Having a hard time eating all the calories.....

BrainyBurro · November 2013

no, it's still simple.

your calorie goal is for weight loss (or gain if that's your goal).

once you know your calorie goal, you choose foods to meet your macronutrients (and micronutrients).

macronutrients and micronutrients are about nutritional health.

very few people need to worry about micronutrients. eat a balanced diet and take a multivitamin and you should be fine.

you just need to focus on macronutrients when it comes to food choices. you track these (i only track fat and protein) on MFP and it tells you at the end of the day whether you met your goals or not.

lots of people ignore macronutrients at the beginning and focus solely on weight loss (calorie goal). over time, you'll discover that you also need to eat enough protein and fats to keep your body healthy. that's when you can start focusing on those.

in my first year, i didn't worry about macros at all. when i finally looked at them, i realized that i was consistently getting less than i needed, so i started eating peanut butter and drinking protein shakes.

the trick is setting your macro goals correctly when you are ready to start paying attention to them.

Dragonwolf · November 2013

There a link at the bottom of each comment that says "quote". Just click it and it will quote it for you. You can then edit it to remove what isn't relevant to your response. Just don't mess with the tags that wrap the quoted text.

As for the macro- and micro-nutrients, it's really not that hard. Eat a variety of quality whole foods and you'll likely get the micronutrients that you need. The macronutrients just require a calculator to get good amounts (MFP's numbers suck), and even then, it's just a starting point. Getting exactly what works for you requires fiddling with your own numbers to get the right proportion of fat and carbs to get the energy you need, while still feeling satisfied. As a rule of thumb, if you're struggling to get down to your calorie goal without feeling starved, increase your fat. If you're struggling to get up to them because you genuinely feel too full to eat, then increase carbs.

dqbound · November 2013

So if I'm healthy and strong than I don't need to worry about changing the setting in MFB? Maybe in a year I can revisit and see what I need?

I don't really eat any fast foods but I have been known to pack on things like cheese, pasta, bread, sweets etc.

I have really cut all that out and I'm not missing it but I guess I can start to add back some of that stuff to meet my calorie allotment?

I'm sorry if I sound totally ignorant but I really never learned about this stuff and it's like you guys are speaking Chinese. lol

Does MFP have a section where I can find a mentor? Someone to look over my diary and provide guidance? I know it's a lot to ask but maybe someone wants to take a dedicated, motivated, determined fatty under their wing? lol

amberflo143 · November 2013

I was like that too. But you have to find foods that will stick with you and that may be higher calorie foods. Don't deprive yourself as the result could be a ugly binge. Moderation and rewards are key to this lifestyle change. Not ever eating foods I want to eat is too hard, instead of the whole bag, I have a serving. If I want to eat really bad I work out twice as hard. It has worked for me so far! Don't deprive yourself just control your self! You can do this!

amberflo143 · November 2013

If you open your diary up everyone can see and wil support you!

RivenV · November 2013

You can choose to focus on calorie control first, and then we can work on your "macros" later. I know it's a lot to take in at first. I felt pretty overwhelmed, also. I worked on getting comfortable with counting calories for a couple months; a couple months ago I started to focus on where those calories were coming from (proteins, fats, and carbs; aka "macros"). It's definitely something you can work on as time goes on.

I would be more than happy to help; though, I am considerably less active on this website in the evenings than I am during the days. This will be my last post here until tomorrow morning, but do feel free to add me as a friend. When I'm back in the morning, I'll post some links to a couple other threads on here that I think you would find really helpful! In the meantime, don't get discouraged. You can do this!

dqbound · November 2013

Thank you! Diary open......have at it. lol

clambert1273 · November 2013

Well, I only looked at yours for today and I can tell you a couple of things... You aren't eating enough or well enough. Drop the packaged goods (that was the hardest for me lol) and start fresh.

Lots of recipes everywhere - my favorite is to put a whole chicken in the crockpot and then cut it up into containers for the week. If I don't feel like chicken then I make something else for dinner. I usually make enough dinner to have left overs for lunch the next day (I like simple).

