Frustrated, even furious

BeachIron

also - eating ethnic food is as terrible excuse to not log. I am Indian and i eat a lot of obscure foods that aren't in the database. The thing is, the ingredients ARE. So, you use the recipe builder to construct what you're eating.

Thank you for posting this! I am saving this, because I see it with alarming frequency. Like there's something magical about Indian food as compared to the rest of the world's cuisine. I mean, apart from being extra crazy delicious, of course!:laugh:

Yes. Trini gyal here and I just don't get why Indian food is such a mystery to folks when logging or building recipes

Seriously. Someone post some recipes so we can all at least get something out of this thread. I'm pretty sure we can all agree on anything over some good eats.

bookworm_847

If you're so busy you don't have time to tie your shoes, you need to step back and take a look at your priorities. You can keep trying to do everything for everyone, but pretty soon you won't be able to do anything for anyone. Delegate, cut some stuff out temporarily, or rearrange your schedule a little bit. I know what it's like to have yourself spread so thin that you barely have time to sleep. In college, between classes, two jobs, and studying, I set aside time for 1 meal a day and 6 hours max to sleep. It was not an ideal situation. Don't wear yourself down so much that you can't do anything at all. Take care of you for a while!

As for counting calories, that has been the best thing for me. I tried for a while to say that I would stay between 1300-1500 calories and just do quick math in my head. But I wasn't adding in everything, nor was I paying attention to portions. Result? Gaining even more weight and becoming sad that I'd never again wear my skinny pants. I started logging and realized I was eating way more than I thought. I don't get on several times throughout the day to log each thing I eat. I do it early in the morning after my workout, but before I leave for work. It takes me about 5-10 minutes to plan out my whole day of meals and snacks. That way you'll have an idea of what is going on as opposed to just guessing and then wondering why you're not getting results. You can always make changes at the end of the day if necessary.

Others have mentioned, and I agree, using the recipe builder. You have to only put a recipe in one time, and then it'll always be there when you want to use it rather than listing each ingredient individually and calculating how much of that ingredient you're ingesting.

Good luck to you.

pamelak5

also - eating ethnic food is as terrible excuse to not log. I am Indian and i eat a lot of obscure foods that aren't in the database. The thing is, the ingredients ARE. So, you use the recipe builder to construct what you're eating.

Thank you for posting this! I am saving this, because I see it with alarming frequency. Like there's something magical about Indian food as compared to the rest of the world's cuisine. I mean, apart from being extra crazy delicious, of course!:laugh:

Yes. Trini gyal here and I just don't get why Indian food is such a mystery to folks when logging or building recipes

Seriously. Someone post some recipes so we can all at least get something out of this thread. I'm pretty sure we can all agree on anything over some good eats.

If anyone really want recipes, friend me or PM me. Indian food, cooked homestyle, is super healthy. Lots of protein, legumes, vegetables, spices...I cook in olive oil, not ghee, and rarely use cream. If all Indians ate naan and chicken tikka masala every day, we'd have died out by now.

hookilau

also - eating ethnic food is as terrible excuse to not log. I am Indian and i eat a lot of obscure foods that aren't in the database. The thing is, the ingredients ARE. So, you use the recipe builder to construct what you're eating.

Thank you for posting this! I am saving this, because I see it with alarming frequency. Like there's something magical about Indian food as compared to the rest of the world's cuisine. I mean, apart from being extra crazy delicious, of course!:laugh:

Yes. Trini gyal here and I just don't get why Indian food is such a mystery to folks when logging or building recipes

Seriously. Someone post some recipes so we can all at least get something out of this thread. I'm pretty sure we can all agree on anything over some good eats.

Ya got a point there

Macstraw

If you are looking for other ideas beside calorie counting then....why ask MFP? It's a calorie counting website. you'd do better to try forums that aren't based on a calorie counting tool.

