Curious about how you do it...

Mangoperson88
Mangoperson88 Posts: 339 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've read in a bunch of threads where posters say they can eat burger and ice cream everyday and still lose weight. How?? I have been eating *kitten* salad for dinner since the past three months and gaining and losing 3 kgs over and over again. I don't wanna eat burger and cakes everday I just wanna see results with my simple diet!? Why is it so hard😭🙏
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Replies

  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    edited July 2021
    For a burger, I weigh four ounces of beef, log it, scan the bun package. Log it all! I only occasionally (a few times a year) eat a burger out (fast food or restaurant) because there’s no real way for me to know the data. For ice cream, if I have room for it in my #s, I may do half a serving of regular ice cream (measured on a food scale) or a full serving of Halo Top.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,386 Member
    Agree with @MsCzar

    I prelog the night before, sometimes several days out.

    Having an expectation of what and when I’ll be eating relieves the anxiety of oh-god-I’ll-never-be-full-again.

    I specifically schedule in several good snacks, as well as several hot drinks. Hot tea or coffee require a short ritual to make, can’t be gulped, and are very satisfying in lieu of food- particularly one doused in cinnamon (my diabetic husband taught me that cinnamon “tastes” like sugar.)

    I used to be a terminal ice cream/cake/pie/candy gobbler. Nothing was safe around me. Fruit and cottage cheese or sugar free pudding mixed with yogurt fulfills that for me now.

    Ironically, if I’m going to binge nowadays, it’s typically on tortilla chips, crackers, hummus, pita or baba ganoush. I’ve had untouched chocolate in the pantry since before Christmas. It’s the crunchies and savouries I have to keep out of the house now.
  • Mangoperson88
    Mangoperson88 Posts: 339 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    For me, the key is to stay active. The more active, the more I'm able to eat. It helps, of course, that I'm relatively tall and heavy so I get more calories to play with and fit in higher calorie foods sometimes. If you're shorter, less active, and not very heavy, your calorie allowance is going to be smaller.

    It has been hot lately, so for the past month it really has been "ice cream every day". When I say ice cream, I don't mean a large 1500 calorie tub. I buy a 75 gram single serving ice cream that has about 140 calories. This is as easy to fit in as a banana, and has fewer calories than my typical salad. When I want an especially high calorie meal, I simply skip breakfast. This means I have more calories to spare for that meal. It's all about calorie management.

    Think of calories like money. How you choose to spend them is up to you, and you choose what's worth the "money" and what isn't. Physical activity earns you extra calories to spend.

    Your advice is good I'm 5'3" 78-80 kgs and relatively active and I mostly eat home cooked very simple meals but what you said about skipping breakfast if I wanna fit in a high calorie meal? Won't I feel dizzy? I eat a light dinner and have a glass of warm milk with nutmeg powder to induce sleep but I just can't skip meals early in the day as I feel hangry :/
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,271 Member
    I dont eat burgers - but a home made burger wouldnt be that calorie dense would it?

    You could have one for dinner every night if you wanted to - I mean, boring and repetitive but not difficult to fit in calorie wise as a meal, maybe with low calorie green salad on the side.

    Icecream I do have regularly - I buy pre packaged squares of low fat icecream which are only 70 calories each - not hard to fit in to even a lowish calorie allowance.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,792 Member
    I don't eat hamburgers and ice-cream specifically each day, but I do have treat foods every day. Some days that's a 100-150 calorie snack in the evening (rice crackers/frozen yoghurt/...), some days (usually after I've had an active day) it's a tub of Ben&Jerry's that I share with my BF (usually 500 or so calories) or a bowl of potato chips.

    I'm not a huge fan of hamburgers, but we do have them occasionally for dinner. I choose a lower fat hamburger patty for myself, so I can have two hamburgers (2 patties, 2 buns, 2 slices of cheese) with loads of raw veg on the side and that way it isn't really more calories than a regular dinner.

    It just takes a little planning: limiting calories the other meals that day and/or calorie banking and/or planning treats when Ive been more active.
  • lillyblack1982
    lillyblack1982 Posts: 63 Member
    I'm 5'4" and 62kg, so to lose weight I don't get a lot of calories to play with. 1400-1500 seems to be the right number for extremely slow weight loss for me (before adding in exercise, which I have intentionally ramped up in order to have more wiggle room).

    I estimate a home cooked burger and fries to be around a thousand calories (at least the ones I make from a meal kit are around that range). I can't fit a thousand calorie dinner in my day easily so I make one slightly smaller burger for me and a bigger one for my DH, and I aim to take 1/3 of the fries rather than half. Then I don't finish the whole burger (I stop when I feel full, I usually eat about 3/4 of it). With those little adjustments that 1000 calorie meal can be 750 instead, which is much easier to work in once a week.

