Help I have trouble eating under 2000 cals a day!

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  • Hi

    Instead of tacos and a potato.... try eating breakfasty food like oatmeal.... or peameal (Canadian)bacon and scrambled eggs and two slices of whole grain toast. Change it up a bit... try making a quiche the night before and zap it in the microwave.
    Skip the fries. Try chicken on a bun instead of hamburger. Eat simple... steak, bake some salmon topped with your fav spice. Eat veggies.... dont forget to treat yourself to dessert, but think it through dont chow down on half a chocolate cake! ;p

    I was going through something similar last week and read about how to get rid of always being hungry and it said to eat more protein. So far so good.

    I also notice that if I stay away from sugar... I dont crave it. But I have to be good for a few days before those cravings leave.
    Most of all move! I saw a program on TV and they compared excersers to folks who move. For example folks who walk a bit to work and are just busy doing stuff burn as many calories as those who go crazy and do cardio 3X a week.

    Having said all that, I suggest you read Covert Bailys book Fit or Fat. Lots of good stuff in there, and its a funny read too.
    But I still do cardio... lots of it, only because it keeps the old hot flashes at bay!! lol

    Good luck and keep up the good work
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    Here! Pulling up a seat with my pizza...be back when I have read more.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Time out everyone. Lots of great suggestions, but if OP isn't accurately logging her calories, then these changes are just shots in the dark. And without tracking, it's easy to unintentionally compensate for these little changes to the point that they're no longer effective.
  • So, according to your logic, everyone who eats healthy food and enjoys it is abnormal. Lovely. :laugh:
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    Beer is killing my calorie counts...

    i like you
  • tageekly
    tageekly Posts: 3,755 Member
    Time out everyone. Lots of great suggestions, but if OP isn't accurately logging her calories, then these changes are just shots in the dark. And without tracking, it's easy to unintentionally compensate for these little changes to the point that they're no longer effective.

    Don't want this to get lost in the responses. Totally agree!

    Logging accurately and honestly is a great place to start so you know what you're really eating and what your caloric intake is.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    When you cut out processed foods, your food cravings and hunger pangs go away. Eat clean to cleanse of processed foods and sugars. It usually takes around three days to detox from this. A way to tell if you're truly hungry is to ask yourself if lettuce sounds good. If it does, then you are hungry. If it doesn't then it is a craving.

    Again, it takes time to get used to. Begin by cutting a little a day and really focusing on change. Slowly, you just change. After my fruit and veggie cleanse. I am lucky to get 1,000 calories. Last year I ALWAYS ate over 2,000 calories. My stomach growled if I didn't. Now I eat under goal, but I listen to my body. If it isn't hungry, I am not feeding it more, no matter what MFP says I should do.


    lolno.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    2 soft tacos and a baked potato... for breakfast?
    i might manage 2 soft tacos OR a baked potato for dinner.
    this isn't an especially constructive post, i know.
    but maybe you need to adjust your definition of 'normal'?

    ALL POST ARE WELCOME!

    Lmao @ two tacos OR a baked potato i couldnt possibly manage both and either would be far too large for breakfast maybe for dinner...

    lmaooooooooo sorry it made me LOL especially when most people have eggs, "toast, pancakes or waffles" a slice or two of bacon or sausage maybe both and lets not forget the condiments butter and syrup etc... breakfast is a big and fatty meal for a lot of people.... thats not an abnormal meal if you google breakfast you will likely get the above... so one baked potato for dinner is a large meal for you?

    I have coffee for beakfast.

    I like to save my calories for a bit later in the day because I like eating more at once, and later....I am doing just fine.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I've come to the conclusion that OP is trolling all of you.

    :wink:

    No I just think she is overwhelmed with all the responses and taking some time to digest it all.....hopefully.

