Can't make it through a whole day :/

I feel you. I have this habit of whenever I eat something I feel is really bad that day, I just don't log anything. Which is totally missing the point of course. I mean, how will I track my progress if I only report the good things sporadically?

I've been there before, done that! It is SO easy to snack away your worries at the end of a long day! I started off slowly cutting down on the snacks. Not completely eliminating them, but replacing them. Carrots, celery, apples, water. Right now I am munching on 15 calorie jello jigglers! Not out of my calorie limit, and I could eat 2 cups and still be at 60 calories!! There are some days now where I save some calories for the end of the night for a cookie or a brownie. But if I'm REALLY hungry I try to stick to something healthy. You can DO this!!! We have to crawl before we walk....

I've experienced this too. Night time is the worst. I do so well during the day and I'm so proud of myself, but at night when I'm sitting around not doing anything, eating is all I can think about and I'll end up indulging in a cookie or some chocolate. I'm normally still within my calorie limit but it's the psychology behind it that's unhealthy - I should have more willpower!

I've started having diet jello - you can eat an entire bowl for only 7 calories! I do worry about the artificial sweeteners, but I haven't experienced any adverse affects yet.

Ugh! So frusterating...I can't seem to make it through a whole day within my calorie limit! I do really good until late afternoon/evening & then it's like all rules are out the door, & I just don't care anymore. By the end of the day I'm really disappointed in myself & wondering when I'm ever going to "just DO IT". It's terrible...am I alone here? If not, what do YOU do to "just do it"?

It slow and chew slow. That alone has helped me more than anything else period. Doing that I can get full on a 300cal meal before I even finish it.

I dont have a kitchen atm coz of a remodel so I am stuck on microwave meals. I am eating all healthy choice steamers and meals. They are super easy, super fast, and taste sooooo good. Just chew slow and eat slow.

Have you set your goal too high? If you've set your targeted weight loss to 1.5 or 2 pounds a week, maybe try bringing it down to 1 pound a week? This way, you will still make progress even if you are starting slower than intended, and you won't feel so demoralized. You can always adjust it later to raise your goal when you are more comfortable.

Also, try to incorporate exercise into your day. The more you exercise, the more calories you can eat without going over your limit! Every calorie burned in exercise is a free calorie!

You can also try to eat foods high in fiber, and foods with a high water content, like apples, which will fill you up faster.

Hopefully this helps!

This is exactly what I was going to say! I can never do the 1200 calorie limit because the fact I have to be sooo careful makes me panic and then binge after dinner! Raising your limit will mean slower progress in theory, but if you're struggling on whatever limit you're on now I would definitely give it a go. May well do wonders psychologically
I second the exercise idea too. And eat all the exercise calories back! Then you should have plenty of calories to work with and no need to deprive yourself. (But moderation is always important of course)
Good luck :flowerforyou:

I have this exact same struggle....I can always make it through the day but when I get home from work - and I work retail so it's always different - even when I get home at about 10pm I still want to unwind & "eat" even when I'm not that hungry. I think eating is my way of "unwinding" & I think I'm starving, but I'm not...

I've been trying to occupy my time with reading. It's the one activity that I find is actually hard to do at the same time as eating-at least I think so...you have to put one down to do the other. Forget the tv or internet, mindless clutter where you mentally shut off I usually do my most damage then unless I'm actually engaging or reading ... like right now :-D

But a good mindless eating & filling thing is actually popcorn....the "good" pop corn, but you can get a lot to feel full if you find the right kinds

Also, try eating a bigger breakfast. It fills you up and if you do it roght sustains you pretty well for a while. It seems weird to use a lot of calories right away, but eat a lot of smaller calories like a frozen waffle with turkey bacon, for example I ate all of this, this morning for only 257 calories! I was so excited...I was filled plus I felt like I was eating really good food too -- plus the average meal is around 300-400 calories, so you still have room for more stuff, if need be....I felt like this was a great breakfast & am looking forward to eating it again!

Cascade Pride - Raisin Nut Bread, 1 slice
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! - Spray, 5 sprays for topping
Oscar Mayer - Turkey Bacon, 3 slice
Kellogg's Eggo - Waffles-Nutri-Grain, Whole Grain, Low Fat, 1 waffle
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! - Spray, 5 sprays for topping
Golden Griddle Sugar Free - Pancake Syrup, 1/8 cup

One last thing I do is try to figure out what I am missing from my meal....I am the type of person who will eat a great "entree" then feel the urge to eat something sweet, so at all my meals I have my filling food, something to drink, something sweet & something to munch on. This makes me feel satisfied so I don't think "oh, now would be a great time to have a __________."

Hope that helps some. This is my deepest struggle and I struggle with this everyday but I am hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel, we are all here together. Keep it up!!!

Like some others have said, doing some exercise really helps...it earns you some calories back to snack with, but also gives your willpower a real boost. I find after doing a good workout I feel like I only want to eat something healthy.
Failing that, take up knitting! You may laugh, but keeping your hands and mind busy during the evening can help you forget about snacking. Also, make sure you don't keep and bad foods in the house. If the only thing to snack on is fruit and veg then that's all you can have!

Now I would have never thought about knitting. My daughter does that and she's quite good.

I know if I miss breakfast I'm hungrier at night.

Look at my food diary to see what works for me. Protein with every meal. Cut out sugars, white carbs and junk food of any kind. We can't afford to waste our calories that way and the blood sugar spikes will just make us hungry, miserable and obsessed with eating more junk food. I'm not hungry. Save lots of calories for the evening when it is harder so you can eat a big healthy meal of meat and veggies. I get full at dinner and it makes it easy to get through until bed time. Nothing else would work for me. For breakfast eat a taco or a bowl of oatmeal with fruit, for lunch have a taco with lots of protein and stop, nothing else but water until dinner and then you can have a really big healthy dinner. That's the secret to making it through the night without blowing it. Good luck.

Evening is also the worst time for me. The following things have really made a differerenc:

1. Exercise- A good workout can give you the necessary calories to have a night time snack.
2. Adjust your meals during the day to leave room for a snack at night.
3. Drink lots of water.
4. Pick a healthier snack with less calories....fruit....veggies or maybe some kind of lean protien.
5. Find something else to do....I try to keep myself busy with other activities in the evening.


Hope this helps.

I have always mainly eaten lunch and dinner so as the day goes on, I start to get hungrier. Even now that I am eating breakfast and with more general frequency, this pattern is still when I get hungry. For me, I have had to do a lot of the stuff that people talk about.

- Make sure you leave enough calories for a very filling meal in the evening.
- Try to focus on more filling foods. There are so many calories out there that don't fill you up.
- PLAN ahead for the things on which you will snack so that you have low/no calorie snacks ready.
- I also like to have meal replacement shakes handy. At 195 calories, this is frequently a better alternative than whatever else I was considering. And, as a powder, it is easy to have at my desk at work or whatever.

I am a big fan of feeling full. So, for me, it was all about focusing on foods that really fill me up that are lower in calories. This has been the big help for MFP in that it points out the foods that have surprisingly more calories than I might have expected.

Good Luck!!!

--Carter