Frustrated With Myself

GabbyP93

I'm not new to MFP, & I have found a system that generally works for me (as far as losing weight goes). BUT, as of late, I have lost my self control & because of this, I have been gaining and losing 5 lbs for the last 3 months. No progress being made. My issue lies with what I consume. I'll do good throughout the day, and right before bed, I get these ridiculous craving that I succumb to.. /: I just want to know what helped you all with food choices. Do you meal prep? How often do you eat and at what times? Do you snack? What are some of the foods you eat that work for you? How do you curb your appetite or prep your meals when you're on the go between school and work? Every little bit helps! Please & thanks!

jmeilhan

I eat 3 meals a day with sometimes a coffee and a biscuit around 4pm. Do not eat after 7pm or less going to a restaurant. When craving for food have a glass of water this may help. Cut a little on carb and replace with protein may help with weigh lost, try to keep note on calories eaten daily easy if you are using the one on this website.

RodaRose

I plan in the diary the night before. I skip breakfast and lunch except for a cup or two of tea. Then I eat dinner when I come home from work and have snack before bed. (Basically I am "fasting" during the day.)
Yoga has helped me tremendously because it helps with body awareness (relaxation, hunger signals, . . .)

How to Breathe: Breathing and Diaphragm- your body's way!
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd94Gh4lKOA&list=PLhiNtEBsgk1SYY72OgPH1THLzRMZaGTyX&index=3

tomatoey

GabbyP93 wrote: »

I'll do good throughout the day, and right before bed, I get these ridiculous craving that I succumb to.. /: I just want to know what helped you all with food choices.

I think if this is happening, you're not eating enough.

What helped me was a very conservative deficit nutrition-wise, like 10-15% less than maintenance (e.g. just 200 calories less). I think that's close to the 0.5lb per week loss rate here on MFP. Workouts took care of the rest of the calorie burn. Sometimes I would feel slightly peckish, but I never felt deprived. It probably took a little longer than it might take people with bigger deficits (e.g. those aiming for 1-2 lb/week, or TDEE-20% or more), but it was really doable in terms of working with my lifestyle. And it worked!

KimofTas

Where possible I try to go to bed early if I'm having cravings. Otherwise, I eat a small carrot to satisfy the urge to nibble. Usually works. Not a perfect system though unfortunately.

The other way I get around my cravings most days is to remind myself how proud I will be if I beat it (rather than it beating me). If I eat a carrot or go to bed early and don't succumb, I have won and I remind myself the scales will look better next time I weigh myself.

lemurcat12

GabbyP93 wrote: »

I'll do good throughout the day, and right before bed, I get these ridiculous craving that I succumb to.. /: I just want to know what helped you all with food choices. Do you meal prep? How often do you eat and at what times? Do you snack? What are some of the foods you eat that work for you? How do you curb your appetite or prep your meals when you're on the go between school and work? Every little bit helps! Please & thanks!

Like others have said, can you plan it so you have some calories left at the end of the day and then just make the evening snack part of the routine? I've found that responding to times of temptation with a strategy like that helps.

What works for me currently (I think it's good to change it up if it stops working so well or just for variety) is 3 meals plus an afternoon snack usually (this was a concession to the fact that I will usually want to snack in the afternoon, eat dinner late and often try to do a midday or early evening workout, and have lots of food that tempts me around my office that isn't really what I want to be eating). I also often incorporate a dessert at the end of my dinner that operates as part of dinner and signals to me that eating is over for the day. Since I eat late and don't eat after dinner, I generally am no longer in the habit of craving food in the evening, and that's not a challenging time--as I said, the afternoon has been.

The other important thing is planning: I have a standard breakfast, try to prep lunches (either by planning dinners that will allow for leftovers or by cooking a few additional things when I'm making dinner)--in the mornings my lunch is already in its container waiting to be grabbed, and have meat and veggies in the refrigerator that I know I can whip up a quick dinner with. I have acceptable snacks at work for the afternoon snack when I want it (Quest bar, yogurt, fruit, nuts, raw veggies), and so long as I have something planned I won't tend to crave the other stuff unless it's really special and amazing. I also know I'm not always as organized as I like, so I have some lunch places near my office that I know have food with the kinds of macros and calories and ingredients I like, and those are my fallbacks if I don't have a lunch prepared.

blossomingbutterfly

I plan Monday through Friday's meals on Sunday. I plan them, cook them, container them up (already weighed and portioned out) so they are ready to go. For breakfast I usually have a protein shake from Kellogg's. Lunch and suppers are cooked and ready to go. All are already logged and planned for. I find this helps TREMENDOUSLY.

