Not hitting target calories

If you eat less than you need, you're going to get really hungry. When you get really hungry, you'll overeat. When you overeat, you'll give up...that seems to be a very common thread around here.

How much were you eating before you started the weight loss? Deduct 500 from that each day and get a little exercise. Done.

What The Heck ! When are people going to understand that loosing fat is not about calories ! It is proper macros and proper healthy food intake ! I am loosing weigh and my goal is 3000 calories a day and I am 54 years old loosing weight is not a healthy goal your goal should be lose fat and keep lean tissue and eat enough so that you do not burn muscle in your quest to loose fat !

Can I geyt jusy 1 AMEN ?

No amen from me. Losing fat means eating at a deficit and that IS about eating fewer calories than you burn. Too, YOU burn more calories as a male than the typical female...more muscle, right? I'm overweight because I was eating 3000 calories a day - the same you're eating to lose weight. Lots of variables here...

Can I geyt jusy 1 AMEN ?

No. Because losing weight IS about calories.

OH I could not agree with you more and an obsession with loosing weight is a sickness and if you want to be healthy you will live and eat healthy and loose FAT not yo-yo on the obviously not working weight loose programs you are trying and I mean a life style change that you stick with and become proud of who you are and not a sick mentally ill person trying to always loose WEIGHT ! GOAL= loose FAT and be healthy

I'm 54 eat about 3000 calories a day and loose all the weight I choose and all I do is change the food I eat and keep the calories at 3000 all calories do not impact or react the same way in the body a calorie does not = all calories a gram of protein does not equal a gram of CARBS or a GRAM of FAT and are not digested the same either ! Fact not opinion !

You know how many calories you are aiming for. You have an app that will allow you to preplan everything.

1500 calories would best be broken up like this to keep your metabolism soaring...

350 calorie Breakfast
250 calorie Snack
350 calorie Lunch
200 calorie Snack
350 Calorie Dinner

That's absolute total nonsense. Many small meals doesn't "keep your metabolism soaring." That's 100% nonsense broscience, and you should never say that ever again.

The worst thing I have found you can do is eat out

This is also absolute unproductive nonsense.

Both of your statement are pure feel good opinions !

# 1 ) Yes everytime you ingest food your metabolisim does burn calories Fact backed up by since not the way you feel

# 2 ) Eating out is not impossible but hard and sould never be done more than 2 times a week I eat 7 times a day and . . . . lol I burn calories preparing my meals for the next day ! aAlso when you eat out ; I have no troubel because soft drinks are posion but most people tink I will ahve a coke zero and that will bre OK zero calories ! ! @! ! ! !NOT TRUE the MSG and all the other filler efffect your endo system and are not nayural so there fore you upset the balance and all of you hard and foolis cslorie counting was a waste of time you screwed you bodys mind up ! Have ever heard if you csan't pronounce it don't eat it ! well you may as well add to that if it comes in a can do not eat it either !

I suggest making sure you have plenty of healthy snacks on hand plus a couple of low-cal sweet treats for when you have a craving. My usual snacks are cottage cheese, carrots, apples, cucumber, sunflower seeds, string cheese, yogurt, crackers, bread (rye or whole wheat) and for sweets jello mousse and low-cal ice cream bars/sandwiches.

I find I do best with frequent small meals and snacks but you need to find what's best for you. If you have trouble mentally picking the healthy snack over the unhealthy one, get rid of the unhealthy ones until you develop new habits and can make better choices.

Thank you for the responses. I should have expanded on my post a little bit better- I don't feel that I am binge eating because I am somewhat hungry. I am just not necessary making the right food choices because I have the calories available. For example- instead of having some string cheese I chose to have a serving of some pumpkin candy things we had in the house because I had the calories available. I will continue on trying to stick with the limit I have set for myself and if there are extras at the end of the day i will only eat if I am hungry.

Have you ever considered having your BMR and TDEE done? I am not sure if this is available in your area, but you can have it done - here it's something called a Bod Pod but basically it will give you a read out on your true body fat and BMR which will give you a truer idea of what you should be consuming because every body is different and MFP may or may not have your exact needs down.

Just an idea . . .

Honestly this has been of no help whatsoever. Everyone is contradicting the others comments.

Yeah there are a lot of different things floating around on what will get you to drop fat. I think part of the problem is people don't realise that what works for them might not work for others. Personal preferences (ei. Eating lots of little meals) get mixed up with what is actually required (calorie deficit).
It doesn't help when you get a zealot in a thread.

My advice is to look at tickers, and find something that allows you to get you deficit, feel good and not hungry. There are a lot of ways to do that, you just got to find one that works for you.

Honestly this has been of no help whatsoever. Everyone is contradicting the others comments.

Welcome. It's not much help, is it, with all the different opinions?

Llamapants said it best- look at people who've lost a lot of weight and then, if their diaries are open, look at them. People will have different calories goals depending on their activity level.It is important to come as close as you can to those target goals, but its' okay if you don't hit them every single day.

Weight loss is about calories in/calories out because your body does not distinguish which ones help/don't help you lose weight. However, the type of food you eat is about energy, satiation, and fueling your body so that you can continue with your activity level. If your body is well fueled with foods that meet your macros, or come darned close to it, you will probably be able to keep your activity level up.

While no food is good or bad, and weight loss is calories in/out, food choices are important. For example, if I have a choice between equal calories in oreos or steel cut oats for breakfast, each of those choices will give me a different energy result. With the oreos, by mid morning I will be starving with low energy. . However, with the oatmeal, I will stay full for quite awhile and I feel pretty well fueled.

I do think it's pretty darned important to make an effort to eat enough and to come as close as you can to your target calories.