To be honest, I was under the impression this was more like a place of support for people who are trying to lose weight, get in shape, and be healthy, generally speaking - regardless of the specific method they use to reach these goals.
I did not realize it had a "religious cult" dimension and that only those who zealously log their food intake every day can participate.

I respectfully specified from the beginning that calorie counting doesn't work for me, personally. This should certainly not give people license to assume that anyone for whom calorie logging doesn't work is "lazy", "stubborn" or just all-around an "unreasonable" person. Neither should people assume that just because their schedule and family structure appears to be largely the same with someone else's, that means they are equally busy. Despite all of us being generally busy nowadays, there are incredibly variations in the amount of "business" and pressures each of us deals with.

FOR ME - and again, I emphasize FOR ME!! - calorie counting is not just unpractical and time consuming (yes, I have tried it on this very site and it is very time consuming), but also psychologically unhealthy. I do not want to obsess over a specific "food journey" or "weight loss" journey every day.

I want to adjust my eating habit to a point where I eat healthy, I lose all the weight I need to lose, then I just maintain - without thinking much about it.
Do I expect to be able to stuff my face with pizza and cake all day without giving it a thought - and maintain a healthy weight? Obviously not.

But this where common sense steps in.

If this is, in fact, how you really feel then I'll try 1 last time - I log daily & there are times I guesstimate what's in something. Many times I pick something close enough & call it a day. I do NOT obsess over exact calorie #'s, I log to keep track of what I'm eating. It keeps me on top of what I'm having & how often - many times I either don't have a snack (because it makes me realize I'm noshing more because I'm bored) or I take a moment to grab something healthier. It's awareness we're trying to point out to you, not having to be a super strict counter (unless that works for you, there are plenty of people it does work for).

Nobody's journey will be the same, that's why there are different responses here - you need to sift through them to cull out what works for you. I know you don't see it this way, but every time somebody gave you advice you blew it off. That DOES label you as stubborn & obstinate, & the way you are saying you just won't do things that are not that time consuming does paint you as lazy - everybody here knows just how long it takes to log. You were given advice on how to make that process easier (load in your common recipes & add them to your diary from there instead of logging each ingredient every time you have it, use the phone app to add during the times you're not home, etc.).

People are really aggravated because you came here & specifically asked for help but have blown off everything suggested because it's not what you want to hear. None of us want to count calories, log food, log exercise, etc., but if we want to reach a goal it needs to be done. I have nobody but me to blame for being in the shape I'm in & I'm the only 1 who's gonna get me back - I don't like it, but it's a fact. That leaves me only 2 choices - do something about it to get healthy or wait for all the weight related disorders to catch up to me. Personally, I'm making time to do what I need to because I want to get to a certain point. If you want to achieve your goal bad enough you'll stop with the excuses & get to work...

PikaKnight

Well congratulations OP. You managed to get everyone that consistently/constantly argues with each other to actually agree on something and pretty much in the same way. wow!

jwdieter

None of us want to count calories, log food, log exercise, etc., but if we want to reach a goal it needs to be done.

Good post Mac. Just wanted to say I enjoy tracking my life. We're at an enlightened age where we can control with a high degree of certainty what's going on with our bodies - losing, gaining, building, whatever. It's fascinating stuff.

I can understand some people don't feel the same way. Maybe they see tracking as a chore. That's ok too. It's just kinda funny to have this amazing tool available, choose not to use it, then get frustrated.

Prettyuseful

I DO eat a lot of things that aren't in the database. I did track very briefly on this forum in the beginning and it was not something that I wanted to continue doing. Very time consuming for me.
I am not American born and raised and I cook many recipes learned from my mother and grandmother - many adapted to be low in calories (less fat, salt, never sugar). There will be no such dishes in the database - only approximations - which I can do with my own eye balling.
I also sometimes graze just a little bit throughout the day given that I am restraining myself so much with the portions at meal times. Could be a few almonds, flax crackers or a fruit, or a little taste when I cook, etc;
so trying to track all these little bitty things would drive me up the wall.

