How do I stop eating 6,000 calories??

MooMooooo

When I first started I was eating between 2000 and 3000 calories each day.

Way too much for my 5'1 tiny frame.

It took months for me to really WANT IT and make the changes.

My advice? Just keep logging and when you're ready - GO FOR IT!
:flowerforyou:

Sandrad509

I started with 2000 calories but try to stick to 1500-1800. If I do have more fattening food I definitely look at portion sizes. But I do agree you really have to want this for this to work. Good luck! Remember we are all here for the same reasons and are here to help support one another!

Prahasaurus

I looked at your diary.

Firstly, congrats for being honest to yourself. You've apparently recorded everything. Great job. This is an important first step.

Secondly, look at what you are eating. Look at the calories. Try to think how you can cut back. Some things should be obvious to you when you review your food diary.

For example:

1 - You have way too many items in there. You are snacking like crazy. Stop this. Snacking is the number 1 killer for Americans. Eat 3 good meals, if you need more have some fruit or veggies (red peppers are great).

2 - Stop drinking just about everything but water. Your milky drinks are packed with sugar. Stop drinking them. Switch to water.

3 - Stop the sweets. You are snacking on sweets like crazy (chocolate, candy, etc.). Have an apple if you need a bit of sugar, have a banana, eat some carrot sticks, drink lots and lots of water. But stop eating the chocolate/candy.

4 - Start walking every day, even if it's just 30 min after dinner. Record it here. It will help your body, plus it will show you how much you need to work to shed calories. So if you must eat those chocolate chip cookies, at least you'll know that you will need to walk 45 minutes later to compensate. This will hopefully put a "price" on your snacking, making you think more about your decisions.

In summary, you are eating 3x what you need to be eating. It's not sustainable without serious health issues down the road. Please, examine your diary and adjust.

hh6roberts2012

Don't cut down too fast .. set a goal a week or two from now where you wanna be down to the goal calories intake. Lots of fruits and veggies like every one else said.. with so many high calories foods its easy yo over eat... my husband and I went to eat at applebees. We shared an appitizer and one meal.. after I was shocked to findout we had eaten over 3000 calories togeter.. and that was just dinner.. its hard to really get used to the amount of calories but eating better more filling food will help you get used to it.

I use chopsticks and I pack my lunch and snacks in two Benton boxes.. for me the whole process of preparing my meals beforehand helps me stay motivate

becoming_a_new_me

I looked at your diary.

Firstly, congrats for being honest to yourself. You've apparently recorded everything. Great job. This is an important first step.

Secondly, look at what you are eating. Look at the calories. Try to think how you can cut back. Some things should be obvious to you when you review your food diary.

For example:

1 - You have way too many items in there. You are snacking like crazy. Stop this. Snacking is the number 1 killer for Americans. Eat 3 good meals, if you need more have some fruit or veggies (red peppers are great).

2 - Stop drinking just about everything but water. Your milky drinks are packed with sugar. Stop drinking them. Switch to water.

3 - Stop the sweets. You are snacking on sweets like crazy (chocolate, candy, etc.). Have an apple if you need a bit of sugar, have a banana, eat some carrot sticks, drink lots and lots of water. But stop eating the chocolate/candy.

4 - Start walking every day, even if it's just 30 min after dinner. Record it here. It will help your body, plus it will show you how much you need to work to shed calories. So if you must eat those chocolate chip cookies, at least you'll know that you will need to walk 45 minutes later to compensate. This will hopefully put a "price" on your snacking, making you think more about your decisions.

In summary, you are eating 3x what you need to be eating. It's not sustainable without serious health issues down the road. Please, examine your diary and adjust.

Great advice...as a step two. Step one is to start making wiser choices...once that happens, she can work on cutting the non-essentials

WaterBunnie

I wish you good luck. Its SO easy to eat large amounts of calories when you're not monitoring them!

Firstly I'd chop out anything with refined sugar to start with and see where that leaves you calories wise. A piece of fruit rather than cookies or sweets will save you a lot of calories and fill you more because of the fibre.

Once you are used to that try selecting lower fat options of things you usually buy and grill/bake rather than fry etc. I'd chop out mayo completely because it adds a lot of extra calories - even the lower fat versions.

