Anyone else shocked by calories?

Tuumest

This is day 1 on here - I have had a real eye opener on the number of calories I am actually allowed to have and how many calories are really in things. It's too early (one meal in) to know if I am going to last on here (with counting calories and eating less), but I know I will eat over my calories today and I if I'm being honest, I can't see me lasting that long. One day at a time I guess. But is seems a bit impossible.

Anyone else have a real shock when they started but has been able to overcome it and actually stick to the calorie goals?

abetterluke

Not to be a downer...but i predict you'll last less than a week. Not because it's impossible...but because your mind set sucks. Plenty of people on this board are proof that it's possible. Yes calories in food can be atrocious. Healthy eating doesn't mean you can't ever eat those things...it means have them in moderation and track your food.

Cynthiamr2015

poutineandpizza wrote: »

This is day 1 on here - I have had a real eye opener on the number of calories I am actually allowed to have and how many calories are really in things. It's too early (one meal in) to know if I am going to last on here (with counting calories and eating less), but I know I will eat over my calories today and I if I'm being honest, I can't see me lasting that long. One day at a time I guess. But is seems a bit impossible.

Anyone else have a real shock when they started but has been able to overcome it and actually stick to the calorie goals?

How many calories are you allowed? Also when you add exercise with it your calories go up!

mousie1973

poutineandpizza wrote: »

This is day 1 on here - I have had a real eye opener on the number of calories I am actually allowed to have and how many calories are really in things. It's too early (one meal in) to know if I am going to last on here (with counting calories and eating less), but I know I will eat over my calories today and I if I'm being honest, I can't see me lasting that long. One day at a time I guess. But is seems a bit impossible.

Anyone else have a real shock when they started but has been able to overcome it and actually stick to the calorie goals?

I started out the first few days by just logging what i ate (and eating how i normally ate) and thinking about what i wanted out of this. Then I started to cut back and match my calories and macros... I have been doing this since May 20th and I am down 35 pounds... so yep I have overcome it

you can do it! just take it one meal at a time.
my mom always said "how do you eat an elephant?..." "one bite at a time"... meaning that you gotta break a big thing down into smaller steps.

Matt200goal

Yes. Particularly once I got a digital food scale and started measuring - I had been way underestimating how much I was eating.

Set a realistic goal loss rate - overaggressive will likely result in "failure." Set smaller, intermediate goals - aim for achievable steps, not just reaching for the end/overall objective.

Good luck!

RoseTheWarrior

I agree you won't last if you start out with a negative attitude. I've been on here about a month and one thing I never am is hungry. I am allowed 1370 calories a day, and I'm always full, because we've changed *what* we eat. Skip the high fat/sugar foods and at least start to replace them with whole, real, balanced foods. Just start somewhere - anywhere! Start with just breakfast, or just lunch. Every positive change you make will help you move forward. However, if you really don't want to do it, no one can motivate you otherwise. I do wish you the best of luck. You CAN do it!

desweds

Dude!

Please, just eat whatever you want at first. Eat the crap you've always eaten for a while - but log accurately. Like super accurately. This is the initial power of MyFitnessPal. The shock you get - not only on the amount of calories in food but the total amount of calories you consume per day - will provide your first level of motivation to start eating smarter.

When you find yourself logging >6000 calories a day like I did, suddenly that extra plate of ribs, large candy bar, seconds of (Insert favorite bad food here) isn't going to taste as good.

Hit me up when you get to that point. Usually takes about four days of painfully accurate logging.

I think you'll still be here in a week.

HippySkoppy

Wow yes I was entirely shocked by how many calories there were in certain foods that I was eating every day.....however it certainly explained how I managed to balloon up to 278 lbs on a small frame 5' 5" woman.

Indulge yourself in the pity party for a while and maybe acknowledge the grief many feel when they finally open their minds to the reality that they have eaten themselves into. Then toughen up....I have no doubt that in your life you have faced and overcome obstacles much harder than losing weight.

Employ some of the strategies others have suggested to ease yourself into logging and MFP but if you REALLY want to lose weight, get your health in order or whatever goals you have then when you are ready you WILL do it....till then you will find ways to avoid, say it's all too hard....excuse yourself.

