I can't stick to my calories.

CupcakeCrusoe

As everyone here has said already, this has to come from you. You CAN do this, ban the word "can't."

Here's how:

At night, plan out what you want to eat the next day. Start with the meal you enjoy the most. (For me, that's dessert)

Then plan the rest of your day that way, meal you enjoy second most, meal you don't care about, meal that you can use leftovers for, etc.

Make sure you're under your calorie goal. (Go to iifym and fill out their calculator for a good estimate)

Then boom, eat what you planned the next day, and if you change something, change it in your log first to see if it still adds up. If it doesn't work, don't do it or find something else that does.

Simple. It just takes dedication. Remember, you CAN. Nobody said it was easy, but it's simple.

Raynne413

You can love what you put in your mouth, or you can love the body you are living in. You only get to pick one. It should be an easy choice if you are really that unhappy.

Food is just fuel. People get way too attached to the notion of taste. Recognize food as just a necessity and stop treating it like a treat or reward, and I promise it suddenly becomes much easier to eat properly.

I disagree with this. You can enjoy what you eat (and you should) and love your body. Yes, food is fuel, but you can still eat things that you enjoy. I love the berries and veggies and Greek yogurt I eat everyday. I also love the Goldfish Grahams and peanut butter I eat every day. I think that is the reason people give up, because they think they have to cut out everything they enjoy, and they don't!

Planning is pretty much the most important aspect to weight loss. It doesn't mean that you can't make changes as you go, but at least you start out with some kind of structure.

Fit_Housewife

Some really great advice, so I won't repeat what's already been said. If your loosing at 2000 calories awesome, if not maybe try lowing it 100 calories at a time for a week and see how it goes. Also I always try to plan ahead but more so as a guideline. I may plan to have a quest bar as a snack but later decide I would rather have a yogurt and small apple for about the same calories. Write a list of things you like to eat and calorie values, try making a guideline with ideas for equal swaps.

WalkingAlong

If 1400 is too hard for you, aim for 1800 or some smaller deficit that is still enough to lose at.

I don't plan ahead but I also tend to just choose to save up calories for the evening so it works out ok. And if I 'blow it' by hitting 1500 instead of 1300, I call it a victory because it's still a deficit.

ana3067

If you used to eat 3000cals and maintained on that, then 2400 calories would be fine to stick to as a goal until your weight stalls/maintains for a few months. Then you can assume that is your current maintenance, and subtract another 20% to eat around 2000 cals, and by that time you'd probably be able to stay on 2000 until you reach goal weight (or you can add another 100 or so to lower the deficit and make the weight loss easier on your body).

This is my plan, once I reach about 165-160 (depending on if I decide to go to 155) then I will be increasing to 2100.

As some have said, eat what you love but just don't go over your calories. If you've been eating 2000 calories regularly and still seeing results, then stick to it.

Also if you're using MFP's net method, then change your goals to 1lb/week (changing it to 2lbs will make your intake way too low) and eat back 50-75% of exercise calories that you log.

Need2Exerc1se

You can love what you put in your mouth, or you can love the body you are living in. You only get to pick one. It should be an easy choice if you are really that unhappy.

Or you can love both but make healthier choices. Switch from vanilla soy milk to unsweetened almond milk - learn to kick the sweetness and after a little while your body will adjust!

This will save calories, but soy milk has protein similar to milk, whereas almond milk has almost none. If you want to keep the protein you could switch to lite or unsweetened soy milk.

Need2Exerc1se

I have to space out the calories throughout the day and it's extremely difficult for me to plan ahead. I've started working out just to feel better and stronger and that gives me "extra" calories but I don't know if I should stick to the new calories or the original.

Why do you have to space the calories out during the day? Have you been instructed to do so by a doctor, or this is just your preferred method? You should be able to eat just one really large meal, if that is your preference, unless you need to eat regularly to maintian blood sugar levels or something.

But I think exercising to earn more calories is the right thing to do. If your goal is 1400 and you are eating 1500 - 2000, then the exericse would likely burn enough to put you at 1500 net, more or less. Continue exercising, but don't eat more, since you are already eating more than you'd like.

caracrawford1

Sometimes by saying "I can't" that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
You can. Do you want it badly enough?

DataSeven

I can't stick to my calories.

Yes you can.

You have to plan your day around your caloric limit. You can't just eat normally and then check later to see whether or not you've gone over. Going over isn't a surprise that just happens by accident.

BethReads

You can do this. And you can eat almost anything - you just can't eat very much of some things.

1.Figure out what your trigger foods are. For me it was pasta and ice cream - I could never stick to portions. So I started buying single portion ice cream and I don't make pasta at home. I do think I'll be able to add it back soon because I have a better perception of what amount of food a skinny type person should eat.

2. You can go out to eat. Order your favorite and ask for a box. Put half of it aside. I was shocked that I was satisfied with half of what I ate before. I'd never ordered a small fry since I've been old enough to order my own food, but guess what. It was enough.

3. Find snacks that work for you. For me it's grapes, ff pudding, and Graze Box. The max I'm gonna hit even with the sweetest Graze Box snack is 250 calories. Most of them are less.

4. Plan ahead as much as possible. I will sometimes plan dinner and then eat the rest of the day on whatever is left. I often find myself eating less now for dinner than I thought giving me some leeway.

5. Don't drink your calories.

I hope this helps and I hope you keep trying.

Katy009

You can add me if you want. My diary is open to friends. Maybe looking at other diaries will give you some ideas and help a bit.

angela233Z

I was similar to you - eating between 1500-2500.

Here is what worked for me
Logging everything that I ate, going back to my diary and seeing what worked and didn't work.
I noticed on my 1500 days, I always had a smoothie made with almond milk, spinach, berries and flax seeds. So I started adding those everyday.

Then I started working on my problem areas
1 - going out to lunch with co-workers - I started bringing lunch and eating with other people that eat in our break room and then going out for a 30 minute walk. I enjoy this just as much as going out and it is easy and healthy
2 - snacking after dinner - smoothie instead of chips
3- snacking after lunch at work - have a mini meal of Morning Star Farms chicken nuggets, some cut up vegies and low - cal dip - that is ~250 calories instead of the 800 cheese, crackers, cookies that I was eating
4- going out to dinner with friends - try to do another activity - walk, go to an art fair, get mani's together - anything besides eating.

good luck!