Eating Well Is Hard
akern1987
Posts: 288 Member
I have such a hard time staying within my calorie goal, daily. I'm not sure what's wrong with me besides just loving food, but I think I need some help...Does anyone have any strategies they use to just cut off once they've had enough. It's so hard and even when I don't mean to I eat to the point of overfull so often...I have taken steps to be better, I try to make healthier choices (cutting down on fast food, and processed foods, adding healthier options like fruit and yogurt) and have added a regular exercise routine into my day, but I know that if I can't get my food under control I'll never see any real loss.
Help?
Help?
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Replies
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What is your calorie goal set to and how much weight do you have to lose?
It may help us make suggestions if you make your diary public.0 -
Open your diary if you want specific suggestions.
Otherwise, my guess is that you are making too many changes all at once.
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What do you like to eat
There's generally ways to lower the calorie count0 -
That is the hard part for sure. I've been having some mental struggles with that as well. I just finished up an 8 month reverse diet/bulking phase and am a few weeks into a cutting phase. It's tough to restrict your calories back down. When you struggle, remember your goals. If reaching them is more important to you than simply having 1 more of whatever, that'll help you say no. Also, I help to run a great support and accountability group on Facebook for people looking to improve their health and fitness. It's just a bunch of people supporting and encouraging each other to make progress towards their goals. It's an awesome community and has helped me stay on track. If you're interested in it, I'd be glad to chat with you about it.
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Have you tried eating more filling food? if im hungry on a night I pick on beetroot & pickled onions, I buy low calorie crisps & wholemeal rice and bread
It makes a massive difference, are you drinking plenty of water?
if you could share abit more info I could try and help abit more, whats your job like, are you busy up and about or sat at a desk? how much do you have to loose? and like the others have said if you un lock your diary thats the easiest way for people to help
I have managed to get my appetite under control my problem is im not very strong, so if my partner fancies a takeaway il cave. Weekends are a nightmare but when I plan I can keep my diet under control
xx
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Definitely no nutritionist here, just personal opinion.
Water helps fill us up so make sure you're getting enough.
Same with protein. A little at each meal helps me with any hunger pangs.
The fruit and yogurt are both possibly high in sugar. Especially low fat yoghurt. Sugar =short term boost in energy and mood followed by a crash leaving you with the nibbles again.
Keep a track of mood alongside food, and work out if there are other factors triggering the eating, with me it's low mood and tiredness. Just knowing I'm eating because I am tired can stop me.
Experiment to see what works for you, for instance rather than eating three big meals, plan ahead for six little ones so you're eating but it's all planned. Personally I have a little in the morning, a decent meal at lunchtime, then snack until early evening after which my body says enough food now.
Plan ahead. Taking out all the food in the morning stops me grazing through the cupboards. Eating all day isn't ideal, but for instance snacking on carrots and celery all day shouldn't cause problems, so plan for the worst and get healthier snacks and make sure you can see it, we reach normally for what we can see. Or so I understand.
If you have emotional binges, I've found looking there are alternatives for me which means instead of reaching for the ice cream, I can reach for serrano ham and garlic stuffed olives, . I get a similar indulgent high, but for fewer calories.
Anyway, just my two cents.0 -
One thing to realize is that this is going to be a long journey. Just be signing up for this app, we don't automatically become super-awesome always eating perfectly and hitting our macros. We are going to slip, we are going to stumble, and there are going to be days where we stumble, hit our heads hard, and go into a complete (food) coma.
Perhaps when you get to wanting something, substitute it for something a little better for you calorie wise? Like, instead of chips and dip, have some carrots and hummus. (accurately weighed, of course. If you don't have a food scale, I'd get one soon as ya can)
I'm bad about mindless eating and grazing. I think majority of my calories come from snacks most days. try to do something else when you feel "bored" and go look in the fridge. Occupy your hands, do a crossword puzzle, play a game, fold some clothes. Occupy your mouth, too -- chew a piece of gum.
Good luck!!0 -
Thank you all so much. I will make my diary public so if anyone wants to take a look feel free.
I do like to drink lots of water and I actually just gave up soda (for lent, but I'm going to try to keep that up even after Easter).
