Frustrated
Anxiety89
Posts: 18 Member
So frustrating!!!
I feel so hungry still and yet I went over my calories I'm hungry every single day even though I'm trying my best to choose low cal and high protein foods.
Ugh
Please any advice tips or suggestions would be so appreciated. I'm feeling very frustrated
I feel so hungry still and yet I went over my calories I'm hungry every single day even though I'm trying my best to choose low cal and high protein foods.
Ugh
Please any advice tips or suggestions would be so appreciated. I'm feeling very frustrated
4
Replies
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Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.7 -
Some people aren't satiated by protein. Some need more fat or carbs to be happy (at least that's what I've heard. Definitely protein for me). And some are volume eaters. Experiment. Check out the volume-eaters thread.
5 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.
Thanks
Last I checked, I was 176. And I'm just starting out with food changes, I haven't even tackled excercise yet. Eating was my worst issue so I'm dealing with that First. I bought dumbells, and resistance bands, haven't figured out a workout yet.
I just plugged in all my numbers and let mfp tell me what I should be eating for a day in the amount of macros.
My goal is to be 130-135 lbs.
1 -
Corina1143 wrote: »Some people aren't satiated by protein. Some need more fat or carbs to be happy (at least that's what I've heard. Definitely protein for me). And some are volume eaters. Experiment. Check out the volume-eaters thread.
Thank you, I'll check that out. All I've ever heard is protein is the key. Thanks for your suggestion. Greatly appreciated.0 -
How many pounds are you trying to lose a week?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
1 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.
Thanks
Last I checked, I was 176. And I'm just starting out with food changes, I haven't even tackled excercise yet. Eating was my worst issue so I'm dealing with that First. I bought dumbells, and resistance bands, haven't figured out a workout yet.
I just plugged in all my numbers and let mfp tell me what I should be eating for a day in the amount of macros.
My goal is to be 130-135 lbs.
Is your weekly weight loss goal 2 pounds per week? I suggest dropping it to 1 pound per week, and enjoy those extra calories!
2 -
Corina1143 wrote: »Some people aren't satiated by protein. Some need more fat or carbs to be happy (at least that's what I've heard. Definitely protein for me). And some are volume eaters. Experiment. Check out the volume-eaters thread.
Thank you, I'll check that out. All I've ever heard is protein is the key. Thanks for your suggestion. Greatly appreciated.
Is your protein goal the MFP default? How often do you hit it?
While you're sedentary, you may wish to bump it up to 30%.
Here's a reputable protein calculator:
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
I shoot for 500 calories of exercise per day, and when I achieve that, using the MFP default of 20% protein aligns with the protein grams recommendation from Examine. If I were completely sedentary, I'd need to bump it up to 30%.
Also very important to keep me feeling full is fiber. I work to exceed fiber, hit protein, and not go over the MFP default of 30% fat by too much. While I love fat, I don't find it especially filling.
With carbs, what's important to me is what kinds of foods they came from. I don't find wheat (bread, pasta, baked goods) especially filling, but fruit, veggies, rice & beans do satiate me.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »spiriteagle99 wrote: »Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.
Thanks
Last I checked, I was 176. And I'm just starting out with food changes, I haven't even tackled excercise yet. Eating was my worst issue so I'm dealing with that First. I bought dumbells, and resistance bands, haven't figured out a workout yet.
I just plugged in all my numbers and let mfp tell me what I should be eating for a day in the amount of macros.
My goal is to be 130-135 lbs.
Is your weekly weight loss goal 2 pounds per week? I suggest dropping it to 1 pound per week, and enjoy those extra calories!
It says my goal is 0.5lbs a week
I just left it at that
0.5 isn't much at all
Should it not be this?
0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Corina1143 wrote: »Some people aren't satiated by protein. Some need more fat or carbs to be happy (at least that's what I've heard. Definitely protein for me). And some are volume eaters. Experiment. Check out the volume-eaters thread.
