My daily allotment is so low and I'm losing my will.

suejoker

Hey, Threnjen!

Have you ever heard of "diet breaks"? I think they can be very helpful, when you start feeling fatigue from eating at a low calorie level for too long. A week or two of eating what you want or at maintenance, if you don't want that much freedom, can be just the thing to give you renewed motivation. It also usually ends with a nice big woosh on the scale, when you start cutting calories again.

I think you're right that mixing up what you eat can be helpful. I'm always looking for new recipes, so I don't get bored with what I'm eating. Most fatty recipes can be adapted to be low fat, too.

All the best to you on your journey!

myfitnesspale3

Soylent - Protein Nutrigoo 400g - it's PEOPLE! and 40+g carbs, more than protein. That's a bad ratio for a shake - protein should at least outweigh carbs, and usually it's easy to make a shake that is more like 1-part carb to 3-parts protein.

160+grams of carbs per day, makes me hungry too. No wonder it's difficult to maintain will.

Happy_Niss

Stop calculating, start doing. Eat only when you're hungry. Exercise every day. Try your hardest!!


It will happen. Numbers can get depressing, and if it's weighing on you this much, you aren't using it in a healthy way. Tracking isn't for everybody.

DoNotSpamMe73

Try ditching the protein shake- you'll feel more satisfied eating your calories than drinking them. If you're trying to keep your snacks protein high, you can replace a protein shake with a protein bar (I personally like Quest, Balance and Snickers Marathon bars), hard boiled eggs, string cheese, beef jerky, sardines/herring/other little cans of oily fish. Or you could add more protein during your meals- I see a few meals that are just salads, or mixed veggies. Add a can of tuna to that, or some chopped bacon (bacon is only 40 calories per slice, don't be afraid of it!).

Definitely. Protein is easy to find, nuts as an example. I though have lost by eating whatever I want but portioning it. I If you like bars fine, but that is an exercise choice not weight loss or often health choice.
From the sounds of it you don't need to lose any weight but I can follow how you might want to be a few kilos lighter allowing safe up and down eating periods.
Going by what you eat has so much argument. Whether it is about quantity or quality it will be hard if you try to eat foods you don't like constantly for that weight loss.

itsbasschick

is this all there is? no. as you build muscle, your calorie needs will increase. i'm only 5' 3", but when i was a bodybuilder, i ate 2500 calories per day to maintain my weight. now i am over 30% body fat, i need a LOT less calories.

i eat 1200 calories net, and i find it's much easier if you eat 5 or 6 smaller meals rather than 3 larger ones. i eat 200 calories every 2.5 hours (i don't eat for an hour and a half after i wake up, but that's normal for me), and i rarely have time to get hungry that way. once in a while after a more intense cardio session or workout i might feel hungry half and hour early, and in that case i move the meal up.

btw, i make sure i only eat food i really love, which means i never feel deprived. when you eat 1200 calories, it makes sense to make sure every bite is a pleasure.

best of luck to you - you can do it!

MelodyandBarbells

The Mom in that other family is either really active or skips or minimizes some meals to be able to eat excellent quantities of food at dinner. It has to go somewhere! My thin sister will take the stairs everywhere. I can't be bothered to, so I workout.

I thought you said MFP gave you 1200 cals with 1 lb per week, then you changed it to 1/2 lb and got better numbers? Why not accept this 1400 cal .5 lb per week and go about your fitness journey? If you lose more, great, but I think the 1/2 lb can be quite realistic for you. In a year, no one will care if your MFP account is set to .5 lb per week, just how awesome you look

jimbmc

Hey Threnjen

Been reading through your post and replies etc. And I can understand where you are coming from.

I started on the Weight loss journey on 25th Feb 2012, my Girlfriends birthday. I weighed around 19 stones, thats just under 300lbs. Over the last 2 years or so, I have been through various dieting methods, most of which have worked and have had an impact. Now I use MFP, and the journey is still on-going, and still making progress. So all is good. I'm now 13 and a half stones, that's about 185lbs.

