What to do when you hit your allowance too early.

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  • ParisRoses
    ParisRoses Posts: 13 Member
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    ^this
  • Archon2
    Archon2 Posts: 462 Member
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    It's OK to be hungry once in a while when you're eating less than you need, too.

    I had a hard time learning this ^^^ lesson!

    Same here! It does get a bit easier after a month or two as you get used to it!
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Eat your peanut butter on the apple instead of on bread. You can probably afford to have more than a teaspoon, and the protein and fat in the peanut butter will keep you full longer than the bread.
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
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    I did 1200 calories diet for 2 months. I switched all my regular foods to fat-free, surgar-free, diet or lite versions wherever possible. This cut down on many calories.
    Invent low-cal recipies: instead of pizzza i melt fat-free cheese on a racecake in the microwave; and then put on sliced jalapeño peppers and garlic. Gross? maybe but its only 80 calories instead of 350 calories for a 5 inch cheese pizza.
    I stopped eating foods that are incredibly hard to stop eating. i.e. CHIPS of all kinds.
    I exercised EVERY day. If an hour is too long for me I break it up into two 30 minute workouts or 3 twenty minute workouts. etc. and then I ate back ALL of my exercise calories. This gives me 200-400 calories.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I did 1200 calories diet for 2 months. I switched all my regular foods to fat-free, surgar-free, diet or lite versions wherever possible. This cut down on many calories.
    Invent low-cal recipies: instead of pizzza i melt fat-free cheese on a racecake in the microwave; and then put on sliced jalapeño peppers and garlic. Gross? maybe but its only 80 calories instead of 350 calories for a 5 inch cheese pizza.
    I don't think it sounds gross at all. It sounds good! (The jalapeños would be too hot for me, but tomato instead would do the job.)

    What a great idea!!
  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 508 Member
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    I've never been good at pre-logging my foods (I always change my mind when mealtime comes), but I do try to pre-log my cals... i.e. I'll budget 350-400 cals for breakfast, around 350 for lunch and about the same for dinner. That leaves a bit for snacks... I choose high volume, low cal, high protein snacks (like cole slaw mix--dry--with seasoned tinned tuna and balsamic vinegar, or zucchini spirals/'noodles' with a lean meat sauce, or a light cheese with rice crackers). This helps me stay "around my goal" for each time of day right up to the end.

    Like others here, I've been known to sneak in a walk to bump up my calorie allotment for those "extra hungry" days.
  • taylorjgriffiths289
    taylorjgriffiths289 Posts: 15 Member
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    Hi all.
    Thanks for all the great advice. Acouple things i should have mentioned earlier that ive noticed from replies:
    My stats are: 20 years old, 151cm and 88kg. Id prefer not to open up my diary as im not 100% proud of what ive had to eat the last few days... Im getting there though!
    My strawberry and banana smoothie consists of: raspberries, strawberries, banana, yogurt, milk, protein power and a fibre supplement for medical reasons.
    Ive tried prelogging, but something always seems to come up to put that off track (for example today i forgot to eat breakfast and when i got to uni i ate breakfast at the cafe... 650 cals later!!!!)
    When i have peanut butter, i only have a teaspoon

    Anyone able to duggest some good other snacks?

    So your BMR is actually 1677, so you could be eating a lot more. Even at lightly active, your TDEE comes in at 2306.

    If you ate your BMR every day (which gives you significantly more calories to consume) you would still be creating a deficit of 629 calories per day and able to lose 1.5lbs per week.

    You would also have a better chance at a better fat to muscle ratio so that your body composition will be better at the end of your weight loss.

    So i should only be eating 1677cals per day? I put my stats in mfp and it gave me 1370... Strange. Maybe ill manually change it.

    On a side note, i have to make lasagne tonight... What do I do to avoid those unspeakable numbers of calories?!? Any advice?
  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
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    For the lasagne I think you have a few options. You could make it the regular way and eat a tiny portion (no fun). Or save some of the mince/tomato mix to eat with mixed vegetables while the others eat the lasagne. That's what I would do as you get a big plateful of food but skip the pasta and creamy sauce. I think there is a way to make lasagne with sliced veg and low fat sauces but that's too complicated if you are cooking the family meal.
  • JoyeII
    JoyeII Posts: 240 Member
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    Eat your peanut butter on the apple instead of on bread. You can probably afford to have more than a teaspoon, and the protein and fat in the peanut butter will keep you full longer than the bread.

