Give me your best tips on keeping calories low

jc86
jc86 Posts: 151
in Food and Nutrition
Thanks!

Replies

  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
    Lots of veggies, fruit and other low calorie foods.
    Keep your mind off food by doing something that requires a lot of attention.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    Drinking lots of water helps. Also filling up on things high in protein.

    Certain fruits that have a high density but low calorie value are good too - for example, I can eat a quarter of a watermelon which actually makes me really full for about 120 calories.
  • ReinasWrath
    ReinasWrath Posts: 1,173 Member
    Drink water when you feel hungry. Sometimes you aren't hungry at all, you're just thirsty.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    My changes have been:

    Eat more veg.
    Eat more salad.
    Eat more lean protein.
    Be careful about portion size for everything but especially carbs.
    Less and smaller snacks (check calories before you buy!).
    Read the nutritional information lables to make the right choices.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Eat real food with lots of natural fats. Don't snack.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Don't eat. :bigsmile:






    Eat more protein, eat less carbs, eat less sugar (carbs), eat more vegetation/moo, watch out for hidden calories in most drinks (stick to hippy teas or water). The fun stuff always has more calories in it.

    BUT do not be tempted to eat ultra low calories on a daily basis unless you're looking to plateau and bang your head against a wall.
  • TheArmadillo
    TheArmadillo Posts: 299 Member
    1) set a reasonable deficit in the first place, not stupidly low.

    2) lower the amount of carbs and sugar you eat - this doesn't have to mean low carb but you shouldn't be getting 90% of your calories from carbs. Even 40-50% is reasonable.

    3) increase lean proteins and fruit/veg, these should form the largest part of your diet. And to a certain extent 'good' fats - they shouldn't be the biggest part of your diet but maybe 20-30% of your calories.

    4) spread your food intake out in a way that suits you whether that be one meal a day, 3 meals with snacks or 6 mini meals. You stick to it much better if it suits the way you like to eat. This can change if things change.

    5) drink plenty

    6) have things you can do if you feel the need to eat when you are not hungry - I used to paint my nails a lot as it kept my hands busy. Or go out on a long bike ride as it also kills my appetite.
    7) better to go 50 cals over than be so hungry you have a huge binge and are 1000cal over.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    set a reasonable deficit in the first place, not stupidly low.

    Eat more protein, eat less carbs, eat less sugar (carbs), eat more vegetation/moo, watch out for hidden calories in most drinks (stick to hippy teas or water). The fun stuff always has more calories in it.

    BUT do not be tempted to eat ultra low calories on a daily basis unless you're looking to plateau and bang your head against a wall.

    this is pretty much it. I'd just add snacking on vegetables, I eat 1-2 large carrots a day as a snack, you get a lot out of a carrot for about 30cals. the carrot is far more filling than a 180cal cereal bar.

    also replacing your "treats" with the healthier version, for example I love hot chocolate, but using the powdered stuff it has a lot of sugar and not much cocoa and a bunch of filler crap. So I have cocoa with artificial sweetener + low fat milk and its much lower in calories, about 25-30 instead of maybe 100-150 for the same strength. stuff like that will save a lot of "empty" calories.

    :)
  • rfsatar
    rfsatar Posts: 599 Member
    I found that protein in the morning and veggie soup at lunch meant I kept those two meals low and could afford a balanced (ie incl. some carbs) meals in the evening...

    I have lowish cal snacks if I want, and have worked hard to take in more water... still need to work on that to be honest but it is getting better)

    Takes a while to find out what works for you - took me a good few weeks to settle in to a pattern that worked... and now I eat pretty well, but still broadly stay within my goals and weight is still coming off.

    I don't freak out if I go slightly over or slightly under, I eat some exercise cals back sometimes, and I plan for maintenance at the weekends and have a little more...
  • JasonDetwiler
    JasonDetwiler Posts: 364 Member
    minimize your activity so you don't need all those calories for fuel. This will allow your body to atrophy away your muscle mass as well as fat, so you weigh less.
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
    I was surprised at how low in calories eggs are. They're my super food!
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    minimize your activity so you don't need all those calories for fuel. This will allow your body to atrophy away your muscle mass as well as fat, so you weigh less.

    lol.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    I was surprised at how low in calories eggs are. They're my super food!

    high cholesterol tho!
  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
    I weigh my carbs as 40g raw = 1 portion and generally don't have more than 80g in one sitting. I make up for the "lack" of carbs with loads of veggies.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    I was surprised at how low in calories eggs are. They're my super food!

    high cholesterol tho!

    yeah, but a lot of it is the good cholesterol. like with everything, moderation.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,952 Member
    A couple of psychological things that help me.

    1. Learn what real physical hunger feels like, and eat when hungry, not when the clock says it is a mealtime or other habitual triggers. Try a 24 hour semi-fast (say 500-700 calories for a singe day only) to find out what actual hunger feels like.

    2. After doling out a portion and eating just half, ask if you really want the other half now or would you be satisfied with just the smaller portion. Tell yourself you can always have a snack later if you get peckish (and do it). Ie get out of the habit of trying to prevent hunger later.

    3. Try not to go to bed full.

    I also think having some protein with every meal helps me feel satiated. --Alice
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    have you ever heard of intermittent fasting?? basically, it is a fancy way of saying to skip breakfast a couple of times a week.

    well, it's more then that.

    see, i like having big meals, as opposed to eating tinier meals throughout the day. so sometimes, i just skip breakfast. have a big dinner the night before, then go to bed at a normal time. if you eat at 7, and then you skip breakfast and then don't eat until about 12, you just fasted for about 17 hours. you can have coffee in the morning, and drink water.

    basically you eat all your daily calories, but you have a smaller window to eat them in.

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