Calorie Help Please

hrobinson416

It seems that if I eat all the calories they want me to eat (which I am finding impossible to eat that much food!!) I lose less weight over the next 5 weeks.


For today , for example, I will eat the following:

A banana, a pear, and an apple.
I will also have a bologna sandwich with chips for lunch
I will have an egg salad sandwich for dinner
8+ glasses of water ( I love water :-) )

I am also exercising - so today I walked up hill briskly for 30 minutes and then briskly walked back for 30 minutes. Stairstepper for 30 minutes as well. And I am considering my pilates video for today - its 55 minutes.

I am not hitting 1200 calories with this. So I think okay what can I eat to bump it up to 1200? No clue...unless I eat two sandwiches of something. But then it says I will lose even less weight the more I eat. Which makes sense, but why would it tell me to eat 2100 calories if that is the case?? I am having a hard time eating 1200 without feeling like an overstuffed pig. I dont even know how im this fat lol. Well okay, terrible injury and bedfast for 6 months did it (50+ lbs gained), but still its been a year and ive gained weight since.

Does anyone have any suggestions on healthy snacks (affordable) that I can eat to bump up my calories but wont hinder me losing the weight I need to?

I am 33, 202 lbs, 5' 7 1/2". size 16 and I would like to fit into my old size 6's and be 130lbs by christmas :-P terrible goal I know but...Im determined! I just want to do it in a healthy way where I can maintain it. I have eaten like this for awhile and still I just gain weight. Its discouraging.

Also - how do I get the counter into a signature type thing? Or do I have to add it every time I post?

toque_de_miel

MFP will calculate your daily goal based off your stats and your lifestyle. Yes if you go hugely over it every day and never exercise, you will gain, but if you eat too little, you might get stuck where you're not losing at all. Sometimes it can be hard to meet the goals all the time but ultimately MFP will place you at where approx. you need to be (of course it varies from person to person w/ metabolism, etc). Just try to aim for that - Some people eat back exercise calories too, personally I don't.

I'd definitely stick with fruits, or yogurts -- I personally am a huge fan of snack-sized popcorn bags.
Or oatmeal. To bump you up to where you need to be.

Oh, and for the counter, if you go to the tools page and go to the tickers, it'll give you an HTML code for it and you'd copy that, then go to "Signature" under the Community/Message Boards and paste that into there along with anything else you want to show on every post you make.

milaxx

Not only do calories count, but what you eat counts as well. The meal you have laid out seems a bit carb heavy. light on protein & lacks veg. Also if I am reading it correctly there is no breakfast. Those thing also factor into how much you lose.

Sepa

Yo need to eat 1200 calories minimum to stop your body going into starvation mode. If you eat less than this your body stores the food to ride out the lack of calories. You are also burning calories doing exercise which your body is liking even less as your not hitting the 1200 calories your body needs to fuel itself. Based on your exercise you should be eating 1500ish calories per active day. Add more vegetables and brown rice into your diet. This way you should start to see weight loss

hazedot

you want to lose 70lbs by Christmas? Personally I think that's a little unrealistic. Don't try and drop it too quickly otherwise the minute you start trying to maintain you'll just gain a portion of the weight back again.
Glad to see you're optimistic though Good luck!

hrobinson416

Thanks for the responses. It says I should be eating 2100+ calories a day! I def need to add more veggies and a breakfast. I am not a breakfast eater. I will at least start with a piece of fruit in the mornings before my walk because I am sooo hungry when Im done that its unpleasant.

I eat a sandwich every day for lunch. Sometimes I eat dinner, sometimes I forget to eat until its really late and then I dont want to eat cuz its 1030pm! So I go to bed hungry but Im not hungry when I wake up.

So should I eat more than a banana for breakfast to start the day? Will more veggies up the calorie intake enough? Eggs and meat for protein? I do not have the right foods in my house for a really healthy diet I dont think. I have some fruits, I have stuff to make a sandwich. Maybe some breakfast stuff and thats it.

Thanks for the tip on the counter :-) Gonna add that now!

ejohndrow

Not only do calories count, but what you eat counts as well. The meal you have laid out seems a bit carb heavy. light on protein & lacks veg. Also if I am reading it correctly there is no breakfast. Those thing also factor into how much you lose.

