what is your diet like?

jillmarie125

I think it's obvious that diet plays a huge role in weight loss. My trainer once told me that "you cannout out run a bad diet or out lift a bad diet." Meaning working out will not help you lose weight if your diet sucks.

I try to keep my calories around 1400. On days that I workout, I will eat 100-200 calories more. I eat pretty much everything. But I try to make the best choices to keep me full all day. I need to be better at logging. That is a 2014 goal for me. I need to log it ALL. I have my macros set at 30% carbs, 30% fat and 40% protein. I find my eating just settles into that nicely and I don't feel deprieved. I am huge pizza and chicken wing girl. Love it! I eat it once a week. Usually on Friday nights. So I tend to eat less on Saturdays to balance it out. I feel that the weekly defecit is more important than a daily.

How is your diet plan set up? Still trying to figure it out? Any questions feel free to throw them out there! I am sure someone can help!!

1findlay

I try and eat 1200 calories per day, I don't eat meat so sometimes feel limited with my protein options but try and supplement with protein shakes and fish. My biggest diet downfall is that I love chocolate and diet coke/Pepsi and haven't been able to give it up....I even tried hypnosis ! But on the plus side I don't drink alcohol, eat meat but do eat fresh in season vegetables organically when I can.

As far as the setting on MFP for carbs, protein etc I just kept it at what MFP preset for 1200 calories.

X

Vex3521

I eat a bit more than both of you. 1460 is my default calories a day usually I am under but that helps me. Was getting rundown and too tired s with my lack of sleep schedule due to working graveyards I had t do something before I got sick again. Did 2;5 hours of heavy shoveling today plus just rocked a legs workout at the gym so I'm having a 2nd protein shake for the day. Actually did 16oz both of em to balance me out a bit.

Steeners

My default right now is 1860 calories per day. My plan is protein smoothies every morning... I did that before I got pregnant with my son and they kept me full ALL morning. I use the GNC Lean Shake 25, made with almond milk instead of water (richer than with water, but fewer calories than with plain milk). Usually throw in half a frozen banana and some berries or spinach. Other than that, I really only noticed my weight loss slow if I ate more junky food than usual over a week, even if I still had a big calorie deficit.

A_new_beginning_tmn

My calories are set at 1620 daily. I stay just under except on the days that I work night shift, there is just something about eating a full meal at 3am. I just can't do it. I am usually way under on those days, but I stay around 1600 on the other days. I am trying to hit the gym at least 3 days a week to do cardio and some weights. And on my off days from gym I do some body weight resistant moves that I learned from a previous Pilates class I have taken. I am trying to go to gym more often but after working 12.5 hours I am exhausted and can't physically make it to gym. I am trying to figure out a better routine.

Vex3521

I hear you on tired to go to the gym day,.. that's Sunday for me. I set up a killer body weight/core and abs session for situations like that and I've actually set it to be my default Sunday workout vs having gym guilt for not going Sat/Sun. I'll be in there 5x weekly during the week so I Think that's going to let me off the hook however I have only 1 technical rest day.

Forever4me

My calories are about 1350 and I'm OK eating my exercise calories back. I only log my "workouts" and not my activity (a quick walk at lunch, my weekly volleyball league, playing with kids etc) so that hopefully I'm still increasing my deficit a bit more. I've struggled with my weight my whole life...up down up down. And finally last February, it FINALLY clicked for me. Food is meant to be enjoyed. It is fuel, but it's more than that. So to 100% deprive yourself trying to be perfect will always ultimately end up in failure. I tried so hard to be perfect, and then when I wasn't, I beat myself up and felt like a failure. What finally clicked were 2 things. 1) Life is about choices - all day, every day, in every aspect. So that includes food. I can choose to eat pizza and wings but then I'm so lucky I can CHOOSE to eat less or workout more the next day to balance it all out (just like JillMarie said). But I'm enjoying it, not feeling guilty, not feeling deprived. And 2) who cares how long it takes me to lose it if I NEVER HAVE TO LOSE IT AGAIN? Of course I would love to drop it quickly, but the reality is I'm a single mom of 3 with a full time job and a house and yard. I have to be realistic.So beating myself up for not losing it quickly isn't really taking care of myself either. But overall, just trying to eat within my macros and eating healthy clean food 80% of the time so I can splurge the other 20%.

wknmom

I have entered my info into MFP and it suggests a diet of 1200 calories. I am using protein shakes and bars to help keep me full, and to stop me from going to fast food during the day when I am on the run. (bars in my purse just in case). I am working out since there is a gym at work. That will help a lot I think. I hope to get this weight off in 2014!

