Evaluate Me?
Options
arthurcraig391
Posts: 14
Hi,
I made my entries public in the hopes someone might evaluate my progress. I realize I've only been doing this for three days now, but I changed some things from the first day, such as losing TWO pounds a week instead of one, and it looks like I'm in a deficit with fats and proteins, and of course I'm all over the chart on that first day with the sodium.
The problems I am having are: 1. I am ravenously hungry after my 1 mile walk-run and..... 2. I find myself waiting on 12 midnight so I can start the next day.
I'm thinking that as my stomach shrinks, I won't need as much food, but need someone to point out the fallacy of such thinking if it's wrong.
In short, how am I doing so far, and do you have any advice for me?
Thanks in advance!
Bill
I made my entries public in the hopes someone might evaluate my progress. I realize I've only been doing this for three days now, but I changed some things from the first day, such as losing TWO pounds a week instead of one, and it looks like I'm in a deficit with fats and proteins, and of course I'm all over the chart on that first day with the sodium.
The problems I am having are: 1. I am ravenously hungry after my 1 mile walk-run and..... 2. I find myself waiting on 12 midnight so I can start the next day.
I'm thinking that as my stomach shrinks, I won't need as much food, but need someone to point out the fallacy of such thinking if it's wrong.
In short, how am I doing so far, and do you have any advice for me?
Thanks in advance!
Bill
0
Replies
-
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.0
-
Protein rich foods will help.0
-
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:0
-
That's a lot of yogurt! While I do eat yogurt almost every day, I could not imagine my entire day consisting of yogurt and swiss cheese. Where are your meals? Those are snacks!
Grilled chicken is one of my favorite go to's for dinner. I usually throw in some raw spinach and veggies for a salad or steam my spinach. A little brown rice on the side and I've got a yummy mix of protein and carbs.
Breakfast could be yogurt, but throw some yummy granola in there with it. Or save the yogurt for a snack and have an egg and some steel cut oats for breakfast.
Lunch another yogurt? I would be bored! Have a nice big green salad with some turkey or chicken. Grate some of that swiss cheese over the top. Or have a turkey and swiss sandwich or wrap.0 -
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!
Bill0 -
Change your weight loss goal to 1 lb, it will mean 500 calories more a day. 1300 - 1500 is very low for a man unless you sit in a chair all day long.0
-
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.0 -
A little trick I used when first starting was to log my food before I ate it. Then when I saw how bad it would be ( I am a cheese freak too) it would stop me and help me make a better decision.
Try to sit down and plan out a weeks menu and then shop for those meals and healthy snacks and don't buy what isn't on your menu.
Also another tip, if you can afford it.... There was a food drive in my area going on when I started so I cleaned out some of the bad stuff in my pantry and donated it!
I recently worked at a college in NY where one of the psychology professors I worked for was doing awesome research on cognitive function in the elderly when the exercised. You could try and google some results on Cay Anderson-Hanley, union college cyber cycle study. CNN covered it! Very promising so your efforts are well worth it!
Good luck!0 -
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 . . .0 -
It's great that you're being proactive! It took me so many years before logging in my foods properly.
There seems to be a lot of processed food in your diary. Be careful about diet products, they seem to have some very questionable contents. Also, it might be better to cook your own veggies than to buy prepackaged ones. (Also, there's a great deal of good nutrition in uncooked vegetables, if you can find a way to enjoy them!)
Is it possible to have more vegetables? Steamed broccoli, for example, could make a potato replacement, and it absorbs flavours very well. Also cauliflower, which can be used to make mash and tastes very similar to potato mash! I've found that they help to keep me full - the fiber helps a lot.
I have a mild addiction to Vintage Mainland Cheddar. My way around it was to grate it, weigh it into 25 g portions (in clingwrap), and put it in the freezer. A little bit goes a surprisingly long way. I couldn't have it in the house before but now it's sitting there peacefully in the freezer and tastes just the same when defrosted. Grating is great because the cheese tends to scatter and spread over a wider surface area.
Another thing is having set eating times. Mine are 7 - 8 am, 12 - 1 pm and 7-8 pm. Some people may find it easier to incorporate snacks though! Maybe they could be at set times too. It takes a little while to get used to but it does wonders - I used to binge quite a lot.
It might also be good to look into specific healthy foods to add. I'm trying to incorporate salmon and other fish with essential fatty acids (tuna, mackerel).
