my daily calories = really hard to stay within!

Maybe set it for a smaller deficit. If using MFPs recommendations...if set for a 1 pound loss per week maybe change it to a half pound loss. I think tho partly you need to decide this is worth it and come up with ways for dealing when you want more then your calories....ie have a cup of tea or glass of water...go clean your teeth...go do some exercise...or preoccupy yourself with something else

Try make better food. There was once I made a huge pot of fried rice, it was only 600 ish calories. My husband was beyond full after eating it. Actually, he had to split it into two meals.

I don't know if you drink any calories, but if you do and you cut them out of your diet and replace them with sparkling water, regular water, hot tea, even diet soda it would help!

Good luck and keep it up!

It sounds like you've basically cut your calorie consumption in half, which is a huge adjustment.
When I feel like I want more food, I add lots of high-volume, low-calorie foods to a meal (usually veggies). Instead of having a plate of pasta, I cook a single serving of pasta and add in lots of sauteed veggies and chickpeas. When I make a taco salad, I have a serving and a half of tortilla chips, and then I cover them with a ton of lettuce. I still eat all the foods that I want, but I bump of the volume with healthy choices.

But since this is such a drastic change for you, you may want to consider changing your weight loss goals temporarily or gradually reducing your calories to work toward eating less. If you're used to consuming 3000-4000 calories a day, eating 2000 calories is still a significant deficit. You might find it easier to stick to if you choose a higher calorie goal to start with and reduce that number by 50 or 100 calories every week until you get to the number you feel you should be eating for healthy and sustainable weight loss.

I know what you mean. I am also staying close but normally over. I have really cut back my portions, but not really improved my choices. That is the next step. Try taking just a couple of your choices each day and making smarter ones. More filling less calories. Just a couple of choices will make a large difference for us both. I have yo-yo'd for years and with MFP I have lost 8. Doesn't seem like much compared to many on this site, but it's huge for me. I am just working for a loss each month, so small changes will add up. Just getting your day recorded is huge, keep it up.

Lots of small meals will help, too. When I joined MFP I was just watching my cholesterol/trying to lose weight, and I had a hard time sticking to the 1500 calories the dietician outlined for me. I've since been diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia and have been forced to cut sugar and starch from my diet and to eat every two hours or so. After the first week while I was still trying to figure out what I could eat, I haven't really been hungry at all. I can't entirely advocate a low-carb diet for everyone, but I lost seven pounds in two weeks and am slowly losing more even thought my fat intake has increased quite a bit.

Good luck!

That is a big change in calories - I'm sure you are feeling the adjustment!

You could try to push your veggie / fruit servings first and try to eat at least one high fiber food BEFORE you give yourself the treat. That way you are feeding nutrition needs before your cravings? Also, a lot of those treat foods don't really stick with you and then lead to other cravings because they don't really feed your need.

And push the water.

Otherwise you could bump your calories to higher - if you were consuming 3-4K even 2000 would be a reduction.

Good luck!

*protein protein protein* high protein snacks can leave you feeling full the longest.... I am a massive believer in high protein meals for breakfast as well because honestly then i do not get hungry again for hours...
Say it with me *PROTEIN* PROTEIN* PROTEIN*

I am in the same boat. I recently got back from my honeymoon where I was probably eating 5000 calories a day and the only exercise I did was raising my hand asking for another drink. Now that I'm back in the swing of things (and 10 pounds heavier), I'm constantly hungry trying to go back down to the 1,650 calories MFP gives me.

Does anyone have any specific foods that are quick and easy that will keep me full? I've been trying to up my protein by eating tuna and protein shakes but they're getting old fast.

Almonds rule! They are my magick anti-hunger pills. Six almonds eaten slowly, deliberately, and mindfully -- and the worst of the cravings usually pass.

I too have gone from 3000-4000+ calories of crap and sitting on my epic behind, to 1200-1800 worth of somewhat better choices.and an hour or so each day of what normies would call light exercise, but what my incredible bulk treats like The Boston Marathon every morning.