I DO eat a lot of things that aren't in the database. I did track very briefly on this forum in the beginning and it was not something that I wanted to continue doing. Very time consuming for me.
I am not American born and raised and I cook many recipes learned from my mother and grandmother - many adapted to be low in calories (less fat, salt, never sugar). There will be no such dishes in the database - only approximations - which I can do with my own eye balling.
I also sometimes graze just a little bit throughout the day given that I am restraining myself so much with the portions at meal times. Could be a few almonds, flax crackers or a fruit, or a little taste when I cook, etc;
so trying to track all these little bitty things would drive me up the wall.

I see where you're coming from with the way your recipes don't appear as 'Ready Meals' in the food database. Like you I am not American and cook almost everything from scratch. I eat a very healthy range of foods in fact but have been overweight for too long. However I would guess that like me you also have a number of meals you eat fairly frequently - and Snacks too. I understand that you don't have a lot of time to enter your meals each day but bear with me just now for a bit because the suggestion a bit further down makes our situation a breeze.... I'm over-worked too so I like to make my time work better for me!

I really know the frustration of being overweight when you're trying to do everything right. I've researched diet and nutrition exhaustively as a result of the same issues - and research is my profession. All the diet research you'll read or schemes you hear about have one major link: the people who succeed at losing weight long-term are the ones that set specific targets and then keep a daily record of what they do. That is the real secret ingredient in every single successful diet plan you encounter, no matter what mix of foods or exercise they tell you to try. Record your habits and be guided by them. But like I said I'm rushed (and a bit lazy!) and just can't be fussed to keep a pen and paper on me or count calories, so please don't judge me too harshly for my 'lazygirl tips' :

When I've cooked a meal and I'm just taking a minute or two after dinner - to digest the food and remind my stomach that YES I am full now like it or not - I go to the 'Recipes' tab and add a new meal (or choose one of my regulars that I've added before). I can find and click on pretty much all the basic ingredients I've used such as Celery, Mince packs (from all the major food stores in the UK too) herbs etc and anything else you might commonly use.

This makes life so easy because you can tell the Recipe wizard how many people at your dinner table ate all these ingredients between them, and it just works out the 'Per Portion' calories etc for you. No maths - just quantities like 3 lots of 1 carrot and half a cup of mushrooms or 9 x 1 thick slice of tomato - it's all on there ready for you in all kinds of measurement options that don't require a weighing scale at all - I never use 'em. So after five minutes' setup time I can just choose 1 Portion from X recipe every single time I need to from then on. 5 minutes while I let my food go down, and I'm done forever.

Similarly, if I often have a handful of raisins, or a Jaffa Cake, with my mid-morning cup of tea, I just 'Remember' the combination from the Add Meals menu and from then on it's literally two clicks to add that forever after. I do that with all kinds of things like sandwiches and salads etc that I'm eating alone., often while I'm actually eating them because it helps me slow down while I'm eating my lunch and helps me decide whether to go with a lighter or heavier option for dinner based on my day so far. Double-bonus.

In terms of managing your hunger: Cinnamon with Chromium Picolinate work wonders and are also fab for preventing Diabetes anyway. But you probably have a bigger health problem brewing if you've been restricting your food intake so drastically for so long and if you carry on that way you will permanently feel hungry all the time **regardless of how much you eat**..... And you'll likely get ill more and more often. And tired and cranky with your family :-)

Use the Food Log to check that the reason you're hungry isn't because the *balance* of food types you're eating aren't leaving you with these cravings - too high Carbs vs Protein or vice-versa, not enough essential Fats etc. - you may be eating absolutely tons of food that still leave you malnourished because you're too low in one specific area and your body is desperately trying to fix that by eating anything in reach even if it won't help. It might actually turn out your restricted intake is missing a fat-soluble vitamin or a micro-nutrient and you're feeling madly starved just for the lack of that little thing - which is why the 'See all Nutrients' list across a week is really revealing, if you actually *log your foods*.