This.
There is no nutritional value in a bologna sandwich and chips. Not to say you can't indulge once in awhile-just shouldn't make it a lifestyle. I eat a lot of avocados-they're high in calories and good fat, there are also raw nuts and other things as well, prunes are 100 calories for about 5 and extremely high in fiber and potassium, etc.

Also, I obviously don't know what time zone you're in, but how can you know for sure you won't be hungry after lunch, after dinner etc.? Just wondering.

toque_de_miel

So should I eat more than a banana for breakfast to start the day? Will more veggies up the calorie intake enough? Eggs and meat for protein? I do not have the right foods in my house for a really healthy diet I dont think. I have some fruits, I have stuff to make a sandwich. Maybe some breakfast stuff and thats it.

I've never been much of a breakfast eater either. Mainly because I just love sleeping so much that I never want to get out of bed early just to make myself something. I'd rather just have myself a nice cup of coffee and roll out of bed exactly half an hour before I have to be at work at 8am. You should try light english muffins or maybe light toast along with a piece of fruit or an eggy. I think one fried medium egg is 70 cals approx, and i use Pam rather than like butter in the pan. As for breakfast proteins, there's turkey bacon or canadian bacon is soo good.

dove1dove

Exercise is the key. If you don't exercise as much, then eat fewer calories. If you exercise really hard core, your body needs the calories to rebuild. People have found that sometimes they hit a plateau when they start doing really intense work outs but don't increase their intake of carbohydrates. Yes, carbohydrates, not just calories in general. And the truth is, if you want to do this right- don't look for the quickest way, because it might not be the healthiest. And being and staying healthy is what this is all about. Another key to weight loss are vegetables. Believe it or not, you will lose more weight if you eat, what feels like, an absurd amount of vegetables. If you don't like them, or can't seem to eat enough, pick up some V8, and force a glass down every day. I can't say that I'm a pro at this, because it is easier to talk the talk than to walk it! But I've learned a lot of this throughout many weight loss programs including Jenny Craig and P90X- two very different ways of approaching this weight loss journey. I guess my advice would be to change your eating habits on a daily basis depending on when you are working out and when you are taking a day off. I wish you all the best!

hrobinson416

Well, Ive been unemployed since June , so my food options are rather limited. I eat the sandwich because its cheap. not for nutritional value or because its a favorite. I have eggs here, I have sandwich stuff here, I have some tuna. I have bananas, pears, and apples, and I have some yogurt and I have some cup of noodles. Thats about it. So trying to get some good ideas for next time I am out. If they are within budget at this time.

I do sometimes get hungry after dinner - but I dont eat. Especially because I usually have a late dinner and I dont think its good to eat after 8 or 9pm. Sometimes I forget to eat dinner, and then its 10pm and I just dont eat.

hrobinson416

I def need to buy some carrots and stuff to snack on. I need more vegetables for sure. Thanks for all the advice :-)

ejohndrow

Are you able to buy like a package of fresh/frozen chicken or anything? I get a package of boneless/skinless chicken breast and separate them into ziplock bags and freeze them individually, I also buy a big bag of the frozen, individually wrapped tilapia filets. Every day pretty much I make sure and pull one of each out to thaw-and I cook one or the other or both of the ones that are ready. Obviously this is just the meat and protein that I like-of course do what's best for you. You can look at my diary if you'd like-and I don't claim to be perfect-about two weeks back I had KFC. I know we all have different things to worry about and being unemployed makes things difficult. Are there coupons for food you can use, or maybe cut down on other items you purchase? Eating healthy can be hard to get into, but once you do it'll feel good. Don't sell yourself short, is basically what i'm saying.

hrobinson416

Thats a good idea - I can get some chicken. Its my preference on meat anyway. I went and looked and I have some rice too so I guess I can do that for my dinners :-)

Would you guys say the bigger meal shoudl be at lunch or at dinner?

ejohndrow

It all depends on your sleep cycle. I work overnight shifts-arm up at 6pm-get to work and then I don't get home until about 8am some days. I eat pretty much the same size meals throughout the day.