Thank you, I'll check that out. All I've ever heard is protein is the key. Thanks for your suggestion. Greatly appreciated.
Is your protein goal the MFP default? How often do you hit it?
While you're sedentary, you may wish to bump it up to 30%.
Here's a reputable protein calculator:
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
I shoot for 500 calories of exercise per day, and when I achieve that, using the MFP default of 20% protein aligns with the protein grams recommendation from Examine. If I were completely sedentary, I'd need to bump it up to 30%.
Also very important to keep me feeling full is fiber. I work to exceed fiber, hit protein, and not go over the MFP default of 30% fat by too much. While I love fat, I don't find it especially filling.
With carbs, what's important to me is what kinds of foods they came from. I don't find wheat (bread, pasta, baked goods) especially filling, but fruit, veggies, rice & beans do satiate me.
Yes it's default. Okay I'll try the calculator. Thank you so much.
I'm finding it difficult to purchase healthier foods, I have 3 kids and no one eats what I eat. It's hard to find a balance in making so many different meals. I guess finding a routine and a way to incorporate everyone's meals and my own woukd be helpful.
1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Corina1143 wrote: »Some people aren't satiated by protein. Some need more fat or carbs to be happy (at least that's what I've heard. Definitely protein for me). And some are volume eaters. Experiment. Check out the volume-eaters thread.
Thank you, I'll check that out. All I've ever heard is protein is the key. Thanks for your suggestion. Greatly appreciated.
Is your protein goal the MFP default? How often do you hit it?
While you're sedentary, you may wish to bump it up to 30%.
Here's a reputable protein calculator:
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
I shoot for 500 calories of exercise per day, and when I achieve that, using the MFP default of 20% protein aligns with the protein grams recommendation from Examine. If I were completely sedentary, I'd need to bump it up to 30%.
Also very important to keep me feeling full is fiber. I work to exceed fiber, hit protein, and not go over the MFP default of 30% fat by too much. While I love fat, I don't find it especially filling.
With carbs, what's important to me is what kinds of foods they came from. I don't find wheat (bread, pasta, baked goods) especially filling, but fruit, veggies, rice & beans do satiate me.
Yes it's default. Okay I'll try the calculator. Thank you so much.
I'm finding it difficult to purchase healthier foods, I have 3 kids and no one eats what I eat. It's hard to find a balance in making so many different meals. I guess finding a routine and a way to incorporate everyone's meals and my own woukd be helpful.
My partner and I often eat the same things, with different proportions. For example:
1. I have less pizza, plus a big salad, with some cottage cheese for a protein boost.
2. I have smaller servings of pasta, with larger servings of vegetables.
3. I make tacos with 90% ground beef and go easy on the cheese with mine.
4. We have a lot of chicken, starch, veg type meals. I go easy on the starch and butter. For example, with baked potatoes, my portions are a lot smaller - not because of the potato, but because I like a LOT of butter.
I have some low fat sour cream to replace some of the butter.
Try providing examples of what your kids eat that you don't and vice versa, and we'll see if we have suggestions to make them more you-friendly or kid-friendly.
Also see additional examples of problem solving for the same issue in this recent thread:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10901552/feeding-family4 -
kshama2001 wrote: »spiriteagle99 wrote: »Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.
Thanks
Last I checked, I was 176. And I'm just starting out with food changes, I haven't even tackled excercise yet. Eating was my worst issue so I'm dealing with that First. I bought dumbells, and resistance bands, haven't figured out a workout yet.
I just plugged in all my numbers and let mfp tell me what I should be eating for a day in the amount of macros.
My goal is to be 130-135 lbs.
Is your weekly weight loss goal 2 pounds per week? I suggest dropping it to 1 pound per week, and enjoy those extra calories!
It says my goal is 0.5lbs a week
I just left it at that
0.5 isn't much at all
Should it not be this?
