Exasperation with meal planning...can someone tell me how to fit 3 meals into 1200 calories?
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You didn't say whether or not you like breakfasts, but I try to keep my calories around 1200-1400 and I've found that I just didn't care enough about breakfast to eat much of anything then. Call it intermittent fasting if you like, but it did leave me with more calories for lunch and dinner, meals I do care about. Usually for breakfast now I don't skip it, but have a 50-cal cheese stick, a hardboiled egg, a small yogurt or something like that. Something around 100 cals or under.3
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MonaRaeHill wrote: »I need something very simple, and made for only one person, as my partner hates leftovers so I either gotta' eat it or chuck it, which I hate to do.
As others said, can you not have leftovers for you, at least for some meals? I find having leftovers in the refrigerator a lifesaver when things come up and I don't have time to cook.
Anyway, with 1200 (I did 1250 for a while, also 5'3, I found it not necessary but I get it can be the right goal if you are mostly sedentary), one thing I'd think about is how often you want to eat, especially if you don't enjoy meal planning. It might be easier to do something like 2 larger meals in a day.
Whatever you do, I'd plan how many calories you want to devote to each of your meals (roughly) and then work with that for a while. When I was doing 1250, I think I normally did about 250 at breakfast, 350 at lunch, and then had plenty available for dinner.
Breakfast IS for some an easy place to save calories, but if you like a bigger breakfast (I currently eat more like 400-450 for breakfast), you can go with less at other meals, it's personal preference. Breakfast is also a meal where a lot of people find it easy to just always have the same thing, takes the planning out of it.
My lunches are kind of repetitive too (when I'm not just doing dinner leftovers, which is common for me). I'll do a salad based lunch a lot, with some kind of protein on it (beans, chickpeas, edamame, tofu). Bean and/or veg soup can be easy too, and another thing you can just have pre-made and ready to heat.
Then it's just about dinner.
Have you seen https://www.eatthismuch.com/ -- you can give it your preferences, calorie goal, so on and it will generate food ideas. If you are struggling with what fits in a certain calorie goal for a meal or day and also hits some goals like protein, this could be useful for you.2 -
Rather than three 400 calorie meals, you might try splitting your daily budget in a different way:
Breakfast: 1 cup unsweetened soy milk, 1 cup Quaker Oatmeal Squares, 1/2 cup sliced strawberries (80+210+25=315)
Mid-day Snack: 2 Triscuits, 1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese, 1/2 cup sliced strawberries (40+35+25=100)
Afternoon Snack: Fiber One bar (90)
Dinner: 695 calories to spend
Or, if you do better on a bigger lunch and lighter breakfast, split up the calories that way and make your dinner something light. You don't *have* to have three equal meals in a day.2 -
Finkelstien wrote: »just as MrsPinterest34 i rather loose a little more slowly and eat a bit more. On days where i don't work out i eat around 1450 kcal. Now i am small so i need a little less then most.
B: Banana + proteinyoghurt = 253
L; Three pieces of bread with hummus and jalapeno and some veggies = 417
D : Halloumi and (vegetarian)sausage bake = 523
1200 kcal. So i have 300 left. I usually fill this with some tangerines, a salad or a hand of nuts. Sometimes i go over. Sometimes i stay under. Sometimes i add an egg to my lunch. Sometimes i don't.
On fridaynight i like a glass of wine so i eat two pieces of bread at lunch, drink two glasses of wine and sometimes nibble on a crisp.
Can someone please tell me why in the world this got a woo?! This is a description of a 1500 calorie diet by a shorter woman truing to lose a half pound a week. What in the world?
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Finkelstien wrote: »just as MrsPinterest34 i rather loose a little more slowly and eat a bit more. On days where i don't work out i eat around 1450 kcal. Now i am small so i need a little less then most.
B: Banana + proteinyoghurt = 253
L; Three pieces of bread with hummus and jalapeno and some veggies = 417
D : Halloumi and (vegetarian)sausage bake = 523
1200 kcal. So i have 300 left. I usually fill this with some tangerines, a salad or a hand of nuts. Sometimes i go over. Sometimes i stay under. Sometimes i add an egg to my lunch. Sometimes i don't.
