Second attempt: eleven pounds off, brain still negotiating snacks

2026-10-13 03:31

I lost 54 lbs two years ago, then let 32 come back. Started this round at 181 and I’m at 170 as of yesterday.

The loss is real, but the part I keep tripping on is meals. I’d feel full after a few bites, call that dinner, then be ravenous around 9pm and eat standing up.

This time I’m trying to plan a small protein-heavy lunch instead of pretending no hunger means no needs. Also stopped weighing three times a day, because the 2pm number was wrecking my mood for zero reason.

One win: I’ve kept up a 20-minute walk after work, even on days I don’t feel like it. One mistake: I bought a giant bag of trail mix “for healthy snacks” and treated it like a personal challenge.

Anyone else have appetite quiet down but the old night-eating script still play?

2026-10-17 10:20

Man, the 9pm standing-up raid is my tell tat dinner was a snack, not a meal. What finally helped me was making dinner a two-parter: small plate at 6 (protein + something warm), then a planned 8:30 “closing shift” — ½ cup cottage cheese with cinnamon, or two turkey roll-ups and a few grapes.

I eat it sitting down, off a plate, then kitchen is closed. It feels dumb but it stopped the scavenging.

Sharp question: when you say full after a few bites, are you stopping because you’re satisfied or because it’s just effort to keep going? That distinction changed how I sized my plate.

2026-10-28 01:43

One thing that shifted for me was tracking weekly averages rather than daily totals. A light dinner plus a 9 p.m. handful looked fine on a single day, but over seven days it kept my mornings hungrier and my choices looser.

Now I set an 8:15 reminder to sit down with a small protein snack—Greek yogurt or turkey slices—whether I feel hungry or not. It feels odd at first, but it removes the negotiation.

Have you looked at whether your weekly average changes on days you eat a real lunch versus a tiny one?