snack: cottage cheese and veggies or yogurt w/high protein cereal for crunch
dinner: protein w/veggies and a complex carb like a baked sweet potato (half of one)
snack after dinner: low fat single serving bag of popcorn
or maybe a yogurt if not in the afternoon
if you still feel hungry... drink water or hot tea or broth.... watch the sodium
if you need crunch:
salsa with veggies.... a favorite snack of mine...
A
female
reader, Honeypie + ♥, writes (18 December 2012):
 Never starve yourself. So don't go below 1200 cal a day. The thing is to substitute that larger portions of red meat with smaller portions of fish/poultry and veggies.
IF you aren't a GYM person go for a walk EVERY day. Say 45 min. to start with? Get a pedometer and set a minimum of steps to do each day.
Water, drink plenty of water. Drop the sodas, alcohol & coffee. Drop sugar and as many white starch as possible. I always drink an 8 ounce glass before a snack/meal, it does take some of the hunger away.
My favorite snacks are nuts - walnuts, almonds in particular.
I actually eat on a schedule so I don't really feel hungry during the day and for ME that is a good thing, because if I get REALLY hungry I can eat and not feel full at all. So for me 3 larger meals and 2 snacks work (no eating after 7pm)
www.hungrygirl.com have some great substitute recipes when you have a craving for something particular.
And control your portions. Keep a food journal.
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A
female
reader, Abella +, writes (18 December 2012):
 Make vegetables your friend.
In winter make a big pot of vegetable soup. Serve it when ever you feel the need.
Here is one I use:
saute the following in a tiny amount of spray oil.
one finely diced brown onion
one leek (the white part) finely sliced
4 sticks of celery finely diced
half a bellpepper skin finely diced
a handful of cilantro finely diced
a teaspoon of Sharwoods DRY medium curry powder. (I buy my on line from the Britz store)
Then add one chinese cabbage finely sliced
One large carrot grated.
6 tomato finely diced
dash of pepper (I add very little salt)
a cup of parsley finely diced
One cooking apple grated.
one tin of crushed or diced tomato.
Cover with a pack of liquid pre-packaged chicken stock (a good quality one - don't use those horrible SALT cubes erroneously called stock cubes)
Simmer slowly until all is aromatic and tasty.
Simmer the soup and serve.
== ==
When the weather warms up you can also try the salad always on tap:
Have a big undressed salad in the refridgerator.
Try very finely sliced chinest cabbage, grated carrot, finely sliced bell pepper, very finely diced celery.
The above is your base.
Then to serve place the amount of salad you want into a bowl and add any ONE of the following additions:
(a) One tomato diced plus a few shelled pistachio nuts.
(b) one roughly chopped boiled egg
(c) half a avocado diced with a squeeze of lemon over the avocado and a dessertspoon full of flaked almonds
(d) half a tin of asparagus spears
(e) a half a cup of roasted sweet potato and a 1/4 cup of walnuts roughly chopped.
Note I have not said add any dressing. i never do. But if you really want dressing then use a low cal one.
If you still feel hungry then fill up on at least ten glasses of sparkling mineral water. It feels more fun than plain water.
try the above and I doubt you will still feel hungry any more.
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A
female
reader, k_c100  +, writes (18 December 2012):
 I think 1200 calories is the very minimum you can get away with, I know you think you cant lose weight if you eat more but your body will often shut down if you eat too little and go into 'starvation mode' where your body will cling onto every calorie you get. So I'd say you need to be eating between 1200 and 1500 calories per day. An average woman needs 2000 per day to maintain her weight, so as a rule if you reduce this by 500 per day you should be on track to lose 1 pound per week. I know that is not huge, but that is 52 pounds over a year which is great!
It is normal to be a bit hungry when you start a diet, your body will be adjusting to its new, smaller food intake so you will feel hungry. However you shouldnt feel like you are starving all day every day, if that is the case then you need to eat a bit more.
General rules for losing weight are to cut down carbohydrates (dont stop eating them altogether, but reduce your consumption). Stop eating white/yellow food and swap it for brown food - so change white bread for brown, white rice for brown rice, white pasta for wholemeal pasta etc. Try and stop snacking during the day/evening and only eat 3 meals per day. Have lots of veg, but keep fruit to a minimum at first because of the amount of sugar that is in fruit.
Try and go for lean meat and fish, staying away from fatty processed meats. Exercise is important too, and it is good you are walking and doing pilates but you might need to do some slightly more intensive cardio based exercise. Can you ramp up your walking so you are power walking at a fast pace for at least half an hour? Swimming is a great form of exercise that works all your body and isnt too harsh on your joints, so if you can get to a local pool then give it a try.
Most of all - be patient and dont expect miracles. Losing weight is tough and what works for some people doesnt work for others, so try not to listen to all these different ideas on losing weight. At the end of the day you need to burn more calories than you put in, and then you will lose weight. So if you are eating a bit less and exercising more then the weight will come off.
I hope this helps and good luck!
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