I miss larger food quantities

ellengiller
ellengiller Posts: 16 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
Since I began tracking calories I realize I definitely over eat. I honestly just really like the act of eating. When I'm enjoying something I don't want to stop... okay, so now I'm aware and cutting back. What low-calorie foods do you enjoy where you can have a larger quantity?
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Replies

  • ellengiller
    ellengiller Posts: 16 Member
    I was just thinking cabbage!! Maybe a big batch of leafy greens stir fried with some carrots, red peppers, onions and a little soy sauce w some lean proteins?
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
    I just eat ridiculous amounts of vegetables. For example, tonight I had steamed broccoli, steamed baby carrots, roasted beets, and a medley of roasted Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, and onions. I've also had some fruit (grapes, watermelon, banana, ect) that aren't quite as low calorie, but that are still enough so that I can eat a pretty large petition without having to worry about calories.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    I was just thinking cabbage!! Maybe a big batch of leafy greens stir fried with some carrots, red peppers, onions and a little soy sauce w some lean proteins?

    Not sure if you use oil to stir fry (I don't) but make sure you add fat too - it is calorie dense, but necessary.... For many things, but nutrient absorption is a big one. No point eating the vegies if you aren't getting the nutrients!
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I make huge salads. Taco Salad, Greek Salad and spicy Boca Chicken Salad. I load them up although I can get mine around 600+ calories lol.
  • lundy2626
    lundy2626 Posts: 16 Member
    Try intermittent fasting.
  • charlisajade
    charlisajade Posts: 2 Member
    Broccoli, green beans, lettuce, cucumbers...you can lots of veggies and still be low calorie.
  • mystic_elegance
    mystic_elegance Posts: 258 Member
    Vegetables, fruits, lean meats, are where its at! You can also find processed low calorie foods but still will not be as filling. Finding recipes on here mfp, pinterest, and instagram and other sites are the key!
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
    Veggies!

    Roast some broccoli with a bit of olive oil and salt and enjoy with some protein. Or cabbage stir fried with peppers, bean sprouts, and chicken.

    You can get a whole big plate of asparagus for very little calories.

    Roasting makes everything taste better. I like asparagus and Brussels sprouts that way too.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Spring greens or cabbage for volume.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    That's a tough one and it's going to be tough. I like to eat. But I don't like to eat too much. I even started to enjoy food more when I stopped eating too much.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    lundy2626 wrote: »
    Try intermittent fasting.

    This!!! Honestly, when I'm doing IF I can't even eat everything I had planned to.
    I am exactly the type of person who loves the act of eating - and eating large quantities. Intermittent fasting helps me a lot with this :)
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    I don't do IF per se, but I do tend to save most of my calories for dinner so I get more food. However, that only goes so far. Even an 800-900 calorie dinner doesn't allow you to consume massive quantities of calorie-dense foods.

    Definitely focus on veggies. I love oven-roasted vegetables. Some of it just boils down to a change in perspective and expectations. I don't *need* to eat a huge bowl of pasta with meat sauce when a single serving (or maybe two :wink:) with a salad and veggies is more than enough in calories and volume.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    lundy2626 wrote: »
    Try intermittent fasting.

    This!!! Honestly, when I'm doing IF I can't even eat everything I had planned to.
    I am exactly the type of person who loves the act of eating - and eating large quantities. Intermittent fasting helps me a lot with this :)

    Same here. I eat about 1800-2000 calories from 8-1am. IF helps so much because I love to eat big quantities.
  • emilyvictoria7
    emilyvictoria7 Posts: 102 Member
    I also save my calories for my largest meal of the day - dinner - I try to come home from work at 4:30 with 1100/1900 kcals remaining so I can have a tiny 100kcal snack, and have plenty of room to have a big dinner. If we end up making something low cal like zucchini noodles, then I've left myself room for a surprise treat!
  • GaveYouPower
    GaveYouPower Posts: 29 Member
    I understand your pain. One way around it could be to implement intermittent fasting. This practice condenses the time you spend eating into a smaller window. In doing so it gives you the license to eat larger meals as opposed to miniature meals spread out throughout the day. Or you could just burn more calories and eat more. That way works too.
  • VlpW
    VlpW Posts: 53 Member
    I have just gotten on the cauliflower rice train and have discovered that it is an excellent way to bulk up meals with very few calories and it has an excellent chewy texture like brown rice!
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    I eat a stupid amount of vegetables. People are shocked when they see how much VOLUME I eat. I put anything I'd want in a sandwich or hamburger, in a salad. And I'm talking a box of lettuce, whole tomato, whole pepper, cucumber, laughing cow cheese (they come in 35 calorie wedges and help me with portion control unless I have room for 5 wedges ha), meat.

