Calorie limit is too low!

IndigoElectron

Since I joined this site I've cut down on my food and upped my exercise, but I'm still struggling to stay within my calorie limit. I did 80 minutes of yoga this morning and have eaten healthy food all day, but I'm about to eat my dinner and after that I will only have 40 calories left. That means I can't have my usual snack before bedtime and will probably be hungry later on.

What I don't understand is that I normally eat more than this and I've managed to lose weight successfully (I've lose 14 pounds), though it's taken a long time. I don't think I will be successful if I keep restricting my calories like this, because I'm hungry! I don't mind a slower weight loss (I only have 7 pounds to go) but I can't stand deprivation diets. I'm not used to calorie counting, I've always done diets that allow you a certain amount of 'free food', and I'm not too happy with how I feel today.

I'd be very interested to hear what other people think. Does anyone else have trouble leeping to their calories limit, and if so, what do you do? Do you go hungry, up your exercise, or do you just go over? And have you still managed to lose weight, however slowly?

Thanks!

IndigoElectron

Since I joined this site I've cut down on my food and upped my exercise, but I'm still struggling to stay within my calorie limit. I did 80 minutes of yoga this morning and have eaten healthy food all day, but I'm about to eat my dinner and after that I will only have 40 calories left. That means I can't have my usual snack before bedtime and will probably be hungry later on.

What I don't understand is that I normally eat more than this and I've managed to lose weight successfully (I've lose 14 pounds), though it's taken a long time. I don't think I will be successful if I keep restricting my calories like this, because I'm hungry! I don't mind a slower weight loss (I only have 7 pounds to go) but I can't stand deprivation diets. I'm not used to calorie counting, I've always done diets that allow you a certain amount of 'free food', and I'm not too happy with how I feel today.

I'd be very interested to hear what other people think. Does anyone else have trouble leeping to their calories limit, and if so, what do you do? Do you go hungry, up your exercise, or do you just go over? And have you still managed to lose weight, however slowly?

Thanks!

shorerider

Are you eating your exercise calories?

I have no problem like this because I eat my exercise calories. I am on 1200 calories a day but then my exercise allows for anywhere from 300 to 800 a day on top of that, so I normally eat 1500 to 2000 calories a day and that is more than enough for me!

AJCM

Indigo - I have also experienced a real slow now that I'm closer to my goal. I feel your pain! :grumble:

I'm similar to you in that I have only 7lbs to my goal. It is quite different when you have 20, 30, or even more weight to lose. I bet those first few pounds came off pretty quick, yeah?

Banks has some great posts on this subject. Once you are in the "healthy" bmi range (less than 25), your body might just be happy where it is, and I think we have to push it further with some seriously challenging exericse. The general consensus is that it takes a long time to lose the last few pounds. Someone on here also wrote that Jillian Michaels says you have to "mix it up" for your body - so eat 1200 cals one day, 1500 the next, etc, and do the same with exericse - 60 min one day, 2hr hike the next day, 30 minutes of strength, and so on.

Good luck, and you can do it! Kimber, Alf, and Viviakay have all lost their last couple of lbs... it can be done!
:flowerforyou:

BrenNew

Shorerider is right on, cuz that's exactly how I feel too. I'm very rarely hungry, since with exercise, I CAN eat more and pretty much always feel good and full.
Maybe it's WHAT you're eating for calories that's making you hungry. Maybe you should try foods full of fiber, like oatmeal and Fiber One bars. That's what I do. I mostly have oatmeal for breakfast, salad for lunch with some fat free cheddar cheese, and then lots of veggies with alittle meat for supper. And with the exercising, I almost always get to have a little snack later on, such as Edy's no sugar added icecream. YUM!
With all that, like I said, I'm very rarely hungry!

IndigoElectron

Thanks for the advice everyone. Yes, I am eating my exercise calories, in fact I'm purposely doing much more exercise than I used to (this week I've done 2 sessions of yoga plus one aerobics class, when normally all I would do is my 30 minutes walk to and from work each day), if I wasn't I would never stick to the 1200 calorie limit.

AJCM, it's interesting what you say about the first few pounds coming off quickly, that actually wasn't the case for me at all, in fact it's taken me nearly a year to lose 14 pounds (like I said, I did it slowly!) Although admittedly that involved a lot of yo-yoing, I lost the same 10 pounds or so over and over again. I think the reason for this is that I've never deprived myself and almost ate what I wanted (luckily I love healthy food), it was mainly alcohol and the odd binge that was my undoing. This is why I'm finding calorie counting so hard, but I think you're right, losing the last 7 pounds is likely to take a bit more work. I will try to do more exercise, though it's hard to find the time every day.

