Tips and Tricks That Help You Get Your CICO Deficit On

girlviernes

Okay, so of course the big thing is to consume fewer calories than you burn on a daily basis if you want to lose weight, but what are some things you've found along the way that facilitate this process?

I bought two food scales, so I have one at home and one at work. I keep some fresh produce in the work fridge (e.g., strawberries, kale) just weigh it at work as I'm eating it. I also keep some staples at work such as walnuts and coconut flakes, and I can easily weigh out a portion.

girlviernes

I've just started using this one, but I love it. When you cook a recipe and are using the recipe function, weigh the final product and then set the number of servings in your recipe to the number of grams the final product weights. So for example, if my middle eastern turkey dogs weighed 250g, I'd put the recipe as 250 servings. Then when I eat a turkey dog I can weigh it in grams and use that for the number of servings in the entry.

IAmTheGlue

That's a good idea! I was wondering how to figure out portion sizes today on a homemade recipe.

Nony_Mouse

When I'm doing fieldwork I try to have food already prepared for dinner, cos all I want to do when I walk in the door in the evening is wash the dirt off, eat, prep the next day's lunch, and sleep (which is also about all I have time to do in order to be in bed by a decent hour for getting up stupidly early again the next morning!!). I'll also get breakfast stuff ready the night before. Next week I'm scheduled in for a full week in the field, so on Sunday I'll cook up a big batch of ratatouille and that's dinner done for the week.

I also have to be really on the ball with having enough food to get through the day, because going off site to get more isn't really a viable option, so I have extra non-perishable stuff for just in case.

Liftng4Lis

I pre-log my days, as it keeps me on track.

Alatariel75

Pre-logging really helps me, but I always leave a couple hundred calories for wiggle room. It satisfies my "defy the CICO gods!" desire to sneak a treat in.

For me, I eat super low during the day (150 for breakfast, 250-300 for lunch), and have the bulk of my calories at night. I love a big dinner, and a snack after.

I keep snacks in my desk at work (I call it my drawer pantry) so I don't get the munchies and hit the vending machine.

pineapple_peach10

Preplaning for sure
Not bringing trigger foods into the house
Keeping healthy snacks readily available
Listening for hunger signals and not just eating out of boredom, emotions, etc

arditarose

I've been doing this for 10 months and have still not used the recipe builder, so...you're on a great track.

girlviernes

I keep thinking about pre-logging, but rarely do. However, I more or less have a template for my meals. Breakfast is some kind of grain (oatmeal, grits, 1/4 cup uncooked) and 4oz of a protein (usually sausage), lately I've been adding in lots of veggies and some chia and/or flax meal. This adds up to 500-600 kcals. I make big batches of soups and protein/veggie baked or sauteed combo choices, then usually combine with a veggie patty, grain, or fruit/yogurt so each meal ends up about 400-600 kcals. That leaves me room for a snack in the afternoon or at night.

girlviernes

As a single person, I don't have family dinners and I often work late. So I actually usually pack dinner along with my lunch. It works for me because it makes it really easy to ensure that I have something good, I can eat earlier (my preference is to have dinner at 5), and if I have plans for the evening I don't have to worry about getting food. If I end up making dinner plans, then I'll save the meal for the next day.

peachyfuzzle

If I'm unsure of the calorie content of something, or have no means of weighing it, I will pick something that is about average for the options MFP gives me, and add like 100 quick calories to a meal. That way, I'm relatively sure that I'm staying within my goal.