Congratulations! I hope your health conditions are improving.
[Edit: Sorry! Note to self: do not try to answer long thoughtful comments from your phone. At 5:30 in the morning. Without your glasses on.]
Constant hunger was my biggest fear and obstacle,, once everything else was out of the way--emotional overeating, and the appetite-stimulating effects of a lot of sugary and salty (and MSG-laden) packaged foods. I did some body work on my fear of hunger before setting out, because I knew that cutting my accustomed calories by a third was going to hurt a little.
It hasn't been a problem, partly, I think, because 2000 calories a day isn't starvation by a long shot, but it's also true that home-prepared, natural food without additives had been an important foundation for this whole effort and I'd established it a couple of years in advance.
I do notice that eating more vegetables and drinking enough water is more filling, and as I count calories, I've learned that some foods I thought healthy and satisfying (like peanut butter, OMG) are way too high in calories for the satisfaction they offer.
In fact, I've really begun to learn how far off my internal satiety gauge has been. A little fat goes a long way towards a feeling of satisfaction, but more than a little just made me want more, apparently.
It sounds like we've both hit on a couple of the same key things: that going hungry is a non-starter, and that good whole food is important if we want to feel satisfied and improve health.
no subject
[Edit: Sorry! Note to self: do not try to answer long thoughtful comments from your phone. At 5:30 in the morning. Without your glasses on.]
Constant hunger was my biggest fear and obstacle,, once everything else was out of the way--emotional overeating, and the appetite-stimulating effects of a lot of sugary and salty (and MSG-laden) packaged foods. I did some body work on my fear of hunger before setting out, because I knew that cutting my accustomed calories by a third was going to hurt a little.
It hasn't been a problem, partly, I think, because 2000 calories a day isn't starvation by a long shot, but it's also true that home-prepared, natural food without additives had been an important foundation for this whole effort and I'd established it a couple of years in advance.
I do notice that eating more vegetables and drinking enough water is more filling, and as I count calories, I've learned that some foods I thought healthy and satisfying (like peanut butter, OMG) are way too high in calories for the satisfaction they offer.
In fact, I've really begun to learn how far off my internal satiety gauge has been. A little fat goes a long way towards a feeling of satisfaction, but more than a little just made me want more, apparently.
It sounds like we've both hit on a couple of the same key things: that going hungry is a non-starter, and that good whole food is important if we want to feel satisfied and improve health.
Good luck to us both!