M00NPYE

I agree with forever4me... patience is your friend in this weight loss journey. I've lost 25 lbs last year, and I'm happy with that because I know I can loose 25 lbs this year and should be at my goal by this summer! :bigsmile: But what really matters is I know I will look better than I did last summer.

I stay between 1600 and 2000 calories depending on my day. I just got a fitbit for Christmas and I love that it verifies the calories I am actually burning. (If your a mom of small children, you're not sedentary even though you sit at a desk most of the day) I have noticed I get hungry when I burn a lot of calories, which is the way it should be! If you're hungry...EAT. I try to make better choices but I'm struggling with my macros... dang carbs! I have growing boys and the only way to fill them up is with breads pastas potatoes etc... I personally know I need to get better a food prep (time and planning) so I can limit my carbs during the day when I'm at work. I have been going to the gym on Tues and Thurs during lunch... then Mon, Wed and Friday running errands during lunch break... and fast food.. guilty! :blushing:

kerbyd13

I eat on workout days 2081 calories and on non workout days 1791 calories. I wear a HRM so on days i burn more, ill eat more depending on how hungry I am. I am trying to eat as clean as possible and meal plan. I workout 5 days a week and love cardio! But i realized i need to start building some muscle so i started a strength program today and i'm so excited, i will still be doing cardio on my off days.

WinoGelato

I started with the standard MFP recommendation of 1200 calories per day because I put in that I have a sedentary lifestyle since I work at a desk job. I didn't take it too seriously, I was over almost every single day by a couple hundred calories but just the awareness of how many calories are in various foods was extremely eye opening for me. I also started trying to use the gym membership I had had for years but rarely went other than for kids swim lessons! I started out with walking on the treadmill and riding the stationary bike since it was still February and cold in Missouri! So I was estimating about 100-200 calories burned each day from exercise and eating those back. I started losing weight pretty steadily about a pound a week.

After reading the forums a little bit and hearing about TDEE, I decided to try to figure that out. I am very analytical and loved the numbers and various spreadsheets to calculate things that I found posted on MFP. I realized that if I estimated my activity above and beyond my desk job and the 30 minutes of exercise, I really was more active and the calculators suggested my TDEE was more like 1700 or 1800. I raised my calorie goal up, first to 1500, and then later up to 1600. I was still losing, between 2-4 lbs/month.

In August I got a FitBit and I too realized just how active my "sedentary" lifestyle is. As a result, I realized my average daily burn is more like 2000-2200 depending on whether I "exercise" or just "move". Since I am pretty close to goal, I now have things set to lose 0.5 lbs/week or 250 cal/day, so I usually eat anywhere from 1800-2000 calories/day. Over the holidays I was over many times, but it still averaged out to be about my maintenance calories, so I think since Thanksgiving I am up maybe 1.5 lbs.

As far as what I eat, I am definitely not a good example of clean eating or even probably what most people would consider balanced. I am not big on fruits/vegetables though I am trying to do better. I still eat out, we eat a lot of pizza and mexican since the kids like it. And I still have a glass or two of wine in the evenings (sometimes more on weekends!).

For me, just the awareness of how many calories were in various foods and seeing it right in front of my eyes has been a huge change in my lifestyle. If we are going out to eat, I will try to look at options before I go, or even on my phone at the restaurant, before I order. I really like wine, more than sweets, so rather than having a bowl of ice cream after dinner I will have a glass of wine. Before MFP I probably would have had both!

I love to cook and am always interested in new recipes or meal suggestions!

Carrie_P81

My diet is not the greatest, in terms of "eating clean" or that sort of thing. I could do way better with eating more fruits and veggies. I was eating a lot of salads but got soooo burned out on them.
So I just do my best to stick to what MFP tells me to-1300 cals + I eat back pretty much everything from my workouts. I do T25 6 days a week and it's a great workout. Sundays usually are my cheat day-no exercise and if I want to get Domino's or something I won't sweat it.

jillmarie125

I have my calories set at 1400 knowing i could probably eat 1700 everyday. But I try to stay at 1400 knowing the weekends I do eat more. But Monday thru Friday I try to stay at 1400 giving myself extra for the weekends. What can I say I love fried foods!!!

srkbaker

I'm going to check out this fitbit thing. It sound like a pedometer.