NRSPAM

I am the exact same way. I get real bad sugar cravings at night. I think it's just that my body has learned to expect that sugar spike at a certain time of day, because I have snacked at night for so long. I try to buy things to satisfy my sugar cravings that are not so high in calories. My new fav right now is the skinny cow cookies and dough ice cream bars. They are so good, and 160 cal's. Also chocolate protein shakes made with 30 cal almond milk or Atkins or Quest bars also do the trick. I've also just found this new popcorn that actually tastes good, and it's only 30 cal's/cup. It's made by Popcorn Indiana, it's called "fit popcorn." I love it! (in the chip aisle). You also have to have some self control. I just can't bring "the good stuff" in the house. I've tried to buy goodies for the kids and the hubs that I love, and are high in calories, but guess who always ends up eating them? They have guilted me into buying those things for them before, but they just let that stuff sit around, and I usually end up eating them, so I just don't buy them anymore. My husband has his stash in the room, for work, and I just stay away from it. Out of sight, out of mind will usually work for me. When I do buy snacks for the kids, I try to buy things that I don't like all that much. Good luck!

GabbyP93

RodaRose wrote: »

I plan in the diary the night before. I skip breakfast and lunch except for a cup or two of tea. Then I eat dinner when I come home from work and have snack before bed. (Basically I am "fasting" during the day.)
Yoga has helped me tremendously because it helps with body awareness (relaxation, hunger signals, . . .)

How to Breathe: Breathing and Diaphragm- your body's way!
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd94Gh4lKOA&list=PLhiNtEBsgk1SYY72OgPH1THLzRMZaGTyX&index=3

I really love this idea.. I think I'm going to do that, plan my diary a day ahead of time.. kinda like a blue print! gives me something to expect!

GabbyP93

KimofTas wrote: »

Where possible I try to go to bed early if I'm having cravings. Otherwise, I eat a small carrot to satisfy the urge to nibble. Usually works. Not a perfect system though unfortunately.

The other way I get around my cravings most days is to remind myself how proud I will be if I beat it (rather than it beating me). If I eat a carrot or go to bed early and don't succumb, I have won and I remind myself the scales will look better next time I weigh myself.

extremelygrumpycat wrote: »

I plan Monday through Friday's meals on Sunday. I plan them, cook them, container them up (already weighed and portioned out) so they are ready to go. For breakfast I usually have a protein shake from Kellogg's. Lunch and suppers are cooked and ready to go. All are already logged and planned for. I find this helps TREMENDOUSLY.

Confirmation! I honestly think this is going to work for me.. thank you so much!

GabbyP93

Thank you all kindly! You guys definitely answered my questions. The next time I post a discussion, I'm sure I'll be telling you all about my weight loss progress!

Capt_Apollo

i leave plenty of calories left for a night time snack.

CADAVER0USB0N3S

If you know you get more hungry at night, maybe try having a lighter breakfast and lunch to save calories, or save some for a snack after dinner. If you have your weight loss goal set to lose 2 lbs per week, try raising it to only lose 1 lb a week and then you will get a few more extra calories as well. Have healthy snacks readily available (cut up veggies with low fat dip/hummus etc) and get rid of the junk snacks so they aren't even an option. Having a cup of green tea usually helps when I have hunger cravings, have a glass of water and a glass of green tea, if you are still hungry in 20 minutes then have a real snack of healthy whole foods.

mfp2014mfp

Capt_Apollo wrote: »

i leave plenty of calories left for a night time snack.

Its this simple

GabbyP93

mfp2014mfp wrote: »

Capt_Apollo wrote: »

i leave plenty of calories left for a night time snack.

Its this simple

I will definitely be doing this! Thank you!