Advice on calories & macro goals.

SlimSonic

I have been trying to eat LCHF for the last month. I have had a good start, but the last week have felt really hungry and have swerved off course.

I'm not sure if it's because I am hungry / bored / cold. I am currently at home recovering from an operation, and I think boredom is kicking in.

Can someone please look at my diary over the last month and give me some tips / advice. Do I need to stay below 1200 cals? Not really trying to go completely Keto, but know that carbs are my weakness and they always give me bad numbers on my blood sugars.

So far it appears I can't find my hunger switch - I eat because the clock says it's time or my husband says he's hungry ( he's lost 14kg on CICO and says weight loss is easy! )

Thank you for the help this community has so far provided.

bluefish86

I don't know your exact stats, but unless you are under 5 feet tall, you should definitely be eating more than 1200 calories. That is likely the main reason you are hungry; you simply are not eating enough. Eat more calories, and make sure those calories are FAT.

Also, remember that CICO and LCHF are not mutually exclusive.

SlimSonic

bluefish86 wrote: »

I don't know your exact stats, but unless you are under 5 feet tall, you should definitely be eating more than 1200 calories. That is likely the main reason you are hungry; you simply are not eating enough. Eat more calories, and make sure those calories are FAT.

Also, remember that CICO and LCHF are not mutually exclusive.

I am 4' 10" - and at 190lbs, hoping to get to 125lbs.

bluefish86

Just plugged your numbers into a BMR calculator... your BMR is around 1552, which means if you want to lose a half a pound a week you should aim for around 1300 calories. That is with zero added activity.

Better to have a less aggressive goal to begin with and focus on consistency... that's what will keep you going in the long run.

slimzandra

Hi SlimSonic,
I'm 5'0 54, F. I was 180 pounds in May before I started this. I'm 147 now, so I can honestly tell you if I can do it, you can. My goal is also 125 lbs. We can do this.

I agree with the above posters. At our height, CICO and LCHF need to work together. The beauty of the high fat is that you can eat around 1200 calories and not go raving mad and it is sustainable. I average a one pound loss a week at around 1200 calories. I don't always get to <20g of carbs, but average around 30-40g. When I started it was much higher, but I've learned to work at it as it do like the keto benefits. There are some great macro calculators posted on the threads here, check out the getting started heading posts. There's lots of good info there as well.

I took a quick look at your diary. My suggestions are:
You are including too many sugars which will only make you more hungry and sabotage your efforts.
Instead of Boar and Apple Sausage, try a Polish sausage or Italian sausage, they have more fat without the sugar. Better yet, try more real meat, not processed. Steaks including loins, tips, lamb, duck, pork chops. The options are endless and just add butter. I know it seems odd at first, but you get the biggest 'bang' for your calories. Fat is your friend in this.

Forget skim milk. I know it's counterintuitive from what we were taught, but substitute heavy cream. It has more fat and less sugar. Forget Vanilla Syrup, substitute vanilla extract. Forget the Bread Toasties and the Rice. You can make cauliflower rice. Add in sauteed leafy greens with butter and sour cream. I could go on, but you need to experiment for yourself. It takes time to find out what will work. Every week is a new experiment. Take out some foods from your routine and add in others (with more fat, less sugar) Weigh & measure yourself, repeat. Also weigh portion sizes of your food for the best accuracy. Meats are great, but this is where I differ a bit with some of my fellow LCHF friends. As a petite person, all you can eat meat may be too much for your size. 6-8 ounces per meal of a meat (steak), along with veggies, like spinach, kales, cauliflower, broccoli, smothered in butter and sour cream makes a nice easy dinner. And it provides satiety until the next meal, so you are not dying to graze between meals. Don't forget fatty fishes, kippers, sardines, smoked salmon with cream cheese are also good. - Oh yea, and Bacon and eggs, (no bread) will give you a lot of mileage.
Good luck, friend me if you like. Ask questions.

baconslave

slimzandra wrote: »

Hi SlimSonic,
I'm 5'0 54, F. I was 180 pounds in May before I started this. I'm 147 now, so I can honestly tell you if I can do it, you can. My goal is also 125 lbs. We can do this.

I agree with the above posters. At our height, CICO and LCHF need to work together. The beauty of the high fat is that you can eat around 1200 calories and not go raving mad and it is sustainable. I average a one pound loss a week at around 1200 calories. I don't always get to <20g of carbs, but average around 30-40g. When I started it was much higher, but I've learned to work at it as it do like the keto benefits. There are some great macro calculators posted on the threads here, check out the getting started heading posts. There's lots of good info there as well.

I took a quick look at your diary. My suggestions are:
You are including too many sugars which will only make you more hungry and sabotage your efforts.
Instead of Boar and Apple Sausage, try a Polish sausage or Italian sausage, they have more fat without the sugar. Better yet, try more real meat, not processed. Steaks including loins, tips, lamb, duck, pork chops. The options are endless and just add butter. I know it seems odd at first, but you get the biggest 'bang' for your calories. Fat is your friend in this.

Forget skim milk. I know it's counterintuitive from what we were taught, but substitute heavy cream. It has more fat and less sugar. Forget Vanilla Syrup, substitute vanilla extract. Forget the Bread Toasties and the Rice. You can make cauliflower rice. Add in sauteed leafy greens with butter and sour cream. I could go on, but you need to experiment for yourself. It takes time to find out what will work. Every week is a new experiment. Take out some foods from your routine and add in others (with more fat, less sugar) Weigh & measure yourself, repeat. Also weigh portion sizes of your food for the best accuracy. Meats are great, but this is where I differ a bit with some of my fellow LCHF friends. As a petite person, all you can eat meat may be too much for your size. 6-8 ounces per meal of a meat (steak), along with veggies, like spinach, kales, cauliflower, broccoli, smothered in butter and sour cream makes a nice easy dinner. And it provides satiety until the next meal, so you are not dying to graze between meals. Don't forget fatty fishes, kippers, sardines, smoked salmon with cream cheese are also good. - Oh yea, and Bacon and eggs, (no bread) will give you a lot of mileage.
Good luck, friend me if you like. Ask questions.

I couldn't have given a better answer.

baconslave

bluefish86 wrote: »

Also, remember that CICO and LCHF are not mutually exclusive.

True, true.
I'm not at all petite. I'm 5'10" and since I've been about 20lb to goal, I have to watch every single bite (calorie) that goes into my mouth. I love LCHF. I believe in it. But there comes a time for just about everyone, I think, that their calorie needs decrease to a point that you need to count them to keep losing.

LCHF foods are just too darn tasty.

bluefish86 wrote: »

Better to have a less aggressive goal to begin with and focus on consistency... that's what will keep you going in the long run.

Second that. It's taking me forever. I could cut my calories even lower, but being miserable is more likely to drive you off the rails. Sustainability is what we are aiming for.

lodro

If these were my ratios, for my body, carbs would be a little too high, protein definitely too high and fat too low. The protein/fat ratio may explain part of your hunger.

ettaterrell

I'm 5"2 eating 1300 - 1500 Cals loosing 1 -3 lbs a week eating between 70-80%fat / 16-25 pro / 8- 4% carbs and no more than 10g sugar the artificial sugar made me hungry all the time so I cut it out! Good luck