On fridaynight i like a glass of wine so i eat two pieces of bread at lunch, drink two glasses of wine and sometimes nibble on a crisp.
Can someone please tell me why in the world this got a woo?! This is a description of a 1500 calorie diet by a shorter woman truing to lose a half pound a week. What in the world?
It's actually pretty easy to hit a reaction accidentally on mobile. Happens to me all the time. I unmark the ones that I notice, but I'm sure some get away from me. No need to assume the worst.6 -
Mona,
You've said your husband doesn't like leftovers, but that doesn't mean you can't (and kudos for the composting!). I batch cook on the weekend (some of which you don't eat, but you'll get the idea). It saves me a ton of time and helps me not make poor nutritional choices when I'm at work. There's always a tempting treat around.- grilled chicken breast
- quinoa
- biscuits (I use Carb-Quick baking mix and use Smart Balance instead of butter and unsweetened soy milk instead instead of heavy cream
- egg white muffins (egg whites, turkey or gardien sausage, quinoa, shredded cheese)--I like them for breakfast at work.
I also have "staples" for me of protein powders (Women's Best in the UK (they ship worldwide) has a yummy vegan line), protein bars, protein chips, high fiber tortillas, and Kodiak whole grain muffin in a cup, skyr yogurt, among other things.
For work, I throw protein (chicken, tuna, veggie burger, etc.) and frozen veggies and some quinoa in a pyrex and heat it up. Sometimes I add beans. For non-work, I often eat egg whites with veggies, beans, gardein crumbles and/or quinoa. I also tried those konjac "newdles." I was a little scared at first, but they were very filling and were quite tasty with the veggies and garlic olive oil I cooked them in. I workout after work and am short on time when I get home as I want to sleep, too.
So dinner is often quick for me. I may not be a great or even a good conventional cook, but I'm a whiz with a micorwave! 
I try to prioritize protein as much as possible. 1 -
Hey. Thanks everyone, for all the input. All muchly valued and appreciated!
To answer some more very insightful questions...........
Yes, I DO track very specifically. I DO have a kitchen scale, which I do use. For things that have nutritional labels (like the protein powders), I use the scoop provided (leveled) and take those numbers. I do not lie to myself about intake, not EVER.
So, it's not a question of eating too much, it's a question of my horrible metabolism not cooperating. (Yes, this really does happen.......read on......)
I think I just may have broken it, yo-yo and fat-free dieting over the years. I say that, because I cannot have fat, any kind of fat......not avocados, not coconut, not butter, not not-butter, none, without it causing problems with my goals. That leaves no-fat protein shakes, and no nuts, no seeds, no avocado's, no salad dressings (which I haven't used, in years), etc. Even when I was eating 10-gallon salads, I wasn't using dressing, but rather, that spiced brown rice vinegar, for the dressing.
In short, the ONLY way I have EVER gotten my weight down to a healthy number (145 is it, for me).....was when I was eating a normal size muffin with coffee for breakfast and one protein shake per day, balanced out by having one ten-gallon salad every two or three days. AND, I was cleaning houses, landscaping, and running 3x per week, and I was only 30 years old! That's it. I don't know what that comes to, but it's not 1200 calories, even. When I went back (as an experiment), to add it all up, it was more like 800 calories, 4 days a week, and 1200 for the other three days (the days I ate a ten-gallon salad). That's it. CiCo (Calories IN vs. Calories Out), may work for some, I am proof positive that it most certainly does not work for all!
My original post was about exasperation with this mess I find myself in. That's still the case. My problem isn't only physical (having a basement basal metabolism), it's also emotional. It's far too easy to get discouraged, when my coping skill of working physically, full-tilt, is no longer an option. I don't remember feeling all that hungry when I was moving physically, all of the time. It worked as both a mood stabilizer and as a hunger-control.
I really, really, really miss, having that!
