What do you eat to lose weight?

Robocop27
Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
I always do crash diets, and end up putting my weight back on so I am trying to eat healthy in a way that I don't put it back on. Can you give me some advice and tips that work for you to maintain your weight loss?
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Replies

  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    Ha ha. After a while it doesn't work for me.
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    I'm Asian so I love eating curry and rice. I just find that my metabolism is just not the same as it use to be growing up because now I can't keep my weight off when I go back to eating normally...this is a pic of what I cooked a few days ago for me and my family.
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    Hmmm the pic doesn't seem to come up
  • MizMimi111
    MizMimi111 Posts: 244 Member
    It's not what food you eat rather how much of it. For your health some foods are better than others but there are not specific foods that will help you lose weight. Eat the food you like within your calorie allotment.
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  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Generally healthy(ish), but I make room for treats within my calories. Personally, 'cheat' days don't work for me, but deciding that occasionally a higher calorie food is worth the chunk it'll take out of my day and just enjoying it goes well. I exercise more to have room for it (as well as for health and fitness), but I don't go over calories.

    The only other things I try to do are:
    • Hit my protein target
    • Hit my iron RDA
    • Keep homemade desserts to 200 calories or less. That's mostly because we usually have company on the weekend and if there are leftovers, I want to know that they'll fit in easily enough if I want to have some every day.
  • GettingFit5551
    GettingFit5551 Posts: 110 Member
    For foods you cook, use the recipe builder here to enter your ingredients and it will figure the calories for your recipe. Then you can enter those into your diary. Just start by entering everything you eat for a while and see where you are with how many calories you are consuming. Then you can see where in your diary you can cut back. With me, it's treats, so I tend to limit those. You should be able to eat the same foods you enjoy and cook for your family.
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    kwtilbury wrote: »
    I think the OP understands that a caloric deficit (i.e. eating less) is required for weight loss. She's asking how to get there.

    For me, the foods that give me the most bang for my calories in terms of taste and satiety include oats, sweet potato, salad with lean meats (chicken), greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs/egg whites, almonds. Most of these are part of my daily diet.


    Thank you, I might try and incorporate those kinds of foods into my diet. See how it works.
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    MizMimi111 wrote: »
    It's not what food you eat rather how much of it. For your health some foods are better than others but there are not specific foods that will help you lose weight. Eat the food you like within your calorie allotment.

    I don't know what I should set my calorie goal at if I'm honest with you...I've gained a lot of weight from silly crash diets and juices cleanses. I'm 4"11 and I weigh 75.3kg to date. I set it at 1200 but I'm not really seeing any results. At least not the kind that other people get so I know I'm not doing it right. At the same time I don't want to eat too little and then put the weight back on later when I've lost all the chub.

  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    Generally healthy(ish), but I make room for treats within my calories. Personally, 'cheat' days don't work for me, but deciding that occasionally a higher calorie food is worth the chunk it'll take out of my day and just enjoying it goes well. I exercise more to have room for it (as well as for health and fitness), but I don't go over calories.

    The only other things I try to do are:
    • Hit my protein target
    • Hit my iron RDA
    • Keep homemade desserts to 200 calories or less. That's mostly because we usually have company on the weekend and if there are leftovers, I want to know that they'll fit in easily enough if I want to have some every day.

    Luckily I don't have much of a sweet tooth! But I'm thinking of looking through the MFP blogs for healthy savoury snacks that feel like cheats. This way I'm hoping i won't get bored and start watching YouTube videos of junk food!
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    For foods you cook, use the recipe builder here to enter your ingredients and it will figure the calories for your recipe. Then you can enter those into your diary. Just start by entering everything you eat for a while and see where you are with how many calories you are consuming. Then you can see where in your diary you can cut back. With me, it's treats, so I tend to limit those. You should be able to eat the same foods you enjoy and cook for your family.

