Help I have trouble eating under 2000 cals a day!

I had 890 calories at lunch today. Tomorrow I'll be putting on my linebacker uniform.

OP do you realise you don't have to even eat below your TDEE to lose weight? If you eat at maintenance you will get to it eventually. It will take much longer to get to goal but less suffering along the way.

So lets try to work out what you can eat. If I calculate you with moderate exercise I get around 3000 so try eating that for a month or two and see what happens. Can't hurt right? Otherwise do it the harder way and make a deficit of whatever you are comfortable with say 15%?

I'm confused by this. Do you mean if she eats at her maintenance calories for her goal weight? If she eats at maintenance for her current weight with current activity, she'll stay at that weight.

If she eats back her exercise, yes

It's can be very confusing and frustrating when trying to stay under a certain amount of calories per day. It makes sense that eating less and exercising more would equal more weight loss. However, our bodies are programmed to protect itself from famine. (Thousands of years of evolution with do that!)
Our bodies need a basic amount of calories per day in order to function; some more, some less. According to your post, you have a extremely active lifestyle between work, exercise and living. If you don't take in the amount of calories to meet your basic needs, your body will actually shut itself down trying to store fat thinking it's in a time of famine. (This is where the evolution thing kicks in)

The first thing I am suggesting is to be a little easier on yourself. The weight didn't get there overnight and it isn't going to go away overnight.

Second, try playing with your calorie intake. Instead of aiming for a two pound a week weight loss, try half a pound a week instead. Giving yourself this little break might set things in motion.

Third, here is a website with a list of food exchanges used by people who are diabetic. It's very informative as to the portion sizes. Monitoring portion sizes can help tremendously. it can also show you how different vegetables can be counted as carbs rather than vegetables. (potatoes, for instance) http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/fd_exch.htm
Make a chart

Fourth, instead of wearing the hm tracker (should only be worn for short periods) , invest in a good calorie counter. I would suggest a Fitbit. (No, I don't work for the company or own stock in it) It syncs with your MFP account and monitors your steps, calories burned, etc. It can be fun to go over your charts and try to beat your activities from day to day.

Fifth, since you work long hours, make yourself a goodie bag. Fill it with good snacks like raisins, almonds (very good for you), and non-perishable items healthy snacks (yes, I used the "H" word!) I find a cup of strawberries with a packet of Equal sprinkled on it to be just the thing for my sweet tooth. (and quick to get ready before work).

Finally, (yes, I'm almost finished) Healthy eating can be contagious. My husband has a great many employees who had very unhealthy eating habits. He started bringing in extra veggies and fruit and offering them some at lunchtime. Over time, the guys started bringing in things too. Now It's not uncommon for the guys to share lunches they have brought in and send out for a salad to share with it.

Sometimes it just takes one person to change things and make them into the new 'normal'!

Take care and good luck!

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...

This more exercise you include, the more calories ‘foods’ you can consume. i.e. TDE = 2kcals - cardio burn 500. TDE = 2.5kcals. Eat foods in moderation. You may benefit from higher fat or higher carbs. Whatever satisfies you and your hunger issues. Moderation is key. Increase fibre to 30-40 grams per day. You’ll notice a difference. Lose weight = remain under 200 cals+


Hope this helps..

If this is just trolling some mod should just lock it stop the people wasting time because they genuinely want to help someone. There are more than enough real people desperate for some help to get started, so why continue feeding oxygen to this fire...

If this is just trolling some mod should just lock it stop the people wasting time because they genuinely want to help someone. There are more than enough real people desperate for some help to get started, so why continue feeding oxygen to this fire...

Yep!

You are eating way too many carbs. Cut out the bread potato and fries. I eat like a normal person everyday. Chicken veggies fruit. Why are you not planning for your day at work with snacks and lunch packed. 400 cals per meal plus 3 100 Cal snacks is 1500.

Well glad that eating like that works for your body. I've taken in a lot of info over the past 9 days. I upped my calories by eating lunch and eating back my exercise calories, while upping my cardio from 2-3 days per week to 4-5 days per week. I gained 2 lbs, but not only that I gained 1/2 inch around my waist and 1/2 inch around my hips while losing 1/2 inch off upper and 1/2 inch off mid thigh and of course 1/2 had to come off my bust, which is exactly where I don't want to lose. Sorry but I have great natural girls. Better at 50 than in my 20s, so I've been told.

