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You're wasting a lot of calories on swiss cheese. Eat more filling foods like chicken breast, sweet potatoes, wild rice, etc. I'd have some serious growlies if half my calories wen't to 8 slices of cheese.

I think when you are first starting out, just reaching your calorie goal for the day is great! You may find, although, if you spread your protein throughout the day you may be less inclined to snack later. Also taking a peek at other peoples diaries is a great way to get ideas to add a little variety to your meals! Good luck!! :flowerforyou:

With a diet of cheese and yogurt you will also be VERY low on your fiber. Protein, Fiber and plenty of water is the recipe to feeling fuller longer.

Start mixing some granola with that yogurt in the morning, maybe a banana on the side.

Again as others said, minimize the cheese. When you go to get a piece, do that, just get one piece and put the rest right back in the fridge.

Get some lean meats like chicken or turkey. You can consume more grams of protein per calorie than that of fat. With lean meats you get more protein in your diet without sacrificing the calories and you will feel much more satisfied.

Finally, I would suggest going back to losing 1 lb per week, get that under control and THEN move to 2 lbs per week. Once you can eat 2200 cal comfortably, you can start looking where else you can cut/sub foods and/or add more exercise.

1. I would suggest trying to save x amount of calories for after your walk, if you're typically hungry then. Depending on what time of day you walk, you might skip breakfast til after, or take lunch later etc. I find it easier to not eat when Im busy (work time) and find myself wanting to eat more when I'm not (when I'm home after, watching TV, sitting on the computer etc) so I end up eating most of my calories after work (no breakfast, lunch and or snack at work, dinner grazing after work). work it out however works best for you. It may take a rough week of doing it a particular way to make it easier (ie getting used to eating at certain times). You'll get accustomed to it.

2. Personally, I would use waking and sleeping cycles for your feeding times. IE Tuesday is when you wake up Tuesday morning until you go to sleep for the night (even if it's 3 am). It seems more natural to me than eating some of tomorrow's calories just because it's midnight. If I'm still awake, it's still today, IMO

For your diary, not to beat a dead horse, but damn you eat a lot of yogurt and swiss cheese. A few days while you get into the swing of things is fine, but you should get your macros from a variety of food sources. And veggies. You should eat them. I'm not big on them either, but . . .

We all are so different, but here are a couple of things that would be red flags for me personally. I never eat or drink anything labeled "diet". I find that most foods/drinks that are diet have sugars produced in a chemistry lab and they make me hungrier. A few years ago I lost about 40 lbs. and then fell into the trap of diet dr. pepper. That is when the hunger pains for sugar really surfaced. Less than 2 months ago I was drinking 2-3 16 oz. bottles of Regular Dr. Pepper daily. I needed to either quit or have it in an IV.
I gave it up cold turkey. Not easy let me tell you. Since then I have been drinking a ton of water with fresh lemon squeezed into it. I know that for myself personally I had to do that. It has helped me a lot. The other thing I do is to take just regular fiber. Not the kind like metamucil etc. But the kind without any sugars or flavorings added. I hate it, it tastes awful, but it helps me feel full and does it's other jobs as well.
Good luck with all of this and it is great knowing that there are so many people out here cheering us on!!

Try adding some eggs in the morning and add fresh vegetables and a small red potato or some oatmeal with a banana and some unsweetened almond milk or some whole grain cereal and a pice of fruit.......for lunch maybe a nice salad with some chicken and low fat dressing or a tuna sandwich and a bowl of healthy soup. For dinner a nice lean piece of chicken or fish some steamed vegetables and add some kind of a starch like a potato or a little whole wheat pasta. For snacks, have a yogurt, a piece of fruit, some nuts, a low sugar protein bar, a low fat string cheese stick. Once in a while eat something you really want as a treat so you won't think that you're depriving yourself.

Take it one day at a time and try to stay within your calorie range by eating healthy, filling meals. Also, if you can add some type of exercise that will help you feel better. Even if you just do chair exercises, it all counts. Make changes a little at a time such as increasing the water you drink or increasing your exercise by 5 minutes every few days. Limit your salt intake, etc. Google healthy foods and incorporate those foods in your diet to make it more interesting. You can have a couple slices of cheese but it's not good to eat so much of it. Eat an apple, a banana, an orange, or cantelope. I think you will find that you will begin to crave healthier foods.

I'm not an expert but I do know making little changes each day will make a difference. All the best to you and so sorry to hear of your illness. Blessings...

Welcome to MFP! Congratulations on 1) getting started and 2) asking for help to reach your goals. You're definitely going to get all kinds of advice. Some of it will be good. Some of it will be questionable. The funny thing about that is that everybody's idea of what "good advice" is will be different. So, with that in mind, here's my advice, based on what I do (not always successfully, though)...

I suggest avoiding as many processed foods as possible. They're filled with chemicals and won't help stop or reverse your dementia. Frankly, they'll probably help it progress faster. (...but I'm not a medical professional, so check with your doctor)

If you need to use processed foods because they're easier to prepare and there's little to no stovetop cooking needed (looks like any cooking you do might be in the microwave, but I may be wrong on that), stay away from things that say "sugar free", "low cal", "lite", "light", "low fat", "fat free", etc. These foods add extra chemicals when they take something out, so it will still taste "good". Plus, these things are usually super high in sodium. My only exception to this "avoid list" would be "low sodium", "lower sodium", and "no salt added" foods. They usually add potassium when they take out the salt and unless you have heart issues, most people can handle slightly higher potassium content foods. If you do have heart issues, find out from your doctor what the maximum amount of potassium you can have per day is... and take it seriously.