The other trick in a hurry is - when you are hungry, actually sniff different foods rather than just trying your normal comfort option to shut up your stomach. Women commonly do that by instinct when pregnant... It's handy! But there are all kinds of cravings that are weirdly connected to specific nutrients - eating ice is often iron deficiency; craving vinegar might mean you're low on magnesium. Our stomachs just aren't that clever but a bit of olfactory guidance might help if you don't have your nutrient list with you. Low calorie diets like yours tend to create all kinds of deficiencies and therefore food cravings, much like a growing baby does :-) So using your food log and your nose together can help you eat *smarter* to prevent that happening.

On days when I want to save a bit of my calorie balance for a treat, I find high fibre vegetables or pulses will make meals much more filling. Today 3 hours on from dinner I'm still totally stuffed, because I've smuggled a TON of vegetables into my bolognese sauce, my food balance for the day is very close to the guides on the Food Log and I keep tabs on my nutrient list - if I've gone most of a week low on something, I just tailor a meal to fill in the gaps.

I've kept track of my meals so it turns out the veggies worked and I've actually got 500 calories left in my allowance for today so far: No hunger, no cravings at all. I know it's important not to go into starvation mode too often, but at this rate, that cupcake I've promised myself is going to end up a midnight treat! I've earned it though and I'll be eating it for sure :-)

Dieting without recording regularly like this just never really works. I'm serious - eat a pound of this or ten pounds of that every day for x number of days, or only eat this colour food or those types of points, restrict calories today and reward yourself with a binge tomorrow - whatever set of restrictions you find appealing. **It will never make a genuine difference unless you record it every day** ... Though you could create serious health issues along the way. Because we're human and we increasingly guess and get fluffy on details, or lose motivation, or forget to track our successes and learn from them. Or forget to eat a balanced and complete diet and put our whole metabolism into freefall.

That's why I've resorted to MyFitness Pal, because I can complete a daily diary without writing anything down, in a matter of moments, it does all the maths stuff for me and shows me my progress, just like Weight Watchers et al, but without the stupid, pointless, rules and time and intrusion.

DragonSquatter

Well congratulations OP. You managed to get everyone that consistently/constantly argues with each other to actually agree on something and pretty much in the same way. wow!

BeachIron

Well congratulations OP. You managed to get everyone that consistently/constantly argues with each other to actually agree on something and pretty much in the same way. wow!

Yea. We'll all be thrashing each other again in no time, but for now, group hug! :bigsmile:

Danni3ll3

Had lots of medical test recently - all very good, including thyroid, except that little fibroid they found in May (about 1.5 cm) which started the scare. I know many women have fibroids but I am a bit of a hypochondriac and I always think of the worst when I hear about possible health problems.

I am not going to address your diet strategy or questions because many others have done this but I do want to reassure you about the fibroid. I had one that was 10 cm when I found it and it grew rapidly in the following 5 months to the point that my uterus was the size of a bowling ball when I had surgery. Everything was found to be benign and no one mentioned the possibility of cancer because it is so rare. I think it is 1 out of 1000 that might be cancerous. You have a bigger chance of dying in a car accident than it being cancer. About 80% or more of women have fibroids and many of them never know it. They don't cause issues and it is just one of those things that our bodies do. I had to have it dealt with because the size did nasty things to my other organs (squished them) otherwise, it didn't impact my health at all. I am going to link a list of articles and resources for you to look at and maybe settle your mind. The additional links are at the bottom of this page.

http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/view_fibroids.htm

I hope this helps.

michelle7673

Now I eat intuitively, and I eat when hungry and stop when full.