Thanks so much for the encouragement!0 -
You don't have many days logged. From what I looked at, though, you just simply have to make yourself eat less. It's fine if you want to go out to eat, but instead of 3 biscuits, eat one. You're going to have to cut your portions down. Watch condiments like mayo. Try light mayo, or mustard if you like it. Go for one slice of cheese on a sandwich instead of 2. Look at what you eat, and figure out what you think is really worth the calories, and what is not.0
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It looks like you're drinking a lot of calories too -- lemonade, capuccino. If you could replace those with water or an artificially sweetened beverage, you would have more calories to spend on food. Good luck!0
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Thanks! And I do drink a lot of calories, I'm trying to get that under control.
I appreciate all of the advise! You guys are awesome
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Actually, you're lucky, it looks like it should be relatively easy to cut some things out and still have satisfying meals.
First of all, I recommend putting together your breakfast at home rather than hitting fast food. Simple breakfast sandwiches can be assembled a few days in advance and it's amazing how many calories you can cut out. And, if you are eating at home and don't need the portability of a sandwich, you can skip the bread/biscuit calorie bomb and just make an omelet. I just had a HUGE omelet for breakfast -- portobella mushrooms, broccoli, bacon, and sharp cheddar in egg whites...and I clocked in at 153 calories for the whole thing. Your Chik fil A breakfast was over a thousand!
Drinking calories is trouble, too. Try fizzy water or flavored seltzers for refreshment with 0 calories if water gets dull. (Maybe that's the kind of "soda" you could add back after Easter?) Unsweetened ice tea (regular or herbal) is also nice.
Another favorite low cal meal for me is a turkey wrap. I use it for lunch, but for people with higher TDEEs, it has few enough calories to be a snack. (It fills me up WAY too much for that, though) get some flatbreads, I like the Joseph's ones with Flax. A half sheet is about 50 calories, the whole is 100. I cover it with a coat of hummus, then slices of deli turkey and TONS of veggies -- crispy lettuce, cucumbers, arugula...and then roll it up and eat. I'm stuffed to the gills after a full sheet wrap, and it's still less than 300 calories for the whole thing.
I see you had lobster (yum) at Bonefish one night...if they have them at your supermarket, watch for them to go on sale and have them steamed in the store. Really rich and filling and high in protein and surprisingly low calorie! (just be moderate with the melted butter, which usually goes along with lobs, LOL. Try a squeeze of lemon juice and see if you like it that way. Otherwise, just use the butter wisely)
Find ways to add more vegetables to your diet. I actually love salads, but I know some people hate them and think of them as "dieter's rabbit food." If you're not a salad fan, keep some cut up carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers on hand, maybe with a dip like hummus or greek yogurt on hand. In fact, the fat, protein, and fiber in veggies with a good greek yogurt dip is a near perfect recipe for reduced calorie satisfaction!0 -
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I had a realization that really helped me stay on track. Dieting is as much mental as it is anything else.
1) I really sat down and thought about what I was actually doing to my body by continuing to be overweight, and not give myself the proper diet my body needs. When you actually think about what you can be doing to your body, it makes the goals a little more obtainable.
2) (this was a big one for me) I actually sat and thought about how I felt after a meal. If I ate a terrible meal, high in calories and fat, no real nutrition. I would feel terrible about it an hour later, and be hungry again soon. Now, when I eat a nutritious healthy meal I feel great an hour later. I think of all the positives the new diet is doing to my body. The vitamins, minerals etc and how they are actually helping me.
As far as snacking/eating goes. My plan is to always keep tons of fresh whole fruits and veggies around. I eat a couple of handfuls of baby carrots of snap peas when I get a bit hungry. The fiber fills me up for a while, and I know it falls in line with my goals. Seeing the progress helps a lot. I had to put away a few pairs of pants, because I couldn't wear them anymore with out fear of them falling down.
Having a partner helps too. Someone to go through it with.
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OP, try making changes one at a time. So say this week, you are going to limit yourself to 100 beverage calories per day. Once you have that down, try adding low cal veggies to your dinner to fill you up better. Once you have that down, pick something else. I'm just pulling those examples out of the air, but you get my drift! Sometimes when you try to change 100 things all at once it is so overwhelming that you get paralyzed.
One thing at a time will take a little longer, but making it stick for the long haul is the important thing
And try to log consistently, even when your day was embarrassing. Analyzing where you went wrong on the bad days, and easy fixes if you get in that situation again, are the only way you can get better...
Good luck!0 -
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You will benefit a lot from logging consistently, even when you're over. It'll be a LOT easier to see where you can cut down. And think of it this way -- it'll feel a bit crummy at first, but when you succeed at figuring out how to lower the count in a sustainable way, you'll feel so great about how far you've come, just from that!