Hmm, with this weekly weight loss goal you should be getting enough calories to not feel hungry. Maybe some of your entries are wrong. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings0 -
So if your weightloss goal is only 0.5lbs per week... yes, it's possible to still be hungry with such a small reduction. Have you changed the way you eat? Maybe what you eat now is just not filling for you. Maybe you're logging far too much food while undereating. How active are you? Another option: if I personally am not in the right mindset for losing weight then I do feel hungry despite only eating a tiny bit less. It's just a case of brains are weird sometimes.0
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My suggestion for feeding family. Make one main dish. Like baked chicken. Fries for the kids, broccoli for you. Salad for the family. Will one kid eat lettuce, not tomatoes and one kid eats tomatoes, not lettuce? Serve them separately, make your salad on your plate. More dishes, but so many gains.1
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Settings are a starting point. Your actual logging and results are what proves how close your n=1mirrors the "expectations" inherent in the population statistics and approximations you're starting with.
0.5lbs a week from sedentary would also not be 0.5lbs a week from beyond highly active. But, even before the selection of options on the screen and their correspondence to reality, things such as the types of food you eat and the circumstances of doing so, the length of time you've been at a deficit, and a whole bunch of other health and mental stresses including medications one may be taking can all contribute to feeling extra hungry even at a small deficit.
Of course we don't know if the deficit is actually small or large as the original post does not mention how much weight is available to be lost and what the effective rate of weight change has been and the time lines...0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »spiriteagle99 wrote: »Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.
Thanks
Last I checked, I was 176. And I'm just starting out with food changes, I haven't even tackled excercise yet. Eating was my worst issue so I'm dealing with that First. I bought dumbells, and resistance bands, haven't figured out a workout yet.
I just plugged in all my numbers and let mfp tell me what I should be eating for a day in the amount of macros.
My goal is to be 130-135 lbs.
Is your weekly weight loss goal 2 pounds per week? I suggest dropping it to 1 pound per week, and enjoy those extra calories!
It says my goal is 0.5lbs a week
I just left it at that
0.5 isn't much at all
Should it not be this?
Hmm, with this weekly weight loss goal you should be getting enough calories to not feel hungry. Maybe some of your entries are wrong. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
I did it. I think0 -
So frustrating!!!
I feel so hungry still and yet I went over my calories I'm hungry every single day even though I'm trying my best to choose low cal and high protein foods.
M
Please any advice tips or suggestions would be so appreciated. I'm feeling very frustrated
For most people, high-protein makes them feel full. But some people need fiber, volume, or healthy fats to feel full.
Things to check:- Do you have a source of healthy fat in your diet? If you take the healthy fats too low, this can be a problem.
- Do you have your calories set too low for your activity level?
- Are you mis-counting your calories? Under counting portions or calorie estimations?
- You've tried drinking water or having a snack--and the hunger persists?
If your body is telling you it is hungry and water/snack doesn't quell the hunger, then your diet is deficient in some way. You may need to eat more food. You may need to eat more healthy fat. You may need to recalculate your activities.
Your loss goal may be too ambitious. Weight loss should not be constant deprivation/hunger. If it is, it'll be too hard to maintain.
Things to try:- Add a healthy fat to your diet--such an avocado. You can google healthy fats.
- Add more fiber to your diet.
- Add 100 to 200 calories to your daily goal.
- If you are hungry only during certain times of the day, save calories to have a snack at that time.
- Do you want a volume food or a high-protein food? If you are eating a high level of protein, perhaps you need a VOLUME food. Volume food lets you eat a large amount for very few calories. Your body feels 'full'. You can eat quite a bit of air-popped popcorn, cut mixed veggies, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers with balsamic vinegar, certain veggie chips, pretzel sticks, avocado egg salad, plain Greek yogurt with fruit (berries), roasted chickpeas, avocado toast on low carb bread, hard boiled eggs with pepper and salt, or frozen grapes.
Hope this helps.
