How do you eat what you want and lose weight??

runningforicecream

Tbh, I make it fit. I know that sounds vague but I find it just so much fun adjusting my calories for the day. Fitting in a piece of cake here, a cup of ice cream there. Sometimes, I can fit in a whole pint of ice cream, sometimes I go over. Waaaay over. No biggies. I'll just move more to bring it back down.

If you really like the yogurt, there's nothing wrong in spending your calories there. But if you're eating it just for the sake of taking in that amount of calories, why not find something else that's equal in calories but that you actually like? Lots of food out there.

Life is way too short to eat things you don't like and to leave out the things you do.

xenu01

1. If you plan for that 500 calories at dinner (hell, make it 700 and have fries, too), you know all day it's coming and can plan accordingly. Have something light but filling for breakfast like oatmeal (why ARE you eating so much yogurt?) and then something lean but filling for lunch, like grilled chicken on a tortilla with a little bit of tomato sauce, and a green salad with a moderate amount of dressing (don't bother with light dressings, which are full of sugar).

2. Hey, look, you're not a machine, and neither is your body. You can go over your calories every now and again, like once a week, and still be a-ok.

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nomnomgoodies

I actually do enjoy yogurt, and it's how I get some protein in. But I know I should probably scale back the amount of yogurt at night.

eric_sg61

I pre-log, I know my triggers, I have discipline, and I know generally what I require everyday.

wilsoje74

I actually do enjoy yogurt, and it's how I get some protein in. But I know I should probably scale back the amount of yogurt at night.

Is this Greek yogurt?

_SarahVasquez

I checked out a book from my university library called "Run your butt off". It's about knowing how much calories your body needs to survive and subtracting 500 calories (deficit) each day from your weekly deficit. Remember 1 pound is 3,500 calories so you have to divide that up by 7 days to create a 500 calories deficit for the day (to loose 1 pound a week). It's good to do 4 times a week of exercising. Even walking 30 minutes today outside or on a treadmill will burn calories or going for a 45 minute walk at a good walking speed for your dog could easily burn 70 or more calories (depending on your weight). The book I checked out was called "Run your butt off" ( it's like 5 bucks on amazon) it's a great book that starts you off slowly from walking to running 2 minutes and walking 3 minutes until running a full 30 minutes. Have patience with your body and try counting nutrients more than calories, after all the nutrient rich foods tend to be low calorie any how (excluding the nut group which is high in calories and nutrients). Also visualizing where you want to be also puts your self in a positive direction and gives your mind a picture of who you want to be in the coming weeks. & lastly measure everything you eat and drink. I use my generic measuring cup when I want to drink milk or an apple juice or popcorn. That helps me stay within moderation. Good luck & keep focused!

blueorchid1610

Moderation is definitely key. Do you like to cook? There are so many lower calorie recipes out there now and so many great healthy food options--I don't even get cravings anymore. If I do, I have no problem eating whatever I crave because it barely affects my daily calories. I'd definitely recommend looking at a wider variety of foods and recipes.

zeal26

I don't eat *everything* I want (for example, Pringles are my weakness and I literally cannot eat them in moderation so I avoid them entirely) but for the most part I am not depriving myself at all. For me, it is all about portion sizes. I will often decide that X isn't worth the calories at that particular time, but when I really want it I have it, log it and fit the rest of my day in.

So far today (it's 5:14pm) I've had:

Oatmeal made with low-fat milk, and 1 teaspoon of sugar

Nutrigrain breakfast bar
String cheese
2 x Crackerbread

Roast dinner (Much smaller portions than I used to have, but still very satisfying)

70g Cookies and Cream Icecream

I've used 956 calories so far and burned 300. For supper I'll be having a bowl of homemade soup and a scone. And I'll use the rest of my calories on snacks like berries/fruit, crackers, cereal, cheese, whatever I feel like and can fit in really. Maybe a mug of hot chocolate. It has taken a while to get used to eating less of things but I no longer feel like I'm missing out.

runningforicecream

I actually do enjoy yogurt, and it's how I get some protein in. But I know I should probably scale back the amount of yogurt at night.

