Please help me maintain without counting cals!

Sabine_Stroehm

A couple of suggestions: yes, eyeballing, and then choosing from the database. There are a ton of "chartwells" options in the database. They are a huge supplier for dorm foods. Your dorm food is quite possibly Chartwells food.
You can go to the Chartwells website and look around.
http://eatlearnlive.com/highered.html
You can look at your university dining website and see if it's Chartwells. Even if it isn't, use those database entries.

So there's that. And then learn some good portion size eye balling. Use these images and descriptions:

http://www.kohlshealthyfamilyfun.org/fun-with-food/picture-proper-portion-sizes/

http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/qt/eyeportions.htm

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/serving-sizes/index.php?cm_mmc=ETNTNL-_-2010_04_12-_-HTML-_-2

Or you can use the approach of choosing WHAT to eat to maintain.

Skip the creamy sauces.
Choose green vegetables over white ones (which tend to be starchier and may lead to the munchies, and have less fiber).
Skip the deep fried foods
Limit the desserts.
Choose whole wheat when you can

Go in. Get a big salad. Some clear soup, a meat, some veg
For breakfast: eat eggs and oatmeal, skip the pastries.

and then use the links above to eyeball portion size and stick with that

I'd probably aim for option one (eyeballing portion sizes and using Chartwells entries in the database) until you get used to things, then I'd aim for option TWO because in reality NOT counting for life is the better choice.

Good luck!

forkofpower

Hey, thanks for the suggestions everyone! They've been so helpful!

My plan of attack:-
A set number of options for breakfast - usually coffee, granola bar and orange.
I am not a breakfast person.

Lunch,
this is a new one for me. I never felt like eating so I didn't; now I am trying to eat something.
Rice cakes (2) with hummus, spreadable cheese or fat free cottage cheese or something similar with a couple of pieces of fruit.

With those 2 meals sorted ( I have my calorie count set) I have whatever I like for dinner, but keep in mind the protein will be the size of a pack of card and the carb about 1/2-2/3 a cup. The rest is veg,I eat as much of them as I want. I allow 1 tsp butter or marg for my veg and potatoes. If it is salad; 1tbsp dressing.
Pasta if I am eating out; half the bowl max!
.

I think I'll just try to do this. I'll stick to an apple or a yogurt cup for breakfast/lunch, and then order whatever entree I want for dinner (with one dessert). I figure no matter what, I couldn't gain too much weight this way, even with my low TDEE, right?

Again, thanks everyone! I'll be watching the scale pretty religiously for the next few weeks though, haha.

nxd10

There are people born with very poor sensitivity to hunger cues. Sounds like you are one of them.

It's actually easier to eat sensibly on a meal plan like that than at home. Try some of these things and see what works for you:

1. Make sure you go to all 3 meals every day.
2. Look online for standard portion sizes and get them in your head. They have nice pictures if you google it and click images. Use those to guide how much to eat.
3. When you go to the cafeteria, have a more or less set idea what proportions you're going to eat, then choose the specifics when you get there. For example, for breakfast, one bowl of cereal with a piece of fruit OR two eggs and fruit or toast and beverage (not juice). For lunch, one sandwich or rollup and fruit or vegetable and water or milk. For dinner, one serving meat and two veggies OR pasta and salad and veggie OR casserole and salad. Allow yourself one dessert a day if you like it.
4. Use your plate as a guideline for dinner. 1/3 meat/protein, 2/3 greens. Never fill your plate more than 1/4 with things that are obviously carbs (potatoes or pasta, for example).

I would also make sure that you only eat ONE large meal a day (dinner or lunch) and make sure the others are noticeably lighter.

When snacking, look at the portion size on the package and put that in a bowl. When you finish it, stop eating. So I count out 22 pretzels and leave the bag in the pantry. It helps a lot.

There are actually a lot of standard health guidelines for eating on different government websites that go by plate and portion sizes. Print one out and stick it in your wallet.

Good luck.

BTW I'm a professor so eat in school cafeterias fairly often. It isn't that hard to track there and a lot of them have the nutrition info available if you ask for it or online.

Sabine_Stroehm

There are people born with very poor sensitivity to hunger cues. Sounds like you are one of them.

It's actually easier to eat sensibly on a meal plan like that than at home. Try some of these things and see what works for you:

1. Make sure you go to all 3 meals every day.
2. Look online for standard portion sizes and get them in your head. They have nice pictures if you google it and click images. Use those to guide how much to eat.
3. When you go to the cafeteria, have a more or less set idea what proportions you're going to eat, then choose the specifics when you get there. For example, for breakfast, one bowl of cereal with a piece of fruit OR two eggs and fruit or toast and beverage (not juice). For lunch, one sandwich or rollup and fruit or vegetable and water or milk. For dinner, one serving meat and two veggies OR pasta and salad and veggie OR casserole and salad. Allow yourself one dessert a day if you like it.
4. Use your plate as a guideline for dinner. 1/3 meat/protein, 2/3 greens. Never fill your plate more than 1/4 with things that are obviously carbs (potatoes or pasta, for example).

I would also make sure that you only eat ONE large meal a day (dinner or lunch) and make sure the others are noticeably lighter.

When snacking, look at the portion size on the package and put that in a bowl. When you finish it, stop eating. So I count out 22 pretzels and leave the bag in the pantry. It helps a lot.

There are actually a lot of standard health guidelines for eating on different government websites that go by plate and portion sizes. Print one out and stick it in your wallet.

Good luck.

BTW I'm a professor so eat in school cafeterias fairly often. It isn't that hard to track there and a lot of them have the nutrition info available if you ask for it or online.

She may have poor sensitivity, or she may be a new "on her own" eater. The freshman 15 for me was more about that than anything else. I had to learn to eat the right amount to eat in a never ending "all you can eat" buffet. Given the OPs TINY starting weight and even TINIER ending weight, I'm betting it's not about hunger cues.
Learning portion size is a challenge. Learning portion size in college is even harder.
(and then there's the tendency to order pizza right after eating in the Caf.)

As a fellow professor (assuming you're in the U.S.), do you agree that looking up something like the Chartwells entries in the database and using those is a good start? So many universities have contracts with Chartwells. My Ph.D. university did, and my current university employer does.

myfitnesspale3

I stopped counting a few weeks ago but still record weight every day. I think for me a daily or even a weekly measurement without recording would be enough.

If the weight creeps up then I know to cut back on carbs. No way I would count pretzels - just skip 'em.