    Except a lower calorie, high fiber, whole grain slice of bread has fewer calories, less sugar, and the same, if not more fiber than an apple.
  • JDearman143
    JDearman143 Posts: 48 Member
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    I plan and log all my meals and snacks a day in advanced so I know exactly what I'm having and at what time.. And I even leave myself 200-300 calories for an unplanned night time snack knowing I'll probably get a little hungry sometime after dinner.. That's the only way I've made my calorie limit spot on each and every day..
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
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    Go for a 3 mile walk before dinner that will give you more calories

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  • dswolverine
    dswolverine Posts: 246 Member
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    Fruit is great but i find it's very little "bang" for its caloric buck. It keeps me full for about 4 seconds. I could eat some grapes for 70 calories, or i could eat an ounce of cheese which satisfies for way longer. Not saying cut out all fruit of course, but perhaps change up your eating to include more satiating foods?
  • k_wat4264
    k_wat4264 Posts: 25 Member
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    If you really love peanut butter like I do try tweaking it so you get the flavor but it's lower cal.

    Ex. blend your pb with some canned pumpkin. (get in some nutrients and perfect for fall! )

    or have you ever tried PB2? that saves a lot of calories as well.
  • k_wat4264
    k_wat4264 Posts: 25 Member
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    Instead of noodles, try long thin slices of zucchini.

    - shorter cook time
    - its in season
    - definitely lower cal.
  • WandaMM1
    WandaMM1 Posts: 132 Member
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    I think the better question to ask is "What can I do so that I DON'T hit my allowance too early?"
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
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    I just try to get in a bit more cardio if I see I'm not going to have enough calories left for the rest of the day.
  • jwats8
    jwats8 Posts: 112
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    Work out more and earn back some exercise calories!
  • KariQuiteContrary
    KariQuiteContrary Posts: 274 Member
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    May not be the answer you want but PLAN. Since your diary is closed I'm not sure what your daily allowance is and I can't suggest alternatives to what you're eating to help you "afford" more food later in the day. Eating if you're still hungry after your calorie allowance has been met (as has been suggested) is all well and good but if serious weight loss is your goal, then you absolutely MUST get in the habit of planning your food for the day so that you have some left at the end for an evening meal. I am on the upswing from a small setback (summer of "eating when I'm hungry" and not enough planned exercise) but in the past and currently, I am most successful when I put in the time and effort to log my planned food for the day the night before. It prevents me from snacking on unhealthy crap during the day (one of my bad habits) because "I think" I can 'afford' it. This is not to say I don't eat constantly. I do. Seriously. If I'm not teaching I'm munching....but on the right things. Having little things to snack on in between meals helps me to not feel like I'm starving despite only having a calorie allowance of under 1500. Planning ahead also keeps me from picking up fast food I can't afford or reminds me to plan an extra long workout to make up for the extra food/calories if I know I'll be having a big supper/eating out/etc.

    Try it for a week. See how it works for you. I promise you won't regret it. I know we all get busy sometimes, but being busy is no excuse not to make an effort to plan if your goal is to be healthier/eat healthier/ look better. It's worth the extra time when you see and feel the results you get.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Ive been on here and other tracking sites a while but I always seem to have the issue of running out of my allowance before dinner.
    Plan better.
    So please tell me, what do you do when you hit your limit too early in the day? Do you just stop eating anything?
    Yep. There's nothing else to do in that situation, if you're serious about hitting your targets.
  • JoshLikesBeer
    JoshLikesBeer Posts: 88 Member
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    I just try to get in a bit more cardio if I see I'm not going to have enough calories left for the rest of the day.
    That's what I do too. Figure out what I'm going to want to eat, and do enough cardio to pay for it.

    I can avoid needing to do this for the most part if I plan ahead, but sometimes I'll have my day pretty well planned out, and then decide that I'm going to need to drink a few beers that evening. So, I might spend some time jumping rope or maybe go out somewhere that has dancing.

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