    Things I cut back on to help me create more volume: carbs like pasta, rice, bread, etc. Higher fat cuts of meat, full fat dairy and cheese, caloric beverages, salad dressings (I use salsa and hot sauce).

    Sometimes I need something fatty and carby. That's fine. But on the reg, I need to eat A LOT, so I choose to compromise.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,230 Member
    edited March 2017
    I'm a volume eater, and like many people here I put away a crazy amount of vegetables. Veggies with dinner are often a whole head of broccoli, a bunch of asparagus, a carrot, half a dozen brussel sprouts - that's in addition to a 200g serve of meat and a carb side, like rice or potato.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    Oh...this sounds weird to some...but I also don't eat fruit. It tends to be calorie dense for ME. I can get in my nutrients in other ways and make room for treats or just more protein and veg with those calories.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,230 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Oh...this sounds weird to some...but I also don't eat fruit. It tends to be calorie dense for ME. I can get in my nutrients in other ways and make room for treats or just more protein and veg with those calories.

    Heh, I also don't eat fruit at all but it's just due to an intense distaste for it. I'll eat any veg under the sun, but fruit makes me :sick:
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Oh...this sounds weird to some...but I also don't eat fruit. It tends to be calorie dense for ME. I can get in my nutrients in other ways and make room for treats or just more protein and veg with those calories.

    Heh, I also don't eat fruit at all but it's just due to an intense distaste for it. I'll eat any veg under the sun, but fruit makes me :sick:

    I like it alright. But yeah...people are like "are you seriously not going to eat the apple?" Nope. Not gonna spend 150 calories on natures candy when I can get have a choclately protein bar or a piece of meat.
  • kayeroze
    kayeroze Posts: 146 Member
    edited March 2017
    Besides the salad and IF suggestions, buy healthy cookbooks with nutritional information. Their meals aren't visually super huge like a bowl of salad or condensing the number calories in fewer meals, but it will help in the long run in terms of eating and making healthy meals that taste good. If you like eating, then it might help. That and like the others have said, add vegetables but leafy greens you can add almost as much as you wants, however, they aren't very calorically dense (you'll get hungry quickly without protein and fat).
  • Phattest84
    Phattest84 Posts: 9 Member
    Salads. I eat twice a day so I make 900 calorie salads that are twice the size of my head. Takes me an hour to eat so I'm occupied and not thinking about snacking on junk. I change up the fresh ingredients and protein in them and dress with vinegars, yoghurts or dips. I really enjoy them, look forward to them and I feel satisfied which keeps me on track.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    What we used to eat in creamy pasta (yum!) and the massive quantity we would eat, we now eat in roasted veggies. For a very large plate of whatever kind of veggies you like - we do red/yellow/orange peppers, onion, asparagus, mushrooms, sweet potato (1 of those), butternut squash, zucchini all chopped up - spray an olive oil on it (I use the spray instead of drizzle) and good seasoning roast at 425 for about 25 minutes and dig in! That act of eating all of that is satisfying and we usually have 3-6 oz of lean protein to go with it. Or make a huge salad with all sorts of veggies, lettuces, spinach and grill 3oz of chicken. Sometimes we just want to keep eating and being able to eat a large plate of veggies or salad and protein helps that craving.
  • Joyful115
    Joyful115 Posts: 4 Member
    Roasted Veggies... Yes I can do that...
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    Have you heArd of meal cycling? Start with a large plate of veg, follow it with a starch and then you can eat small amount of whatever you want
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Piles and piles of veg
This discussion has been closed.