This is what I am talking about. Eating healthy and INTUITIVELY. NOW someone is getting it, finally!!! :-)

Geez, what have people been doing for thousands of years without the tools on this forum?... and the suckers were rarely, if ever, overweight.

I want to eat just like they were - intuitively, when hungry, stopping when decently full, NOT logging, and NOT putting on weight.
Too much to ask?

In all fairness, "intuitive" eating is what resulted in your starting weight. Just like it resulted in my starting weight and everyone else's starting weight.

And "healthy" might mean "less caloric, ounce for ounce of intake" and it might not.

But I will make a few non-calorie-counting suggestions, though I have to say that I agree that it's a useful tool for many reasons. I have done it since February and I have lost about 25 pounds. Probably well over 30 from January. So not as fast as you have lost it, but then again, I'm rarely if ever starving. And it's doing the calorie counting that has taught me these things.

1) Eat more protein, eat more fat, eat less bread.
2) If you are going to eat three meals, try at least to standardize the first two, and leave the freestyling for dinner.
3) Try IF. I am a natural IF person (I really only eat breakfast on weekends, and I learned that I can do just fine with a light lunch, because I like a big dinner and feeling full but not stuffed once a day). This has made a big difference for me. I am NOT a "six small meals a day" person.
4) Consider whether your exercise and intake are slowing your metabolism. What you are eating is NOT a lot considering a moderate to intense workout 4-5 times a week.
5) Understand that you could be retaining water 2-3 times a month (2 high-sodium days plus the female cycle) which could skew a lot of results. You may not be really understanding what's going on, particularly in the pretty short run from May to now.
6) Think volumetrically. Are there things you really like that are low in calories by weight (or bulk), like berries, like cherry tomatoes, etc? Eat them. Big difference between even lean steak and shrimp or chicken breast. Things like crackers and cereal are remarkably low in satiety for me.
7) If you are 5'7", and 40, being in the 150s is in the healthy range for you. If health is your primary concern, you are not, now, far enough overweight that the rapid loss is worth the stress on your systems that is fueling that loss.
8) Please try to consider whether you are really voicing resentment, as in, I shouldn't "have" to count calories, or go hungry.
9) Or, maybe, consider whether you are reacting out of fear, and whether the medicine (rapid weight loss) has any relation to the genesis of the fear (a fibroid). I can very much understand that feeling like you don't control your own body can be terrifying.
10) Please do understand that people are just trying to help. We all have things we didn't want to hear, didn't want to do, didn't want to face. So when you hear people pushing you, it's coming from that history. It's not meant to be insulting. For all of us, there was the day someone said the right thing, the right way, and yeah, maybe it was uncomfortable, but it's what worked.

RiannonC

I don't understand why everyone is assuming she eats 900-1200 calories when she is not counting calories? Why assume the worst? I don't think 900 calories was ever mentioned by the OP.

Additionally, I'm not sure why everyone is pushing counting calories so hard. I mean, I could see the first few times, but after she's said she's not interested 5 times people should accept that it's her life, she doesn't want to count them, and move on. Not everyone who doesn't count calories is fat, and not everyone who doesn't count calories is lazy. Also, people keep saying you have to be willing to change what is not working, but it has been working for her! She has lost quite a bit of weight! It sounds like she is just starting to feel that it is difficult, and hitting a plateau. Plateaus are NORMAL after that much weight loss. It doesn't automatically mean she is doing something wrong! Again, it really seems like everyone is assuming the worst. How many of you on here who have lost a lot of weight, have felt like it was easy the entire time? Or never hit a plateau? Don't be so quick to assume that her method won't work for her just because there's a challenging spot.

OP I wish you well and it sounds like you have done a great job so far and lost a good chunk of weight. Whether you choose to change strategies or stick with the same is up to you, but either way believe you can do it and don't let others make you feel bad about yourself for any reason.

shayemimi

I am just want to be a normal person.
Normal people have their bodies regulated, they eat until they are not hungry anymore, they don't gain any weight and they never log.

