I miss food

maillemaker

You being cold means you are not eating enough. It is common for people doing IF to feel cold during a fast, but it shouldn't be something you notice when doing a reasonable calorie deficit.

I was following the MFP guidelines for a target of 2-pounds per week. Over 213 days I lost 30 pounds, or an average of 1 pound per week.

This seems reasonable to me. I think if I ate much more than that I would be at maintenance.

favoritenut

In time you will learn to savor and enjoy these items in moderation and no longer need to gorge on them to feel satisfied.

I like this, I am getting there!

likitisplit

eah. Your calories are too low. You need to bump them up by 100 until you are at a point where you are neither hungry nor full between meals. Thinking about food all the time is a huge willpower drain.

I only lost one pound per week over 213 days. If I upped my calories this would be even less and even less worth the effort.

One pound per week is AWESOME. Are you kidding? Yes, the weight loss will be less. There also won't be a lot of effort. I got bored of tracking, but my biggest challenge was remembering to get something healthy for my 3pm snack.

My advice would be to go on maintenance for three months. Log EVERYTHING. See what maintenance feels like. Get used to it. Cut back from there.

If you are hungry and cold at maintenance, then you need to start getting checked out because that isn't normal.

mccindy72

In time you will learn to savor and enjoy these items in moderation and no longer need to gorge on them to feel satisfied.

I like this, I am getting there!

:flowerforyou:

maillemaker

I really don't know what to say about your comments that you have to eat an entire bag of oreos or an entire container of ice cream if you have even a little taste. I don't have that problem, with really any food. I am one of the ones who believes it is possible to eat all the same foods you ate before starting this journey/lifestyle change/diet and just eat smaller quantities of them or eat the same quantities but less frequently. An entire gallon of ice cream or a bag of cookies doesn't even sound appealing to me. After lunch today I wanted chocolate. I could have had an entire candy bar. I could have had 3 of them. I went to our candy store at work and chose one fun size hershey bar, and now my chocolate craving is gone. Going back to get more doesn't even occur to me.

This is why I think a lot of people in these forums don't understand or believe in the idea of food addiction. The idea of eating for pleasure, and trying to maximize the pleasure by maximizing the eating, simply does not compute for them.

You see when I go to the store and break down and buy candy I'm going to make it the biggest bang for the buck I could get - I'd go for the King Size. The whole attitude has always been "in for a penny, in for a pound".

It's never just about "satisfying a craving". It's about once you've given into the craving maximizing the pleasure.

I could, and have, easily eat a quarter gallon of ice cream at one sitting. That's two normal sized bowls for me. Nothing to it. And I'd eat that for desert after dinner.

parkscs

Maillemaker, can you just avoid having those foods in the house and if you must indulge in those foods, make a special trip just for them (and don't buy the jumbo size container). For example, if don't have a giant bag of M&M's sitting around the house, you don't have the option of eating an entire bag of M&M's unless you get in the car, drive to the grocery, and buy a large bag of M&M's first. To that end, just buying a smaller bag and treating yourself to those if you have to indulge may be the way to go. I suspect it will be a lot easier to resist eating more of a particular food if you have to drive out and buy more of that food first, versus putting the giant bag of M&M's back in the cupboard.

It's one thing to say you are giving up Oreos entirely (although personally I'm not convinced that's the worst thing you could do, but that's a different discussion), but even if you eat them in moderation, I wouldn't advocate stockpiling them in your house if you know you have a problem with them.

Edit to add:

The whole attitude has always been "in for a penny, in for a pound".

And this is why logging it is so important. If you're going to eat the king size bag of M&M's, fine, but force yourself to put it on your food log first and then look at it. Look at the calories and look at what it does to your daily macros. Don't let yourself just fall off the wagon of logging your food just because you're cheating. Force yourself to log it and, with the numbers right in front of your face, ask yourself whether you really want to do this.

emstethem

I had cheese stuffed crust pizza last night and it was amazing!!! Just because you "fall off the wagon" doesn't mean you are doomed...pick yourself back up, dust it off, and start making healthy choices again. Don't let one bad day become a bad year...It doesn't have to!!! Just try ...and try again. I've been there and done that, hun, you are NOT alone!!! Dust it off...you won't regret it....