I need to find a way to be okay with eating just enough food to not make me hungry all the time, but also enjoying more then protein shakes! Not only am I hampered by the demands of my disability, (to only be able to exercise for 2 days in a row, then it really wants a 0 day, or it acts up); I am hampered by the slowest metabolism, EVER. I can give it my all, when I DO exercise, and I DO, do that. So, I am not lazy, either. In fact, I probably try to do too much, too soon, on the exercise front. I am really trying to only do 1 hour, each time, right now. If I can build it up, that's great, but I really have to constantly monitor my pain levels. The CBD has helped enormously, in that regard! So, at least I've got that, this time around.
It still isn't enough.
After weeks (and/or months) of protein shakes, and an occasional salad, every 2nd or 3rd day ((to budge even a couple of pounds), I feel so deprived and irritable, that I tend to get completely exasperated.
MFP, Fitbit, and every one of the other things I've tried (Calorie King, early on), don't help when I don't lose, and they drop me down to NO calories.
Can you think of anything more discouraging?
Everybody is like CiCo will work, over time! Um, no, it only works for SOME, not all. Seriously. I do not lie.
I read the book written by Oprah's Coach, and how hard it was for her to lose weight. I am in the same boat. Not everyone is able to do this. Some (many) of us, have our DNA working against us, in very profound ways. All the schedules, plans, charts and recommendations, do not deal with this, which is why I get so exasperated!
So, my original post is still my post, here at the end of this thread..........
What other things should I do, that I am not currently doing, this time around? Is there anything? All of the suggestions are good, and I will definitely follow some of those links (great info, so thanks for that!), but I am still looking for coping skills for the times when I go nowhere, and the plateaus last for months...........sigh.10 -
Calories in and calories out2
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P.S.
Yes, money is an issue, then there's all the running around shopping, and then standing for long periods to cook it all up.
I've thought very often, about the meal delivery option........when I get out of credit card debt, I may just try one, but living on a limited budget, it may not be an option, then, either. I just don't know. But, that's long term planning, for the short term.........gah!
I meant what I said, I not only need the dog walker to spell me on that front, (for my mid-week 0 day), but I need an on-board chef, too!
Alas, there's the $, so protein shakes and a ten-gallon salad every 2nd or 3rd day, is my only short-term solution.......until I can (or ya'll can), come with some other options.
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Sorry but I definitely don’t buy Oprah’s coach’s excuses for her not losing weight. Her different food obsessions (“BREAD!”) and fad diets have prevented any kind of consistency that would have led her to be able to maintain a loss.
I know you don’t want to hear it and I understand you have some limitations:restrictions/issues, but getting your mind right is the first step. Why not try some of the suggestions you’ve been given for just a week (consistently) and see where it leads you? Being a martyr (eating only salads, etc) isn’t going to get you anywhere. You can eat what you were eating when you gained, just less of it. If your partner won’t help, then just do it for yourself. I don’t mean to be harsh, but I do get frustrated when people are given such great advice and don’t want to have an open mind and see where it might lead. FWIW- I’m almost 60 and have lost 95 lbs using MFP as designed. It took 3 years (referencing your comment that 6 lbs a month was slow) and that’s totally OK. You have to look at the big picture & play the long game when it comes to weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight and attitude. Good Luck Mona12 -
I do intermittent fasting and for 1300 calories into two or even one meal. Feel great and losing weight.4
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MonaRaeHill wrote: »I think I just may have broken it, yo-yo and fat-free dieting over the years.
It turns out that no, you can't break your metabolism by yo-yo dieting:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120814213252.htm4 -
MonaRaeHill wrote: »...
When I was 30, running 3x per week, and eating 0 fat, 0 sugars, and 0 bread products, I could only lose weight (at the ridiculous rate of 6 pounds per month), when under 1200 cal. So it makes sense that now, being 27 years older, I could in no way, exceed that, if I want results. I did mention that my metabolism is verrrrryyyyy slow.......yes?
