Odd tips and tricks??

Theoldguy1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48631538#Comment_48631538

The idea that you're lifting on a regular basis puts you in like the top 5% of the US which is great. You're a unicorn in a good way. The vast majority don't move much and don't portion control so I believe my comment on daily treats is directionally correct.

ddsb1111

Don’t get hungry. Let me explain. When I finally stopped the yo-yo cycle and did this “for real”, I had a lot of food insecurity at first. It took time to get used to the idea I wasn’t depriving myself because I was losing weight. So, my rule for probably the first year was, don’t wait until you’re hungry. So, you’d better be prepared.

Because of this, I didn’t binge or restrict that entire year, and was able to stick to my calories. Now I have no rules because my food insecurity is completely gone.

(feel free to replace the term hungry with starving- similar concept)

springlering62

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48633260#Comment_48633260

I “don’t get hungry”, but that’s because I schedule breakfast, lunch, dinner, three afternoon snacks and two evening snacks, as well as a nice flavorful tea or an iced coffee. I pre-log a whole week out, usually on Sunday mornings.

Each meal typically includes 30-50gr protein per meal, and snacks tend to include protein, too.

Sunday evenings I grill or cook extra meat, which I use for lunches the following weeks, usually as a wrap, but this week as yummy steak and roasted beet salads, with some delicious blue cheese from our Cheese of the Month subscription.

I never have the opportunity to “get hungry” because it’s all out there, planned and waiting for me to enjoy.

Planning is the #1 “trick” for me

ddsb1111

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48634174#Comment_48634174

I love that this thread turned into “tricks” that stayed true to CICO and not hacks, cause planning is an absolute game changer!

Strudders67

Similar to many on here - pre-logging helps me a lot. I can see whether I have any calories / carbs available for an unplanned snack. I too have a glass of water or a cup of tea if I start feeling peckish, then wait a little while to see if I really am actually hungry. Also, making small changes over time, based on what I'd learned, rather than trying to dive in headfirst and then stopping / failing when it got too difficult to sustain.

When I started logging on MFP, I was shocked at how many calories were in my normal portion of pasta, so I started having half and bulking it out with spiralized courgette. Ditto with my rice / grated & roasted cauliflower. Gradually, I reduced the rice and pasta and increased the amount of veg it was being subbed with - but spiralized courgette isn't the greatest (imo) and making cauliflower rice is too much of a faff (I'm certainly not paying supermarket prices for it plus I don't have spare space in my freezer). Helpfully, a few years ago, I had some excess cabbage (used for a Caribbean coleslaw recipe) and googled what else I could use it for. Sauteing finely sliced white cabbage, for half an hour, in a little oil or butter and having that in place of pasta, rice, potatoes or noodles has been my biggest 'trick'. 200g is a plateful of veg that is high in fibre, low in carbs (I'm T2D), helps fill me up and, to me, tastes good with curries, chilli, bolognese, stir-fries, fish, chicken breast, pork loin steak and pretty much everything else I eat on a regular basis; it's also half the calories (or less) than a small amount of rice or pasta. A huge salad, with some protein added to it and a teaspoonful of olive oil as dressing, is far more filling, for me, than a sandwich and also has far fewer calories (and carbs). Small changes, learned over time and then gradually implemented until they've become my norm.

springlering62

@Strudders67 I’m stealing that!

Cauliflower rice is “acceptable” but to me it smells bad and tastes watery and bitterer than I’d like.

I do like cabbage.

I’ll have to be super careful disguising it, though. Mr. S. will raise an unholy ruckus if it involves cabbage, beets, asparagus, or brussels sprouts.