eating too many calories and going out to eat
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First off, what is your calorie goal? Maybe it's too low for you. Personally, I am set at 1500 calories, and I eat my exercise calories back a majority of the time. I usually wake up around noon and have breakfast. Then, I have a snack such as a piece of fruit or a protein shake around two or three. Then, I have dinner around five or six. Then, I have more fruit or some other light dessert around seven or eight. Then, I'll have another light meal around ten or eleven at night. I normally go to sleep between 12am and 3am. It's been working fine for me. I also definitely suggest eating oatmeal as your first meal. It's really filling!
As for eating out, treat yourself to that once a week and order anything you want ONLY if you ate healthily all week long and stayed within your calorie range each day that week.0 -
Willpower
For increased satiety, higher protein intake, smaller more frequent meals/larger less frequent meals, higher fiber intake, more water intake may be things that can help
^^ Ditto
You have to say NO over and over and eventually it becomes a habit0 -
I wouldn't recommend this daily, but here's a quick fix (and something I like to follow to make sure I keep my calories in check).
If you know you're going out to eat later in the day, eat breakfast...and skip lunch. There are so few ways to eat under 400 calories out, so if I know I'm going out to dinner, I hold those calories in reserve. I'm always hungry when I wake up, so I eat breakfast, but then as I get hungry throughout the day, I tell myself to tough it out if I want to reward myself with going out later.
If the hunger becomes too much for you, stave it off with an apple or a protein shake.
This will not only encourage you to eat out less, but help you when you do eat out to stay under your calorie goal (because you've reserved two meals' worth of calories for one) and keep you from feeling guilty about enjoying it.0 -
Meal plan! I menu plan for an entire month, and then grocery shop accordingly. When i realized it wasn't hard, I started meal planning lunches for my husband to take to work, and my son to take to school. Most cook book now have portion size and calories just under the recipe.
I had a hard time staying under my calories too until I started using MFP. Seeing how much everything was really put food into perspective for me. It allowed me to see that I wasn't eating many raw fruits and veggies. I can put away an entire box of Cheez-Its! After inputting them into my calorie counter, I stopped buying them for several weeks until I knew that I could portion manage.
Water, water, water! It's a natural appetite suppressant!0 -
When I started with MFP i did my best to plan my eating a day ahead of time. I'd look up calories of the things I was probably going to eat, then I knew ahead of time if I was planning for too many calories. Sometimes seeing how many calories food has before you eat it can help you make smarter choices, and if there's something you really want (like a bit of fried food) then have a healthier lunch to balance it out.0
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Like others have mentioned, small steps, small changes. Rather than trying to cut everything out completely, start by cutting back, and finding healthier alternatives. For example, setting a goal to have an apple or carrots with your sandwich at lunch instead of a bag of chips or side of fries.
A starting point might be to look at trends in your diet..where are the most of your calories coming from? What points/meals in the day do you seem to have trouble with having willpower? Figure out these, and start the changes there. Eventually, meeting small goals makes you feel good, and want to keep doing more, and over time you can change the way you eat.
I also found that watching Forks over Knives helped me really change my perception of food, and definitely encouraged me to get more veggies in.
I know it's not easy, and it's something I still struggle with, too. I haven't cut anything out, I still get take out, have alcohol on the weekends, and go over my calories here and there, but it's much more in moderation now, and I am so much more mindful about portion sizes, and keeping track of things on a weekly basis. At the end of the day, what keeps me motivated is how much better I feel, and seeing the weight come off. One of my favorite motivational quotes is "A year from now, you'll wish you had started today"
Good luck to you on reaching your goals!0 -
Here is what I do. I eat what I want as long as I am willing to work it off later that day.
So if I want to grab a five guys burger I have to be willing to work out additional hour that day.If I don't want to, then I can't have that burger. When I look at certain foods, I see it in calories and how long it would take to burn that off. Someone hands me a donut. Hmmm..I see 430 calories which for me is about 30 minutes on the treadmill. If I am OK with that, I get to eat that donut.