This time around, I have given into the idea of eating 5 small meals a day, instead solely focusing on my calorie count. The other thing I'm doing more consistently is not eating late. My last meal is somewhere between 6-7 pm if I do eat something late, I try not to eat something that is high in carbohydrate since I won't have time to burn it off. I recently switched jobs and I no longer go out to eat for lunch since there isn't any good take around here. That has made the biggest different.

My big problem is resisting sugar, especially candy. I'm debating on doing a cleanse so I reduce my cravings.

hmrey76

I have cut out most processed foods, 1/2 of my bread intake, those nasty microwave lunches, daily fast food, and the love of my life.. pepsi. I have also started to eat breakfast. I do a smoothie in the morning. An egg sandwich or something similar for lunch. Meat & something for dinner. My struggle is I HATE veggies. So I am trying to find other options to eat with meals/snacks that are healthy and low in calories.

I tried the 1200 cal thing and it just didn't work. i was starving all the time which would then make me snack on junk food after dinner until bedtime. I adjusted MFP to lose 1lb/week which gives me 1540 calories. That seems to be working out much better. I just have to remember slow and steady wins the race. I was so used to my 20's metabolism...you know when you miss lunch and lose 5lbs, now I look at a candy bar and gain 5lbs. haha

I want to drop this extra weight this year and want to do it right. I just ordered a polar ft4 HRM so I will know the correct calories I burn working out and can track them properly on here.

Good Luck ...we can do this!

hmrey76

I have a crazy sugar craving too! I found that fruit helps satisfy it...not saying i am candy/baked goods/pop free, but it helps!

ELMunque

I am a vegetarian, I don't eat fish either but I do eat cheese. My basic daytime food consists of nuts, raw veggies and 2 fruit smoothies. I snack on my nuts and veggies all day and have a smoothie for breakfast and a smoothie for lunch. It keeps me full and then I have a normal dinner every night. I do go over on my sugars with the fruit smoothies, but I consider it good sugars, and I'm hypoglycemic, so I need more sugars and I like to make excuses for myself so it doesn't matter because I'm losing weight and I feel amazing, I have so much more energy since I started drinking my fruit. I don't follow any kind of routine on the weekends, I just make sure I don't get crazy. So, all that good stuff about my diet, here's my downfall. I love pasta, not spaghetti pasta or low fat ****ake noodle pasta or whatever it is called, I like pasta. I make pasta so much my niece asked me if I was italian. I make italian once or twice a week for dinner, mexican once or twice a week, and randomness the other days. I cook every night for on average 9 people, I love to cook and I know that I will not stick to a diet that doesn't allow me to cook and eat my own food. So that's my downfall, but I'm still losing weight so my one little downfall can kiss my ever shrinking behind.

cstringfellow2013

MFP says I should eat less than 1400 calories a day if I want to lose 1lb/per week. I'm in the process of trying to add to breakfast calories while subtracting from my dinner. I do typically eat back my exercise calories and I rarely log additional activities (walking, chasing kids, etc).

My breakfast is typically two cups of coffee with creamer (I've got to cut some of the creamer) and greek yogurt. Most of my water drinking is in the morning, too. Lunch has been leftovers from the previous night, but a smaller portion with a salad or baby carrots. Dinner is my Achilles heel. I've recently added large amounts of greens to my plate, as I'm a big cream sauce/pasta/cheese fan. Really paying attention to portion sizes and weighing my food has opened my eyes quite a bit,

scwilson38

I have recently changed my cals from 1860 to 1730. I have not lost weight lately. Seemed to be stalled. I had lost 50 pounds walking, doing Zumba and eating better. Not eating out, changing from ground meat to turkey ground meat. Not much of a cooker but trying a few recipes I have seen on the site. November I joined a gym and have been doing treadmill, elliptical and bike and strength training. So hopefully I will see a change in my body soon. I have a crockpot and want to try using it for more healthy meals. Hoping to reach my 2nd short term goal by August. Any suggestions?