Once that is done switching white breads to wholemeal will help add more nutritionally sound and filling carbs into your diet. Just don't try doing it all at once or you'll feel deprived.


Oh - and alcohol only when you've got spare exercise calories you don't feel the need to eat.


Finally, look at the diaries of members on here who have lost a fair bit for inspiration for meal choices.

herownkindofwonderfull

Hello,

I am new to this. I put it in most of what I ate today and it is around 5,744 (I cannot remember everything) but this program says my goal should be 1,530.

Is this right? I know I eat more than some other people but is 1,530 really manageable? I am not very active but now I think I should start! Please feel free to send me any advice.

OP- use the tools on this site or google a calculater and look up your BMR. You should eat slightly over this number to prevent yourself from going into starvation mode. Keep in mind that you should also eat less than your TDEE, which you can also calculate online.

Friend me if you want! I've lost about 20lbs and eat about 1750-3000 calories a day, pending on my exercise (what you burn, you should eat back- also to prevent your body from going in starvation mode). Feel free to message, etc. if you'd like as well! You can do this!

herownkindofwonderfull

Some people eat Low Carb - I say cut out all the noodles, breads, chips and crappy carbs.....stick with the protein, nuts, veggies and cheese....way better then processed stuff.

I agree with this, but not on cutting out noodles and breads. As a rule of thumb, do not cut out carbs! your body needs them! Just make sure that they are complex carbs ie: whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, etc. White breads, white rice, and regular starchy pasta is FILLED with empty carbs. Your body can't process them as efficiently, and it can lead to weight gain and fatigue!

k2charmed4u

It is more than manageable to eat 1500 cals. My target is 1510 a day and I usually eat between 1450 and 1600 with exercise also. I split my day into 4 meals.

Fruit Smoothie (around 330 cals):
Banana
Apple, Papaya, Peach etc
with either nutmeg or cinnamon and honey

Breakfast (around 230 cals):
Banana or apple
Yoghurt or Belvita biscuits

Lunch (around 400 cals):
Salad or sandwiches or beans on toast

and Dinner (around 550 cals):
New potatoes, roast, baked or mash
with lots of veggies (carrots, parsnips, courgetts etc)
Chicken or lamb

Or Veggie Thai curry (I love homemade thai curry)

I would recommend reducing your cals gradually maybe cut 1,000 off what you eat at the minute for the first week with plenty of exercise. Let your body adjust to lower cal intake and work your way down over a course of a month to the 1500ish cals per day. I also recommend high cal burning exercises like swimming, cycling and tennis to help you burn more.

P.S. feel free to add me if you want more help and have a look at my diary. I keep it open so people can see and it keeps me in check too. I lost 56lbs before on 1340 cals per day a few years ago. Put most back on when I stopped counting cals and now i'm at it again and 16lbs down on 1510 cals

ms_walker

Good on you for logging. I think that you should log you current eating and drink for a week or two to see how you truly eat, then make small gradually changes. For example, one change a week from some of the following

change to lower fat milk
make all cold drinks water
eat bread once a day
switch to lower cal snacks
reduce rice/potatoes/pasta portion and make up with vegatable
smaller portion sizes
bake or grill instead of fry

These small changes will help you on your way to making bigger changes

Good luck

Prahasaurus

Great advice...as a step two. Step one is to start making wiser choices...once that happens, she can work on cutting the non-essentials

True. You need to walk before you can run, as they say....

Again, OP, the key first step is recording everything. You have done this, so congrats! This is extremely important. Keep it up, please don't stop!

Now slowly but surely start to make better choices. Every little bit helps.

Educate yourself. Knowledge is power, it will let you take back control of your body.

Good luck.

--Prahasaurus

chocl8girl

Start with making smart changes that don’t deprive you of what you want, but are wiser in the long run. Your bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with coffee and chocolate milk was 1210 calories day. That was nearly your whole day…try this instead:
Orowheat sandwich thins instead of hamburger bun – 100 calories
1 Egg poached instead of fried – 70 calories
Sargento ultra Thins cheddar cheese (1 slice) – 45 calories
Jenny O Turkey Bacon (2 slices) – 80 calories
Coffee (this was fine)
Fat Free half and half (2 Tbsp)– 30 calories
Splenda or stevia (1 tsp) – 0 calories
Silk Chocolate Almond Milk (1 cup in a grab and go container) – 120 calories
Total Calories: 445 calories. That is a savings of 765 calories!