I read a lot about the CR method - namely, always eating a little below your level of saturation.
This is something that can be done by listening to your stomach and that does not need daily logging - which for me is incredibly taxing, time-wise.

Caveat: my friends would probably say I'm not a "normal" person, but here's my two cents anyway

When I give my body what it *needs* on a regular basis, most days that's enough food and at least I don't feel hungry. It took some getting used to, but you've been at this long enough to know your body isn't getting used to it. When I log, I eat for nutrition. I do spend a lot of time logging, partly because I'm trying to balance my macros, but partly because I'm trying to get as much food as possible out of my calories. If I eat according to my stomach, I gain weight -- after so many years of emotional eating, my stomach just doesn't seem to have my long-term health in mind

I'm also 5'7" but am only now down to 180 lbs, and my nutritionist still has me at 1750 calories per day (plus eating back exercise calories) with 30% from fat, 20% from protein and 50% from carbs (and I love my carbs, so when I'm emotional, that's hard to stick to!). I'm only losing weight at about 1 pound per week, but over 56 weeks later, I'm very pleased with the results.

I know there are some people who really find it hard to eat more, but if you're hungry all the time, then that should tell you something. It's definitely possible to eat clean, eat more and lose weight from where you're at, but as someone already pointed out, the less you have left to lose, the longer it takes to get there.

This is a great clean eating blog http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/ and I can usually build 500+ calorie meals from her recipes, especially once I add a salad or glass of milk to my meal. Eating more to lose weight takes a leap of faith, but a lot of people on here have done it with success. Have you searched the forums for some of their experiences? I seem to remember there being a thread of success stories at some point.

The point is, what do you want more: eating you can stick with for life to ultimately get you to a weight you're happy with, or to be hungry all the time but skinny? It sounds like that's the decision your frustration has brought you to, and I think once you answer that question truthfully, you'll know what to do next.

Excellent advice right there!

shayemimi

I DO eat a lot of things that aren't in the database. I did track very briefly on this forum in the beginning and it was not something that I wanted to continue doing. Very time consuming for me.
I am not American born and raised and I cook many recipes learned from my mother and grandmother - many adapted to be low in calories (less fat, salt, never sugar). There will be no such dishes in the database - only approximations - which I can do with my own eye balling.
I also sometimes graze just a little bit throughout the day given that I am restraining myself so much with the portions at meal times. Could be a few almonds, flax crackers or a fruit, or a little taste when I cook, etc;
so trying to track all these little bitty things would drive me up the wall.

I DO eat a lot of things that aren't in the database. I did track very briefly on this forum in the beginning and it was not something that I wanted to continue doing. Very time consuming for me.
I am not American born and raised and I cook many recipes learned from my mother and grandmother - many adapted to be low in calories (less fat, salt, never sugar). There will be no such dishes in the database - only approximations - which I can do with my own eye balling.
I also sometimes graze just a little bit throughout the day given that I am restraining myself so much with the portions at meal times. Could be a few almonds, flax crackers or a fruit, or a little taste when I cook, etc;
so trying to track all these little bitty things would drive me up the wall.

I see where you're coming from with the way your recipes don't appear as 'Ready Meals' in the food database. Like you I am not American and cook almost everything from scratch. I eat a very healthy range of foods in fact but have been overweight for too long. However I would guess that like me you also have a number of meals you eat fairly frequently - and Snacks too. I understand that you don't have a lot of time to enter your meals each day but bear with me just now for a bit because the suggestion a bit further down makes our situation a breeze.... I'm over-worked too so I like to make my time work better for me!