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I'm confused. You think 6 pounds a month is slow?5 -
amyepdx
I couldn't agree more. I can listen and read and hear with an open mind, but it's not a question of that (I am a very open-minded as well as being a big picture type person).
It's a question of what to do when platau's last for weeks/months, and the diet is not really satisfying and you just want that chocolate bar, because of a long term habit of eating for comfort.
Then what?
What are some of the coping skills one can use when this happens, that have worked for others?
I can be consistent, I can be rigid, I can really be a harsh taskmaster to myself. But, not forever, which is what happens..after awhile, I get so discouraged and exasperated that I just want to "chuck it in the f**kit, bucket" and eat that chocolate, thereby ruining months of hard work! Not because I ate the stupid chocolate bar, but because once I started, I couldn't stop....in the giving up, I also gave in.......... :(NOTHING, and I do mean, NOTHING that I have found, to date, can deter that impulse for me. Or at least, it hasn't happened yet. Hence, my overall exasperation! I am hoping it will happen and that I will stumble upon, or receive some random tip, that will interrupt this cycle for me! That's my prayer out to the Universe!
I need tools in place, for when that several month long plateau happens, because you and I both know, there WILL be plateaus, some that last much longer for me, then for others. (Not feeling sorry for myself, just being realistic, here).
That's the point.
I am like Kate in the show: "This is Us". Have you seen it?
I don't want to spoil anything, but at some point, she talks about the voices holding her back from her weight loss goal, and how she didn't know how to live without them, once she had lost the weight and so, naturally, it all came back, in triple digits! And she had pretty loving parents, with a fairly stable childhood, too (at least on the show, anyway). I realize it's just a TV show, but that's an important theme the writers touched on, for people who comfort eat.
In a loving stable childhood, they are just voices, but in a very dysfunctional childhood, they are obnoxious phantoms and demons..........trying to step all over the drowning persons weak refrains of: "I can do this", "I know I can".......that's the point.
I need coping strategies and tools, as well as "losing weight" buddies, and motivation/support.
I realize it's asking a LOT to get that here, but if not here, then where?
What's a comfort eater, to do, when they are "stuck" and can't get "unstuck"? That's the exasperation piece. I am in it for the long game, truly, which is why I was reaching out..........hoping that others experiences could maybe illuminate what to do when the demons come knocking!
As you can see, it's not just the BORING diet of shakes and salads, it's the mind set that I need to adopt and embrace, in order to succeed, so like I said, I couldn't agree more..........to adopt the mindset, I need coping skills to get past the initial plunge and to know how to hang on when the plateaus turn into marathons of patience and determination struggles...........is that any clearer?3 -
Figure out your maintenance calories. And when you do, eat a little less. Do this until you reach your goal weight.4
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MonaRaeHill wrote: »amyepdx
I couldn't agree more. I can listen and read and hear with an open mind, but it's not a question of that (I am a very open-minded as well as being a big picture type person).
It's a question of what to do when platau's last for weeks/months, and the diet is not really satisfying and you just want that chocolate bar, because of a long term habit of eating for comfort.
Then what?
What are some of the coping skills one can use when this happens, that have worked for others?
I can be consistent, I can be rigid, I can really be a harsh taskmaster to myself. But, not forever, which is what happens..after awhile, I get so discouraged and exasperated that I just want to "chuck it in the f**kit, bucket" and eat that chocolate, thereby ruining months of hard work! Not because I ate the stupid chocolate bar, but because once I started, I couldn't stop....in the giving up, I also gave in.......... :(NOTHING, and I do mean, NOTHING that I have found, to date, can deter that impulse for me. Or at least, it hasn't happened yet. Hence, my overall exasperation! I am hoping it will happen and that I will stumble upon, or receive some random tip, that will interrupt this cycle for me! That's my prayer out to the Universe!
I need tools in place, for when that several month long plateau happens, because you and I both know, there WILL be plateaus, some that last much longer for me, then for others. (Not feeling sorry for myself, just being realistic, here).
That's the point.
I am like Kate in the show: "This is Us". Have you seen it?