Now lunch, instead of the turkey/bacon/cheese sandwich and chips that you had for 1272 calories, try this:
Orowheat sandwich thins instead of hamburger bun – 100 calories
Sargento ultra Thins cheddar cheese (1 slice) – 45 calories
Jenny O Turkey Bacon (2 slices) – 80 calories
Sliced Smoked Turkey Breast (3 slices) – 90 calories
Light Mayo (1 Tbsp) – 45 calories
Dijon Mustard (1 tsp) – 10 calories
Romaine and tomato  - 10 calories
Veggie Straws/Chips (40 straws) – 120 calories
Pear  - 52 calories
Diet Dr Pepper – okay, but try crystal light instead if you can
Coffee (this was fine)
Fat Free half and half (2 Tbsp)– 30 calories
Splenda or stevia (1 tsp) – 0 calories
This is 582 calories – a savings of 690 calories

Now for dinner…you had three times the serving of spaghetti noodles and a total calorie count of 1960 calories. Try this instead:
Spaghetti Noodles (2 oz) – 200 calories
Marinara (1/4 cup) – 140 calories
Steamed Broccoli (1 cup) – 30 calories
Grilled Prawns (1 cup) – 280 calories
Garlic Bread (1 slice) – 100 calories
Garden Salad (2 cups) – 60 calories
Light Italian Dressing (2 Tbsp) – 35 calories
Honey Brown lager (12 oz) – 180 calories
1025 calories for a savings of 935 calories

For snacks which totaled 1302 calories:
100 calorie chips ahoy snack pack – 100 calories
Babybel cheese – 70 calories
Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds (1 oz) – 150 calories
Air Popped Popcorn (2 cups) – 160 calories
Banana – 112 calories
Juice Box – 100 calories
Lemon Loaf Cake – 130 calories
822 calories for a savings of 480 calories.

With the revisions, you go from 5744 calories to 2874 calories. You are still high, but from there, you can start making other changes too…less sweets, more veggies, etc. Hope this helps!

This is some of the best, most practical and thorough advice for starting out that I have ever seen! You absolutely owe it to yourself to start making fundamental changes like this. They won't be jarring to your system, and will be easy for you to maintain and then change even more until you slowly make your way to eating less and even better. It CAN happen, I swear! I honestly could not physically eat 6,000 calories in one day at this point. 2,000 for me is very very high, and usually leaves me feeling ill and bloated at the end of the day unless I've exercised.

This is a journey, not a race. Take your time, you've made the first BIG step just by logging what you're eating and realizing it's time to make a change! *(*hugs*)*

aleham

I took a look at your food diary and the best advice I can give is for you to drink more water.

Everyone else has already suggested great stuff relating to your food, but it's easy to forget that sometimes people over eat because they confuse hunger with thirst.

6,000 calories is way too high for someone who wants to lose weight. You don't have to completely cut out carbs, but you definitely need to eat less carbs and try not eating them after 5pm. Less carbs and sugars, more protein and water. Think about eating foods that have good, natural fats like nuts and fish instead of chocolate.

aleham

That being said, I honestly think you should seek the advice of a medical professional, like your local general practitioner.

higgins1988

i manage 1200 just fine most days unless i have a binge which can take me up to 3000 tops :S

the first step is to look at what you currently eat and try and find lower calorie alternatives such as low fat cheese, wholemeal bread, etc - this should drop your calorie intake quite a bit without depriving you. See chocl8girls thoughtful post.
the next step would be to reduce the amount you eat at each sitting - you don't need 1200 cals for breakfast, 500 max will give you plenty of energy until your next meal.

good for you for logging everything though, it's so important!

add lots of friends on MFP, it's helped me so much

cwalsh1989

Wow, to be honest I would struggle to find 6000 calories! 1530 is very reasonable if your looking to loose weight.

