Diet not going well!

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  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
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    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I find that cutting back on breads, pasta, rice, and focusing more on good protein and vegetables helps fill my plate and belly with fewer calories. Look for lean meats, like chicken breast, turkey, pork chop/loin, lean beef...skip the breading or fried food. Try a bunch of vegetables to see what you like. My hubby and I usually agree on broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, or frozen mixed. I also like squash, tomatoes, and okra, but he doesn't.

    What about essential fatty acids/ fats though for hormone production and vitamin absorption if you keep such a lean diet.....
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
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    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I find that cutting back on breads, pasta, rice, and focusing more on good protein and vegetables helps fill my plate and belly with fewer calories. Look for lean meats, like chicken breast, turkey, pork chop/loin, lean beef...skip the breading or fried food. Try a bunch of vegetables to see what you like. My hubby and I usually agree on broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, or frozen mixed. I also like squash, tomatoes, and okra, but he doesn't.

    I do this a lot as well. Lean meats (mostly pork or chicken) Then I add back olive oil for roasting vegetables or in meat marinades. For bread I eat is less frequently now and try to choose whole grains when I do. Roasted cauliflower is a new family favorite.
  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,865 Member
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    Your lunch is almost entirely carbs. If I eat a meal of carbs (for example, oatmeal for breakfast), I am ravenous a couple of hours later. But if I eat scrambled eggs and a slice of toast for breakfast, I'm good till noon. I'm thinking that you need to cut out some of the carbs and replace them with protein. Cheese instead of crisps, a hard boiled egg instead of one of the fruits. If you want to see change, then you can't just eat the same old food. Make every calorie count and you'll probably feel fuller. Play around with your protein/fat/carb ratios (macros) and see what satisfies you best. Its not the same for everyone so you and your girlfriend may be quite different.
  • SVZee
    SVZee Posts: 76 Member
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    hobbitses333 wrote: »
    I love intemittent fasting. As a big eater I am in heaven with this way of eating. I do 16:8 and it has really helped me control my calorie intake..well MOST days..lol!

    57 lbs down in just under 6 months time..it takes a bit of adjustment and its not for everyone.

    I find I am more in tune with what REAL hunger feels like and I enjoy eating so much more since I started this.

    Good luck finding your key to success!

    Are you counting your calories within your window? I'm getting back into IF after a break and I'm down a pound without counting, but since I'm a lower weight to begin with I wonder how long I'll be able to get away with it lol.
  • Deviette
    Deviette Posts: 978 Member
    edited December 2018
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    It really does sound like your lunches are quite big. If it's not intended to be the main meal of your day, I can see why you're struggling. On top of a probably too aggressive calorie deficit, well yeah, that might explain why you're struggling

    Why not try splitting your meal up, so try eating your sandwiches, crisps and one piece of fruit. Then if you get hungry later on have another piece of fruit. Then if you continue to be hungry have the yoghurt. You might find that after some time you're finding your not actually eating that extra food so your portion size will be reduced.

    Some other tips that might help:
    - You can try adding salad to your sandwiches. I've always found that a super bulky sandwich is much more filling than a less full one, even if that bulk is coming from a bunch of lettuce which has very little calories. With that bulk I don't need to eat quite so much food as I'm more full.
    - Reduce the amount of butter you add to your sandwich. It might sound disgusting at first, but I now rarely have butter on my sandwiches now (I know, it still seems weird to me myself), and that's because I started off by only applying a thin layer of butter, then I only had butter on one side of the bread and then I just stopped putting butter on both.
    - Open sandwiches, why have two slices of bread when you can have one? It'll save you at least 100kcals per slice (more if you have butter) and honestly, it feels super fancy to eat an open sandwich.
    - Thinner sliced bread. I used to eat thick cut bread and now I eat medium. I never noticed the different after I switched.
    - For crisps you could try switching to lower calorie alternatives (popcorn or things like quavers or wotsits) or try getting ones that come in smaller bags (eg: I've found that normal multipack mini chedders are only around 125kcals, about 100kcals less than other "normal" multipack crisps only because they come in small bags. I also love mini chedders, so win win).
    - Try a lower calorie yoghurt, make sure you're paying attention to calories and not fat. Low fat does not equal low calories.
    - On that subject, I've always found that mousse pots are surprisingly low calories when compared to yoghurts, and they very much fit the same 'pudding shaped hole'.

    I'm not suggesting use all of them, but with just one or two of these tweeks can reduce the calories a bit and make the calorie balance seem more reasonable.

    The thing is it's very easy to think "well I have to eat this much because otherwise I'll be hungry" but after a while you do get used to eating smaller portion if you reduce them slowly. I used to have two sandwiches (as in two full sandwiches, so four halves), crisps, fruit and some chocolate for lunch. Now I'll have one sandwich, fruit and a yoghurt or crisps. I've halved the amount of calories I eat, and yet I still feel as satisfied as I used to. We do get used to the amount we eat, and sometimes it's just habit, not hunger. It will take a while to get used to reduced portion though (read months to years, not days to weeks).

    Oh and I know you vaguely mentioned struggling to find low calorie recipes that were "normal" foods (I'm paraphrasing here): I can't wholehearted recommend enough the Hairy Dieters books (all of them). You can also find some of the recipes on their website: http://www.hairybikers.com/recipes?dish-type=hairy-dieters#recipes


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