As others have mentioned, cut back on the yogurt and cheese.

Add more fresh fruits and vegetables. That will help you fill up on fewer calories.

Drink plenty of water. A great guideline is to take your body weight (in pounds), divide by 2, and drink that number in ounces of water. For a lot of people, the standard 8 8-oz cups of water a day is not nearly enough. I'm one that needs more water... about 10-12 cups a day.

Definitely set your goals to be 1 lb. a week loss instead of 2. That way you won't just end up regaining what you lost as it will come off a little more slowly and be sustainable.

Hey Bill. Welcome to MyFitnessPal.
I applaud you for starting simple. I agree with everyone that more protein and fiber is going to help you.

My go to meals are egg white omelets, salads, protein shakes and lettuce wraps.
I add lean meats like turkey, chicken or tuna.
Any type of veggies-spinach, tomatoes, avocado, red bell pepper, onion, cucumber.
When I need more substance in my meals, I have brown rice and/or black beans.
Yogurt and dairy is great but in moderation. Try to limit yourself to 1-2 servings per day until you find substitutes. If you are going to have yogurt, I recommend adding a granola with protein. This will keep you fuller.

Other tips:
Use a measuring cup for chopped veggies, fruits, nuts, granola. That way you know how much you are eating.
Look at labels! When shopping, go for the items with less calories, more protein, more fiber, and less ingredients.

Any questions, please message me.

Brittany

Welcome aboard. The starting can always be the hardest. One foot in front of the other. But if you are like many of us you will not regret it. As a number have people have said Ido not see yogurt and cheese filling you up, which is part of why you are snacking as you seem to indicate. I might suggest looking into small meals that have turkey or chicken in them, maybe produce a daily menu for the fridge if you lose track easily. Now a lot of this is trial an error, and it is not always easy, I tend to intake too much soda for instance, but is am trying. And paying attention to what you eat is a big start.

Hello, and welcome to MFP. It's great that you are getting started and already reaching out to others for advice.

After looking through your entry, it looks like most of your caloric intake is coming from snacks, rather than from your meals, and most of it is coming from dairy. Dairy is okay in moderation, but with little fiber and the high amount of saturated fat found in cheese, the calories and saturated fat content add up, without providing much satiety. I try limiting your dairy intake to 2-3 servings/day. I actually like greek yogurt because it is has a creamier consistency and fills me up faster. Also, I would recommend making sure that your meals have good sources of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats in every meal to help keep you from feeling hungry and including fiber-rich foods will keep you satisfied longer and are good for your health (good sources are fruits, vegetables and whole grains and legumes).

Another reason why you are probably so hungry is that you are not getting enough calories in the morning. After going an entire night without food, your body needs energy to start the day, so a good breakfast will get your metabolism going so that you burn more calories throughout the day and help to reduce your appetite. I would also try to reduce the amount of processed foods, and try to get most of your energy from whole foods, which tend to be nutrient dense and have less calories, so you can eat more food.

As for your caloric intake level, this is probably too low, and could be another reason why you are so hungry. Especially if you are exercising, it is important to make sure that you are not eating less calories than your body need to properly be able to function. Having too low of a caloric intake can actually slow down your metabolism, making it harder to lose weight. We may think that the less calories we eat, the more weight we will lose, but when the body does not have enough fuel, it goes into starvation mode and burns less calories to try to preserve them to carry out basic metabolic processes in the body.

Hopefully some of these suggestions have helped. Remember to be kind to your body, this does not have to be a miserable experience where you feel like you have to deprive yourself to try to lose weight. This can be a great chance to discover new food that is healthy and delicious and enjoy the process of becoming a more healthy you. I wish you all the best and, once again, commend you for reaching out to others for support.

Try eating porridge for breakfast, it keeps me full till lunchtime and is very good for you. X

Thanks to all of you for the quick answers! About the Swiss Cheese: I really TRY to let it be just a snack, but I very quickly lose track and before you know it, I've eaten the whole package! :sad:

I will definitely look at some other folks' diaries and see what I can use for myself.

Thanks again. I'm glad I found this place!

Bill

I understand about swiss cheese and yogurt. I could live on it!

Welcome Bill! When I saw you were in early stages of Alzheimer's, my first thought was a Low Carb High Fat diet, as recent studies have shown this to be very helpful in slowing the progression. Then I looked at your diary and saw that you were indeed following that diet already. I assume that is intentional?

You are doing well to stay away from sugars and grains as much as possible, but don't be afraid to add fresh veggies to your diet to help bulk up your meals and add some much needed fiber. Especially with the level of cheese you are eating!

Chef salads with cheese, boiled eggs, ham, chicken, bacon, sunflower seeds, avocado, etc will be great meals for you that don't have to be cooked on the stove or in the oven. Use olive oil dressings as well. The healthy fats in olives, olive oil, avocados, seeds, nuts, and even egg yolks are all very good for brain function and healing.

Best wishes for you for better health.