I know this is dumb, any tips on staying under cal goal

EmbryK128

I know all the basics: eat healthier, exercise more, yada, yada. My problem is towards the end of the day, once I have eaten 3 full meals and a snack here and there, and I see I have calories left instead of completing my diary and not eating for the rest of the night, those extra calories haunt me and i find myself searching for something else to snack on. Is any of this making sense? I know alot of the response will be just don't do it... if i could just not do it I wouldn't ask for advice on ways to overcome this, so please real helpful responses only, THANK YOU!

astroophys

Well, you could just eat those extra calories. You would still lose weight as you would still be at a deficit. But, this sounds more psychological and less about genuine hunger.

Have you thought about engaging in a bit of self-reflection? Only you know why you're doing this and why it is making you anxious. Maybe journal about it. It sounds anxiety-related.

You could try to distract yourself beforehand. For instance, you could decide that in the evening, you will drink a pot of calming caffeine-free tea. Or do a 2 minute meditation.

I really do recommend figuring out the why of the situation + distracting yourself from doing it in the meantime. This is what helped me overcome binge eating, at least for now.

The best of luck to you!

psuLemon

Considering you carb load most days, if you drop carbs and increase fats and protein, you will stay full longer. Also, foods high in fiber will help. But with someone as close to their goal as you are, I would question why your calorie goal is 1200 calories. For someone with very little to lose, 1/2 to 1 lb per week should be your max. And depending on how much you workout, your daily intake could be 1700-2100, which is the average amount of calories to lose weight for a lot of women, or at least the ones I know of. I see you eat back your exercise calories which is good, but maybe setting a less aggressive goals, dropping carbs and increase fats, proteins and fiber will help maintain things a bit more.

OnTheGround

I am more successful when I fill up in the morning and afternoon and when I focus on protein with every meal.

KylaDenay

Lots of protein and fiber will fill you up and keep you full longer. Eat enough fat also. Poultry, meat, fish, eggs, greek yogurt, protein shakes, veggies, fruit, beans, whole grains. All of those with each meal should help fill your tummy up.

Kalikel

If you're thinking "Eat less and exercise more - yada, yada, yada," and you're thinking, "I can't do that" - nobody else can help you.

You're defeating yourself.

You don't talk like someone who wants to lose weight. You talk like someone who wants to be thin.

Think seriously about whether doing the hard work of losing is something you actually want to do.

jrline

Are you hungry or just see that you have calories and want to eat them?

Hungry you may not be eating stuff that makes you feel full.

If wanting to use those calories drop your recommended calories by 300.

Good Luck

jasmine_noel

If you're consistently under by a few hundred calories and don't want them in your diary 'haunting' you, what if you just dropped your calorie goal that much?

belrowley

Brush your teeth. I do this to stop myself from snacking as I hate the way things taste after brushing. Or I distract my self with things like painting my nails.

ewhip17

Not sure if this addresses the OP's question but I purposely try to save a couple hundred calories for an evening snack. I look forward to it. I know I'm going to want something then anyway, so why not save some calories and "give myself permission" to have it? Seems to work for me.

SingRunTing

You should be eating to your goal everyday. You should not be leaving 100 calories or so left at the end of the day (for people who only eat back half of their exercise calories, its different). I didn't look at your diary, so I don't know how many calories you have left at the end of the day.

MFP is designed for you to lose x lbs a week if you eat y calories every day. So eat y calories every day and add some if you burn extra working out. There is zero need to eat less than y calories to lose weight. So eat your calories.

I also agree with pp about making sure your calorie goal reflects your weight loss goal. If you have less than 20 lbs to lose, you should have it set to only lose 0.5 lbs a week. Reset your MFP to match that goal and eat your calories.

scrittrice

I would just note that your goal is just that--a goal. It's not an upper limit that you're meant to avoid hitting. So what's wrong with eating them?