    Thank you I will definitely try that! I'm actually quite excited about it. Hopefully I'll be able to track it better if I decide to have a curry for a cheat meal. :D
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    Hypsibius wrote: »
    Why are people so rude in response to questions like this?

    Short, arrogant responses about CICO aren't helpful.

    Listen to Lwtibury. There are absolutely ways to change what you're eating, lower calories and find foods that will make you feel better, provide more satiety / less cravings etc. and help you to hit your goals.

    Experimenting is key! I've found that it's easiest for me if the vast majority of what my diet is at home is lots of veggies, proteins, some quinoa (but mostly lower carb) with some freedom to branch out on weekends. I track macros.

    Doing Whole30 for a month helped me come up w/ a lot of great filling dishes that are 500 to 600 cals or less, and taste awesome. Now even post-Whole30 and eating a more flexible diet I am always working these into my schedule during the week.

    Thank you that was really helpful. Im going to try experiment and consider all the great tips everyone has given into my diet to see if it helps in my weight loss. :)
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    Your meal looks yummy. Im no expert i recently talked with a nurtuonist. She said to stay away from simple carbs-white sugar, bread, rice. Go towards complex carbs-brown rice, wheat bread etc. I did know this it just putting it into practice

    Ha ha thank you. Shame it's not really good for you.

  • MizMimi111
    MizMimi111 Posts: 244 Member
    Robocop27 wrote: »
    MizMimi111 wrote: »
    It's not what food you eat rather how much of it. For your health some foods are better than others but there are not specific foods that will help you lose weight. Eat the food you like within your calorie allotment.

    I don't know what I should set my calorie goal at if I'm honest with you...I've gained a lot of weight from silly crash diets and juices cleanses. I'm 4"11 and I weigh 75.3kg to date. I set it at 1200 but I'm not really seeing any results. At least not the kind that other people get so I know I'm not doing it right. At the same time I don't want to eat too little and then put the weight back on later when I've lost all the chub.

    What did MFP set your calorie target as? If you input your stats (height, current weight, goal weight, rate of loss) MFP will give you a target based on that information. Depending on how much you have to lose you can choose a loss rate of .5 - 2lb a week.

    Now that you know the crash diets and juice cleanses don't work you can take the time to learn good habits around eating that will serve your for a lifetime and keep the weight off long term. It's what I'm learning too.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited July 2017
    Robocop27 wrote: »
    MizMimi111 wrote: »
    It's not what food you eat rather how much of it. For your health some foods are better than others but there are not specific foods that will help you lose weight. Eat the food you like within your calorie allotment.

    I don't know what I should set my calorie goal at if I'm honest with you...I've gained a lot of weight from silly crash diets and juices cleanses. I'm 4"11 and I weigh 75.3kg to date. I set it at 1200 but I'm not really seeing any results. At least not the kind that other people get so I know I'm not doing it right. At the same time I don't want to eat too little and then put the weight back on later when I've lost all the chub.

    Thats what mfp does for you - put your stats in, and a sensible rate of loss, and follow what it says!

    Being petite makes it difficult as you naturally need less calories due to your height. This may mean you have to be very careful with logging, or add more activity (normal daily activity and exercise) to increase your deficit
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Generally, it's not about what you eat. It's about how much. If certain foods cause portion control issues, you have to factor that in.
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks! You know I think it was a customised one because I just re-entered all my details and it changed to 1410. It was set a long time ago but I never really used MFP...eventually I just forgot about it. I've only just started again. I feel like I've ruined my metabolism by doing all the stupid juice cleanses. That even if I eat less I don't really see much result...perhaps I'm just being impatient and that after a long time of eating veggies and salads with lean proteins il see some weight loss.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Robocop27 wrote: »
    Thanks! You know I think it was a customised one because I just re-entered all my details and it changed to 1410. It was set a long time ago but I never really used MFP...eventually I just forgot about it. I've only just started again. I feel like I've ruined my metabolism by doing all the stupid juice cleanses. That even if I eat less I don't really see much result...perhaps I'm just being impatient and that after a long time of eating veggies and salads with lean proteins il see some weight loss.

