Discouraged - Any suggestions for healthy eating habits?

upnorthmj77
upnorthmj77 Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Its only been since Monday that I really started tracking all of my calories on MFP, hoping to combat one issue at a time. I planned to add in excersize once I have a good eating routine down pat for a week or two. However, it seems as though when something is limited(calories or food), in the back of my mind, I tend to want to eat everything I cant have or I want to eat/snack after Ive consumed all my allowed calories for the day. In addition to this, I'm eating more frequently now (all my meals/calories are spread out throughout the day). From what I have read this is supposed to help by keeping you feeling full all day long...i guess? I started out really great on Monday and Tuesday. My daily calories included VERY healthy meals and snacks even (Im fortunate to not be a picky eater). But I have now noticed that this actually makes me hungry all the time, even when I wasnt before. Previously, I typically didnt even eat breakfast...but I wasnt hungry either. Im not sure that spreading out all my meals/calories is helping or going to be more of a hinderance. To top it off, my worst time of day is between 8-10pm. Its when my brain tells me to eat more (even though Im probably not hungry)... So now my train of thought is leaning towards saving up as many calories during the day for dinner/after dinner since that is my weakest time, although "they say" eating in the evening is the worst time to eat... Maybe there's more to my eating habits than meets the eye... Maybe I need counselling? Does anyone have any insight or suggestions?

Replies

  • leannehoggdodd
    leannehoggdodd Posts: 59
    If you don't want to eat breakfast then don't! i very rarely eat breakfast either - i log a banana as my breakfast which i usually eat around 11am! i think you just have to do what works for you and if that means not eating breakfast because you want to save some calories for an evening (healthy) snack then do it!

    everybody is different and yes you should eat breakfast but i feel like why should i force feed myself! i prefer to save those 300 calories for a few extra potato's with my dinner because that's when i get hungry!!!

    Hope that helps chicken! x
  • leannehoggdodd
    leannehoggdodd Posts: 59
    Also if your not going over your calories in the day who cares what time you eat? Not everybody has 9 – 5 jobs and I think we can safely say that all shift workers are not fat!!!
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
    I agree, if you don't want to eat, then don't. Spreading your meals out isn't going to help you lose weight if it just makes you hungrier. Some people it works for because they get hungry every couple of hours, so spreading their meals out is perfect for them.

    It doesn't matter what time of day you eat. If you are hungrier in the evening, save up your calories for the evening. When I was in college I would eat maybe 300-400 calories throughout the day then eat 900-1000 for dinner. I just wasn't hungry during the day but I knew that I would start being hungry after my workouts in the evening, and that's when I ate most of my food. That whole "it's not good to eat in the evening" thing is bologna. As long as you stick to your calories and macros, it doesn't matter when you eat.
  • twentyco
    twentyco Posts: 70 Member
    What has worked for me is slow changes --- you may be trying to do too much at once. Start out by logging everything. Eat what you want, but try to notice (and if you can, control) your portion sizes. Then when you're used to that, add water. Then work up to staying within your calorie goal on most days. Over time, I have found myself making healthier eating choices, one at a time, though I still eat unhealthy foods (chips, candy) -- but less of them than I used to. I am generally able to stay within my daily calories, though. Since the changes are one at a time and gradual, I find them easier to incorporate and maintain. I used to drink no water --- I started adding it in a few months ago, and now I regularly drink at least a gallon a day, and it doesn't bother me. Bothers me when I don't, actually.

    As you'll see many people say, this is a marathon, not a sprint. For me, at least, gradual changes are sustainable, but abrupt ones are not. Take it one day at a time, one meal or snack at a time, one change at a time, and you will get there.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    If you aren't hungry for breakfast, don't eat it. I eat a handful of almonds and consider than enough until my mid morning snack. Forcing yourself to have a decent sized breakfast that you're not hungry for is almost a waste of delicious calories you could eat when you actually want them.

    Eat when you're hungry. Make sure you don't eat too little. Don't cut out the things you love, and stay within your calories. Those are pretty basic rules that help a lot of people succeed.
  • scottdeeby
    scottdeeby Posts: 95 Member
    Yeah do what works for you.

    Two weeks ago I started Olympic weightlifting as a new sport -- my coach told me that if I'm dieting I should stop eating grains (pasta, bread, etc). So I've been doing that, and since then while maintaining the same calorie intake I am not as hungry, have more energy, and have no brain fog.

    Works for me.
  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
    I think the keys are:

    #1- Weight loss is a lifestyle not 3 good months. There will be ups and downs when losing weight and in the beginning you will have to learn a lot about how you need do things. Everyone is different, nobody follows the plan perfect 100% of the time. It may take a month to figure out what works for you, you might have to adjust calorie intake, figure out if eating breakfast works for you or eating several small meals works for you. No two people work the same way so you will have to be patient and tinker with things. It took me a good year and a half before I really "got it" where I could get over the hurdles and binging. So the first 15 months I lost weight very slowly, but I stuck with it and over the last 5 months I've lost 30 pounds because I found what works for me.

    #2- Don't beat yourself up too much when you have a bad day. A bad day isn't the end of the world, you are not a loser for having a bad day, it may or may not have that much affect on your weight loss. Take every bad day and learn from it. Why did you go to McDonald's that day? Because you didn't pack a lunch? Because you didn't plan your meals ahead? Just learn from it, but if it is a pattern then you really have to look at the problem in depth. One day isn't the end f the world, that's the first thing to remember.

    IME, most days I'm not at my best from a nutrtion point of view it's because I didn't plan my meals for the day, so that's a good place to start.
  • upnorthmj77
    upnorthmj77 Posts: 38 Member
    Thanks for all your tips and feedback. Really very helpful and encouraging - I appreciate it!
  • annlsinger
    annlsinger Posts: 27 Member
    I don't have any real suggestions, although I would try a bunch of different things and see what works and what makes this process the most liveable and long lasting for you. I eat alot of protien. Hardboiled eggs (which I love), greek yogurt, cheese sticks, nuts (that I can control how many I'm eating), peanut butter, beef jerky for snacks and mini-meals. i find eating alot of protien helps. Having a couple of clementines or an apple for a snack doesn't do the trick for me. I try and drink alot of water. Some foods just don't work for me. i can't eat enough pasta or pizza for the calories that I have to fll me up and make it worth it to eat them. On the other hand, a bagel fills me up (mentally and physically). I experiment alot with different foods, different eating patterns, etc. And I would suggest trying that.

    A.

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