calories add up FAST

harmonykay

I have just joined and I am ready. I can't get over how many calories EVERYTHING has. Does anybody have any tips?

mommy2halfdozen

I plan out my meal then work out the calories and adjust from there.

WifeMomDVM

Cut out coffee, tea, soft drinks. Limit fatty oils, dressings, sauces. Measure everything!!!!! Eat lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean meats (turkey, fish, chicken). Nothing fried.

Log in everyday! Don't cheat on your diary! You will learn alot about yourself and it WILL work if you follow it!!!!

Good luck!!!

Tuckersn

Plan ahead . . . grocery shop to be ready. But once you get into the swing of healthy choices and correct portion control . . . it becomes second nature. It is slowly but surely for me, anyway. :0) I find plenty of salad stuff, lean meats, good yogurts, oatmeal, are all relatively low in cals . . . to sum it up, whole foods, instead of processed, will have leaner and healthier calories, and much more filling!

Katbaran

Limit processed foods. Cooking lean from scratch if possible will make the calories go farther.

funkyspunky871

Oh man do they add up fast! Especially fruit because I never seem to be content with just a single serving. Lol. Right now, my suggestion to you is to take the time to plan your meals out for the next week or so. Then you won't end up eating all your calories before dinner time! Later on you'll be able to diet without having to plan out every little detail in advance. My first few weeks, I tended to focus on really low cal foods to fight hunger. I would have given up if I'd gone hungry, so you might want to work that into your plan too. Even now, I look for ways to get the most food out of the least calories. Hahah.

Tuckersn

Cut out coffee, tea, soft drinks. Limit fatty oils, dressings, sauces. Measure everything!!!!! Eat lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean meats (turkey, fish, chicken). Nothing fried.

Log in everyday! Don't cheat on your diary! You will learn alot about yourself and it WILL work if you follow it!!!!

Good luck!!!

Oh, I could not, would not, make it without coffee . . . I drink a good 6 cups of black coffee a day and my weight is coming off (side note, I drink amazing amounts of water, which might counteract the effect). :0) I agree about being aware of the condiments; salad dressings, ketchup, mayo, etc. They add up quick!

mariasheehan

Welcome to MFP.

Tips....

Log everything, even the bad stuff.

Make friends, look at their diaries, and get ideas.

Protein is great for keeping you fuller for longer.

Fruits and veggies are your friends 

Drink lots of water.

Green tea works great for me as an appetite suppressant.

Watch the sodium intake (you can track it on MFP in your diary) sodium causes us to retain fluid.

Eat your exercise calories, 1200 cals should be the absolute minimum you eat everyday, that's net 1200. There’s a hot topic on this site about eating your exercise calories back and not eating under 1200 calories. If you eat less than 1200 calories a day, you’re body will supposedly go into starvation mode. If you don’t eat enough your body will hold onto it’s fat reserves.

If you’re having a bad day look at the forums, read advice from members, ask for help or support but don’t give up.

Don’t deprive yourself, I found saying ‘no’ to myself makes me want it even more, so I still treat myself to things like chocolate, ice-cream, wine in moderation.


For frequently asked questions see answers from one of our site members - (i.e. should I eat my exercise calories etc etc http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81 and http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

If you need tips on low fat recipes try www.hungrygirl.com or www.skinnytaste.com

watkinsc

I hear ya! Portion size is REALLY important. Also eat lots of veggies (which even as a grown adult, I still have resistance too!) no sodas, no fast food, no empty calories... And avoid cream sauces, fat laden salad dressings, and condiments (mayo, sour cream, etc.) ... I've been at it 4 months, and am no where perfect with it, but it gets easier, and becomes more second nature with time! Good luck!

sarahliftsUP

Veggies are usually low calorie so try to eat as much of those as you can.

I stopped putting sugar in my coffee/tea.. it was really bitter tasting at first, but then I got used to it and don't miss the sugar at all.

Instead of using milk in my cereal I use almond milk... a cup of unsweetened almond milk is only 40 calories compared to a cup of 1% milk being 110.