I don't want to spoil anything, but at some point, she talks about the voices holding her back from her weight loss goal, and how she didn't know how to live without them, once she had lost the weight and so, naturally, it all came back, in triple digits! And she had pretty loving parents, with a fairly stable childhood, too (at least on the show, anyway). I realize it's just a TV show, but that's an important theme the writers touched on, for people who comfort eat.
In a loving stable childhood, they are just voices, but in a very dysfunctional childhood, they are obnoxious phantoms and demons..........trying to step all over the drowning persons weak refrains of: "I can do this", "I know I can".......that's the point.
I need coping strategies and tools, as well as "losing weight" buddies, and motivation/support.
I realize it's asking a LOT to get that here, but if not here, then where?
What's a comfort eater, to do, when they are "stuck" and can't get "unstuck"? That's the exasperation piece. I am in it for the long game, truly, which is why I was reaching out..........hoping that others experiences could maybe illuminate what to do when the demons come knocking!
As you can see, it's not just the BORING diet of shakes and salads, it's the mind set that I need to adopt and embrace, in order to succeed, so like I said, I couldn't agree more..........to adopt the mindset, I need coping skills to get past the initial plunge and to know how to hang on when the plateaus turn into marathons of patience and determination struggles...........is that any clearer?
I’m glad you brought up Kate. As much as I love the show, I get so frustrated about how they treat her “dieting”. Obviously written by men who have no idea. When she’s “being good”, she’s eating organic & low-fat muffins - WTF does that have to do with weight loss - nothing! They have her set up with the all or nothing demonizing food mindset which doesn’t work. That’s what you seem to be doing with worrying about a piece of chocolate - there’s no reason not to make it fit into your calories - I eat chocolate practically very day.
Trust me, emotionally eating is what got me to 267 lbs at the age of 56. And there was no bigger yo-yo dieter than me. I lost 25, gained 40. Lost 40, gained 60. Lost 60, gained 100. You get the idea. Because there was always a start & stop. This time, there is no stop. There are times I eat over and/or don’t log. But I continue on (not start over) and that’s the difference this time. I will be weighing & logging my food forever - or as long as I don’t want to be 267 lbs (or bigger) again. It’s not punishment, it’s reality and that’s OK too. I learned that mindset right here on MFP after 35 years of yo-yo dieting. I think that’s why your post hit me that I had to respond. It’s up to you to create your own destiny.9 -
MonaRaeHill wrote: »P.S.
Yes, money is an issue, then there's all the running around shopping, and then standing for long periods to cook it all up.
I've thought very often, about the meal delivery option........when I get out of credit card debt, I may just try one, but living on a limited budget, it may not be an option, then, either. I just don't know. But, that's long term planning, for the short term.........gah!
I meant what I said, I not only need the dog walker to spell me on that front, (for my mid-week 0 day), but I need an on-board chef, too!
Alas, there's the $, so protein shakes and a ten-gallon salad every 2nd or 3rd day, is my only short-term solution.......until I can (or ya'll can), come with some other options.
No you don’t need any of this. Eat what you’ve been eating, just less. This is what we’re trying to tell you.7 -
Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink
It's what I've been trying to do.........when I do the numbers.....this is what I get....
I am 57, and was told (and I computed it, from my own historical dieting patterns, as well), that my maintenance caloric intake, for my age and activity level, is 7 calories per pound, per day.
At 240 lbs, currently, that would be 1680 calories per day.
If I want to lose even one pound a week, I have to deduct 500 calories from that, each day, correct? (500 x 7 = 3500).
To keep going with the math.......1680 - 500 is 1180 calories.
That's how and why I know my initial impetus to only get no more then 1200 calories per day, was correct.
That isn't much food, which is why I said meal plans were hardly worth bothering with, because to do all the work to split that up into meal segments?, that would sabotage me b4 I even start; it's much too complicated to do, in my current state of being..........it seems overwhelming to me..........