It might also help you to change your goal on MFP to Maintenance for now. You're not hitting your target anyway, so having it show a way lower calorie count than you know how to hit is only going to make you feel worse. Set it to Maintenance, you'll get a lot more calories. Make your first goal to log everything, no matter what. Second goal is to come in at OR under maintenance calories. Once you're hitting this consistently, and you're comfortable with it, drop it lower, maybe to 0.5 lb per week, or 1 lb per week. Once you're hitting that, you can lower it again.
Finally, if you're planning to eat out, it can be *really* helpful to look at the nutrition menu ahead of time. That way, you can see all the calorie counts and figure out what will fit into your day, and then you know what to order. Otherwise, we get there, and it's easy to feel like we can just add that one other thing, or order the other item.
And I love your profile picture!
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- log everything
- figure out what is worth the calories for you
- cook more, and make your own entries instead of using random ones from the database
Honestly it's hard to comment because your logging is too inaccurate.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »
no just no
There is no reason losing weight should be hellish...I lost 60lbs and loved every minute of it...I ate what I wanted, when I wanted within my limits...you don't have to give up food just limit quantities.
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No, it isn't "hard". It's a choice.0
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This is a big helper, The foods you crave and can't live without, Figure out how to make at home and a healthier version (sneak in veggie ingredients too when you can) Ex. Mcdonalds canadian bacon egg mcmuffin You can totally make that at home with much healthier ingredients (Whole wheat english muffin, Ham, Egg, 2% cheese) Ex. 2 MCD's French Fries, cut potato into strips, dry them well with paper towel, spray with a little EVOO and season, bake in oven, much healthier than fried. I find you can figure out a way to make almost anything a little healthier and usually cheaper and more bang for your calorie as well. Good Luck!0
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Whats been helping me a little bit is setting meal times. They arent strict but I feel that if I just wait until its that time then it helps with not snacking in between. Also planning your meals ahead of time and preparing less food ... give yourself time after you eat, like an hour, and if your still hungry then get some fruit you love (watermelon, strawberries? those are yummy!) because those sugars and nutrients are better for you and your body uses them in a different way rather than the processed snacks.0
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Really helpful stuff! Thanks everyone0
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Like everyone else said, logging and accurately weighing(with a food scale) your food will help a lot. Cooking at home will make maximizing the amount of food you can eat for lower calories FAR easier, even if you're using a decent amount of stuff like cheese and butter. Some people have been able to lose weight eating the same fast food and their favorite snacks all the time, though, they just eat less of them, but I don't think I'd be able to because those foods tend to leave me unsatisfied and wanting more. I feel more satisfied when a larger part of my diet is coming from whole foods and home-cooked meals. However, there is absolutely no reason to completely cut out foods you love, because that will likely end up resulting in you wanting them even more.
While I say "moderation is key," sometimes you just don't want to eat moderately of certain foods and there's nothing wrong with that. When I eat pizza, I want 2 slices. I really try to keep very calorie dense foods for days I truly crave and want them, and PLAN for those days.
If someone just tends to overeat foods in general as a lifestyle, then it will take a little effort to find that sweet spot where it's comfortable for you. Don't get frustrated. Don't give up.0 -
What has been working for me is meal planning. I have found that pre-loading my meals into MFP helps me keep on track. It takes a bit of work, but is pretty doable, once you get used to it. I think of it as one more household chore that needs to get done, like doing laundry.
Usually on the weekend, before I hit the grocery store, I will sit down and come up with a reasonable meal plan for the entire coming week. I focus mainly on dinners, as I tend to eat the same breakfast (bowl of cereal) every day, and use the left overs from the night prior for lunches. You can take into account how busy you'll be on work days, personable food preferences, budget, and ingredients you need to use up. I also plan around activities, such as my bowling league night, where I know I won't be home long enough to cook, but still want to eat something at least marginally healthy.
The huge benefit to the weekly meal planning is that I know ahead of time what I'm having for dinner. I will input my intended meals into my food diary. I can always make changes to specific days if things change. Another benefit is because I've pre-loaded my meals, I already know what my calorie consumption will be. This gives you a bit of flexibility if you want to snack, or have a piece of cake at that office birthday party, or go out for drinks after work. The other thing it does, is it makes me very aware of where I'm going to spend my calories. I had a very bad day last week, and decided I needed a pick me up, so I went to Starbucks and got a hazelnut latte. I have no regrets. I knew I had the calories to spend, and in that moment the 190 calories were so very worth it.