My biggest suggestion is you shoot for 1 pound a week and not 2. Two is ambitious and you will feel the hunger. One will be much more livable. Add fiber. Make sure you eat at least 1 healthy fat a day.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »spiriteagle99 wrote: »Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.
Thanks
Last I checked, I was 176. And I'm just starting out with food changes, I haven't even tackled excercise yet. Eating was my worst issue so I'm dealing with that First. I bought dumbells, and resistance bands, haven't figured out a workout yet.
I just plugged in all my numbers and let mfp tell me what I should be eating for a day in the amount of macros.
My goal is to be 130-135 lbs.
Is your weekly weight loss goal 2 pounds per week? I suggest dropping it to 1 pound per week, and enjoy those extra calories!
It says my goal is 0.5lbs a week
I just left it at that
0.5 isn't much at all
Should it not be this?
Hmm, with this weekly weight loss goal you should be getting enough calories to not feel hungry. Maybe some of your entries are wrong. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
I did it. I think
Alas, it is still not Public.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »spiriteagle99 wrote: »Have you chosen too aggressive a goal? Losing 2 lbs a week is too much for most people, but a lot of people assume they should be able to do that. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which is huge. Better to choose a slower rate of loss and be able to continue for a while than to lose quickly but be unable to sustain it. That always leads to weight regain. Finding a level of calories that you can continue to follow over the long term works much better.
What do you weigh and what is your goal? How many calories are you aiming for? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are using MFP as intended, you should be eating them back.
Thanks
Last I checked, I was 176. And I'm just starting out with food changes, I haven't even tackled excercise yet. Eating was my worst issue so I'm dealing with that First. I bought dumbells, and resistance bands, haven't figured out a workout yet.
I just plugged in all my numbers and let mfp tell me what I should be eating for a day in the amount of macros.
My goal is to be 130-135 lbs.
Is your weekly weight loss goal 2 pounds per week? I suggest dropping it to 1 pound per week, and enjoy those extra calories!
It says my goal is 0.5lbs a week
I just left it at that
0.5 isn't much at all
Should it not be this?
Hmm, with this weekly weight loss goal you should be getting enough calories to not feel hungry. Maybe some of your entries are wrong. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
I did it. I think
Alas, it is still not Public.
Now?0 -
So frustrating!!!
I feel so hungry still and yet I went over my calories I'm hungry every single day even though I'm trying my best to choose low cal and high protein foods.
M
Please any advice tips or suggestions would be so appreciated. I'm feeling very frustrated
For most people, high-protein makes them feel full. But some people need fiber, volume, or healthy fats to feel full.
Things to check:- Do you have a source of healthy fat in your diet? If you take the healthy fats too low, this can be a problem.
- Do you have your calories set too low for your activity level?
- Are you mis-counting your calories? Under counting portions or calorie estimations?
- You've tried drinking water or having a snack--and the hunger persists?
If your body is telling you it is hungry and water/snack doesn't quell the hunger, then your diet is deficient in some way. You may need to eat more food. You may need to eat more healthy fat. You may need to recalculate your activities.
Your loss goal may be too ambitious. Weight loss should not be constant deprivation/hunger. If it is, it'll be too hard to maintain.
Things to try:- Add a healthy fat to your diet--such an avocado. You can google healthy fats.
- Add more fiber to your diet.
- Add 100 to 200 calories to your daily goal.
- If you are hungry only during certain times of the day, save calories to have a snack at that time.
- Do you want a volume food or a high-protein food? If you are eating a high level of protein, perhaps you need a VOLUME food. Volume food lets you eat a large amount for very few calories. Your body feels 'full'. You can eat quite a bit of air-popped popcorn, cut mixed veggies, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers with balsamic vinegar, certain veggie chips, pretzel sticks, avocado egg salad, plain Greek yogurt with fruit (berries), roasted chickpeas, avocado toast on low carb bread, hard boiled eggs with pepper and salt, or frozen grapes.
Hope this helps.