When I first started out I bought Dempster's body wise bread, bagels, and english muffins. You definitely save calories with those. I forget how many calories the bagels are, but two slices of bread are only 100 calories (they are super tiny though) and the english muffins are 130 and a good size!

Drink water. If you are hungry, drink it, if you aren't hungry, drink it, when you are exercising, drink, after you are exercising, drink it! I think that is all I have for now. This site is super helpful for tips and advice though, so welcome aboard!

liscar

Cut out coffee, tea, soft drinks. Limit fatty oils, dressings, sauces. Measure everything!!!!! Eat lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean meats (turkey, fish, chicken). Nothing fried.

Log in everyday! Don't cheat on your diary! You will learn alot about yourself and it WILL work if you follow it!!!!

Good luck!!!

ditto! especially the being honest on your diary.....I was over almost every day for the first two weeks until I got it figured out. The other thing....it's a good motivator to get out there and do some sort of exercise, because the exercise will give you more calories you can eat

Now a couple of months later, I am under more often than not by 200ish.

dmcg123

Welcome to MFP!

You will find that most prepared/packaged foods are heavy in sodium, calories and carbohydrates. One tip might be to buy some protein supplement - I use whey protein isolate that I bought on-line from a company called Muscle Feast, but I imagine all isolates are about the same. I mix it with Great Value (Wal-Mart) sugar free drink powder and blend it in a Magic Bullet - type mini blender. It's much cheaper than meat or fish gram for gram of protein and will get your protein intake up, which helps control hunger. Also, eat more fresh or frozen veggies, as the veggies counteract the acids that come from eating more protein.

I also like egg whites and/or Quaker weight control instant oatmeal for breakfast. Fat free cottage cheese is also filling, protein rich and cheap. Another indulgence I like is the $5 bag of large, frozen, de-veined, peeled and cooked shrimp at Wal-mart. I eat the whole bag - about 14 ounces, for lunch or dinner with cocktail sauce (2 Tbls. is enough for me). Tons of protein, only about 450 calories and very filling.

These are things that work well for me. I also saw a great list of low-cal recipes that someone posted up here a few days ago. Searc h the archives - I've made a couple of them and they are delish and low cal.

Good luck with your weight loss journey. Believe me, if you exercise, drink an ounce of water per pound of weight each day and manage your food intake according to your meal plan targets, this program works, And, it's free of the suffering common with fad diets. MFP is about lifestyle changes, not diets, and it will get you where you want to be if you follow your plan.

steveohypertension

try this .... limit yourself to 1500 mg of sodium along with limiting yourself to 5 grams of saturated fat ... the calories won't add up so fast ...

grouch201

I say don't try to change everything at once. Yes the calories add up fast because you are probably used to eating foods that are calorie dense. Processed food and fast food are notorious for being calorie dense. Give yourself some time to adapt and figure out the calorie light foods. Many such foods are fruits and vegetables. There are even foods that are known to be calorie neutral because it takes more calories to digest them than you're actually consuming.

Here is a short list of such foods:

http://www.weightlossforall.com/negative-calorie-foods-list.htm

ywellc

Try to eat as many of your meals as possible out of your house and use/eat the least amount of processed foods that you have the resources to buy and make. Buy a nutrition scale if you can afford one (this is the one I have Salter Nutri-Weigh Diet Scale Model 1450- and it's on sale at the Amazon link below)

http://www.amazon.com/Salter-Nutri-Weigh-Diet-Scale-Model/dp/B000T8IQYK?SubscriptionId=0338J3P5B24W4AZ77RG2&tag=imafoodblog-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000T8IQYK

It makes logging homemade foods much easier and gives one great insight into exactly what's on the plate. There are plenty of magazines / blogs devoted to healthy eating you can get ideas from if you have limited cooking experience.

Also, it is much easier to stay motivated to get fit and lose weight if you have the support of other people. Somebody else earlier replied that you can find friends and use their diaries here, which is a good idea, but second to finding someone in real life if at all possible. It is comforting to know when you are working your butt off (literally) on a machine to look over and see someone you know doing the same (trust me )

Exercise as often as you can and drink a lot of water!