mccindy72

Maillemaker, can you just avoid having those foods in the house and if you must indulge in those foods, make a special trip just for them (and don't buy the jumbo size container). For example, if don't have a giant bag of M&M's sitting around the house, you don't have the option of eating an entire bag of M&M's unless you get in the car, drive to the grocery, and buy a large bag of M&M's first. To that end, just buying a smaller bag and treating yourself to those if you have to indulge may be the way to go. I suspect it will be a lot easier to resist eating more of a particular food if you have to drive out and buy more of that food first, versus putting the giant bag of M&M's back in the cupboard.

It's one thing to say you are giving up Oreos entirely (although personally I'm not convinced that's the worst thing you could do, but that's a different discussion), but even if you eat them in moderation, I wouldn't advocate stockpiling them in your house if you know you have a problem with them.

:drinker:

likitisplit

I would suggest that this is because you are set at an unreasonably LOW calorie amount, just like the OP.

You are a man weighing around 280, and you are set at 1690 calories. Dude, I'm older than you, and I'm a woman, and I eat 1800 to lose weight. 1800 is the minimum a man should eat.

I was at 2300 when I was 215 and I was losing more than a half pound a week. I was also not starving and cold.

_Zardoz_

Wow this thread has now turned into excuse central Whatever happened to willpower and personal responsibility. What a sad and tragic thread. Stop making excuses and do something about it if you cant control your food intake go and see a health professional that can help you.

likitisplit

I could, and have, easily eat a quarter gallon of ice cream at one sitting. That's two normal sized bowls for me. Nothing to it. And I'd eat that for desert after dinner.

So could I. I once ate 12 quarter pounders when I was 17 on a bet (and had an amazing metabolism).

I choose to eat differently because I like the way I feel, the energy I have and what I can do when I'm at a good weight for me.

maillemaker

Alcoholics and gamblers CHOOSE to indulge. It has been shown that, given enough incentive (monetary in one study), an alcoholic can abstain just fine.

Any addict chooses to indulge.

It's not the same. Alcoholics can live without drinking alcohol. Food addicts can't live without food.

And gambling addicts can live without gambling. What's your point?

I'm saddened that you aren't ready to try yet.

You must have missed this:

redheaddee

I am confused why not chick peas & Hummus (which is made of chick peas). It is very low calorie and nutrient dense.

:noway:

maillemaker

Maillemaker, can you just avoid having those foods in the house and if you must indulge in those foods, make a special trip just for them (and don't buy the jumbo size container). For example, if don't have a giant bag of M&M's sitting around the house, you don't have the option of eating an entire bag of M&M's unless you get in the car, drive to the grocery, and buy a large bag of M&M's first. To that end, just buying a smaller bag and treating yourself to those if you have to indulge may be the way to go. I suspect it will be a lot easier to resist eating more of a particular food if you have to drive out and buy more of that food first, versus putting the giant bag of M&M's back in the cupboard.

It's one thing to say you are giving up Oreos entirely (although personally I'm not convinced that's the worst thing you could do, but that's a different discussion), but even if you eat them in moderation, I wouldn't advocate stockpiling them in your house if you know you have a problem with them.

That's how I succeeded over the first 5 months. Halloween rolled into Thanksgiving rolled into Christmas and I just blew it. I've gained back 21 of the 30 pound I lost.

I'm just waiting for an effective appetite suppressant to finally come along.

FindingMyPerfection

I really don't know what to say about your comments that you have to eat an entire bag of oreos or an entire container of ice cream if you have even a little taste. I don't have that problem, with really any food. I am one of the ones who believes it is possible to eat all the same foods you ate before starting this journey/lifestyle change/diet and just eat smaller quantities of them or eat the same quantities but less frequently. An entire gallon of ice cream or a bag of cookies doesn't even sound appealing to me. After lunch today I wanted chocolate. I could have had an entire candy bar. I could have had 3 of them. I went to our candy store at work and chose one fun size hershey bar, and now my chocolate craving is gone. Going back to get more doesn't even occur to me.