Hence my exasperation!3 -
I should have said: "Can someone (anyone) please tell me how to fit 3 very simple (=easy), vegan meals (other then salads) into 1200 calories a day?" I realize now, that that would have been a bit more specific!0
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I also agree with my partner........leftovers are gross. Yea, I am a finicky eater, it's hard to believe I am at 240 pounds, huh? I can't really believe it, myself, it's just what happens when I stop being hyper-vigilant 100% of the time, about what I put in my mouth. Being hyper-vigilant 100% of the time, is exhausting! And exasperating! There's got to be another way.........hey?3
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I had ratatouille for dinner last night over pasta. !50 calories for the ratatouille and 200 calories for the pasta.2
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MonaRaeHill wrote: »I should have said: "Can someone (anyone) please tell me how to fit 3 very simple (=easy), vegan meals (other then salads) into 1200 calories a day?" I realize now, that that would have been a bit more specific!
Why does it have to be 3 meals a day... Why not 2? Takes less effort to plan and cook, making it easier. The meals are bigger, so perhaps more satisfying.0 -
MonaRaeHill wrote: »I should have said: "Can someone (anyone) please tell me how to fit 3 very simple (=easy), vegan meals (other then salads) into 1200 calories a day?" I realize now, that that would have been a bit more specific!
Try the thug kitchen cookbook.
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There is a lot going on in this post and I hope we can all work together to help out, but I want to pull out this part in particular:MonaRaeHill wrote: »I think I just may have broken it, yo-yo and fat-free dieting over the years. I say that, because I cannot have fat, any kind of fat......not avocados, not coconut, not butter, not not-butter, none, without it causing problems with my goals. That leaves no-fat protein shakes, and no nuts, no seeds, no avocado's, no salad dressings (which I haven't used, in years), etc.
When you say no fat do you mean absolutely zero grams of fat? Have you been checked out by a doc yet on that? Dietary fat is so important for things like hormone balance, but the big risk with very low fat diets is gallbladder problems. Gallbladder problems present as gastric pain and running to the bathroom after you eat fatty foods. I had to have mine out a few years ago. If you cannot have any fat in your diet then you need to get checked out asap.7 -
Mslmesq:
Thank you, I will check that out! Exciting.......!
diannethegeek,
yes, I mean 0 fat. any fat at all, I gain weight. like I said, think i broke my metabolism doing the no fat diets back in the 80's (yes, of 1900...lol).....ugh. I don't get sick from it, just can't really metabolize it. I had every test known to man, after my botched surgery in 2010. they found nothing. Sigh. I still have a very compromised digestive system, just nothing that will show up on a test........when they were done poking and prodding, they called it IBS, which isn't really a diagnosis, just a catch-all phrase to name what they can't explain.........
There are many things I've never been able to eat....fat is one...sits in my gut like a cement block.......rice is another, pasta is another, can only eat the most fibrous bread (11 grains and seeds); as for dairy, and bananas, forget it! Talk about gas and constipation! I pretty much have to add tablespoons of psyllium, if I want to eat those......and then I have to drink gallons of water to help them navigate in there. I love yogurt, but it does NOT like me. Same with Oatmeal. I get fecal compaction from this, and too many berries at once, too! (TMI, i know, i know.....lol.)
I CAN eat the Kanten noodles, which, I believe, are a boon to dieters, as well as the cellophane noodles........very, very, very lightly, is how I should be eating. It may not help with losing weight, but I certainly feel better when I arrange my diet this way!
livingleanlivingclean: I am lucky if I CAN eat two meals a day, with only 1200 calories to choose from. I just realized from another post, that my struggle since my surgery, has in part been because my medications are increasing my hunger pains, and I hate being hungry. So, maybe that's been working to sabotage me into thinking I've been eating normally..........maybe not such a normal (for me), diet, after all..........hmmmm.........will have to do some more investigating on this front.........geez. Never a dull minute, in this bod! lol.
I appreciate all your input!5 -
Mslmesq: The trailer to that cookbook is friggin' hilarious, btw! Thanks for the giggles.
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MonaRaeHill wrote: »Mslmesq: The trailer to that cookbook is friggin' hilarious, btw! Thanks for the giggles.