Set yourself goals where you decrease a little everyday until you reach the 1530.

Just be truthful with yourself and critical of your diary. Looking at yesterday you ate such things as m&m's and a larger. Such things should be easy to cut out, they dont fill you up and are wasteful calories. Try cutting snacks and drinks out such as these first, then once you feel good with this, start looking at meals as a whole and making them more healthy.

But you are right in what you said, you need to get active, being activly will make you feel really good and earn you those extra calories if you do fancy a fe m&m's that day.

Good luck!! The whole fo MFP are behind you!

stupidloser

Hello,

I am new to this. I put it in most of what I ate today and it is around 5,744 (I cannot remember everything) but this program says my goal should be 1,530.

Is this right? I know I eat more than some other people but is 1,530 really manageable? I am not very active but now I think I should start! Please feel free to send me any advice.

Holy crap! That is alot of food.

jammasterduggs

your valuations retrieved from MFP are wrong to start - 170g of spaghetti is never 600 cals and 280 cals for grilled prawns? this should be more 250 - 300 for spaghetti and around 100 - 150 for prawns

this alone on those two items has just saved you near 500 calories


use the packet info per 100 g then divide what your using - never use someone elses input on mfp as they may be wrong or not put in all hte other info like protein / carbs / vitamins etc

Poods71

Going from nearly 6,000 cals to 1,500 does seem huge and really daunting, but if you make small changes in your diet you will find it a lot easier. Even if you don't manage to get that low straight away just cutting back a bit each week till you get used to it will definitely start you in the right direction. Tips that I would give would be: -

1. Drink load of water. Don't know if you haven't logged all your water but you don't seem to drink much at all. I have to forced myself as I never feel thirsty but it definitely helps.

2. Choose low calorie food to replace the foods you already like e.g. low fat mayo, semi-skimmed milk, low fat cheese etc. You will be amazed how much you will save just doing this.

3. Have as much fruit, veggies and salad as you can it bulks up a meal with hardly any calories and there are so many delicious low fat salad dressings out there it doesn't have to be boring.

4. Cut right back on the sweet snacks, they are diet killers. I find if I check the calories on a bar of chocolate I end up not having it or swapping for something lower calorie as most chocolate bars are the same calories as a meal!

If you try lots of small changes, even if you don't hit 1,500 straight away, it will make a big difference.

Good luck and I hope some of my advice helps. Just some stuff that worked for me :flowerforyou:

StarkLark

Holy crap! That is alot of food.

Thanks for this insight. :huh:

amy1612

Theres some good advice here, go with it . At 188lbs you really dont NEED to be eating 6000 calories a day unless youre an athlete, and eating so unhealthily will catch up with you. Make some healthy chnages, and just eat less and you'll probably feel a lot better as well as lose the weight you want

Oishii

If you want to make mfp a major weight loss tool for you, I'd suggest seeing what happens if you eat at mfp's maintenance calorie recommendation. Then you can adjust down from there, if necessary.

Research shows that our bodies don't count liquid calories when working out whether we need to eat more, so dropping the liquid calories shouldn't increase your hunger but will decrease your calorie intake. Another bit of research shows that those who maintain their new weight are those who increase their activity levels, so make sure you up your exercise to a level you are willing to sustain.

Dauntlessness

Hello,

I am new to this. I put it in most of what I ate today and it is around 5,744 (I cannot remember everything) but this program says my goal should be 1,530.

Is this right? I know I eat more than some other people but is 1,530 really manageable? I am not very active but now I think I should start! Please feel free to send me any advice.

Well if I was you, i'd cut out about 2,000 calories and start there. Jumping that low makes no sense from your starting point. Over time decrease them as you lose weight.

I agree with him.

I truly believe that its important do this is baby steps. Too big of a change can be overwhelming and set yourself up for failure. 2000 calories a day is very manageable and that is the calorie intake I have lost the most weight with at first.
In fact, I am eating 2110 calories a day now and I am still losing weight like crazy. Saying that, I do go to the gym 6 days a week and work my butt off. So, if you exercise a lot and I mean a lot, stay the same. If you don't, lower your calories gradually and find what works for you.