So you want to eat out and go over your calorie limit. Fine. Just understand how long you are going to have to work off to burn that off and ask yourself if you WILL work that off.
Very smart thinking...sound so simple. haha! thanks for input!!!0 -
I pre-plan my meals. Even when I go out to eat. I pack my breakfast and lunch and snacks and take to work and plan my dinner in advance.You are in control. Not the food. If you stick with it and see results, that will help motivate you to keep going. You have willpower you just need to access it. It will become a way of life and you will feel so much better that it won't be worth it to you binge. You can do it!0
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On eating out - look things up online before you go! Most places have nutritional info online now. I never go out to eat anywhere without first looking up their menu and nutritional information! I then pick something that allows me to stay within my calorie limit BEFORE I go to the restaurant and many times don't even look at the rest of the menu! It's really helped me, since my boyfriend and I end up eating out a lot. I'm so obsessed about doing it, he'll text me in the morning of the day of our "date night" and ask me what I'm getting to eat at dinner, because he know's I've already looked it up
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Figure out which recipes you are going to make for the week (I usually make two to three in bulk on Sunday: Breakfast (big batch of oatmeal, healthy pancakes, tofu scramble etc), a dinner (which can double as lunch at work), and sometimes a backup meal when I get home and am starrvinnggg).
Cut up and wash fruit/veggies after buying them and put them in to containers for easy snacking and cooking. Put treats like chocolate, muffins, homemade granola/energy bars in the freezer. (You don't normally open the freezer and browse for snacking food, do you?)
Pre-pack lunches, dinners and snacks.
Pre-log and stick to it.
Allow wiggle room, some days are harder than others.
Rinse and repeat!0 -
If you "have" to eat out make a rule to not order fried food or meals that are heavy in carbs. If I don't feel like cooking I have a list of restaurants that have menus that won't blow my diet. Usually I'll get seafood at Bonefish, or a fajita bowl with no cheese or taco shell from my favorite Mexican restaurant. Instead of getting a taco salad with a fried tortilla bowl loaded in cheese and sour cream I opt for chicken fajitas with veggies, black beans and guacamole or I'll order a skirt steak and refried beans.
If you don't have the willpower to order healthy when you go out to eat then DON'T GO OUT TO EAT!!! If you do go out to eat go with others that are watching their weight. You won't be tempted to eat from the bread basket or order dessert if your friends are eating moderately.
Restaurant menu are full of hidden calories and oversized portions. You can eat your entire day's worth of calories in one meal when you eat out. You are better off cooking at home when you can measure what goes in your recipes.
Those wedding pictures will last forever... if you want to be serious about looking your best you unfortunately have to make sacrifices. Before you go out for fried food ask yourself "do I really want to blow my diet?".0 -
WILLPOWER.
And like someone above said, make small changes to your food slowly. I did, and now I can't imagine eating white bread or white rice. I'm hooked on whole grain/whole wheat bread and brown rice. I've been adding new fruits and veggies to my diet and trying new things. I managed to wean myself off of energy drinks and take Excedrin if I get a withdrawal migraine. I bought zero calorie, sugar free water flavoring liquid like MiO and it's helped me drink more water. I joined a challenge group on here for this month and it got me to start working out again after a LONG hiatus. I've dropped almost 7 pounds since the start of the month, lost over 10" total from all over my body, and I'm addicted to exercise now! I log EVERY food I eat and if I want something special, I put in extra time working out to allow it into my calorie limit for the day. I haven't gone over my calories in a long time. I take daily vitamins and supplements and am working hard on incorporating more whole foods and clean eating into my diet. The last fast food I had was taco bell, and the sad part is, my favorite part of it was my side of pinto beans! We get take out once a month as a treat, and instead of going out for pizza, we make it homemade from wheat flour and homemade sauce. I've switched myself over to 1% lactose free milk which tastes like whole milk. I keep a pedometer on my jeans at all times, even if I'm not working out. My job is mostly sedentary so if I can get 2000 steps on that thing in a day before exercise, that means I managed to walk a mile inside my office. I wear a reliable heart rate monitor with a chest strap when I'm working out to get an accurate count of my burned calories, and I ALWAYS push to work out at least an hour a day. On the weekends, I split it into two 1/2 hour sessions. My 4 year old daughter thinks it's fun to do simple yoga with me and helps me when I do crunches by sitting on my feet. Sometimes I change it up and do pilates so I don't get bored with the same routine.