I really know the frustration of being overweight when you're trying to do everything right. I've researched diet and nutrition exhaustively as a result of the same issues - and research is my profession. All the diet research you'll read or schemes you hear about have one major link: the people who succeed at losing weight long-term are the ones that set specific targets and then keep a daily record of what they do. That is the real secret ingredient in every single successful diet plan you encounter, no matter what mix of foods or exercise they tell you to try. Record your habits and be guided by them. But like I said I'm rushed (and a bit lazy!) and just can't be fussed to keep a pen and paper on me or count calories, so please don't judge me too harshly for my 'lazygirl tips' :

When I've cooked a meal and I'm just taking a minute or two after dinner - to digest the food and remind my stomach that YES I am full now like it or not - I go to the 'Recipes' tab and add a new meal (or choose one of my regulars that I've added before). I can find and click on pretty much all the basic ingredients I've used such as Celery, Mince packs (from all the major food stores in the UK too) herbs etc and anything else you might commonly use.

This makes life so easy because you can tell the Recipe wizard how many people at your dinner table ate all these ingredients between them, and it just works out the 'Per Portion' calories etc for you. No maths - just quantities like 3 lots of 1 carrot and half a cup of mushrooms or 9 x 1 thick slice of tomato - it's all on there ready for you in all kinds of measurement options that don't require a weighing scale at all - I never use 'em. So after five minutes' setup time I can just choose 1 Portion from X recipe every single time I need to from then on. 5 minutes while I let my food go down, and I'm done forever.

Similarly, if I often have a handful of raisins, or a Jaffa Cake, with my mid-morning cup of tea, I just 'Remember' the combination from the Add Meals menu and from then on it's literally two clicks to add that forever after. I do that with all kinds of things like sandwiches and salads etc that I'm eating alone., often while I'm actually eating them because it helps me slow down while I'm eating my lunch and helps me decide whether to go with a lighter or heavier option for dinner based on my day so far. Double-bonus.

In terms of managing your hunger: Cinnamon with Chromium Picolinate work wonders and are also fab for preventing Diabetes anyway. But you probably have a bigger health problem brewing if you've been restricting your food intake so drastically for so long and if you carry on that way you will permanently feel hungry all the time **regardless of how much you eat**..... And you'll likely get ill more and more often. And tired and cranky with your family :-)

Use the Food Log to check that the reason you're hungry isn't because the *balance* of food types you're eating aren't leaving you with these cravings - too high Carbs vs Protein or vice-versa, not enough essential Fats etc. - you may be eating absolutely tons of food that still leave you malnourished because you're too low in one specific area and your body is desperately trying to fix that by eating anything in reach even if it won't help. It might actually turn out your restricted intake is missing a fat-soluble vitamin or a micro-nutrient and you're feeling madly starved just for the lack of that little thing - which is why the 'See all Nutrients' list across a week is really revealing, if you actually *log your foods*.

The other trick in a hurry is - when you are hungry, actually sniff different foods rather than just trying your normal comfort option to shut up your stomach. Women commonly do that by instinct when pregnant... It's handy! But there are all kinds of cravings that are weirdly connected to specific nutrients - eating ice is often iron deficiency; craving vinegar might mean you're low on magnesium. Our stomachs just aren't that clever but a bit of olfactory guidance might help if you don't have your nutrient list with you. Low calorie diets like yours tend to create all kinds of deficiencies and therefore food cravings, much like a growing baby does :-) So using your food log and your nose together can help you eat *smarter* to prevent that happening.

On days when I want to save a bit of my calorie balance for a treat, I find high fibre vegetables or pulses will make meals much more filling. Today 3 hours on from dinner I'm still totally stuffed, because I've smuggled a TON of vegetables into my bolognese sauce, my food balance for the day is very close to the guides on the Food Log and I keep tabs on my nutrient list - if I've gone most of a week low on something, I just tailor a meal to fill in the gaps.