However, what took me the longest to understand, was the "Lifestyle" change. When people say, you have to change your lifestyle, it doesn't just mean - stop smoking, get more exercise, eat less. There is so much more to it.

The biggest thing for me, was learning about food, and what it does, how it impacts on your body etc and what you can do with it. You would be amazed what you can produce and create from FRESH food, that has little calorie impact. I didn't cook for 25 years, the Army did it for me. Now, I prepare something everyday, and I make sure I KNOW what is going in it.

After that, it was re-learning everything about exercise and training. For 25 years, I was a Soldier, and Diet and exercise basically meant - Eat alot, then put 40lbs on your back, pick up a weapon and run, run, run till you puke it up, then start again. But now, I train properly, and focus on different aspects as I progress.

But like I said, its NOT just diet and exercise. Other things impact on your weight-loss journey. your relationships, your goals in life, your working day, your down-time. If they ARE NOT changing, then the diet/exercise thing has a minimum impact, certainly in my case. I looked at all the aspects of my life, and approached them looking for ways to change them in a positive manner.

Now, I'm not talking about major upheavals in these aspects of your life, but tiny ones, marginal gains, as I like to call them. Making a 1-2% change in the way you approach your work, family life, entertainment, the way you dress, your social life etc etc, in the end, adds up to be alot! Before you know it, you've made a 100% change in your life! And that is when you start to see a change in yourself. Believe me, I've done it, and I'm still doing it.

My point, after all that, is basically, as your progress and move forward and change, your body will change with you, and you will reach a point where 1400, 1500, 1600 calories is more than enough to fuel and feed your body. I eat 3 times a day, plus a few snacks, and I'm lucky if I get over 1800cals. The "Guidelines" say I should be on around 2500 a day, but remember, its a GUIDELINE, its not set in stone...

Don't worry, you are NOT going to spend the rest of your life on 1200 calories, that would be just daft. Some days you'll think "Sod it, I'm gonna have a slice of cake", and it wont matter. you will have learnt what that slice of cake means to you on a nutritional scale, and will know that, the next day, you will NOT have a slice of cake, and will probably go for a walk, cycle ride etc, and that in the end, you will understand that YOU are in control, and WONT be dictated to by FOOD/EXERCISE/GUIDELINES.

You will do it, I know you will. How do I know? Because I was asking the same questions in the beginning, the difference was, that I wanted to know the answers, and use them to help me, just like you are doing now.

You will do this, I promise.

amandacolaizzi

You really should try calorie cycling. You eat the same amount of calories total per week. it's just you vary it. Some days you'll eat more calories and some days you'll eat less. That way you get days where you don't feel deprived. BUT you're still losing the same amount of weight each week. Look up the calorie cycling calculators online or sometimes its called zig-zag'ing. It's actually amazing for your metabolism. It keeps it guessing and it's great for getting out of a plateau as well. It might help you feel better

threnjen

Soylent - Protein Nutrigoo 400g - it's PEOPLE! and 40+g carbs, more than protein. That's a bad ratio for a shake - protein should at least outweigh carbs, and usually it's easy to make a shake that is more like 1-part carb to 3-parts protein.

160+grams of carbs per day, makes me hungry too. No wonder it's difficult to maintain will.

To address this briefly,
a) I didn't make up the name Soylent, the recipe is from http://diy.soylent.me/ and the creator is aware of the connotation :P
b) I actually agree with you that the shake is too high carb. I'm already on iteration 2, the first one was like 75% carbs =/ The people using this recipe are using it as ALL THEIR FOOD. I already have my next iteration printed out which is higher protein lower carb yet again. I have a couple more jars already pre-made of the current iteration and then I'll be moving to next iteration which is something like 55g protein in the 400cals.
c) I'm getting 38 protein from iteration 2 of the shake which is why I rail against people telling me not to drink it. I need the protein or I WILL be eating cottage cheese and yogurt for the rest of my life.

threnjen

The Mom in that other family is either really active or skips or minimizes some meals to be able to eat excellent quantities of food at dinner. It has to go somewhere! My thin sister will take the stairs everywhere. I can't be bothered to, so I workout.