One of my supplements suppresses hunger, so I usually have a very low-cal breakfast, which is a 190-cal special k protein shake... followed by a high-cal lunch that I eat slowly over the course of the day from lunchtime til the end of my workday. I wind up not being hungry for dinner and use that time to do my workouts. Then I'll have a snack like some fruit or popcorn later with my husband while we have our nightly routine of watching anime, then go to bed around 10 or 10:30.
I started here at 340lbs. I'm down almost 20lbs now with nearly 7 of it being over the past 2 1/2 weeks because I've finally gotten into the groove of pushing myself. and if I unlock a harder level on a Wii Fit aerobics exercise, I do it the next day and keep with it until the next level is unlocked.
You have to find a routine that's right for you and stop making excuses. Nowadays, I make excuses for OTHER things so I have time to fit my exercise in! I caught an awful cold from my daughter on Sunday and missed three days of workouts. Yesterday, I made it to work, so I forced myself to do my exercise and managed to get a full hour in and burned over 800 cals.
You have to do it for yourself, because nobody can do it for you.0 -
I would suggest opening your diary so we can see what you are eating and then we can be more of a help. For me I have 1600 cal I try to keep my meals about 200-300 per and then I can have snacks, but always always log so you know where you are. Or if you want to eat something them log it before you eat it and then you can either eat half or exercise. I'll have a candy bar but if I'm going to go over before dinner then walk about 30min and you get those cals back.0
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I agree with everyone else, willpower, less eating out, ....but I want to add, as I've had my struggles also, I have to do this like I did when I quit smoking, I have to LIVE this program, every day, all the time, till it becomes the normal. No cheating for me or I will over do it. I've lost the same 20 pounds 3 times in the last year and I want (NEED) to lose the rest, not the same ones. So I will be LIVING this and eating clean now. I do budget the calories when I know I will be going out, but I make better chioces there and tell myself, that I can eat the other stuff, in moderation, once I have this down. I don't have it yet, but I WILL GET IT! You will too! Keep the faith!0
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In my opinion - and take it with a grain of salt, if you may - you need to be ready to lose weight.
I'll explain. If you take me as an example. I can say I've been fighting to lose weight for almost 10 years. I've followed some plans, done SparkPeople so many times I lost count, lost a little weight, gained it all back, until I got up to 220. Even at 220, I was unhappy, but not 100% ready, I would always miss the "bad" foods and fall off track and not get back on. BUT I'd still complain that "nothing works" because I wasn't losing.
I found this site just over 2 weeks ago. I know I'm done being fat. I'm done eating the crap that I used to LOVE. My husband used to bring junk home and I'd eat it because the willpower wasn't there.
Last week, he brought my favorite chocolate bar home, and I told him no, and he needed to stop taking it home, because it was a waste of money, no one would eat it.
Because I'm ready to give up what I enjoy eating, I know I'm serious. I have lost 11lbs in 2 weeks. I was eating really bad, so I'm guessing that's why the weight came off so quick.
SO, in the end, you need to be ready to let it all go and make the changes, or you'll just be starting and restarting every month.
