Ate all my calories! What to do later?

sashaverlene

Sooooo I had a pretty big lunch... salad with bell peppers, black beans, corn and southwest chipotle dressing with chicken..... and with breakfast and my morning snack, I’m already out of calories at 12:30........... if I get hungry around 6 or 7 pm, what should I eat that won’t send me WAY over?! My daily amount is 1200. I went for a long walk before I ate and earned 125 extra. I’ve eaten a total of like 1315. I don’t want to go above 1400 if it can be prevented. 1500 max. Thanks for the help in advance!

janejellyroll

I have two options for days when I've gone over what I planned to eat:

1) Note what I did earlier in the day so I can avoid it (if possible) for future days, eat a regular dinner, and just chalk it up to a learning experience.

2) Have a really light dinner. For me that would be a broth based soup with some greens or a big green salad with a low calorie dressing.

If you're regularly out of calories by noon, it may be worth considering if 1,200 is a reasonable goal for you.

seska422

I would treat lunch as a learning experience and get right back to your plan by eating your normal amount of evening calories this evening. Cutting back will just leave you hungrier and more prone to going off-plan again.

Think about:
Why did you go off-plan for lunch?
What can you change next time so that you don't go off-plan?

Consider pre-logging so that you can see your calories and make adjustments to portion size and/or ingredients before you ingest.

quiksylver296

Do you know what your maintenance calories are? I found that helped me a lot.

My maintenance calories are 2300. My daily goal is about 1800. If I mess up and eat my calories allowance too early, I know I still have ~500 calories before I'm entering calorie surplus (weight gain).

1200 calories might be too low for you, if you can't make it work daily. I'm 5'9, 180 lbs and would freak out and binge if my daily calorie goal was 1200.

amy19355

sashaverlene wrote: »

Sooooo I had a pretty big lunch... salad with bell peppers, black beans, corn and southwest chipotle dressing with chicken..... and with breakfast and my morning snack, I’m already out of calories at 12:30........... if I get hungry around 6 or 7 pm, what should I eat that won’t send me WAY over?! My daily amount is 1200. I went for a long walk before I ate and earned 125 extra. I’ve eaten a total of like 1315. I don’t want to go above 1400 if it can be prevented. 1500 max. Thanks for the help in advance!

Drink a big glass of water. Two if needed. Distract yourself with anything else, a walk around the block, doing a chore,

you'll not starve to death, i am almost certain.

TavistockToad

sashaverlene wrote: »

Sooooo I had a pretty big lunch... salad with bell peppers, black beans, corn and southwest chipotle dressing with chicken..... and with breakfast and my morning snack, I’m already out of calories at 12:30........... if I get hungry around 6 or 7 pm, what should I eat that won’t send me WAY over?! My daily amount is 1200. I went for a long walk before I ate and earned 125 extra. I’ve eaten a total of like 1315. I don’t want to go above 1400 if it can be prevented. 1500 max. Thanks for the help in advance!

Eat at maintenance for a day. It's no big deal.

hesn92

You can eat up to 500 over your goal and you're still in a deficit. One day isn't going to make a difference. Next time plan better

biokoarizona

I drink hot drinks in the evening, instead of eating. That gets me through the craving. Coffee, tea...a sugar substitute, a splash of actual cream not the powdery stuff...does the trick.

jgnatca

Trying to starve myself to keep under the daily allowance never worked for me. It just set me up for ravenous over eating.

I also vote for a light dinner.

MammaC66

When I want something after dinner and I don't have any calories left, I drink a cup of peppermint tea, or sometimes black decaf coffee. Peppermint is supposed to curb your appetite. You could always munch on some low calorie raw veggies, like celery or broccoli, bell peppers, etc.

rsclause

Go for a run.