I've kept track of my meals so it turns out the veggies worked and I've actually got 500 calories left in my allowance for today so far: No hunger, no cravings at all. I know it's important not to go into starvation mode too often, but at this rate, that cupcake I've promised myself is going to end up a midnight treat! I've earned it though and I'll be eating it for sure :-)

Dieting without recording regularly like this just never really works. I'm serious - eat a pound of this or ten pounds of that every day for x number of days, or only eat this colour food or those types of points, restrict calories today and reward yourself with a binge tomorrow - whatever set of restrictions you find appealing. **It will never make a genuine difference unless you record it every day** ... Though you could create serious health issues along the way. Because we're human and we increasingly guess and get fluffy on details, or lose motivation, or forget to track our successes and learn from them. Or forget to eat a balanced and complete diet and put our whole metabolism into freefall.

That's why I've resorted to MyFitness Pal, because I can complete a daily diary without writing anything down, in a matter of moments, it does all the maths stuff for me and shows me my progress, just like Weight Watchers et al, but without the stupid, pointless, rules and time and intrusion.

Also excellent advice

FlaxMilk

Slight compromise: use the quick add calorie tool since you believe you are good at estimating. That way, you won't spend much time at all logging, but you will have a rough estimate of how much you are taking in. I tend to forget things if I don't log them.

When I don't feel like logging, the honest truth is that I prefer not to know because I want an easy way out.

If you don't want to log and want to eat freely, I'd recommend planning enough fat and protein for meals and eating lots of raw vegetables for snacks. It's the only way I can think of to not be chronically hungry if you don't want to plan.

I don't believe most (some, but not most) can eat intuitively in today's culture. Between food designed to make us want to keep eating, to less energy expenditure, to ease of food availability, our bodies and minds are confused. Your body is designed to have a short-term survival instinct-that's what it will intuitively eat. (The only people I know who maintain their weight without some effort either report less appetite or have more active lifestyles.)

FlaxMilk

Simpler response:

Eat a bit more, settle for one pound a week instead of two, and realize that you will gain back a tiny bit of the water weight this way. But you don't go from losing two pounds a week and being chronically a little bit hungry to eating a bit more, being satisfied, and gaining. If you are losing two pounds a week while a little hungry, you should be able to eat a bit more, be satisfied, and lose one pound a week.

2 lbs a week: 7000 calorie (roughly) deficit

1 lb a week: 3500 calorie (roughly) deficit

If you are losing 2 lbs a week, you can take in 500 calories more per day to lose 1 lb a week. With the math, do you see how it is impossible to be gaining real weight on what you are reporting? You probably regain a tad bit of the water or food weight on days you eat more normally because you don't have it in you from the days you undereat.

OperationSvelteChickadee

Moreover, the "C" word terrifies the living lights out of me - so that's where my motivations lie . . . . I am a creature of extremes, on the passionate and high-strung side, I love food and have a naturally large appetite. :-(

Check out Dr. Joel Furhman's Eat to Live diet and/or recipes. He's all about anti-cancer, and believe me, you can eat as much as you need to in order to feel satiated and still lose weight. It's basically a 90-100% plant-based diet (veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds). After a few days, you'll start to notice definite satiety points where you'll stop that large appetites either miss or ignore.

Best of luck --

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Honestly, because you refuse to track I don't have enough information from you extensive posts to give good advice. You give a lot of information, but there's no data. No real facts supporting approximately how many calories you are eating/burning. It's unfortunate but true, no data, no relevant advice. Properly log for 4 weeks, then I can help. i make many of my own foods too, and I use the recipe options to add those as well. A lot of the mfp users are not from the us and are able to find relevant data in the database. To me I'm hearing a lot of excuses, a little laziness, and a ton of resistance to going through the process of actually doing the leg work necessary to know for certain what is and what is not working.

Bah, I will give one piece of advice: lift weights to promote lean mass retention.

pinkstp

I don't understand why everyone is assuming she eats 900-1200 calories when she is not counting calories? Why assume the worst? I don't think 900 calories was ever mentioned by the OP.

I do lose when I am eating less (I think that normally I eat anywhere from 900-1200 calories)

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