This is why I think a lot of people in these forums don't understand or believe in the idea of food addiction. The idea of eating for pleasure, and trying to maximize the pleasure by maximizing the eating, simply does not compute for them.

You see when I go to the store and break down and buy candy I'm going to make it the biggest bang for the buck I could get - I'd go for the King Size. The whole attitude has always been "in for a penny, in for a pound".

It's never just about "satisfying a craving". It's about once you've given into the craving maximizing the pleasure.

I could, and have, easily eat a quarter gallon of ice cream at one sitting. That's two normal sized bowls for me. Nothing to it. And I'd eat that for desert after dinner.

This is an issue with trying to find emotional satisfaction or validation through food. This is something that you may need to talk with a professional about.

maillemaker

I was at 2300 when I was 215 and I was losing more than a half pound a week. I was also not starving and cold.

You must be doing a lot of exercise then.

maillemaker

Wow this thread has now turned into excuse central Whatever happened to willpower and personal responsibility. What a sad and tragic thread. Stop making excuses and do something about it if you cant control your food intake go and see a health professional that can help you.

I don't believe any professional can give you willpower. You've got to come up with it on your own. Over 90% of the people who try to lose weight don't have the willpower to do it long term.

deksgrl

You being cold means you are not eating enough. It is common for people doing IF to feel cold during a fast, but it shouldn't be something you notice when doing a reasonable calorie deficit.

I was following the MFP guidelines for a target of 2-pounds per week. Over 213 days I lost 30 pounds, or an average of 1 pound per week.

This seems reasonable to me. I think if I ate much more than that I would be at maintenance.

So, MFP says that your needed calories not including exercise would be 2690 and it is subtracting 1,000 calories for you to lose 2 pounds per week.

Yes, I think that is too low. I went to the Scooby calculator and this is what a person your age/size comes out to with light exercise:

BMR 2432 (the amount you would be fed if you were in a coma)
TDEE 3344 (the amount where you would maintain weight)
20% cut 2675

Of course if you exercise more than "light" it would be more than that. Right now you are at a 50% cut. This is really unhealthy, unless under the direction of a doctor.

15-20% below maintenance calories = conservative deficit
20-25% below maintenance calories = moderate deficit
25-30% below maintenance calories = aggressive deficit
31-40% below maintenance calories = very aggressive deficit (risky)
50%+ below maintenance calories = semi starvation/starvation (potentially dangerous and unhealthy if not medically supervised)

FindingMyPerfection

Wow this thread has now turned into excuse central Whatever happened to willpower and personal responsibility. What a sad and tragic thread. Stop making excuses and do something about it if you cant control your food intake go and see a health professional that can help you.

I don't believe any professional can give you willpower. You've got to come up with it on your own. Over 90% of the people who try to lose weight don't have the willpower to do it long term.

They can help you find what it is that the food is replacing, or what issue you are soothing through the food.

WinoGelato

Maillemaker, can you just avoid having those foods in the house and if you must indulge in those foods, make a special trip just for them (and don't buy the jumbo size container). For example, if don't have a giant bag of M&M's sitting around the house, you don't have the option of eating an entire bag of M&M's unless you get in the car, drive to the grocery, and buy a large bag of M&M's first. To that end, just buying a smaller bag and treating yourself to those if you have to indulge may be the way to go. I suspect it will be a lot easier to resist eating more of a particular food if you have to drive out and buy more of that food first, versus putting the giant bag of M&M's back in the cupboard.

It's one thing to say you are giving up Oreos entirely (although personally I'm not convinced that's the worst thing you could do, but that's a different discussion), but even if you eat them in moderation, I wouldn't advocate stockpiling them in your house if you know you have a problem with them.

That's how I succeeded over the first 5 months. Halloween rolled into Thanksgiving rolled into Christmas and I just blew it. I've gained back 21 of the 30 pound I lost.

I'm just waiting for an effective appetite suppressant to finally come along.

Or start logging again... you are on here, spending a lot of time on this thread. If logging what you ate helped keep you on track, then why not spend your time on MFP logging what you've eaten the last day, 2 days, 3 days, as far back as you remember...

Or continue with the self fulfilling prophecy of believing you will fail...