I'm not really sure why this happened but I had been consistently losing 1-2 lbs per week as well as inches for the past 7 weeks. I followed the advice of a lot of people on here who are saying you can't burn fat on eating a 1200 calorie diet consistently and I busted my butt with all the exercise I did last week to weigh in and measure at this? No thanks. I am going back to what was working for me. 1200 calories or less, super low fat, exercise 2-3 days per week max, don't eat back the exercise calories. My doctor who was once obese at 260 lbs and now is normal weight and has been for the last 20 years tells me 1200 calories works very well for women who need to lose 40-50 lbs and should be sustained until I am at goal. She also said it's a safe, slow, and steady loss that has been proven to be very effective in meeting goal. Once at goal increase calories to maintain for life. Since she's my doctor AND has been obese and now isn't after 2 decades, I think I'll stick with what was working for me. But something is off. I also did NOT feel good the entire past week, stuffing my face to try and eat back the calories I was burning up and killing myself with cardio. I was so full I wanted to puke after eating not to mention my legs are sore as hell today. Like I said though...glad it works for some.

Anyway I watch all the people at work eat garbage everyday this typical day for one of my coworkers is taco bell or fries and a dbl cheeseburger... another one she had a bag of marshmellos eating them like candy and a big bag of bbq potato chips and sour cream to dip them in and a bag of twizzlers.... i jut watch these people and im like wtf am I in bizarro world they all eat normal meaning just whatever nothing extra special or even healthy and are skinny to average body type.... i know i have to lose the weight in order to be able to eat "normal" but it would be nice to be able to eat what is considered a "normal or whats considered average amount of daily cals which is 2000 and lose" probably wont happen.. if anyone has done it let me know!

The problem is you don't follow these people 24/7. How do you know they don't have a healthy breakfast or dinner, or that they don't go to the gym and burn all that junk they ate.

I don't think how you're eating is "normal". You seem to be eating very calorie dense foods for each meal in the day. I would definitely recommend making healthier lower calorie choices, and MAYBE (if you can fit it in your 2000 calories at the end of the day) ONE calorie dense meal (tacos, burger, etc). I use to have trouble staying under 1200 all the time, however over time I've found foods/recipes I like that are lower in calories, and I've trained myself to eat smaller portions. If I have something like a taco, I'll limit myself to just one then have a side of veggies or salad to fill myself up, because no way I'll get by on one taco.

It takes times but you just have to try and find alternatives. Over time you'll find more and more stuff and find it easier and easier to stay under your goals.

You should consider bring healthy snacks to work so you're not tempted by the vending machine. My bottom draw at work is full of food (my coworker teases me and says it's like I have a super market in there) but it's healthy stuff like oats, nuts, and even those snack bars (be careful which ones you get, some are quite high in calories). No one expects you to eat carrot and grass, I myself don't like carrots (unless they're cooked), which is a shame since they're very low in calories.

Cut out some meat and swap for veggies. Less cals more flavour and good for bowels.

You are NOT eating the diet of a normal person. At all.

Cut out some meat and swap for veggies. Less cals more flavour and good for bowels.

That may be your preference, but I think ANY meat tastes a helluva lot better than ANY veggies. Meat is an excellent way (the best way, imho) of getting adequate protein.

I think this "meat" mentality is what gets so many of us fat in the first place. We don't need meat at every meal or even every day.

When a good chunk of the country is overweight or obese, "normal" probably isn't going to get you what you want. You can have parts of normal but the whole enchilada probably shouldn't be eaten. Big portions of low-calorie things will work. Small portions of tasty rubbish will work. But not big portions of tasty rubbish.

You can have a burger and fries for less than 600... as fries and a small hamburger, not a quarter pound cheeseburger. You can have tacos and a potato, but maybe have one taco without cheese and sour cream and half a potato unless you've been exercising. In that case, have the whole potato. Hell, you could have a cupcake and a handful of fruit for breakfast if this is what you actually wanted - but you get ONE cupcake and it's going to be grandma-proportioned without icing.

Or you could ratchet up the veggies and be full.