WalkingAlong

Try giving yourself a range of calories instead of a hard goal. If you try to hit say 1500 every day now, aim for 1300-1700 and allow yourself to go to bed at 1300 if you want or eat to 1700 if you want.

And if you wind up eating to 1700 every day, don't beat yourself up, just recognize that as one more valid option for weight loss, just a pound or two a month slower than your original target.

Also, I find I'm most content if I can overshoot my goal a little so I aim low. If I aim for 1200 and achieve 1500, it's all good. I got my 'extras', my weight loss is still not derailed, win-win!

BethClicks

I get it, it's a psychological battle, I have the same issue. I purposefully close my diary for the day, take a shower, brush up, grab a book and head for bed on these days. I get as far from the kitchen as possible. Lot's of helpful tips here already, hopefully some of them will work for you

EmbryK128

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!! It is a psychological thing, not a hunger thing! And I like the comment about what's wrong with going over alil bit mfp sets that goal for you to lose! Thanks everyone again!

EmbryK128

And yes distraction is a great idea!!! I need to log and walk away!!! And do something else!

Cortelli

I can't really help with your specific issue because it's not one I have ever struggled with (which is to say the seeming compulsion to eat to hit my calorie goal even when not hungry). But I do have little psychological ticks that I've learned to adapt to and even exploit a little bit.

I routinely go over my calorie goal when I am trying to lose weight. I don't know why, but I feel happier when I break my goal barrier a little bit (and I am probably a bit hungry when losing or really just want to enjoy a nice glass of wine as my evening winds down, even if I technically don't have room for it). I like to rationalize this as "I am a bad boy who refuses to live by the rules!" :laugh: So I've just become accustomed to setting a calorie goal that is a few hundred cals below my "true" calorie goal. I am routinely over by a handful or several hundred, but I am secretly hitting the real goal I've set for myself. And sometimes I don't even hit the goal, and that's OK too.

Similarly, I really don't enjoy cardio work, but feel it is often necessary to lose weight at the pace I want to and still live my life in a manner I find more satisfying. I don't know why, but getting on an elliptical with a 45 minute goal is just awful. Getting on and setting a 20 minute goal, and knowing - *absolutely knowing* - I am going to set another 20 minute goal immediately upon completing the first (and then a cool down afterward) is infinitely more acceptable.

"Tricking" ourselves, even when knowing we're tricking ourselves, seems to have some real performance benefits, even for elite athletes. (Jack Nicklaus is said to believe, absolutely and unalterably, that he's never missed a three foot putt - even after being shown clips on TV of such misses -- I imagine this has some serious benefits in terms of his confidence over three-footers).

Francl27

And yes distraction is a great idea!!! I need to log and walk away!!! And do something else!

Why? Nothing wrong with eating up to your goal. Your deficit is taken into account already... eat that extra snack if you want to!

EmbryK128

Maybe i didnt word that right earlier... after the day is all said and done, i might get lucky and have 100 calories left over, most of the time it is only like 20 or 30. Then i found myself wanting to snack b/c the dang green numbers, and i go way over. I didn't mention this earlier when i should have but it doesn't help that my fitbit is connected to mfp... it gives me calories for exercising but takes them away later in the evening b/c it is a projected calorie burn and they never get it right... i'm not as active in the afternoon as i am during the day. for ex. my exercise might say +250 but then at bedtime it was say +150. that drives me absolutely crazy. so i also need to save the extra calories for when fitbit/mfp takes them away.

Val8less

I know what you mean...it's like those extra calories are the Reward...like money burning a whole in my pocket!...If I do end up wanting to use them ....I try to eat somethng LOW CARB...I know for me...keeping the carbs down is essential to my weight loss...Hope that helps...and keep up the Good Work!

BenjaminMFP88

Wait, are you saying that you have calories you're calculated to be allowed to eat and you feel guilty for eating them? Or are you saying you see you have calories and go overboard with overeating at night?