    Juice cleanses have unlikely ruined your metabolism. Be consistent and accurate with your logging over a decent amount of time and perhaps consider tracking your weight daily on a trending app. Fast weight loss is not the best way to go, you're likely to be more successful long term (from a loss and maintenance perspective) by taking it slower.

    You also don't need to only eat protein and vegies. You can eat what you like, just make it fit. Eating nutrient dense choices most of the time is great for health, but it doesn't mean you should be restrictive and think you need to cut foods out completely
  • MizMimi111
    MizMimi111 Posts: 244 Member
    edited July 2017
    It's tough to not be impatient. I'm the same way. I try to focus on other small goals to help myself feel accomplished, not just focus on the scale. Avoiding the breakfast sandwich when I buy my morning tea, prepping healthly lunches for the week, drinking enough water - stuff like that. I know it sounds mundane and boring but it helps with not always focusing on the scale.

    And remember if you add purposeful exercise, you'll get more calories too. Whether you eat back all those calories or less will take some experimenting.

    Stay patient, you can do this!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    A wide variety of food in appropriate amounts to reach my calorie targets. I eat enough, but not too much. I eat the same whether I'm trying to drop some weight or maintain...if I want to drop weight, I just eat a little less. I'm off to the climbing gym in a few and after that I'm having tacos...
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
    edited July 2017
    Robocop27 wrote: »
    MizMimi111 wrote: »
    It's not what food you eat rather how much of it. For your health some foods are better than others but there are not specific foods that will help you lose weight. Eat the food you like within your calorie allotment.

    I don't know what I should set my calorie goal at if I'm honest with you...I've gained a lot of weight from silly crash diets and juices cleanses. I'm 4"11 and I weigh 75.3kg to date. I set it at 1200 but I'm not really seeing any results. At least not the kind that other people get so I know I'm not doing it right. At the same time I don't want to eat too little and then put the weight back on later when I've lost all the chub.

    I'm also 4' 11 and the last weight was 143 before I stopped looking at the scale but I went up another pant size before I decided to lose weight, so I start close to where you are.

    You say you are not getting results like other people but we are smaller and have a smaller deficit, 1500 is sedentary maintenance so to lose anything we have to be mindful and remember it's not going to happen quickly.

    I did the crash diets, I won't mention all of them. I stopped looking at food as good or bad and stopped dieting and just made small changes. Use mfp the right way, set it to lose .5lbs (.25kg I think) and remember it is slow and steady at this size. I'm still losing weight (slowly) at approximately 1500. This time don't diet just make sustainable changes and the you won't go back to eating "normal" and regain because normal will change and you will think eating enough for your new size is normal. Good luck and add me if you want.
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    MizMimi111 wrote: »
    It's tough to not be impatient. I'm the same way. I try to focus on other small goals to help myself feel accomplished, not just focus on the scale. Avoiding the breakfast sandwich when I buy my morning tea, prepping healthly lunches for the week, drinking enough water - stuff like that. I know it sounds mundane and boring but it helps with not always focusing on the scale.

    And remember if you add purposeful exercise, you'll get more calories too. Whether you eat back all those calories or less will take some experimenting.

    Stay patient, you can do this!

    Thank you!
  • Robocop27
    Robocop27 Posts: 29 Member
    MizMimi111 wrote: »
    It's tough to not be impatient. I'm the same way. I try to focus on other small goals to help myself feel accomplished, not just focus on the scale. Avoiding the breakfast sandwich when I buy my morning tea, prepping healthly lunches for the week, drinking enough water - stuff like that. I know it sounds mundane and boring but it helps with not always focusing on the scale.

    And remember if you add purposeful exercise, you'll get more calories too. Whether you eat back all those calories or less will take some experimenting.

    Stay patient, you can do this!

    I'm going to do my best to not give up, and keep it simple.
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