I hope that you have your "ah-ha" moment and are able to let go of your past eating habits, you will feel great, and I'm SURE you won't even miss the greasy stuff!!0 -
I used to have the same problem when I tried to eat the small frequent meals that so many people suggest. I barely had enough left over calories to make a meal out of by supper time. Worse than that, I was ALWAYS hungry because my meals/snacks were so small. So I quit eating small frequent meals. Now I do IF (Intermittent Fasting). There are different ways to do it. I follow Lean Gains, which basically means that you fast for a portion of each day and then you eat for a portion of each day. I eat from 12pm-6pm. The rest of the time I fast. It allows me to eat 2 large meals, feel full after a meal, and not be constantly hungry. It also helps me stay within my calorie goal.0
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I'm a very numbers oriented person (says the accountant / math geek / computer programmer). Before I eat anything, I look it up in the database. When I see what it does to my daily totals, then I make a decision in whether I will eat it or not.
Try adding everything to your food diary for the whole day, first thing in the morning. Then spread out that food through out the day so you don't feel hungry. If it turns out it was not enough food for the day, tomorrow is a new day - make new choices.
I know it's hard - but you can do this.0 -
Limit your eating out to once a week. Think of your body as your car. Feed it to fuel it.....don't plan your happiness around it. Find other means of comfort and I know that's much harder for some people than others but it is so important to not let meals drive your happiness. Also, when you do go out to eat there are lots of options these days if you plan ahead. Most restaurants have online calorie and nutrition guides to their menus. Many offer low carb menus also. If not, you just order what you can eat and avoid large portions, sodium and high carbs. For example, if you go to a mexican restaurant you can order a chicken fajita dinner but tell them not to bring the rice or tortillas. You would be surprised how good this meal can still be if you leave off the portions that are notorious for packing on calories. And eat a salad before the main course. Motivate yourself!! You can do it
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I hope that you have your "ah-ha" moment and are able to let go of your past eating habits, you will feel great, and I'm SURE you won't even miss the greasy stuff!!
my "ah-ha" moment came when my husband wanted to get mcdonalds as a quick dinner after we visited my cousin in the hospital on August 31, the day after her son was born. He got a bunch of dollar menu items and my daughter got a happy meal. I completely passed on everything and walked out with my head held high. From then on, I've felt SO much better about myself.0 -
I concur with these previous comments. IT's the combination of eating the RIGHT types of foods (to satisfy your hunger for longer than 30 minutes) and to eat smaller portions more frequently. Water intake is a HUGE factor in the management of weight, your hunger, and generally your health. How much water are you consuming every day? As a rule, a minimum of 8 cups is the starting point. I try for 10-12. My sister is a nurse and her advice to me was: "Unless you're in the hospital, hooked up to an IV, you're dehydrated!"
Good luck to you! And BTW - I love fried food too. That's why I'm on this site - encouragement from and solidarity with others in the same quest - that's a very helpful tool. Please keep coming back and keep us posted.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!For increased satiety, higher protein intake, smaller more frequent meals/larger less frequent meals, higher fiber intake, more water intake may be things that can help
This ^
Well said and I think you might have been the first to congratulate her.0 -
Pretty much what was said in most of the posts above.
Offset what you are eating by burning the difference in calories.
If you are already at 2000 calories and that is your daily goal, and you are going to eat a meal that is 750 calories, you need to burn 750 calories in a workout that day to break even.
If you don't ease into the changes, they won't stick and become a healthy lifestyle. So, slowly change things. Maybe even sit down and make a plan of things you will add/remove from your diet. The FIRST thing you should probably cut out is sugary drinks and things with empty calories like sodas, beer, sugary cocktails, french fries, etc.
If you have to eat fast food at lunch, skip the sodas and fries, stick with a grilled chicken sandwich if you can. I know it's often cheaper to get the meal deal, and if you do, toss the fries or give them away....drink unsweetened tea. If you snack, get healthy snacks like nuts, fruit, etc.0 -
This. I love going out to eat too, A LOT. I finally got to the point, after not getting anywhere for almost 3 months, where I had to make myself cook and eat at home and not give in to those so easy snacks. I think there comes a point where you're just tired of kidding yourself and you do something about it. Like said above, protein packed foods are great and smaller but more frequent meals.Willpower
For increased satiety, higher protein intake, smaller more frequent meals/larger less frequent meals, higher fiber intake, more water intake may be things that can help0 -
In my opinion - and take it with a grain of salt, if you may - you need to be ready to lose weight.
