Need to get healthy

sarahblain19

Hey all, I've joined up and have kick started my weight loss. I'm due to get married in 7 months. I had to buy a new wedding dress as my old one didn't fit anymore. Looking at photos of my old wedding dress and then my new one I can definitely tell I've put weight on and it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I've started logging everything I eat and drink and now I'm making sure I stay under my calorie limit though I find it hard in the evening as that's when I get really hungry

yirara

Don't stay under your calorie limit but eat up to your calorie limit. This is how MFP is designed if you've chosen a weightloss goal. With only 10+ lbs to lose it will be slow. But better slow and looking great than looking miserable. Or giving up after a few weeks.

neanderthin

Rate foods from 1-10 on how much they make you hungry and try to eat less of those that make you want to eat more. Oh, and don't eat at night. Is it easy, nope.

AnnPT77

One cause of evening cravings may be fatigue. Fatigue triggers energy seeking, food is energy, voila cravings!

If your sleep quality/quantity can be improved, work on that.

If your life is high stress, try to reduce the stressors, or use non-food stress management techniques, because stress is fatiguing. (Stress management is individual, but some things mentioned here by others include stretching or yoga, other mild exercise, sunshine/fresh air, prayer or meditation, adult coloring books, journaling, aromatherapy bubble baths, calming music . . . .).

If you've added a bunch of exercise because you want to lose weight fast, back that off to manageably challenging exercise (maybe a few minutes of "whew" right after the workout, but energized for the rest of your day). Too-intense or too much exercise is counterproductive for either weight loss or fitness development.

If your eating adds up to sub-par nutrition - especially too-low protein, too-low healthy fats, or too-small amounts of veggies/fruits - maybe work to improve that. Sometimes nutritional deficits can trigger appetite, and it won't necessarily be in the form of cravings for the nutrients we need.

Many people find so-called "whole foods" more filling than highly processed ones. If a lot of your eating is highly processed, refined foods, maybe try to work in more lean proteins, whole grains, veggies and fruits.

If none of that helps, experiment with the timing of your eating. Some people save calories to indulge the evening cravings. Some "shut the kitchen" and maybe brush their teeth at a certain hour, and commit not to eat after that. People do best appetite-wise on anything from one meal a day (OMAD) to an all-day grazing schedule of many snack-sized meals, and anything in between. Maybe a different schedule would work better for you.

No one else's exact pattern will be best for you, but by way of illustration I learned that my evening cravings were reduced if I ate a pretty good-sized, filling breakfast with plenty of protein, then spread more protein through the day. Breakfast changes may be a surprising intervention for evening cravings, but that's one aspect that helped me.

Successful weight loss is a sequence of analysis and problem-solving opportunities, if you ask me. We're all different (preferences, strengths, challenges, lifestyle), so the solutions will be individual. It's kind of like a fun, productive science fair experiment for grown ups, with just one experimental subject, ourselves.

Notice if there are days that you feel more or less crave-y. What was different? Can you experiment with what you speculate kept you more full and happy? See if the effect sticks? Do that. You can develop a new set of habits that better support your goals, I'd bet.

I'm cheering for you, because the results are worth that effort!