Then eat it. Just fit it in, both in calories and macros. And it doesn't really matter when you eat it. You can eat all your calories in one meal in the middle of the night if you want. Calories in, calories out.

megsmom2

If you like yogurt...eat yogurt. Some of your calorie items seem a bit off to me. (1/2 a Pb& j is 90? Not in my world....) If I were you Id go for more veggies and whole grains...they have the bulk you seem to want. Log your intake carefully and find interesting alternatives. But it still comes down to what you're willing to eat....so if you like yogurt, eat yogurt.

wilsoje74

If you like yogurt...eat yogurt. Some of your calorie items seem a bit off to me. (1/2 a Pb& j is 90? Not in my world....) If I were you Id go for more veggies and whole grains...they have the bulk you seem to want. Log your intake carefully and find interesting alternatives. But it still comes down to what you're willing to eat....so if you like yogurt, eat yogurt.

Just the pb would be 90!!

SezxyStef

OP you and I eat about the same amount of calories and manage my treats every day.

I even eat 2 yogurt...

Check my diary if you want...

I average between 1600-1700 calories a day.

sodakat

I've found that I want something like chips now and then. Well, I don't want to devote too many calories to this non-essential item and I don't want to eat too much of it. I bought some generic Flaming Cheetos and they are sooooo hot I can only eat a few. I weighed out 1/2 serving and it is quite a few! So when I want something along the line of chips, I have 1/2 serving of the hot suckers. It takes me quite a while to eat them too.

For me, being able to do something like this is what makes counting calories doable. I don't really have to give up anything completely.

Kenazwa

It can be a tough distinction to make. I understand that I can eat ANYthing I want as long as I stay within my calorie budget. What I want is to be able to eat EVERYthing I want. Not possible.

zyxst

Turf the Nature Valley Granola bar - unless you really love them - there are so many better things to eat with those calories...

Like cookies and chocolate.

I make things fit. Like others said, you gotta think and plan your day if you want a specific food. It peeves me off a bit, having to choose to not have certain foods if I want another food that day.

BigVeggieDream

This may or may not work for everyone, but I allow myself 1 or 2 treats a week and I continue to lose weight. Just the other week, it was my eldest son's birthday, so i let myself have a small piece of cake and a small amount of ice cream. It was good, but because I had been eating healthy filling foods the rest of the day, I felt satisfied. I went 300 calories over that day, but for the week I was right on target and lost weight that week.

wheird

I am deliberate about what I eat.

elisa123gal

mmm don't forget exercise calories. I work out when I want to eat a burger or eat pizza…and that is what really works. I have also found that trying to eat chips..cookies..ice cream..all that all the time make is painful to diet.

I find eating clean is actually easier. I used to count out baked chips..all of that… it was harder than just saying I'll have one complex carb a day and eat lean meats and vegetables and call it a day.

FoxyLifter

iifym.com

I spend 80% of my calories trying to hit my macros and micros. The other 20% is spent on treats. Tonight is Godiva truffles.

That being said, over the years, I have paid attention to my taste bud. Yes, these raw carrots are good for me (full of potassium), but I can't stand to eat them so I look for other sources that please my tongue. Bananas, dried apricots, coffee and kale are foods/drinks that I find tasty and can easily keep on my menu week after week, month after month.

FitnessLover001

It's all about moderation! If you deprive yourself from foods you enjoy, you'll just end up binging later. If you want something, get it, but make healthy choices about it. If you want to lose inches, yes dieting and clean eating will help, but so does weight lifting and cardio. Be sure to have a balanced routine though with your eating habits, weight training and cardio and rest, and you should be fine on the losing inches.

jenilla1

I eat what I want - I just don't eat a crap ton of it. I'm in maintenance, though, so I have more calories to blow than I would if I were losing. Good thing for me that I enjoy fresh, home cooked food with lots of nutritious, flavorful ingredients! :drinker:

Francl27

Easy. I exercise more so I can eat more, and I can fit pretty much everything I want in my calories (ok not today, but I didn't really try). I've never eaten under 1600 calories. Typically I can have a 300 calorie breakfast, 400 calorie lunch, 400 calorie dinner, and still have 500 calories for whatever I like. Or I make it a 250 calorie dinner (easy) and then I have 650 extra calories. Of course now my goal is back to 1700 so it's easier, but at 1600 I still had whatever I wanted really.