My biggest suggestion is you shoot for 1 pound a week and not 2. Two is ambitious and you will feel the hunger. One will be much more livable. Add fiber. Make sure you eat at least 1 healthy fat a day.
Oh wow. I didn't know i could eat things like popcorn or even low carb breads.
I'm set to 0.5 lbs per week, not 2.
I'm using a good scale for everything I measure, so I'm pretty confident I'm logging correctly.
Mfp set my macros so it said I'm to eat 1600 cals a day and lose 0.5 a week ?
I'm not doing much fiber I guess.
I seem to keep going over in calories and fat
And often protein
I'm 5 foot 3
I have 3 kids that's the only excessive moving I do , housework, kids routines and such. So no excercise at all currently I feel too lost in the food department to start a new excercie plan as well, figured tackle one thing at a time.
1 -
@Anxiety89 : Give it time. Set a short-term goal of eating exactly on plan. Say 2 weeks. Your body will adapt and the hunger will get better.
Lots of comments about macros above. Note that the macro breakdown doesn't (much) influence weight loss, just the total amount of calories. You can experiment with different breakdowns (meaning different foods) and see how it goes).
It pays to take up a hobby that distracts from eating. It helps me to get out of the house more. My hardest days are when I work from home!
You can also experiment with timing your eating: eating breakfast later so you can eat dinner later and go to bed feeling more sated. Or, maybe you love breakfast and can lighten your lunch (turn into two snacks, for example).
Best of luck!3 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »@Anxiety89 : Give it time. Set a short-term goal of eating exactly on plan. Say 2 weeks. Your body will adapt and the hunger will get better.
Lots of comments about macros above. Note that the macro breakdown doesn't (much) influence weight loss, just the total amount of calories. You can experiment with different breakdowns (meaning different foods) and see how it goes).
It pays to take up a hobby that distracts from eating. It helps me to get out of the house more. My hardest days are when I work from home!
You can also experiment with timing your eating: eating breakfast later so you can eat dinner later and go to bed feeling more sated. Or, maybe you love breakfast and can lighten your lunch (turn into two snacks, for example).
Best of luck!
Thanks very much! I appreciate the helpful tips.0 -
An important unanswered question is how much are you actually losing per week on average and for how long. What we aim for and what is estimated to happen is not always exactly what ends up happening!1
-
And linked to the question above:
Perhaps I missed it earlier in the thread, but what activity level are you set at? Because you sound like a busy mom with an active life, even if you aren't technically exercising. If you set your activity level too low (and/ or you have a higher metabolism than average) you could be in a more aggressive calorie deficit than you think, which might explain the hunger.1 -
PS: I took a look at your diary.
Nothing major jumps out at me, but a few thoughts:
- I see rice stick vermicelle, 100+ grams at dinner: are you weighing uncooked or cooked? Because your calorie count looks to be for the uncooked weight (400+ calories). If you're weighing cooked, you are very much exaggerating your calorie intake.
- although eating high protein helps a little, my personal experience is that eating breakfast increases my hunger. What works for me it to have either no breakfast or a late one 8.30-9.30AM. You might be wired differently, but it's worth experimenting with meal timings and splitting calories differently throughout the day
- sugary snacks (including sweetened coffee) increase my cravings
- I see vegetables on some days, but very few on others. Overall I would need a lot more vegetables (and fruit) to be happy and satiated.1 -
PS: I took a look at your diary.
Nothing major jumps out at me, but a few thoughts:
- I see rice stick vermicelle, 100+ grams at dinner: are you weighing uncooked or cooked? Because your calorie count looks to be for the uncooked weight (400+ calories). If you're weighing cooked, you are very much exaggerating your calorie intake.
- although eating high protein helps a little, my personal experience is that eating breakfast increases my hunger. What works for me it to have either no breakfast or a late one 8.30-9.30AM. You might be wired differently, but it's worth experimenting with meal timings and splitting calories differently throughout the day
- sugary snacks (including sweetened coffee) increase my cravings
- I see vegetables on some days, but very few on others. Overall I would need a lot more vegetables (and fruit) to be happy and satiated.