Yup. I'm not even vegan and it sold me. Wait till you read the cookbook. Hilarious!
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MonaRaeHill wrote: »I see all these things on meal planning, they only serve to make me edgy. What the heck are people eating on these meal plans? They sound like far too much work for a nibble, which is how I view 300 calories. That's a nibble, not a meal! Lawdy.
I can exceed 1200 calories by just eating once per day.....which makes me cranky....especially if I exercise that day. geez. What gives? I need an on board Weight Watchers chef. Or just choose to live on protein shakes w/greens, which is about the only way to eat healthy with what my budget will stand......blek.
How does anybody only eat 1200 calories, without losing it? Better off not eating at all.........in my mind. lol.
Protein of choice
Veggie of choice
Complex carb of choice
fat of choice
additional fiber
No fruit or sugar
Here's the rules:
**40g protein per meal
**150g veggies (weigh before cooking) per meal
**Complex Carb: Eat only enough carbs to fuel your workouts and your day, but no extra carb snacking. quinoa, winter squashes, sweet potato, beans, etc
**Fats: eat as much fat as you want to make the meal taste good, such as butter, avocado, olive oil, nut butter, etc. NO industrial oils, such as corn or canola oil.
**Additional fiber: Aim to increase fiber intake to 35g or more daily. Start slow! Add fiber to your diet slowly to avoid irritation and gas. fiber powder, chia seeds, flax seeds
Fruit/sugar: this is a temporary restriction, until you are well into weight loss, or have lost all you want.
You can make 3 meals, or divide the food to make 3 meals and 2 snacks.
Honestly, 1200 is unnecessarily restrictive. You can lose weight quickly if you don't eat excess carbs, sugar or fruit
You could eat 1600 cals and progress quickly.
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Thank you to anybody/everybody that I didn't check respond to, and/or befriend. This thread is getting really long and I don't want to offend anyone, but am losing track of who I thanked and/or responded to, and who I didn't! Thanks to you all.
I will keep all this great advice in mind and keep looking for a way to offset the doldrums. Right now I gotta' go buy some more Miracle noodles.....even the cellophane have too many calories, I just realized............ugh........and.........sigh.........and........lol.0 -
Don't worry about offending people, or thanking them. Worry about your base assumptions that are leading you towards barking up the wrong tree.
I had a discussion with a friend about my dog today as she was hounding me to get "her share" of my greek yogurt based bagels (158 Calories each including 1 calorie for the 1g of PAM split between the batch). His comment was that the canine attempt to civilization was doomed to non development from day one because dogs can NOT comprehend trading food RIGHT NOW for much more food in the FUTURE.
In your mind weight loss means dropping 6lbs or more a month.
Come on. Admit it. If the needle is not moving you are not being rewarded for your sacrifices and effort.
You are neither the first nor the last person to fall for the food RIGHT NOW trap and so miss the chance for LOTS of FUTURE food. <-- yes, my example is a bit muddled since I am talking about weight losses as opposed to food, but the principles in question absolutely apply to YOUR weight loss efforts.
Guess what. You burn a certain amount of energy each and every day. If you're older, more sedentary, and quite possibly under-eating... you BURN LESS.
Why am I bringing up the concept of sedentary in this discussion? Because you mentioned in a post above that your Fitbit tells you to eat nothing, i.e. even less than 1200 Cal.
This instantly tells me that YOU are choosing a rate of loss that is incompatible with your burn as detected by your Fitbit.
Your deficit to meet your targeted rate of loss is such that once subtracted from your daily calories burned brings you under 1200 Cal (MFP has a floor at 1200 Cal. Fitbit does not have a floor and will stupidly tell you to eat less than nothing if you haven't burned enough to support the deficit you have selected).
But doing so creates REACTIONS.
While your metabolism is not BROKEN, it can most certainly slow down, and, if you keep under-feeding your body and selecting overly aggressive goals it probably HAS done so.
And you are offering ZERO help to yourself by not eating sufficient fats (including Omega 3 fats) which are critical to regulating your hormones.