I'll explain. If you take me as an example. I can say I've been fighting to lose weight for almost 10 years. I've followed some plans, done SparkPeople so many times I lost count, lost a little weight, gained it all back, until I got up to 220. Even at 220, I was unhappy, but not 100% ready, I would always miss the "bad" foods and fall off track and not get back on. BUT I'd still complain that "nothing works" because I wasn't losing.
I found this site just over 2 weeks ago. I know I'm done being fat. I'm done eating the crap that I used to LOVE. My husband used to bring junk home and I'd eat it because the willpower wasn't there.
Last week, he brought my favorite chocolate bar home, and I told him no, and he needed to stop taking it home, because it was a waste of money, no one would eat it.
Because I'm ready to give up what I enjoy eating, I know I'm serious. I have lost 11lbs in 2 weeks. I was eating really bad, so I'm guessing that's why the weight came off so quick.
SO, in the end, you need to be ready to let it all go and make the changes, or you'll just be starting and restarting every month.
I hope that you have your "ah-ha" moment and are able to let go of your past eating habits, you will feel great, and I'm SURE you won't even miss the greasy stuff!!
i totally agree....i too have struggled with losing weight for the last 11 years....i too have done sparkpeople and i lost a little weight but then nothing........then gained it all back plus more.. it wasn't until i stepped on the scale on September 11th and it YELLED at me 201.6.......i am 5'4" tall....heaviest i have been in my entire life.......that was my "that's it, im done making excuses" moment...joined this site and have been logging in every day and tracking every single thing and not allowing myself to get back in my old habits. you have to truly want it for it to work i believe.........like with quitting smoking.....if the person truly doesnt want to quit, then there is nothing that will help them quit. i see weight loss like that. this time i will not let anything fail me. i refuse to.0 -
1. WATER! Drink water all the time. Your body recognizes thirst and hunger as the same thing. Before you eat drink a full glass of water and wait 15 minutes. If you're still hungry then eat.
2. STAY AWAY FROM FRENCH FRIES! They're the devil, seriously. French Fries have way more calories than they should. Find something else on the menu. Which leads to...
3. Plan out what you're going to get before you go. If you know how many calories are in something before you go somewhere you'll be more likely to stick to your plan and keep your calorie count low.
4. Burn it off. Yep, you can eat more than you're supposed to. Just be ready to burn off the calories with exercise. My current exercise of choice is an hour of biking at 12-14 MPG. According to the calculator it's around 900 calories burnt.0 -
Eating out a lot will definitely hinder weight loss efforts. It can also get expensive. Most people can be deterred from eating out often by these two factors alone. But if that is not incentive enough, then I can only suggest better planning, i.e., if you plan out what you will have for dinner, whether that means buying groceries for the meal in advance or cooking a batch on the weekend for the week, you will be less inclined to go out.
The only way to cut calories is to eat less or exercise. Can you use the time that you now spend snacking (before dinner) to exercise instead?
Congrats on your upcoming nuptials.0 -
When going to a restaurant, ask for a box right away and immediately put away half the food. They give you way too much at most places. Also, drink an entire glass of water before the food arrives (it is easy to confuse thirst with hunger for many people). Set a "dine-out" limit. For example, I only dine out for lunch once a week and brown-bag the rest.0
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Do less.0
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I used to do that too. Then I quit doing it. Works like a charm! It only takes a week or so to get used to a new way of eating. Bite the bullet and "just do it"!0
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Dont drink your calories! You can save so many simply by drinking water.0
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I don't pre-plan every day ... but I have a "range" for each meal that I stick with to save enough calories for dinner and snacks. Example: My calorie goal is about 1300 a day. So I try to stick to 300 for breakfast, around 200 for lunch, about 500 for dinner and about 300 for snacks. If I am eating out, I will not do any snacking and just exercise more to make up the difference. It helps me to have those "ranges" in mind for each meal and discover meals that stay within 100 calories of those mini goals.0
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