Here is a link to some snack foods I often eat to give you some ideas.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Lect/view/the-snacks-i-eat-the-most-189226

vim_n_vigor

Hello,

I am new to this. I put it in most of what I ate today and it is around 5,744 (I cannot remember everything) but this program says my goal should be 1,530.

Is this right? I know I eat more than some other people but is 1,530 really manageable? I am not very active but now I think I should start! Please feel free to send me any advice.

Well if I was you, i'd cut out about 2,000 calories and start there. Jumping that low makes no sense from your starting point. Over time decrease them as you lose weight.

I agree here. If you're intake is that high, start reducing it slowly instead of just eating such a tiny portion of what you are already eating. Start with small changes instead of a big plunge. You are more likely to stick with it. I don't know you're stats, so I don't know if 1500 is appropriate for you or not.

FelizMi

6,000 calories in a day??? And you don't exercise??? And you are only 188lbs???

See this is the stuff that ticks me off. I have been eating under 2,000 calories a day AND exercising regulary for years and I can't even get under 200lbs, no where close!!!

I really would like to know why is it that some people can eat so much and not really gain much or nothing at all, while others like me have to basically starve and exercise to death just to drop a freakin pound! {yea, I'm pouting right now!}

Ri024

6,000 calories in a day??? And you don't exercise??? And you are only 188lbs???

See this is the stuff that ticks me off. I have been eating under 2,000 calories a day AND exercising regulary for years and I can't even get under 200lbs, no where close!!!

I really would like to know why is it that some people can eat so much and not really gain much or nothing at all, while others like me have to basically starve and exercise to death just to drop a freakin pound! {yea, I'm pouting right now!}

If it makes you feel any better, I have been eating like this for 2-3 years and I have gained at least 80 pounds doing it. I did lose some weight last year, about 15 pounds. I was going to a wedding so I cut down on some fatty foods, but not much. I think it took me about 6 months to lose the 15 lbs but I was not very serious about making an effort or tracking my progress.
I don't "exercise" but I do walk almost every day (for at least an hour total) since I haven't had a car for over a year (but I am getting one this summer since I will soon be going to a university that is quite far).

And I don't know if I actually eat 6,000 calories a day, but I would not be surprise if this is an accurate number. I logged everything, but some people have pointed out that my numbers may be incorrect. Yesterday was my first time ever logging anything so I have nothing to compare it to. It did feel like a very normal day for me, however. In reality, I probably eat more sweets than that on a regular day and probably also use more cream and sugar since I drink several coffees in a day (cutting that out now, though!)

gemiwing

6,000 calories in a day??? And you don't exercise??? And you are only 188lbs???

See this is the stuff that ticks me off. I have been eating under 2,000 calories a day AND exercising regulary for years and I can't even get under 200lbs, no where close!!!

I really would like to know why is it that some people can eat so much and not really gain much or nothing at all, while others like me have to basically starve and exercise to death just to drop a freakin pound! {yea, I'm pouting right now!}

1- muscle mass. some have more than others.
2- higher BMR
3-higher TDEE than you
4-different foods/macros eaten
5-sodium levels and water retention

Ri024

To all of you who took the time to look at my diary and offer me some help - I really appreciate that you have reached out and given me some support. I can't believe what a great (and helpful!) community there is out here, I am so glad that I checked it out

I am so grateful for all the advice about substitutions. I can't believe that some of you even typed out meal plans for me. You are amazing!

If you are interested in what I am taking from all of this so far:

- I have calculated my BMR and TDEE at fat2fitradio.com and changed my calorie goal to 1,700 (if I exercise then I will eat more). I am going to see how this goes for today and if I feel that I need to, I'm going to increase it to 2,000 until I get the hang of things
- I will definitely be making substitutions/eliminations of the fattier foods I eat (bacon, cream, cheese, cookies, chocolate)
- I am going to try not to drink calories and try to drink much more water instead
- for now I am going to walk more (and put more effort into it) but I will be looking into some sort of exercise routine/schedule
- I will educate myself more on nutrition and eating healthy (I might be too lazy to input all of my own foods in the database but hopefully some education will help me spot the entries that are off)
- the thought of life without chocolate milk is making me very sad so I am going to look into chocolate protein shakes