I've been using Myrecipes.com for my meal planning. I have a subscription to Cooking Light, and their recipes end up here. You save recipes to your recipe file, and can create folders within your recipe file. I just make a new folder every week, labeled 'Week of March 7' or something like that, and stick my meals in there. You'll also be able to look at your meal plan for the week and make adjustments as necessary. Occasionally I will look at my plan and say, Jeeze, I'm eating chicken every day this week. Maybe I should cook some fish or something.
A lot of the recipes from Cooking Light have already been entered into MFP. For newer/less popular recipes, you can use the import a recipe feature.
Once I've got my meal plan, I can make my shopping list based on that, which means I'm not wandering around the supermarket, sticking crap into my basket because it looks tasty. This is not to say I never eat junk food, because I do. I generally have an ice cream bar for dessert. For Valentine's Day, I made a batch of pecan blondies and ate them with vanilla frozen yogurt. There is no reason you can't have food you enjoy, even if it's junk food. You do need to be careful about your portion sizes and use a bit of moderation, but you can still have it.
I have also found that exercise is key. I will very rarely be able to stay within my calorie goal without at least a little bit of exercise. If I do manage it without exercise, I will hungry and not happy about it. The exercise does not have to be super rigorous or complicated. Simply taking a walk is working for me, at least for now.
You can feel free to add me as a friend. I'd be happy to share my meal plans with you. I tend to go for meals that won't take too much time to cook during the week. I love to cook, but I do make my share of kitchen blunders.0 -
emmydoodles83 wrote: »This is a big helper, The foods you crave and can't live without, Figure out how to make at home and a healthier version (sneak in veggie ingredients too when you can) Ex. Mcdonalds canadian bacon egg mcmuffin You can totally make that at home with much healthier ingredients (Whole wheat english muffin, Ham, Egg, 2% cheese) Ex. 2 MCD's French Fries, cut potato into strips, dry them well with paper towel, spray with a little EVOO and season, bake in oven, much healthier than fried. I find you can figure out a way to make almost anything a little healthier and usually cheaper and more bang for your calorie as well. Good Luck!
Yeah, cutting potatoes into strips and spraying them with minimal olive oil, then baking them, in no way makes them look or taste like McDonald's french fries. And I've made egg mcmuffins at home. They are delicious but not a HUGE calories savings. The main benefit for me is getting a slightly runny yolk rather than a super hard and dried out one, oh and cheddar cheese instead of grody american, lol.
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It's hard if you make it hard. Fast food and fruit are real fast ways to spend your daily "allotment".
You can have fast food, but choose grilled chicken instead of fried chicken. One thing my husband and I do often is order a cheeseburger, cut it in half, and lose half the bun. basically it's 1/2 a double cheeseburger and you save on bun calories. If you can lose the bun altogether, even better - and don't have fries.
I've found that the less I have fast food, the less I want it. I spend more time at places like Subway, Jimmy-john's, even Olive Garden (2 bowls Pasta Fagiole is loaded with protein and fiber!) or Longhorn Steakhouse with a side salad, a 6 oz. sirloin, and 1-2 pieces of the bread (maybe).
Add more veggies instead of fruit. If I go to someplace like Golden Corral, my first plate is 1/2 green beans and 1/4 corn. My second plate is protein: Rotissiere (sp?) chicken or steak or fish.
I am a true food addict, and understand that it is hard....but I've also found that the more healthy (or better quality) the food is, the more of it you get. One of my nutritionists once told me to focus on the protein and the fats/carbs will take care of themselves, and I've found that to be pretty much on target.
And there's things you just know: baked is always better than fried. A friend of mine's "diabetic tip of the day" was that just by deep frying fish, it negates all the healthy benefits of having fish in the first place. Deep frying something in and of itself can add as much as 400 calories depending on what type of food it is (like fried chicken).
Although I will say I had one Weight Watchers leader who said that once you hit your calorie allotment for the day, it's time to go to bed! LOL
For what it's worth....0 -
nicsflyingcircus wrote: »emmydoodles83 wrote: »This is a big helper, The foods you crave and can't live without, Figure out how to make at home and a healthier version (sneak in veggie ingredients too when you can) Ex. Mcdonalds canadian bacon egg mcmuffin You can totally make that at home with much healthier ingredients (Whole wheat english muffin, Ham, Egg, 2% cheese) Ex. 2 MCD's French Fries, cut potato into strips, dry them well with paper towel, spray with a little EVOO and season, bake in oven, much healthier than fried. I find you can figure out a way to make almost anything a little healthier and usually cheaper and more bang for your calorie as well. Good Luck!