Tonight for example, I had 8oz of shrimp cooked in 2tbsp olive oil and cajun seasoning. I added frozen corn and green beans and had a very nice "stir fry" type of recipe. Quick and easy. I have more that I made for lunch tomorrow.

You can flip through my diary (click on my name and view diary) and see that I eat pretty dam healthy but I do love my pies, cakes, ice cream etc... Last Saturday we did our Thanksgiving dinner so I attempted to log it - that was fun lol I figured I burned that off cooking for 10 hours

I look at diaries all the time to get ideas as some people have great ideas and I might not have ever figured it out. One recipe I found on here was Greek Yogurt Chicken (power protein right there) and Mexican Spaghetti Squash.. excellent recipes both of them and something I would have never thought about.

I still eat what I want, just in a different capacity than I used to. I don't eat the whole pint of Ben & Jerry's - instead I weigh out my portion and enjoy every bite

You can do this... I promise it isn't too complicated or time consuming (working full time mom of 3 lol)!!!

dqbound · November 2013

I don't really think I had a lot of packaged goods. The only thing on yesterdays that was was the frozen pizza which I only had bc I had so many calories to spend and according to this thread it doesn't matter where the calories come from and I was encouraged to eat what I want. It's what I had in the fridge. '

If I have to stick to chicken, salad and green beans I'll starve. lol

clambert1273 · November 2013

shoot... I don't eat salad and green beans LOL I do love salad but they are HEFTY salads (like southwest shrimp salad - yummmmyyyy). I do eat a lot of chicken (I like it) and cook it many different ways but I don't eat 3oz or 4oz portions... I eat 6-8oz portions ,,,

Last night - I had 8oz of shrimp :bigsmile: I don't eat anything out of the ordinary... just lots of it lol

BrainyBurro · November 2013

don't worry about packaged goods. whoever told you that has food issues. forget all that clean/paleo/primal BS. it has NOTHING to do with weight loss. those are just fad diets aimed at people who fear their food. lots of those people end up with full blown eating disorders because they are deathly afraid of eating anything that's "not allowed". don't become one of them.

i personally would like to see all "clean" eaters banned from the public forums on this site. all they do is derail newbs with false information about food being "good" or "bad" or "healthy" or "unhealthy". don't get sucked into it. get started on real weight loss and logging and make some good habits. then later, if you want to investigate the claims made by the "clean" eaters, you can do so armed already with basic knowledge about what does and doesn't work for weight loss.

RivenV · November 2013

You don't have to avoid packaged goods as long as you can eat them in a manner that's consistent with your goals. Do feel free to look at my diary for some good and poor examples of this type of behavior. Most of the time, I try to eat between 1800 and 2000 calories each day, a great deal of which comes from packaged foods. There's even ice cream in there at least once a week, and chocolate almost every single day. You just need to be mindful of your goals and respect the idea that many different combinations of foods can help you reach those goals.

Several months ago, I used to pack a salad for lunch on work days. Every single day. ... But I don't even really like salad. I liked the stuff I put in the salad: cheese, eggs, lunch meats, etc. But I'm not really big on sitting down to eat a big plate of cold vegetables, even if the only vegetable is romaine. I wasn't enjoying my meals and that made trying to lose weight a miserable process. Eventually, you're going to run out of steam trying to eat the "right" things. Then you'll get off track and eat the "wrong" things, which will lead to guilt and complacency. (Of course, this isn't the path everyone goes down, but it is relatively common.) Finally, you'll give up altogether for a while, but inevitably, you're going to look at trying to lose weight again. Then the whole cycle will start anew.

It doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to feel like you're suffering while you're losing weight. For a better, more concise explanation, I would recommend reading through the first post of this thread, at least.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=sexypants
Sidesteel and Sarauk2sf run a very successful and helpful group; if you see posts from either of them while you're reading, I would recommend reading what they're writing because they do really know what they're talking about. Sidesteel posted the sexypants thread, and he included a lot of great links that explain and support his points.

eta: fix a couple typos

KANGOOJUMPS · November 2013

then don't.
I don't

clambert1273 · November 2013

I said it and I am NO clean eater or paleo BS - so try and keep things in perspective. I said it for one reason... sodium and water weight - that is all.

If I cook my food then I know what is there and a lot less sodium (I am not a salt eater anyway)... I love me some lunch meat

ETA: I have NO food issues... I like it, Love it and eat it... what I want, when I want...

RivenV · November 2013

Not to rain on your parade, but I got the same gist out of what you said that Brainy did. Maybe it wasn't meant that way, but that's the way I interpreted it, as well. Also, I believe you have some health related problems that make monitoring sodium intake and water weight relevant, no?

Dragonwolf · November 2013

Regarding interpretation, perhaps that's your and Brainy's problem, not hers? You don't have to be paleo or vegetarian or any other fringe diet to suggest that a new person would have an easier time overall, and for a number of reasons, if they didn't rely on packaged foods.

It's well-known that sodium intake can mask weight loss progress by retaining water, which discourages newbies. Additionally, a lot of people find that prepackaged foods are often not all that filling, which, again, can be discouraging to a newbie ("I feel like I'm starving and I'm not losing weight!").

mockchoc · November 2013

So true.

cmira5ol · November 2013

Totally makes sense.......To supplement i use protein bars or protein shakes to meet my macros

clambert1273 · November 2013

I have no health issues with regards to sodium... so with that... I will say in summary.. I tried to help, offered my diary, and instill that it is OK to eat more than a bird... I also stated multiple times that you should eat what you want without restricting especially considering I have ice cream just about every day.. and because I said one thing on "packaged" items then I am apparently a zealot Clean Eater (makes total sense)... that is laughable

So with that... OP, I wish you the best in your venture... good luck

RivenV · November 2013

Regarding some folks not finding prepackaged foods are often not all that filling, perhaps that's their problem, not hers?

I could also argue that a new person might have an easier time overall with packaged foods since they often state directly what's in them regarding calories and macros, or for a number of other reasons (convenience, availability, etc.).

I will agree that sodium can mask weight loss progress, but it does not impede actual weight loss. While I can understand new folks getting discouraged, I fully think that it's more important to describe to them that their "stall" is just a result of higher sodium intake and water retention. These types of misunderstandings lead to crash diets and "cleanses" that do nothing more than shed excess water weight, etc.

Trying to make a 180-switch from packaged foods to whole foods that often need a large amount of preparation can be discouraging ("I feel like I spend all of my time in the kitchen and I'm obsessing about food in a way that doesn't feel healthy to me!")

sanfly · November 2013

Add some yoghurt and fruit to your cereal. I usually add some unsweetened Greek yoghurt and strawberries if in season, or banana or frozen berries

I also often have a yoghurt in the afternoon for a snack. Be careful, low fat yoghurt a are sometimes loaded up with sugar. In NZ I found yoplait particularly bad for this

Add some more fruit and veggies throughout your day, at meals and for snacks

dqbound · November 2013

wow I REALLY appreciate EVERYONE'S input. I'm learning so much.

The past two days I've been eating things that appeal to me instead of things I think I should be eating and I have three conclusions:

1. This does not feel like a diet at all. I'm not hungry and I don't miss anything but I really haven't missed anything when I was holding back either but both of those points are good in my book.
2. I'm still working on dealing with the guilt of eating what I want while trying to lose weight.
3. After eating foods I've deemed as "not healthy" ie: packaged etc I did feel like I wanted to eat more so I can see why people try to discourage against it and those foods need to be eaten with caution (at least for me for right now) It also made eathing the healthier foods less appetizing and therefore even harder to eat.

What I'm learning is that everything has to be in moderation and I love the idea of a protein bar to fill in some of the gaps.

Having a hard time eating all the calories.....

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