    I also have ice cream once a week, either the day before or the day of my long run. I'm training for a half marathon so an hour+ run earns me back enough calories that 150g of ice cream isn't a big deal.

    Again though this is once a week, not every day, and I plan for it. I've accepted the fact that certain things are just not worth having every day (I used to be a daily wine drinker but not anymore), but I still have them-- just a little less often.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,740 Member
    When I was actively trying to lose, I would eat a real treat once or twice a week, usually on the weekend to make it easier to stay on track the rest of the time. It was easier to stick to 1200 calories all week if I knew that on Saturday I could have ice cream and Sunday a beer or pizza or whatever. I just made sure that it was a treat, not an every day occurrence and that I didn't make it a 'cheat day' or all day indulgence.

    Becoming more active will allow you to indulge yourself a bit more often, you just have to make sure that you eat less on days you aren't as active or that it balances out over a few days. I usually eat dessert every day, now that I am in maintenance, but I run 35-40 miles a week, so I have a lot of extra calories. A small bowl of ice cream or oatmeal cookie is easy to fit in.
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,069 Member
    Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »
    ... I mostly eat home cooked very simple meals but what you said about skipping breakfast if I wanna fit in a high calorie meal? Won't I feel dizzy? I eat a light dinner and have a glass of warm milk with nutmeg powder to induce sleep but I just can't skip meals early in the day as I feel hangry :/

    It shouldn't ever be necessary to skip a meal. I'm now down 36 Kg now and never skip meals. If you are doing all or most of your own cooking, you may only need to shift to making meals and snacks that are big on taste, but low on calories and that will allow you to eat frequently without feeling deprived. Make that food scale your best friend.

    I love to cook and plan my meals in advance.
    I am not kidding. I eat All. Day. Long.

    Breakfast:
    Coffee, homemade yogurt with chopped prunes & granola

    10AM:
    Coffee & 15g dark chocolate with hazelnuts

    11:30AM:
    Medium apple

    1PM:
    Asian marinaded salad: cucumber, carrot, onion & courgette salad topped with 20g Chanachur Mumbai Mix
    (Dressing: honey/sesame oil/rice wine vinegar/almond butter)

    3PM:
    350g Watermelon

    4:30PM:
    Large glass of diet soda over ice

    5:30PM
    Spicy Vegetarian Chili
    Whole Milk

    On days with a higher calorie meal, I just shift things around. For instance, today I'd swap the salad with dressing for a big bowl of grated carrots and skip the granola, milk and chocolate. That would free up more than 500 calories. OK - maybe the chocolate would stay. ;)
  • Mangoperson88
    Mangoperson88 Posts: 339 Member
    edited July 2021
    Lietchi wrote: »
    MsCzar wrote: »
    Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »
    ... I mostly eat home cooked very simple meals but what you said about skipping breakfast if I wanna fit in a high calorie meal? Won't I feel dizzy? I eat a light dinner and have a glass of warm milk with nutmeg powder to induce sleep but I just can't skip meals early in the day as I feel hangry :/

    It shouldn't ever be necessary to skip a meal. I'm now down 36 Kg now and never skip meals.

    Perhaps it shouldn't be necessary, but it can be a valid strategy.

    When I have a restaurant dinner or lunch planned (once every few weeks), it's often my strategy to skip breakfast. I went without breakfast for months at the beginning of my weight-loss, made it easier to stick to my calorie goal.
    For me, I never got dizzy or anything. Sure, I was hungry, but I would be hungry anyway, even when I had breakfast. I prefer eating most of my calories later in the day and I don't eat 'all the time' (3 or 4 meal/snacks), it works for me.

    Obviously it isn't a good idea for people who get lightheaded when skipping meals. Or people who lose control and binge after skipping a meal. But it can work fine for others. Just a matter of experimenting.

    You summed up my problem beautifully!! I can't skip a meal because I feel faint or I lose control and binge on anything I see even bloody fox nuts. now how do I find a balance? What strategy shall I use to keep my blood sugar level steady??

    P. S. Thank you everyone for your helpful advice.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,271 Member
    Are you diabetic?

    If not, then there is no need really to employ a strategy to keep you blood sugar level steady - your pancreas will for that for you.

    I am not a breakfast skipper either - except occasionally on weekends when I have combined late breakfast/early lunch. what we call brunch

    if skipping meals does not work for you - don't do it.

    Like everyone - experiment with different portions see what is worth it to you, when you can fit in a treat food and in what portion size etc.
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 702 Member
    I feel hungry a lot of the time, and am not good at ignoring it. I don't skip breakfast, I'd be chewing off my arm.

    This is what I find helpful-
    Wholegrains - one slice of wholemeal toast and peanut butter and I'm happy, can put away half a loaf of white toast with jam and barely feel it.

