So Hard to Focus

stopdangerpi

It is 4pm. I won't be able to get home and have dinner until 8:30pm. I stupidly had lunch at noon. I am not even "hungry" but I feel the need to eat. Probably because its almost the end of the work day and things are getting stressful.

I only have 300 calories left and will probably burn 200 at the gym. I want to snack but don't know what would be okay to do. Augh. This is so hard.

I am on day 3 of MFP.

faefaith

What are your snack options?

auroranflash

Drink a ton of water.

That's what I do.

stopdangerpi

I am in mid-town Manhattan so I could get pretty much anything right now just by walking outside haha

LishieFruit89

Chew gum and drink water.

You're bored not hungry.

BriskisGrl

not a lot of calories left and you still need to eat dinner. If your hungry I would choose some fresh veggies.

spikefoot

Dont fear food either... When your body is telling you you are hungry there is a reason behind it. You won't be able to sustain this.

Eat some almonds, have a protein shake or a piece of fruit.

ETA: forget it you said you want to snack! Not eat...lol

momof2winsplus

Let me guess.

You said you wanted to lose 2lb/week, and MFP said you could only eat 1200 calories. Now you are starving...

Calculate your BMR and don't eat below that. Modify your goals to a reasonable level.

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

allysabee

Whenever I'm in this dilemma, I always have a piece of fruit. Even if I go over my calories for the day, at least it's with something healthy and not a cookie or a slice of pizza. If you eat something bad, you'll regret it!

IronPlayground

Let me guess.

You said you wanted to lose 2lb/week, and MFP said you could only eat 1200 calories. Now you are starving...

Calculate your BMR and don't eat below that. Modify your goals to a reasonable level.

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

^This is very possible.

But, since you need an answer now, try chugging some water and wait 20 mins. Your hunger feeling may be thirst. If you are still hungry after that, then get something to eat.

Jugie12

I brush my teeth or use some mouthwash... makes me not feel hungry. Drink some water. If you're really hungry, get a protein shake to hold you over. You may go over your cals today but not devastatingly so.

hallie_b

If you are Midtown West you can try Dig Inn Seasonal Market's Breakfast Bar or Energy Cookie (Just under 200 Cal) and grab a light salad from them for dinner.

stopdangerpi

Thank you everyone! I chugged water and remembered I had some baby carrots in the fridge. Got the crunchiness, sweetness and vitamins.

I will look into this BMR thing.

WarriorReady

Whenever I'm in this dilemma, I always have a piece of fruit. Even if I go over my calories for the day, at least it's with something healthy and not a cookie or a slice of pizza. If you eat something bad, you'll regret it!

So true! And make sure you don't go 8 hours without eating, that causes your body to go into starvation mode. Which eats the hard earned muscle you are building.

cowgirlup327

If you recognize that you're just eating out of boredom, drink a glass of water. Other than that, lots of low-cal snack options, if you have them around or can get them:

reduced fat string cheese (70 cal for 1 stick)
1 cup of plain corn or rice chex (150 cal for 1 cup)
raw veggies: cucumber slices, carrots, cherry/grape tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower (try dipped in hummus, too)
original flavor goldfish (150 cal for 55 fish)
small container of yogurt
banana or apple
Kashi bars (under 150 cal)
fresh berries (under 50 cal for half a cup)
Snyder's "dipping stick" pretzels (120 cal for 14 pretzels)

Also, since it's early in getting your body used to a restricted calorie diet, you'll probably feel a little hungry the first few days - I know I did! But then I got used to it, spaced my meals out better and was sure to bring snacks to work, and have been drinking extra water. I don't want to give you an out for over-indulging, but if you take a look at your MFP info, you'll see the amount of calories your body uses just by being alive every day - your calorie allowance per day based on your weight loss goal is probably a few hundred calories below that. Essentially, anything in between your "I need this # to live" calories and your "I should only eat this # if I want to lose this weight" calories, is still a deficit. Just sharing that so you don't beat yourself up if you happen to go over a little. Hang in there!

auroranflash

Whenever I'm in this dilemma, I always have a piece of fruit. Even if I go over my calories for the day, at least it's with something healthy and not a cookie or a slice of pizza. If you eat something bad, you'll regret it!

So true! And make sure you don't go 8 hours without eating, that causes your body to go into starvation mode. Which eats the hard earned muscle you are building.

Untrue. The human body is more efficient than this. Thousands of people do IF or Intermittent Fasting and go for 8 hours without food daily, build muscle, and lose weight. I am not a standard IFer myself, but I have been known to go 8+ hours without eating and I've still been able to lose fat without losing any muscle. If you have any questions, this topic has been covered numerous times. Please refer to the search function of the forums.

rodes27

If you're really truly hungry.....I say ......eat. If you don't...you will just binge later tonight... because you'll let yourself get too hungry. Always, listen to your body. Just because the MFP calc says you can only eat 1200 calories a day doesn't mean that SOMETIMES your body wont need more.....the key is learning the difference between 'needing' and "wanting" more food. Adding another 200+300 calorie meal once in a while won't sabotage your overall goal of losing weight........sometimes extra calories are needed to keep your body from going into starvation mode. And we all have bad calorie days once in a while....so if you do go over...dont let ONE day demotivate you. Also, I ALWAYS carry a health snack in my purse.....

mlewon

I don't know if you have any of these, but they're all great options:

an orange, a banana, a hand full of almonds, half a cup of pretzels, a cup of air popped pop corn or an apple!