Oh and also I use my george foreman grill for everything. Like the other day I grilled a chicken breast, shredded it with a fork and added a few tablespoons of bbq sauce to it. There was enough there for 4 wraps/sandwiches for me and I ate it over the past few days. Or last night I grilled tilapia and jalapenos for dinner and had a roma tomato and 1/2 an avocado on the side. Just be creative I guess. I have to say that grill is wonderful in my opinion.

hrobinson416

Yeah I used to have one. They are great. I go to bed between midnight and 1am and get up betweeen 7 and 830am.

tomasart

Hey! I know about water- i Love love LOVE it too!:drinker:

missikay1970

i completely understand your budget and monetary concerns. this is my biggest issue with eating healthy. i have to feed a family of 5 and "healthy" foods are more expensive. BY FAR. ex: frozen pizzas feed us all for about $3. for $3, i can't make veggies & chicken & rice. i have found some cheaper alternatives, but for the most part, i am making sacrifices elsewhere (like cutting back our cable and not having a home-phone, choosing a cheaper cell phone plan, etc.) my biggest victories are when we sit down to a meal and i say, "i made this whole meal for $10 (or $9 or $15)!!" and we take turns figuring out how much it costs per person. LOL try to look online for coupons, you could find a really great healthy bread to buy for your sandwiches, which would help make them more nutritious, even if you are eating bologna. i found discounted lean turkey breast slices in the deli that were going to expire in 2 days. they were half-price so i got a huge bag for only $5. that will be eaten in one day (before the expiration date) but saved me a ton of cash. GL

milaxx

I know how it is to live on a budget. I am on a fixed income as well. I think the youtube link in my signature is an example of how to stretch a dollar. Here are a few of my tips and of course this depends on where you live. I live in an urban area so there are loads of markets available.

1. Find a local produce market or farmers market. My local produce market sell eggs 3dozen/$3.75. On Sunday I boil a half dozen. This give me breakfast on the go, easy egg salad or a quick protein in my salad. the same produce market sells string beans 3lbs/$2, beans and brown rice for $1.50 a 16oz bag.

2. I shop the quicksale items at the supermarket. A few weeks ago the had a packet of roma tomatos for $.69 I opened the pack and there were 16 very ripe roma tomatoe. I cooked them down and made tomato sauce from scratch. It made about 2 cups. Even adding the onions and peppers I added to the sauce that's less than a dollar. You'll never get a 16oz jar of tomato sauce from the market for that price. making t myself means I also control the sodium.

3.Lunch meat is never a good deal. It's full of sodium and nitrates that really aren't that good for you. Buy your own protein and slice it yourself.

4. Invest in a crock pot. I got mine from Walgreens for $10. it's a great way to cook stew meat which is usually a cheap cut of meat. I use it to make my own beans since I prefer not to buy canned beans.

5. Do not be supermarket loyal. Shop the circulars. I shop at least 3 markets. The produce market, Acme, Sav-a-Lot and Whole Foods. I also clip coupons. I hit the markets probably once a month and the produce market biweekly because I eat a lot of salad. Just found a Community Supported Agriculture in my area. I've done them in the past.. It's a great way to support local and save money. http://www.lancasterfarmfresh.com/static/controls/?page=csa/seasonextension

6. If you are not a breakfast eater, ease into it. There are days when I start with a glass of water and a piece of fruit. An hour later I try to eat something a bit more substantial like an egg. Do not "forget" to eat. Set and alarm on your phone if necessary. It is not healthy and will not help you lose weight. At a minimum eat 3 meals a day. If that's too much at once try 3 small meals and 2 snacks.

ejohndrow

We never had cable growing up, but we always had healthy home-cooked meals, I wouldn't trade that in for anyhing. There are probably other ways to cut back on expenses go buy healthy foods, just have to look.

hrobinson416

Great ideas - I will definitely be making a few changes my next trip into town for groceries. Thanks to all for the tips and suggestions!!

hrobinson416

Okay - forced myself to eat 1300 calories yesterday. UGH! I was sooo full! But the good news is I dropped weight this morning so I dont feel bad about making myself eat at least the 1200 calories. I burned 1000 calories roughly yesterday but I didnt even try to eat back any of those calories. I did however wake up hungry this morning, which rarely happens. So I ate a banana for breakfast and feel much more energized. I have been super tired and I really didnt want to get out of bed this morning but I feel better after eating and drinking some water. So.....will continue to manage at least 1200 calories a day, and follow some of the suggestions given for food variety. I've lost over 2 lbs in 3 days so Im feeling pretty good about it. Excited and looking forward to the results!