Drink water.

After a month, the movement has become a little easier. Each morning I walk 3km (coupla miles) to buy my breakfast, a bit of fruit usually. I walk the perimeter of the store, avoiding the aisles of greatest temptation, and always shopping from a list, because I am usually already hungry. (Just bring enough money for the stuff on the list as a fail safe.) I take another walk of comparable distance, but with a few more hills in the evening before supper.

When I have hunted and gathered, I go home and savour my food.

Money saved on candy, crisps, chips, and burgers, goes to good quality fresh fruit, veggies, and lean fresh chicken and turkey for protein. Me and my wok got a good thing goin'! And with a little planning, prep, and practice--faster than the fastest fast food from the food court -- you can make something yummy, satisfying, and beautiful to look at. And you have total control over the fat and sodium content!

For my starchy vice, I permit myself a half loaf of white bread from a bakery I like. For my processed food tooth, I keep a brand of take and bake spring roll on hand. Neither of these things is good for me, but they fill a lot of the big gaps left by chocolate, candy, crisps, and fast food and high fructose corn syrup sweetened anything.


And drink water.

I use fruit and water to deal the cravings for soda or candy.

And popcorn is my emergency pig out safety valve snack. I use a combination of 100 cal of fat in the forms of butter and canola, to pop another 200 calories worth of popcorn into something that tastes great and satisfies like only a salty crunch-fest can.

And if you must indulge a particular vice or die--go to the bulk food section and measure out a moderated binge. Don't bring home the EconoMegaPack Special because the per portion price appeals to your inner bargain hunter.

You know what happens. You will consume a sensible amount and put the Big Bag away. But an hour later you will forget about your sensible portion and have another go. Then tiny gnomes enter our brains and FORCE us to eat the rest of the bag, either by distracting us with flickering screens, or by editing the nutrition label and convincing you that in addition to all the fat and salt that bag contains your R.D.A. of love.

The gnomes lie. The love is elsewhere--not at the bottom of a bag of cheetos.

(This same process also works for all sizes of cones, cups, or buckets of ice cream, bags, boxes or cartons of cookies, or other treats that come in bulk packs from wholesale stores.)

Drink your water.


Oh and...if you falter in your course; if the MegaMunchMonster Bag disappears in the night, or the lure of the NomsNoms on the break table at work proves too strong, record your misstep faithfully, and try again in the morning.

The Thing we are doing here happens one day at a time. One choice at time. Think about the food you eat and make enough of a fuss about it that when you do eat, you eat something your brain will take time to enjoy AND that your body can use.


They say--you know how They can be--that it's a marathon, not a sprint. I say it can be a stroll through the garden if you like. Just keep walking. Remember the words of the philosopher Hal Morgenstern, "Failure is not falling down. Failure is staying down."


I make no claims to know anything about anything, except I just finished my first month of good days in a row, and after 30 days of faithful record keeping, I am pleased with the results I have achieved.

Stay off the scales. Drink your water. Eat mindfully. Move. You will astound yourself!

Do some exercise, then you can eat back your calories burned. Or at least half of them.

That's the beauty of exercise!

I find that pre-logging my food the night before is very helpful for me to meet my eating goals. That way, when it's time to eat, I just look at my food diary, and fix what I had planned. I don't have to try to make decisions while hungry, I already took the guess work out of it while laying in bed the night before.

Try the high calorie, low sugar snack bars every two hours. They['re only about 100-140 calories and you'll feel full for a while. I was used to eating 3000 calories a day too...but I only ate maybe once or twice a day. Starting MFP I was reduced to 1780 calories max, but I had to start eating at least 6 times a day. I found that by eating something small (even a handful of baby carrots) I was able to stay within my calorie goal and not feel hungry...although I did feel like I was constantly stuffing food in my mouth. I also cut soda out of my diet. I'll have one diet soda a month, otherwise I drink lots and lots of water, flavored with crystal light since I've never been a big water person. Small adjustments seem to make all the difference for me.