The fine line between under and over eating

pink_mint

Just wanted to see what thoughts you all might have.

I have about 15 - 20 lbs left to lose (after 40+ lb loss), plus I'm in my 40s now and it's just getting trickier. I've found that the hardest thing to get right is eating enough to stay ahead of out of control hunger that leads to overeating... without the 'eating enough' itself turning into overeating. Does that make sense?

Any thoughts on how to strike this balance?

Lietchi

For me, the balance was aiming for a limited deficit. With 75 lbs to lose, that was a daily deficit of 250 to 500 calories a day.

Being much closer to goal now, the margin is a lot narrower, I can manage the odd day of several hundred calories under maintenance, but some days it's only 25 calories under, on average perhaps a 50-100 calorie deficit.

Some people find it works better to aim for a larger deficit one week out of two and maintenance the other week. Some people find it helpful to alternate daily.

I don't really like rigid schedules though myself, so my 'zigzagging' is more intuitive and follows how I feel on the day.

LiveOnceBeHappy

Always carry a 100 calorie granola bar with you! If I get to the freakish "starving" mode, I'm willing to chuck it all away with 1000 calories going in. If I can just eat the 100 calorie granola bar and drink something 0 calories, I can get to real, thoughtful food. I eat frequently throughout the day.

kshama2001

pink_mint wrote: »

Just wanted to see what thoughts you all might have.

I have about 15 - 20 lbs left to lose (after 40+ lb loss), plus I'm in my 40s now and it's just getting trickier. I've found that the hardest thing to get right is eating enough to stay ahead of out of control hunger that leads to overeating... without the 'eating enough' itself turning into overeating. Does that make sense?

Any thoughts on how to strike this balance?

In addition to the good advice given above, I wanted to check on your current weekly weight loss goal. With only 15 - 20 lbs left to lose, do use the least aggressive setting.

ahoy_m8

Two thoughts, OP:
1) small deficit - Like the others said, it really helps with hunger.
2) weekly average - every day doesn't have to be identical. It's the average that matters. Lots of folks "bank calories for the weekend." Be sure you are fueling your workouts/activity adequately, eat more on days you need it, and eat less on days you don't.

And maybe throw in a maintenance break every 10 weeks. I get deficit weary after about 10 weeks and even though 250 calories isn't a very big difference, it helps to take a break.

cmriverside

The last 10-15 pounds is just hard. It is. I agree with everything everyone already posted here. Great replies.

It took me nine months at a 250 per day calorie deficit. NINE months. I was often very hungry. If I didn't exercise I could not stay within my goal calories at all. Many many Many days I was over my goal by 500-1000 calories.

It was very difficult for me. I made 90% of my own foods/meals and logged everything. Lots of volume foods like vegetables, beans, fruit, chicken, fish. Trying to keep my macros balanced was a big help with hunger in general.

Did I mention hunger? Yeah.

You can and will get there. Do not be defeated! Right back at it!

cwolfman13

Maintain a reasonable deficit. I don't have a set daily deficit, mine is flexible to account for the fact that on certain days I'm going to feel certain ways or may want an indulgence on Saturday or something. My daily deficit throughout the week ranges from 750-250 depending on the day, and sometimes maintenance calories. I only have about 20 Lbs of COVID weight to drop. According to my trend app, I'm losing a pretty steady .75 Lbs per week which is fine by me and I like the flexibility of eating more on days when I'm hungrier and eating less on days I'm not or just having a good maintenance day on a Saturday or Sunday if I feel like it.

I've done this in the past as well to lose winter weight and my n=1 is that it favors not hitting long plateaus during the weight loss process...I would assume because my hormones stay relatively well balanced and regulated, but IDK...

Walkywalkerson

pink_mint wrote: »

Just wanted to see what thoughts you all might have.

I have about 15 - 20 lbs left to lose (after 40+ lb loss), plus I'm in my 40s now and it's just getting trickier. I've found that the hardest thing to get right is eating enough to stay ahead of out of control hunger that leads to overeating... without the 'eating enough' itself turning into overeating. Does that make sense?

Any thoughts on how to strike this balance?

I hear you!
Im also in my 40's and have 20lbs left to lose after a 50+ lb loss and I'm struggling.
Even the smallest deficit is difficult and I struggle with hunger a lot of the time and have plateaued since Christmas.
What works for me most of the time is 2 big meals instead of 3 and I try to stay away from snacks as they just wet my appetite for more food.
Like others have said play around with your macros to see what helps you feel satiated for longer etc ..
Meal timings that fit with your life are really important too.

pink_mint

Thanks for the input you guys.

The final frontier of trying to get out of the overweight BMI... seems that it takes a more finely tuned self knowledge and honesty. Calories * in * is the thing we have the most control over and also the hardest (for me anyway). My caloric needs seem to fluctuate quite a bit, and then when you add things like your mental state in weight loss endeavors, It can get discouraging at times. Like trying to solve a rubik's cube. But I'm trying to see the big picture and look at possible contributing factors that I'm not considering.

Thankfully I've learned some things. I've said "oh forget it!" before and I'm not doing that again.