I thought you said MFP gave you 1200 cals with 1 lb per week, then you changed it to 1/2 lb and got better numbers? Why not accept this 1400 cal .5 lb per week and go about your fitness journey? If you lose more, great, but I think the 1/2 lb can be quite realistic for you. In a year, no one will care if your MFP account is set to .5 lb per week, just how awesome you look

Oh, after it told me to eat 1200 I basically just gave it the finger and entered custom goals.

My mom bestie must just not eat all day. I really think a lot of it is genetics. She is one of those super pretty tiny asian girls. I heckle her about her genetic blessings

StacyPhillipsTSFLcoach

Oh I can SO relate to your dilemma, and for me the answer involved changing my expectations and changing my focus.

I am a participant in the National Weight Control Registry, which means that "they" study my eating habits to find commonalities in methods amongst those persons who have lost more than 30 pounds and kept if off for over a year to see what is successful or if there are common activities that those persons who have been able to accomplish that do daily to achieve maintaining a significant weight loss. I actually lost 150+ pounds, so I get studied, yeah, alot LOL.

One study showed that there was no particular METHOD or WAY of eating that was THE BEST WAY, however, there were 3 basic commonalities amongst those who were able to maintain their weight loss long term. I know you are interested in LOSING the rest of your weight, but I know you are likely also interested in MAINTAINING the weight loss once you achieve your goal.

Here were the commonalities:

Daily Self Monitoring (weighing daily)
Consistent exercise
Able to eat monotonously

I do all three of these, but the last one was the hardest for me to accept and really involved a complete mind-shift away from being food-focused to being health focused.

My daily routine is pretty much the same, whether it is a weekday, weekend, or holiday. I don't reward myself with additional calories, I don't splurge on "treats" in my new lifestyle, and really I "eat to live" and have given up entirely using food as any form of reward or entertainment or stressbuster or social activity or you name it. Yes, I do eat a lot of cottage cheese and greek yogurt, very lean meats, healthy fats such as walnuts and avocados and olive oil, etc. No I don't eat a bunch of carbs whether they are in chocolate or fruit or bread. I may have one apple or a cup of strawberries or raspberries daily, but I get most of my carbs from non-starchy vegetables and the occasional legume. I don't eat bread, but I do eat quinoa and wild rice occasionally. Does it suck? Yes and no. It sucked when I realized that I didn't like the limitations and began to resent them, then I made it NOT suck by accepting those limitations as absolute in my life if I wanted to maintain optimal health.

Formulas are helpful, but they aren't absolute in that everyone's body is a little different in how it processes things. I happen to be very carb-sensitive so my intake can never really include high-glycemic items again. My maintenance calorie level is 1200-1400 with moderate activity, and I have arrived at that through trial and error with MY body over the years.

I think you are very wise posting here and asking for suggestions. Yay you!

threnjen

Hey Threnjen


You will do it, I know you will. How do I know? Because I was asking the same questions in the beginning, the difference was, that I wanted to know the answers, and use them to help me, just like you are doing now.

You will do this, I promise.