As Diane mentioned above, if you are physically unable to eat fats, then it is time to see your doctor (muffins by the way have fat, another piece of proof, as if it were necessary, that fats by themselves are not stopping you from losing weight).
This is probably going to fall on deaf ears because hey, you know best after all these years of dieting what works for you and what doesn't... except, well, you're still at it. So maybe it is worth thinking about an alternative option or two.
a) Evaluate your goals. If you're not obese your risk of death from being over-fat as you age is not necessarily increased. If you are over 65 loss of lean mass and muscle may be a bigger danger than being overweight. BIG DEFICITS LEAD TO GREATER LOSS OF LEAN MASS. Muscle mass cannot be rebuilt easily at any point of time, but, even more so once we've aged.
b) Temper your expectations. You're not a dog!
2lbs a MONTH are 24lbs a YEAR.
TWENTY FOUR.
(oh, and that would be 0.5lbs a week in case you're counting, or a 250 Cal deficit... not the 1000 Cal deficit it sounds like you're selecting).
c) IF you have a Fitbit look at that number at the end of the day. is it saying 1500? Is it saying 2000? You only get as a maximum deficit 20% of that number. THAT'S IT. Make the number bigger... you can have a bigger deficit.
If you have such levels of fat available to be lost on you such that you could be classified as obese, then you can dial up the deficit to 25%)
d) Don't evaluate your progress by weighting yourself once a week before or after your big salad and calling that your weight. Use a trending weight application or website (you can connect your Fitbit to trendweight.com), weight yourself every day or every second day or as frequently as you can mentally tolerate (but no more than once a day after using the washroom, while wearing the same stuff or nothing, and using a scale that doesn't move and is located on a solid/unyielding piece of level floor and has relatively fresh batteries), and record that weight in your trending weight application. Then REVIEW YOUR PROGRESS based on what you've logged as your CICO balance and how your weight TREND has responded over a period of 4 to 6 weeks. If you're post menopausal you can cut that down to 3 to 4 weeks.
Now. If it turns out that based on the interaction between your ability to log correctly and the ability of your "Fitbit" to evaluate your caloric burn correctly that after 3-4 weeks it looks like your device is for example 20% off based on your results (for example if it predicted a daily burn of about 2000 calories and you logged that you ate 1600 Cal a day but based on your trending weight you didn't lose a single lb), then you take this into account during your evaluation and convert the 2000 Cal burn whenever you see it into a 1600 burn and create a 20% deficit off of that lower amount.
Do the work carefully and you can have and measure deficits as small as 100 Cal a day AND LOSE WEIGHT AS PREDICTED. Yet... even 100 cal a day means a full 10lbs a year. Certainly NOT nothing.
Or... you can continue shooting for 6lbs a month and continue going no-where fast (well, except to frustration-land... but I think it is obvious you've already arrived there)
MINIMUMS to eat include 0.35g of dietary FAT per lb of target weight in the normal weight range (the least amount possible saturated. most of it poly or mono-unsaturated). Many other people would suggest a higher minimum such as 0.45g per lb. Very few would suggest less that 0.35g though when it comes to women.
0.8g to 1g of protein per lb of target weight in the normal weight range. This is approximately 2x the RDA and assumes that you don't have current or hidden kidney issues. As you get older and are in a caloric deficit there is credible evidence that your protein requirements increase over the base RDA level. Any extra benefit of moving from 2x to 3x RDA is smaller relatively speaking and more debatable. But the benefits of moving from 1x RDA to 2x seem to be both solid and have few if any side effects especially in the short term. So eat your protein.
And as a woman aim for at least 26g of fiber per day (38g for men)
And the rest of your calories can be whatever you want them to be. Chocolate potato chips if you want... but you might find yourself less hungry and more healthy if you make more nutritionally sound choices.
Incidentally. At normal calories and using MFP's defaults for protein and fats, the levels specified on MFP's guided setup, if treated as minimums, tend to meet the above suggestions.
The chances of you doing all that.... well. I am not holding my breath.
Best of luck...26
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