BrenNew, I do fill up on lots of fibre rich foods - I have oatmeal for breakfast, and my other meals are based around vegetables and pulses with some lean protein. But I also think I may be overdoing it on the fat - I've been following South Beach, and we're encouraged to have about 2 tbsp of olive oil each day, as well as eggs for breakfast and quite a bit of dairy. I think I need to look at my menu and maybe try to cut down on the fat a bit.

As for today, it's too late now and I point blank refuse to go hungry, so will do my best and try to stay as close to my calorie limit as possible. Tomorrow is another day!

AJCM

Indigo - you have THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!!! I think so, anyway! If you lose it slowly, and keep consistent, my understanding is that it wont come back.

I maintained my weight before having kids by taking a very sensible approach to food, eating, and exercise - moderation, self control, and balance. Gaining this excess weight with two back to back pregnancies has left me with a really bad relationship with food that I'm trying to work on.

I think you are on the right path - and you seem to have the patience!
:flowerforyou:

BrenNew

Ya Indigo, you could be right, maybe it IS too many fats.
I know that since joining this site, I discovered that MY major problem is too much protein. But, I've also had to curb my milk, cheese and meats too, for both the protein AND the fat content.
Good luck losing those last few pounds. I've still got quite a ways to go yet, so I've been steadily losing. I'm sure I'll get as discouraged as you when I'm nearing my goal if the weight doesn't want to come off!

sophialittle

k, how are you spending your calories? are you picking good choices that are low in cals? or are you eating stuff that has lots of cals and that's how you're running out? i hope that makes sense, let me give an example.

it's like roughly 80 cals for coffee creamer, 20 cals a little packet and i used 4 (back in the day) so when i started counting my cals, i had to look at it like this: do i want to spend 80 cals on coffee creamer when i can have a cup of yogurt for 80 cals? i started drinking my coffee black because i'd rather have a cup of yogurt because that stretches my cal intake more than the creamer would. when you go out to dinner, do you still get the burger and fries and burn 900 cals (total estimate, in much cases, it's higher than that) or do you go for a salad and soup with lite dressing?

sometimes i still really want something high in cals and so i eat it, but i'm always conscious of the fact that if i have that piece of cake, there goes 250 cals that i've used up. hope this helps and makes sense! typing quickly to get back out to yardwork!

IndigoElectron

I think I'm spending them quite sensibly. I have oatmeal with skimmed milk and berries, and an egg for breakfast. My main meals are based around lean protein with salad, veg and sometimes whole grains like brown pasta or rice. I make myself healthy lower calorie snacks like brownies made from beans (got this recipe from a South Beach site) and make lower calorie versions of desserts (for example, I have a cheesecake recipe which is less than 100 calories a slice). Sometimes I have low fat plain yogurt with 1/2 oz nuts and a tbsp protein supplement (only about 20 cals) as a snack, which fills me up for a while. And I use sugar substitutes instead of the real thing. I do cook with olive oil but only about 1 tsp per meal, and I sometimes use the low cal spray oils too.

I think there are a couple of areas I can cut back - for example, I've been eating Caesar dressing with my salad which is almost 100 cals a tablespoon, and I've been eating regular jam (I think you call it jelly in the US) with my oatmeal. These are things I could cut down on, or cut out completely.

Anyway, I did go over my calories today by nearly 200 cals, but I'm full now and will be going to bed soon, so I think that was the right decision. I've planned tomorrow's menu a bit more carefully, so will try to stay within my limits. I also have my local weight loss class tomorrow night, so will see if I've lost weight - if I have, I will be able to relax a little and stop worrying so much.

AJCM, thanks for the motivational talk! I'm not that patient really, it's just that I'm used to losing weight slowly and I like my food too much to deprive myself! And good luck with YOUR last 7 pounds, here's to us and getting it to come off in the end!

AJCM

AJCM, thanks for the motivational talk! I'm not that patient really, it's just that I'm used to losing weight slowly and I like my food too much to deprive myself! And good luck with YOUR last 7 pounds, here's to us and getting it to come off in the end!

I mean, if you think of how far you've come, 7lbs is nothing!

We can do it!!! I was a few lbs over 200 the day I went to deliver my daughter (I put 200 on the admission form, and the nurse kind of bugged her eyes when she skimmed the sheet - I'm 5'8" - I didn't think it was that bad!). :grumble:

I've lost over 50lbs since that day, so I think I've done pretty well! 7 more to go. It's been a fight to lose this weight, but I really should not have gained SO much weight in pregnancy. :ohwell:

maverickyanda

an egg fills you up longer than oatmeal (according to some studies) so i guess it just depends on what makes you fuller.

you could *try* switching it up by going low-carb but then you run the risk of gaining weigh back later.

perhaps just toss out all processed stuff - including fiber one bars (i find that they kill my hunger pang for about 15 minutes and would rather snack on whole food instead).