Thanks I didn't quote your whole post just for space reasons. Great post though thank you.
I've been doing so much better "this round" picking good, sustainable food options. I've tried to do this a few times before and failed out pretty quickly because I was trying to eat the same types of food I used to but less, which is not filling. Eating just a little of calorie dense foods does not cut it! I'm doing so much better, I just have to stay on track this time and not derail myself!

threnjen

You really should try calorie cycling. You eat the same amount of calories total per week. it's just you vary it. Some days you'll eat more calories and some days you'll eat less. That way you get days where you don't feel deprived. BUT you're still losing the same amount of weight each week. Look up the calorie cycling calculators online or sometimes its called zig-zag'ing. It's actually amazing for your metabolism. It keeps it guessing and it's great for getting out of a plateau as well. It might help you feel better

I've thought about doing this, on the weekends we spend time with friends and are more likely to go out. During the week it would be pretty easy for me to run a bigger deficit and saving it for later.

threnjen

Oh I can SO relate to your dilemma, and for me the answer involved changing my expectations and changing my focus.

.................

I think you are very wise posting here and asking for suggestions. Yay you!

Helpful, thank you! Sounds very similar. Good thing I like greek yogurt and cottage cheese.

Holy moly, your results are amazing by the way. Nice work!!

MrGonzo05

Be much more active, and add 20 lbs of muscle to your frame. If you still don't get to eat enough, then you have a valid complaint.

littlefoot612

HI, I read through your posts here and looked at your daily food tracker. I'm also 5'1 but have a lot more to lose than you but I am also sedentary. My BMR is 1689, don't know what my TDEE is because I can't even remember what it even means. I have set my daily calories at 1400 which`should allow me to lose 1.4lbs/wk. I have been able to eat between 1200 and 1400 cal daily. I am eating 3 meals and 2-3 snacks daily.
I used to drink protein shakes at breakfast but found I wanted 'real food' an hour later because they seemed no more filling than a glass of milk.Try eating a breakfast even if it's a small bowl of cereal of a banana. My lunch and dinner plates are 50% veg, 25% protein(lean beef, chicken, fish, egg) and 25% grain (whole grain bread, brown rice, couscous, quinoa etc).
The thing that seems to be helping me this time around is that, because I have recently been diagnosed lactose intolerant, I am not using packaged or prepared food very often because of hidden dairy ingredients and instead using fresh ingredients. It seems I get a lot more bang for my buck calorie wise and get a whole lot more food for the 1200-1400 cal than if I was using packaged/prepared food.
It took a week or so to get into a cooking and preparing food routine but it is quite quick and easy now.
Just my 2 cents worth and a couple of suggestions. Don't give up.

songbyrdsweet

Eat SO MANY VEGETABLES and drink LOTS of water.

Every week I buy the following and within 5 days I have eaten it all by making just 5 salads (lunch each day)
1 big head green or red leaf lettuce
a bag of mini bell peppers or 3 bell peppers, whichever is on sale
a package of grape tomatoes
an avocado
a cucumber

I use reduced-fat, low-sugar salad dressings and don't need very much.

I also buy enough vegetables to eat 8 oz+ of vegetables with dinner every night and have some leftover for salad, which is usually:
4-5 ears of corn (grilling them right now, so tasty)
1 bundle broccoli
1 eggplant
multiple squashes (depends on the size)
mushrooms and onions for mixing into stuff
jicama, bell peppers, or asparagus
carrots
potatoes
black beans or chick peas

Oh, and fruit, of course--I get a package or two of berries and eat 1/2-1 cup of fruit per day on top of the vegetables. Sometimes I add dried fruit to my salad. I like to mix pumpkin into my oatmeal in the morning.

For protein: I eat cottage cheese in my oatmeal every morning, and at lunch I have an ounce of full-fat feta in my salad along with 6 oz of greek yogurt. Dinner includes chicken, fish, shrimp, lean beef, and very seldom pork tenderloin.

I love the La Croix fizzy waters...they don't have anything in them and I drink one with every meal, so I get 36 oz that way, and I will usually drink about 45 oz more on my runs. It's about a half-gallon of water alone, plus whatever fluid I get from fruit/veggies.

I eat anywhere from 1400-1700 calories in a day. I'm 5'0 and 121 lbs and I exercise for 40-60 minutes per day. Move more, eat more!