    How many quick add calories would that be?
  • Stacemace83
    Stacemace83 Posts: 7 Member
    she IS logging. go back a few weeks in her diary. she has potato chips or fries with almost every meal, including breakfast
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    she IS logging. go back a few weeks in her diary. she has potato chips or fries with almost every meal, including breakfast

    No - she logged a few random days.
  • heidihorton
    heidihorton Posts: 110 Member
    There are ways to eat normal and lose calories... I started with revamping all my favorite recipes. New meatloaf, no oil or butter ( bought new pans to not need to use oils to cook) adding more veggies to my recipes to increase amount I eat but keeping calories down. Finding recipes I love and making them with different spices and herbs that change them to something else. I always eat and love to do it. It was easier than I thought tho cut the calories. Your burger and fries.... Use 96/4 beef..160 cals, Kraft 2 percent cheese slice 45 cals...light mayo 35 cal. Light bread, love aunt Millie's potatoe bread .. 2 pieces 70 cals ad the veggies, onion ,lettuce, tomatato... 15 cals. Now your burger is 305 cals and bake fries.. One serving 120 cals. No longer 600 cals now 425. Find the things you love in lower cal options, to deprive yourself altogether will lead you to failure. Need any help, friend me I've been doing mfp for a year and have gone from 263 lbs to 179, still going
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Start logging accurately. Calculate your TDEE including exercise and work, subtract 20% and eat that much. Without an accurate log you won't be able to tell whether you're hitting your calorie goal. Use a food scale, not measuring cups/spoons. Only use volume measurements for free-pouring liquids.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    Have you tried sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes? I mean you really shouldn't be eating potatoes at all if you are trying to lose weight but sweet potatoes are better... They have more fiber in them and make you feel fuller longer.. You can put turkey on them some salsa and some unsweetened greek yoghurt for a large breakfast stuffed potato instead of two small tacos and a baked potato. I think it comes in right around 320 calories.

    bite yer tongue...you can lose weight JUSTTTTTT fine eating potatoes
  • Barbellerella
    Barbellerella Posts: 1,838 Member
    2 soft tacos and a baked potato... for breakfast?
    i might manage 2 soft tacos OR a baked potato for dinner.
    this isn't an especially constructive post, i know.
    but maybe you need to adjust your definition of 'normal'?

    ALL POST ARE WELCOME!

    Lmao @ two tacos OR a baked potato i couldnt possibly manage both and either would be far too large for breakfast maybe for dinner...

    lmaooooooooo sorry it made me LOL especially when most people have eggs, "toast, pancakes or waffles" a slice or two of bacon or sausage maybe both and lets not forget the condiments butter and syrup etc... breakfast is a big and fatty meal for a lot of people.... thats not an abnormal meal if you google breakfast you will likely get the above... so one baked potato for dinner is a large meal for you?

    I have coffee for beakfast.

    I like to save my calories for a bit later in the day because I like eating more at once, and later....I am doing just fine.
    Whattda ya know, ME TOO!!!
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
    Soooo much misinformation :( Really hope she find's "The Group" and gets edumacated.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    she IS logging. go back a few weeks in her diary. she has potato chips or fries with almost every meal, including breakfast

    Logging some things but then using QAC on a few random days =/= consistent logging. A food log doesn't have to be 100% accurate (because that would be impossible), but it at least needs to be complete and consistent. Hers is neither. Without that, she simply has no baseline from which to make the first few minor changes she'll need to start working towards her goal.

    (Barring medical issues to the contrary), this weight loss stuff really isn't *that* difficult...but only if you have the basic data with which to make certain decisions. Without it, it can be ridiculously difficult.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    So. Where is everyone from?
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    Big brown meat love hammer
  • hamer007
    hamer007 Posts: 21 Member
    Don't know if anyone else said this but try egg whites instead of eggs. Way less calories! And they are delicious! I have three a day and it's only 50 calories.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    The OP lost me at salads.... sorry but in the 13months I been losing weight, an the 7 months it took me to lose it (so that makes 6 months maintain so far) I've never had one freaking salad.

    I work my *kitten* of daily, have done every day since Feb 8 2012. I doubt you burn 8000 cals at work, I can manage to burn 2000 & it will take me a gym session of running 10km & then weights as well as walking another 10km to grab some shopping. So unless you are a postal worker who RUNS their route.... I doubt you burn that much.