WinnersAreMade

I am an all star cheerleader and our diets are closely monitored so I have been conditioned to nearly throw up at the smell of greasy foods and the thought of putting something so bad for my body into my mouth. A lot of foods that used to be my favorites i am nearly throwing up at the sight of. I'm going to teach you the secret of all star cheer and how we make this happen(because everybody asks) And all it took us was thirty days. Thirty days of no soda, juices, or any drink besides water. We were forced to drink 8oz of water every hour-which lets your body know theres plenty of water and it can let go of the fat stores holding water. In hours we worked out they required 16-24oz of water to be drank, but we're hardcore so 12oz-16 is probably a more reasonable range. Then they said any packaged food, pizza, cookies, whipped cream, ice cream, cake, yada yada yada. Basically if your ancestors couldn't eat it 2,000 years ago we couldn't put it in our mouths. So we found fun yummy alternitives to things we could eat. Eggs mixed with cayanne peppers for breakfast, roman lettuce with veggies and vinager with fruit for lunch and usually our parents would have a nice protien filled dinner when we got home at night with meat that had little to no fat(i don't like fat anyway it's slimy) and plenty of steamed veggie(boiled in water with onions)<- better than it sounds. And i'm a picky eater. The pickiest you will ever find. So if i like it you know its good. THen on top of all that they started showing us what all this junk food was MADE OF and could do to harm our bodies. Did you know chicken nuggets are made out of the bone and fat of chickens? And a small bag of chips contain as many toxins as a cigarette? So after hearing all this horrible stuff and SEEING it when they alloted us to have little things back in small amounts i just couldn't stomach it. But it's a good thing because my body loves me for it. Granted there i days i need a granola bar fix or maybe some cereal in the morning, but i have to monitor my portion size on bad foods. They tell us you can eat all the good food you want but you are alloted no more than 300 cals of bad food a day. (That's usually my 2 granola bars or bowl of cereal) So get out there and educate yourself on what this food does to you. Because i know that i am totally changed for life because of all this. And i feel lighter and happier and just great because i stopped poisening my body. Oh and we do this 1-3 times a year depending on our diets as a team. But really it's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change. You have to train like there is no finish line.

FelizMi

6,000 calories in a day??? And you don't exercise??? And you are only 188lbs???

See this is the stuff that ticks me off. I have been eating under 2,000 calories a day AND exercising regulary for years and I can't even get under 200lbs, no where close!!!

I really would like to know why is it that some people can eat so much and not really gain much or nothing at all, while others like me have to basically starve and exercise to death just to drop a freakin pound! {yea, I'm pouting right now!}

If it makes you feel any better, I have been eating like this for 2-3 years and I have gained at least 80 pounds doing it. I did lose some weight last year, about 15 pounds. I was going to a wedding so I cut down on some fatty foods, but not much. I think it took me about 6 months to lose the 15 lbs but I was not very serious about making an effort or tracking my progress.
I don't "exercise" but I do walk almost every day (for at least an hour total) since I haven't had a car for over a year (but I am getting one this summer since I will soon be going to a university that is quite far).

And I don't know if I actually eat 6,000 calories a day, but I would not be surprise if this is an accurate number. I logged everything, but some people have pointed out that my numbers may be incorrect. Yesterday was my first time ever logging anything so I have nothing to compare it to. It did feel like a very normal day for me, however. In reality, I probably eat more sweets than that on a regular day and probably also use more cream and sugar since I drink several coffees in a day (cutting that out now, though!)

Ok, that makes me feel a little better. I was fixin to be mad at the world today, LOL!

I know I first started cutting calories with my drinks. I rarely drink anything other than water, diet pop, Crystal Light (or the generics), tea sweetened with splenda, or Low Cal protein shakes. That right there cut out at least 750 calories a day. I know some folks say "diet" drinks and no calorie sweeteners are bad for you, but if I tried to just drink water all day long, I'd give up. I have to have some sort of flavor...good tasting flavor. The diet drinks didn't taste good at first, but over the years I have gotten used to them, and now regular sweetened drinks are usually too sweet for me.