I weigh everything on my food scale after its cooked. I'm not sure if that's correct or not. What is th3 difference weighing uncooked, and cooked? And what is proper way?
Thanks kindly
But I just weigh in today, and I've only lost 2 pounds....so that's disappointing, I thought with all the hunger and difficulty adjusting I'd have lost some weight... I guess I'm not working hard enough.
I'll ramp up my vegetables , thank you for that. I'm going to get a protein powder too, try making shakes and things and adding that to them, perhaps help with the feeling fuller, eating less to lose more. I felt different in my tummy but I guess that was all in my head cause I wouldn't notice a small 2lb loss...
October 19 I was 179
Today I'm 177 , that's terrible!
0 -
With the kindest intention possible, I want to tell you: ease up on yourself a little! Two lbs in 11 days is a great start. Weight loss is not linear, ideally you need a month to evaluate progress. And for some people it takes a few weeks for hunger to settle down.
Successful weight-loss requires, above all, patience, consistency and a willingness to experiment to find what works for you.
As for weighing cooked or uncooked: the difference can be significant.
Most food entries, unless explicitly mentioning a cooking method, are for the uncooked food.
I prefer weighing uncooked for most foods (slightly more accurate) but it's a matter of preference. The important thing is to use an entry that corresponds with what you're weighing.
Rice, pasta and noodles are always around 350-375 calories for 100gr uncooked.
These foods will absorb water during cooking and become much heavier and more voluminous for the same total number of calories.
I weigh my rice and pasta uncooked, so I'm not sure of the precise number, but I can imagine 100gr of uncooked pasta becoming 250gr of cooked pasta. So those 125gr of noodles you're having may have less than 200 calories instead of the 400+ you've been logging.
Other foods will lose weight/moisture when cooked, making them more calorie dense than in their raw state. So, for example, if you weigh a chicken filet after cooking but use a raw food entry, that would be undercounting the number of calories.
5 -
With the kindest intention possible, I want to tell you: ease up on yourself a little! Two lbs in 11 days is a great start. Weight loss is not linear, ideally you need a month to evaluate progress. And for some people it takes a few weeks for hunger to settle down.
Successful weight-loss requires, above all, patience, consistency and a willingness to experiment to find what works for you.
As for weighing cooked or uncooked: the difference can be significant.
Most food entries, unless explicitly mentioning a cooking method, are for the uncooked food.
I prefer weighing uncooked for most foods (slightly more accurate) but it's a matter of preference. The important thing is to use an entry that corresponds with what you're weighing.
Rice, pasta and noodles are always around 350-375 calories for 100gr uncooked.
These foods will absorb water during cooking and become much heavier and more voluminous for the same total number of calories.
I weigh my rice and pasta uncooked, so I'm not sure of the precise number, but I can imagine 100gr of uncooked pasta becoming 250gr of cooked pasta. So those 125gr of noodles you're having may have less than 200 calories instead of the 400+ you've been logging.
Other foods will lose weight/moisture when cooked, making them more calorie dense than in their raw state. So, for example, if you weigh a chicken filet after cooking but use a raw food entry, that would be undercounting the number of calories.
Ohhhhhh, that makes perfect sense. Thank you!
I get it now. I'll start doing uncooked and see how that goes/changes things.
Thanks so much for your advice and support!2 -
PS: I took a look at your diary.
Nothing major jumps out at me, but a few thoughts:
- I see rice stick vermicelle, 100+ grams at dinner: are you weighing uncooked or cooked? Because your calorie count looks to be for the uncooked weight (400+ calories). If you're weighing cooked, you are very much exaggerating your calorie intake.