Yeah, cutting potatoes into strips and spraying them with minimal olive oil, then baking them, in no way makes them look or taste like McDonald's french fries. And I've made egg mcmuffins at home. They are delicious but not a HUGE calories savings. The main benefit for me is getting a slightly runny yolk rather than a super hard and dried out one, oh and cheddar cheese instead of grody american, lol.
Since she's eating her fast food breakfast sandwiches on bagels and biscuits, even a plain old white English muffin on a homemade breakfast sandwich would help reduce her calories significantly. Personally, I make a whole pan of egg scramble sort of thing, using mostly egg whites with a few whole eggs added in, some bacon bits (I buy the real bacon ones at Costco) and shredded cheese. Pour the raw mixture into a baking dish, bake until set, cut and compose with english muffins or in a wrap like a breakfast burrito. You still get the cheese and bacon flavor, but much smaller portions than if you used the whole bacon strips and slices of cheese.
For the fries, I suggest getting a SMALL. Heck, I think the Happy Meal is the best solution to road trip drivethrough needs...The portions are too big for a child, but actually the Happy Meal is a reasonable portion for an adult. (Those were the original portion sizes, kids, not the absurd Super Sized crap they sell now)
And again, add some veggies! They have so few calories for the bulk!0 -
nicsflyingcircus wrote: »emmydoodles83 wrote: »This is a big helper, The foods you crave and can't live without, Figure out how to make at home and a healthier version (sneak in veggie ingredients too when you can) Ex. Mcdonalds canadian bacon egg mcmuffin You can totally make that at home with much healthier ingredients (Whole wheat english muffin, Ham, Egg, 2% cheese) Ex. 2 MCD's French Fries, cut potato into strips, dry them well with paper towel, spray with a little EVOO and season, bake in oven, much healthier than fried. I find you can figure out a way to make almost anything a little healthier and usually cheaper and more bang for your calorie as well. Good Luck!
Yeah, cutting potatoes into strips and spraying them with minimal olive oil, then baking them, in no way makes them look or taste like McDonald's french fries. And I've made egg mcmuffins at home. They are delicious but not a HUGE calories savings. The main benefit for me is getting a slightly runny yolk rather than a super hard and dried out one, oh and cheddar cheese instead of grody american, lol.
Since she's eating her fast food breakfast sandwiches on bagels and biscuits, even a plain old white English muffin on a homemade breakfast sandwich would help reduce her calories significantly. Personally, I make a whole pan of egg scramble sort of thing, using mostly egg whites with a few whole eggs added in, some bacon bits (I buy the real bacon ones at Costco) and shredded cheese. Pour the raw mixture into a baking dish, bake until set, cut and compose with english muffins or in a wrap like a breakfast burrito. You still get the cheese and bacon flavor, but much smaller portions than if you used the whole bacon strips and slices of cheese.
For the fries, I suggest getting a SMALL. Heck, I think the Happy Meal is the best solution to road trip drivethrough needs...The portions are too big for a child, but actually the Happy Meal is a reasonable portion for an adult. (Those were the original portion sizes, kids, not the absurd Super Sized crap they sell now)
And again, add some veggies! They have so few calories for the bulk!
Cheeseburger happy meal w/ kids fries, apple slices and chocolate milk
Calories 550
Calories from Fat 150
Total Fat 17g
Saturated Fat 6g
Trans Fat 0.5g
Cholesterol 50mg
Sodium 880mg
Total Carbs 75g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Sugars 32g
Protein 25g
Vitamin A 770IU
Vitamin C 104mg
Calcium 530mg
Iron 4.5mg
So, this is too much food for my 11yo daughter (5'1", 81lbs) who needs between 2200 and 2600 calories per day? Explain how a Happy Meal that comprises at most 25% of her daily caloric intake NEEDS is too much food for a child, again?
I don't claim it is an ideal meal by any stretch, but after a very long hockey tournament weekend (which her team won, woot!) when all we wanted was something the kids could eat in the car with minimal mess so we could get home before 9pm so they could shower and go to bed, it worked.
Making blanket statements, however, does NOT WORK.
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