    Volume - add veg to everything, or eat a bowl of salad before dinner. I change the ratios, a bit more of the chilli with lots of veg, a bit less of the rice for example.

    Soup - a big bowl of veg soup and a couple of oatcakes is very filling.

    Its been hot here, I've been eating a lot of ice lollies. I'm sat here with a punnet of strawberries sat next to me, I can dip in and out and it won't make a big difference.

    Personally I don't do moderation very well. So I don't buy a big bar of chocolate, I'll just eat it all. I will buy a small one when I want it though. I can't be left in charge of chocolate biscuits.

    Try a few things, take note of what works for you and what doesn't.
  • Mangoperson88
    Mangoperson88 Posts: 339 Member
    DD265 wrote: »
    I've had a look through your diary OP, and you don't appear to be eating up to your calorie goal any day - sometimes coming in over 600 calories under.

    How was your calorie goal determined, and how long ago was that?

    Something is obviously wrong - it might be that the calorie goal is too high (but based on the calories you've logged, I don't think that's it) and needs recalculating, perhaps using a different method.

    How confident are you in the accuracy of the calories in the foods you're eating? i.e. how many of the entries were foods/recipes created by you vs by somebody else in the community? Do you weigh and track absolutely everything? For me for example, I have a tendency to track a medium banana, but if I weigh it, the range I consider to be medium varies significantly, meaning big swings in the number of calories I'm actually eating.

    What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.
  • Mangoperson88
    Mangoperson88 Posts: 339 Member
    I'm not diabetic but it runs in my family. Actually come to think of it since the past few days my tongue has been feeling really dry and I drink a lot of water so dunno why that's happening? Mumbai is very hot and humid. So basically, someone said if I feel dizzy I should ignore it? I eat healthy and nutrient dense foods so that will help me make it through the day right?
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    what works for people is different. because, well, people are different.

    I've lost 150 pounds. I eat what I want, as long as I can make it fit in my calories (and if i go over a bit, its just not a big deal)

    I eat burgers and pizza and ice cream and cookies and all kinds of 'regular' foods. junk foods.

    it doesnt mean i eat them every day or in massive quantities (usually. lol)

    we had spaghetti last night.
    having BLTs tonight.
    probably eating out (most likely mexican) tomorrow night.

    I do eat a lot of salads. but i like salads. we eat grilled chicken salad a LOT in the summer. i dont eat things i dont like (like broccoli or kale. gross.)

    I dont typically eat breakfast because im not a breakfast person. never have been. a lot of times what i log as breakfast was really lunch for me.

    the key is consistency. and that is what you will see with anyone who has successfully lost weight. creating habits that will last a life time. Eat within your calories. dont choose a super high deficit. it is not a race, and most people who LOSE weight fast, burn out and/or eventually gain it back. better to lose slow and keep it off.

    life is too short not to enjoy it. that includes foods you love. just learn how to incorporate them so you are not depriving yourself of the things you like.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »
    DD265 wrote: »
    I've had a look through your diary OP, and you don't appear to be eating up to your calorie goal any day - sometimes coming in over 600 calories under.

    How was your calorie goal determined, and how long ago was that?

    Something is obviously wrong - it might be that the calorie goal is too high (but based on the calories you've logged, I don't think that's it) and needs recalculating, perhaps using a different method.

    How confident are you in the accuracy of the calories in the foods you're eating? i.e. how many of the entries were foods/recipes created by you vs by somebody else in the community? Do you weigh and track absolutely everything? For me for example, I have a tendency to track a medium banana, but if I weigh it, the range I consider to be medium varies significantly, meaning big swings in the number of calories I'm actually eating.

    What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.

    There are quite a few "lentil pancakes" in the database, just type that into the search.


    You can also just enter each ingredient separately, like "lentil flour" "sugar" etc.


    Eat the food you like, find something that's close to it in the database and log food for a couple months. Eat ALL your recommended calories, not UNDER them.

    After a couple months you'll know if you're close enough with your logging. If not, you will need to adjust in some way.

    Try to get some exercise, it's good for you. When you exercise, add that into the "exercise" tab and it will give you more calories. Eat those, too!! That's the way the site is designed to be used; eat all the calories, not under them.
  • DD265
    DD265 Posts: 651 Member
    Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »
    What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.

    That's quite a good example of what I mean. I find there can be a lot of difference between the American version of a food and the English version that I need to track - portion sizes can vary, for example. Plus some of the entries in the database are out of date as manufacturers are constantly revising their products, then somebody may have made a mistake when keying it etc. If you can get to grips with the recipe builder, that will hopefully give you more accuracy for the number of calories you're consuming. I don't create all my foods from scratch, but the majority will reflect either the product packaging or the weighed ingredients, so hopefully I'm not inaccurate.

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