How in fresh h*ll does anyone stay within their calorie budget?!!!

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  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,888 Member
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    Is there a protein powder you like/tolerate? Add it to your coffee :smile:

    Another one who used to drink their "coffee" with 5 creams and 3-4 sugars <yup, you read it right>
    Even before joining MFP I gradually reduced the cream and sugar over a period of a year

    I went to totally black coffee during full weight loss a year or two back and have since moved to getting my coffee with either single or double milk as the mood strikes.

    Weight control involves choices.

    Does coffee with cream have a smoother mouth feel than coffee with milk? Absolutely!
    Is that improvement worth the extra calories?
    Not to me!
    I would rather save the calories for chocolate or ice cream or more tomatoes instead ;-)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited December 2016
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    I used to have 3tsp of sugar in each cup of tea, which equaled around 18-21 tsps of sugar per day just in my cups of tea! I slowly reduced until i was down to none, I also swapped skim milk for full cream milk, you need a lot less full cream milk than skim. Skim milk is just watery whereas full cream makes tea/coffee creamy and you don't need to add a ton. I used to add around 100ml of skim milk per cup, full cream less than 50ml.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Regarding the messages from the app about fat and protein goals for the day, unless you just love the app nagging you, you can turn those off:

    I didn't know you could turn them off. I think I'll leave them on, though, as they make me laugh. Today it congratulated me for eating a packet of crisps because "this food is low in saturated fat!"
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    full-fat half-and-half

    I know what you mean but your wording amused me.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    FernGitt wrote: »
    I've worked with a personal trainer before, I've logged all my calories, measurements, and exercise so this is not new to me. BUT, that was back when I was in my late 20's and now that I'm in my early 40's the game has certainly changed. I'm 5'9" and 157 pounds and not happy with my size or how tight my clothing is. I'm trying to get back down to 140 and the myfitnesspal app is telling me I can eat 1300 calories a day. After eating a slice of wheat toast with a small shmear of peanut butter for protein (I'm hypoglycemic and need lots of protein) with a small cup of coffee, I'm already doomed for the day calorie-wise. Add in the Lean Cuisine thing I had for lunch with an 8 ounce glass of low sugar Kool Aid and I had 300 calories left at 1 pm. Seriously??? How in fresh h*ll does anyone stay within their budget? If I'm almost breaking the bank with a piece of whole wheat toast and a Lean Cuisine I'm screwed. :/

    Pre-log. It's possible. Protein shakes, chicken and tuna as your main protein sources instead of Lean Cuisine and PB. Low-cal bread. Water instead of drinking calories. Exercise. Run for 30-40 minutes to "credit" yourself with probably 400 extra calories for the day (it's suggested to eat back half of the exercise calories). Also, 1,300 seems a bit intense. I'm 5' and under 120 lbs. and I lose QUICK as soon as I hit 1,300 calories. Might wanna set your MFP to .5 to 1 lb. x week loss instead to give a little more leniance.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    I wish running for 30-40 minutes gave me that many calories!
  • Lynzdee18
    Lynzdee18 Posts: 500 Member
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    You might eat more veg. More calorie light, high fibre foods.
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
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    Lynzdee18 wrote: »
    You might eat more veg. More calorie light, high fibre foods.
    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Regarding the messages from the app about fat and protein goals for the day, unless you just love the app nagging you, you can turn those off:

    I didn't know you could turn them off. I think I'll leave them on, though, as they make me laugh. Today it congratulated me for eating a packet of crisps because "this food is low in saturated fat!"
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    full-fat half-and-half

    I know what you mean but your wording amused me.

    Yeah, I remember logging my lunch one day. I got a finger wag for the fat in the burrito, but I met my protein goal with the mini drumstick ice cream. License to ice cream at lunch ftw!

    My husband makes the sweet-and-sour mix for our margaritas. Per the app, it's high in Vitamin C. Margaritas for health!
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,072 Member
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    now that I'm in my early 40's the game has certainly changed. I'm 5'9" and 157 pounds and not happy with my size or how tight my clothing is. I'm trying to get back down to 140 and the myfitnesspal app is telling me I can eat 1300 calories a day.

    Just on your numbers - I was 10 years older than you and lightly active and over 5 inches shorter - and it gave me an allowance of 1460.
    That is a net allowance, of course.

    That was to lose 1/2 lb week - which is what you should set it on too, with only 17lb to lose.

    I think your numbers need re adjusting.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Think about your calorie budget like your household budget. If you are having trouble living within your means, you either need to cut back (eat fewer calories) or make more money (add in some extra exercise so you have more calories to eat). Most people do well with a mixture of the approaches, so some days you look for less calorie dense options so you can meet your original goal, and others you add in some more exercise so you have a bigger calorie budget to play with.

    It also helps to think in terms of your budget when you're making food choices. You maybe can't "afford" the cream AND the sugar AND the peanut butter, so you choose to save some calories in some places and spend them in others. I like to save 100-150 calories each day for dessert at night, so when I'm trying to lose weight and am working with a tighter calorie budget, I drink black coffee. It SUCKS, but I'd rather have ice cream at night than cream in my morning coffee, so I deal with it. (Not saying you have to do the same, but it's an example).
  • WickAndArtoo
    WickAndArtoo Posts: 773 Member
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    @FernGitt haha!!! I totally felt the same way when I began a couple weeks ago. I will tell you right now toast and peanut butter is apparently the enemy because seriously there is no way to stay on track if there two food are eaten! It's a weird thing since they seem so insignificant, but if I eat toast I immediately assume I'll either have to run that day or be over my calorie limit.

    I am hypoglycemic also (actually I don't know anyone else that is, so this was interesting to read!) So I too always have to make sure I have a protein...especially if I am having coffee. I find that scrambled eggs with bell peppers and a yogurt goes much farther calorie and filling wise than toast and peanut butter. I get more food as well as a longer time of being full so it will last me past 1 pm making it easy to munch on low cal options without feeling starved (i.e. Veggies and fruit), and then I have plenty of extras left for a healthy but filling dinner (read chicken or salmon and veggies).

    If I don't eat eggs I have a smoothie with veggies, fruit, and nuts. This also keeps me full for half the day, but is quicker to make than eggs with less dishes (yay!! I have no dishwasher so this is huge for me).

    I have all sorts of random as heck hypoglycemic friendly tricks for meeting the low cal restriction (mine is 1200). It's seems crazy at first but once you start experimenting you find things that work to meet it... or you can just go on a run or hike to burn some extra food cals!

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