- although eating high protein helps a little, my personal experience is that eating breakfast increases my hunger. What works for me it to have either no breakfast or a late one 8.30-9.30AM. You might be wired differently, but it's worth experimenting with meal timings and splitting calories differently throughout the day
- sugary snacks (including sweetened coffee) increase my cravings
- I see vegetables on some days, but very few on others. Overall I would need a lot more vegetables (and fruit) to be happy and satiated.
I weigh everything on my food scale after its cooked. I'm not sure if that's correct or not. What is th3 difference weighing uncooked, and cooked? And what is proper way?
Thanks kindly
But I just weigh in today, and I've only lost 2 pounds....so that's disappointing, I thought with all the hunger and difficulty adjusting I'd have lost some weight... I guess I'm not working hard enough.
I'll ramp up my vegetables , thank you for that. I'm going to get a protein powder too, try making shakes and things and adding that to them, perhaps help with the feeling fuller, eating less to lose more. I felt different in my tummy but I guess that was all in my head cause I wouldn't notice a small 2lb loss...
October 19 I was 179
Today I'm 177 , that's terrible!
You can weight cooked or uncooked; what's important is that the entry you choose is also for cooked or uncooked. Your "Y & Y - Rice Stick Vermicelle" doesn't specify, and probably refers to uncooked, given 414 calories for 115 grams.
All cookable foods from the USDA database will specify their state. (Uncooked pasta might say "dry" and there are other synonyms for "raw.")
Unfortunately, the green check marks in the MFP database are used for both USER-created entries and ADMIN-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database. A green check mark for USER-created entries just means enough people have upvoted the entry - it is not necessarily correct.
To find ADMIN entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP. All ADMIN entries from the USDA will have weights as an option BUT there is a glitch whereby sometimes 1g is the option but the values are actually for 100g. This is pretty easy to spot though, as when added the calories are 100x more than is reasonable.
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Use the “SR Legacy” tab - that's what MFP used to pull in entries.
Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was USER entered.
For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP. (Alas, you cannot just scan with your phone and assume what you get is correct. Note: scanning is mostly only available with Premium these days.)
1 -
PS: I took a look at your diary.
Nothing major jumps out at me, but a few thoughts:
- I see rice stick vermicelle, 100+ grams at dinner: are you weighing uncooked or cooked? Because your calorie count looks to be for the uncooked weight (400+ calories). If you're weighing cooked, you are very much exaggerating your calorie intake.
- although eating high protein helps a little, my personal experience is that eating breakfast increases my hunger. What works for me it to have either no breakfast or a late one 8.30-9.30AM. You might be wired differently, but it's worth experimenting with meal timings and splitting calories differently throughout the day
- sugary snacks (including sweetened coffee) increase my cravings
- I see vegetables on some days, but very few on others. Overall I would need a lot more vegetables (and fruit) to be happy and satiated.
I weigh everything on my food scale after its cooked. I'm not sure if that's correct or not. What is th3 difference weighing uncooked, and cooked? And what is proper way?
Thanks kindly
But I just weigh in today, and I've only lost 2 pounds....so that's disappointing, I thought with all the hunger and difficulty adjusting I'd have lost some weight... I guess I'm not working hard enough.
I'll ramp up my vegetables , thank you for that. I'm going to get a protein powder too, try making shakes and things and adding that to them, perhaps help with the feeling fuller, eating less to lose more. I felt different in my tummy but I guess that was all in my head cause I wouldn't notice a small 2lb loss...
October 19 I was 179
Today I'm 177 , that's terrible!
You're set to lose a half pound a week and in less than two weeks you've lost 2 pounds, so you're actually doing great
Use a weight trending app such as Happy Scale (iphone) or Libra (Android) and focus on the trend, not the individual weigh-ins. I have Happy Scale and use the “Moving Average” as my official weight.
Women with menstrual cycles may get lots of fluctuations throughout the month. This can be frustrating, but a trending app can help. Focus on the trend, not the individual weigh-ins, and only compare yourself with the same point in as last cycle.1
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