The key is to eat a lot of filling foods. I eat a lot of chicken breasts, eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt (better than regular yogurt because it has more protein, by the way).

Apple31415

I'm with you on the quantity thing...I've always overeaten and don't feel full until THE WHOLE THING is gone, whatever it is. I've noticed two things since being on MFP and paying attention to quantitiy: 1. Hitting the 8-10 cups of water is essential in keeping me satiated and 2. If i take a break before i'm done with a meal, I'll often realize that i'm actually full and don't have to finish THE WHOLE THING...Plus the cardio each day gives me plenty of "buffer" calories to stay below my goal...hope that helps a little?

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

I eat practically at maintenance when I'm losing and I'm at maintenance now so I probably have more wiggle room. Today I had only 200 calories of rocky road frozen yogurt and 200 calories of chocolate. Some days I eat too many potato chips or red wine which interferes with my protein macro, so I try to keep those things down MOST of the time (ie no potato chips for me at least six days a week because I like to binge on them). I know of other people who do extra cardio to make up for over eating. I just skip dinner if I have no more calories left. We all come up with different ways to stay close to TDEE.

Also, when I was losing I sometimes averaged my TDEE for the whole week! No big deal!! It just meant that although I wasn't losing that week, I wasn't gaining either!!:)

crose0056

you need to budget your food just like you would do money.

ChrysalisCove

I only have "splurge" items at night, usually after my toddler has gone to bed. If I have cals left over, I get a treat. If I don't, I don't! The only exception to this is that I do allow myself a single can of soda most days. I just budget around it. It is my vice, but for me it's worth it!

Graelwyn75

You can either choose to have a small 200 calories or less treat daily, a few higher calorie treats weekly, or a treat meal once a week where you eat at maintenance for the day. A lot of trainers seem to subscribe to the cheat meal and so do a lot of the successful people on this site, personally, I have a few squares of darker chocolate each day and then allow a few treats on Saturdays.

sunfastrose

I know everybody is talking about the yogurt, sorry to be another. Are you sure you are eating 4 cups at night? That's a very large volume of yogurt! How about cutting that amount in half, and substituting in air popped popcorn? Drizzle it with olive oil and/or butter.

lavender_fairie

I have never been a veggie eater, but I promised myself that i would branch out bc ppl kept posting about "bulk." Now I know what they r talking about! I had so much roasted asparagus the other day I was uncomfortably full for the first time in my journey on mfp. I had to go take a nap..If you want to feel full, keep looking around at veggies- they will make you feel full and they r so low-cal u can eat a ton of them. I had to push my turkey sandwich away without a bite tonight bc i had too many roasted Brussels, and I wanted that sandwich, had cals for it/ just was too full. It's a glorious feeling. Beans can do this too- I love green beans. If only I could like fish, I could eat alllll the dessert.

For the past two days I've known I was going to an Italian place (pizza, calzones) for lunch today. I skimped a few hundred cals yesterday and the day before to give me room. Also worked out yesterday and saved the cals instead of eating them. I went to lunch today and had 2 small slices of pizza and still have room left over in my budget tonight; I didn't even touch my "saved" cals from the last 2 days. So now I'm wondering if I should steal my kid's Cadbury egg or eat a candy bar. This is a good problem to have.

I'm telling you, veggies r key. Look on the recipe forums; I've gotten some great ideas there. I also google veggie recipes to make them taste better and I'm heavy on seasoning like lemon pepper (but I use spray Pam or 0 cal spray Olive oil to make it stick). When most of your plate is green, u do NOT feel hungry AND you have plenty of wiggle room for all kinds of yummies. My cals r set to 1410/day. When I increase to a half-a-pound/week, then maintenance, I expect to have this thing down. And that's how I know it's a lifestyle change. I eat the things I've always loved, just have larger portions of green with them.

And as Pp said, drink alllll the water, even if u flavor it a little. I'm rarely hungry these days, but I'm *always* thirsty. It's hard to imagine myself eating like I used to. I'm full of water and veggies all the time.