Mate.....choose your hard. As @HappyCampr1 has said there is no timeline.....every day just head in the direction that YOU REALLY want to go not stagnate where you are. Make sure your deficit is reasonable, eat what you enjoy in moderation....change will come as you explore new foods that meet your new calorie totals.

I really hope you don't give up....but that is entirely in your hands.

queenliz99

I just discovered poutine and it's delicious. Love you user name!!

Maybe your weight loss weekly goal is too aggressive

PinkPixiexox

You are already doubting yourself - this is not a good sign.

If you want to succeed, you have to put the work in. I mean this in the nicest way possible, no one said this was going to be easy. You didn't put the weight on overnight so is it going to come off just as fast. You need to be consistent and trust in the process and yourself. If you feel your calorie intake is too restrictive, up it by 100 or so. You'll lose at a slower rate than you probably expected but sustainability is really important if you want to keep this up. You need to make this realistic so that it's do-able.

Good luck and I hope you stick this out - it's worth it

eleanorella1989

Honestly, I didn't even know anything about calories and what calories were until I joined this thing and found out I should have 1500 calories a day or less for right now, which is difficult for me because I'm constantly hungry, but I'm working on it. Until I started logging my calories I didn't realize how many calories are in food. It was definitely a shocker and still is. It has definitely changed the way I'm seeing food now for my weight loss, and it's also motivated me to finally start logging in my exercise diary even if it's just a walk to help me even more with my calories! I was finally able to log in the exercise journal twice last week and so far once this week which was a first for me since starting in August. I will literally gain a pound and lose two more pounds in 24hrs (like I did yesterday), however, I'm constantly drinking (water and whatnot) so that probably has something to do with it, and even with all the up and down with my weight I can assure you that I haven't reached a number more than what I started with since joining this site and logging my food, so that definitely says something. It all just takes dedication and time. I'm sure if I keep doing what I'm doing I'll continue to lose more weight, but I know if I don't try I'll just gain even more. Also, it's not even the calories that shocked me, it's also the amount of sodium I've been consuming daily, I noticed it when logging in my food journal! This site can be incredibly useful if you're willing to let it help you. I know it's changed my life!

taunto_

poutineandpizza wrote: »

This is day 1 on here - I have had a real eye opener on the number of calories I am actually allowed to have and how many calories are really in things. It's too early (one meal in) to know if I am going to last on here (with counting calories and eating less), but I know I will eat over my calories today and I if I'm being honest, I can't see me lasting that long. One day at a time I guess. But is seems a bit impossible.

Anyone else have a real shock when they started but has been able to overcome it and actually stick to the calorie goals?

When starting out, I highly recommend you start with weight loss goal of 0 lbs per week (AKA: maintenance). Its important the first few weeks to adjust your body and mind to the new changes you are planning. Suddenly dropping your daily calories by 500 or even 1,000 calories puts a drastic stress on your mentality specially when you are used to eating excessively.

So in the start, maybe try reducing the calories to maintenance and then slowly decrease the calories.

Good luck and stay crunchy.

Patttience

With an attitude like that, you won't last long.

But I thihnk you should take a step back and reconsider what you think you know. Chances are you are already going about this in the wrong way but you haven't told us much about yourself of any real significant to know.

But let me say this, its completely possible to lose weight without being hungry. I could go on at great length and detail about that but mostly i see on this site people are not interested in finding out about useful ways to make weightloss easier. They jsut want to go and slog it out in the gym, cut their calories to nothing and lose the flab before next week to exaggerate a little.

So rather than me try to educate you, why don't you try to educate yourself. Find out a way to lose weight that is sustainable and fun and follow it.

Osiris275

I thought the same to begin with...I'll never survive on that! And well, I can and I do, and I'm very rarely hungry.

I want eat more, don't we all, but I genuinely don't need it! I have quite an active job, so I get 1620 calories a day, and I do exercise too. But the more exercise you're willing to do, the more you can eat back if you need to. You'll find your stomach retrains itself to better food, and less of it too, the further you progress.

It's been 10 moths for me now, and I've lost 4stones 3lbs. So it definitely works!