    Either change your foods or still be fat. Change your attitude to food or remain fat. Simple.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    It sounds like your definition of "normal" needs to change. 900 calories for one meal would be normal for, maybe, a linebacker. Or an unhealthy person. I think I eat like a "normal" person. I don't restrict anything, if I want it, I have it. And I am usually right where I need to be for calories. If I am going to eat more I exercise and "earn" some more calories. Check out my diary, it is open.
    Wrong.

    My breakfast yesterday was 1150 calories and a very tasty 1150 calories at that.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Don't know if anyone else said this but try egg whites instead of eggs. Way less calories! And they are delicious! I have three a day and it's only 50 calories.


    What do you do with the delicious and nutritious yolks???]

    Please don't tell me that you throw them away.

    *cringe*

    I mean, couldn't you just eat ONE whole egg, which is only 60-70 calories?
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    You gotta change how you cook food girl! I can make 4 chicken fajitas filled with peppers with sour cream and cheese for under 450 calories! And they are FILLING! Stop using butter, use leaner meats, use less cheese or buy the reduced fat version- get it cut real thin at the deli. For breakfast eat up on some greek yogurt, oatmeal and fruit. **** is delicious but only like 300 calories.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    um. why do you need to eat fewer than 2000 cals a day? That is the normal daily requirement for women.

    I average 2000 cal/day.
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    Ladies,
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    It sounds like your definition of "normal" needs to change. 900 calories for one meal would be normal for, maybe, a linebacker. Or an unhealthy person. I think I eat like a "normal" person. I don't restrict anything, if I want it, I have it. And I am usually right where I need to be for calories. If I am going to eat more I exercise and "earn" some more calories. Check out my diary, it is open.

    Rubbish. Normal people eat out and consume meals of over 900 calories, it does not make them somehow abnormal and they are not all linebackers. If someone here exercises an hour a day, intensely, and gets to eat 2000 to lose, then a 900 calorie dinner would not be unrealistic. There are plenty on here who are very healthy and eat meals of over 1000 calories. They are called intermittent fasters, just because it is not normal to you, on your diet, does not mean it is not normal to others.
  • I feel your pain. I work full time, go to school full time and have a family. I find myself grabbing whatever I can for lunch and that can mean 700 or up in calories. This week I made several salmon filets and broccoli. I placed a filet or two in w/ some broccoli in several containers, so I could grab one each day for work.
  • rdjamis
    rdjamis Posts: 26 Member
    Okay, so basically I need SOME ADVICE from people who have had trouble eating under 2000 cals a day...

    I know all the simplistic answers make healthy choices, pack your lunch, stay away from junk etc... but i work long hours on my feet all day and at work i grab the nearest thing around, ive been good these last couple of days about not eating a crazy amount of cals but still i ate way over 1500 and felt like was darn starving myself.. how do you do it? Seriously my stomach grumbles and im having hunger pains.. i dont see how people sustain themselves off salad and a few chunks of chicken breast or fruit and water.. i feel like i ate nothing.. plus who wants to eat two hard boiled eggs for a meal wtf.. you know how it(2 boiled eggs) is on the menu in every restaurant:huh: :indifferent: ... i want to eat like normal.

    like for breakfast i had 2 homemade soft tacos and a baked potato and it came out to @ 900 cals for two small tacos and a baked potato...

    for lunch a homemade hamburger and fries almost 600 cals.. and it not like im using fatty meat... 90% lean ground beef is 200 for a quarter pound, bread is 100 cals, cheese 100, condiments about 50, potato and ketchup @ 150 cals...

    you get my point... is anyone eating like a normal person and losing? I mean at work im gonna grab something convenient if i missed breakfast and am starving and the only thing in my vending machines are junk! chips and cupcakes etc... im not going to be hungry... this seems way more difficult than it should be.. Eat Less Cals, Exercise = Lose Weight.. but Doesnt seem like it works like that for me.. seems like im going to have to be in pain and starve and eat carrots and grass...
  • Tishy78
    Tishy78 Posts: 108 Member
    I started by working in some substitutions. Light bread or sandwich thins instead of the full calorie stuff. Grilled or baked stuff vs fried. Mustard instead of mayo. You can make some small changes that eliminate some big calories and still allow you to eat "normal" stuff.