Another important aspect for me was the psychological part. When I wanted to distract myself, I ate. When I wanted to procrastinate, I ate. When I felt sad, I ate. When I felt bored, I ate. I found logotherapy techniques really helped to make me understand why I wanted to distract myself, and I'm trying to spend my time in more meaningful ways.0 -
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!!0 -
Lean meat and veggies...
I know it's been said but Wow that's a lot of yogurt and cheese! I'd be starving, too. On the swiss cheese.. You may want to not buy it for a while, get yourself under control. The yogurt.. is that something you truly enjoy or are you eating it because you're "on a diet"? There are other foods that are just as good for you and more filling for the same amount of calories.
My diary is wide open and, while I'm still working on getting my own snacking under better control, you could find some ideas on actual food.. lots of fish, chicken, turkey with veggies.
In case you haven't read them yet, here are some helpful must reads for getting off to a great start:
1. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
2. If you aren't already using one, get and use a food scale. Weigh all solids. Measuring cups/spoons are not accurate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
3. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
4. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
5. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
6. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide0 -
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...0 -
Change your weight loss goal to 1 lb, it will mean 500 calories more a day. 1300 - 1500 is very low for a man unless you sit in a chair all day long.
^^^^ this
and you'll have more calories to spare for that swiss cheese. There's no need to deprive yourself of all your favourite foods to lose weight. If you're ravenously hungry that's generally a sign you're not eating enough. Even though swiss cheese may not be the most filling option and will probably make this problem worse, I think the main issue is that you're not eating enough. And feeling compelled to eat the whole pack of swiss cheese is usually the result of normal physiological responses to eating too little or feeling deprived. So eat more, including swiss cheese or any other foods you really don't want to give up.
You should eat back exercise calories, so log what you burned while walking and eat back 80% of it (MFP tends to overestimate calorie burns, but if you're still ravenously hungry you can try eating back 100% of your exercise calories).
MFP underestimates my calories by a long way, it gives me 1500 cals/day for maintenance... yet my maintenance calories are more like 2100cals/day. Another option is to calculate your calories using Katch McArdle formula and an activity factor to give an estimate of your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and then you eat 10-20% less than this.... using this method you don't eat back exercise calories because these should be included in the activity factor. The MFP method is calculated a little differently, hence why you log and eat back exercise calories using that method.
1300-1500 is very low even for a man who sits in a chair all day long. I'm 5'1" and female and lose weight on 1800 cals/day and I only lift I don't do cardio.0 -
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.0 -
Oh, and be sure to log your exercises. As you do that, your nutrition requirements will change for that day. Your goals will be increased, to fuel your body since it burned off some calories.0
-
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.0
-
Man!!! You guys and ladies (I will NOT say "Gals" :happy: ) are great and I really appreciate all the help and advice.
Ah yes. The yogurt and cheese. Well, the yogurt is Dannon Activia light, and I'm afraid I'm hooked on it. :bigsmile: The cheese? I know I need to cut back on that and will take your advice.
You're right: my meals do look like snacks, don't they? There's a reason for that. I need stuff that's easy to prepare being that my wife works 12 hour shifts at her hospital and isn't home during the daytime. See, I have this little problem with memory and if you care to read it, it's listed in that "about me" section. That's why you'll see stuff like "steamer meals", the yogurt, the cheese, the jello, etc., etc.
Be that as it may, I know I need to make some lifestyle changes and am therefore very receptive to your suggestions and your help.
It's a little tough right here at first, but with your help and suggestions, I know I can do this.
Thanks again for your help and your time!
Bill0 -
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 0 -
Yogurt is a nice choice, but we can't have sliced cheese in this house or I'll eat half of it in one sitting. Just hovered my way through a bunch of horseradish cheddar slices last week! lolMan!!! You guys and ladies (I will NOT say "Gals" :happy: ) are great and I really appreciate all the help and advice.
Ah yes. The yogurt and cheese. Well, the yogurt is Dannon Activia light, and I'm afraid I'm hooked on it. :bigsmile: The cheese? I know I need to cut back on that and will take your advice.
You're right: my meals do look like snacks, don't they? There's a reason for that. I need stuff that's easy to prepare being that my wife works 12 hour shifts at her hospital and isn't home during the daytime. See, I have this little problem with memory and if you care to read it, it's listed in that "about me" section. That's why you'll see stuff like "steamer meals", the yogurt, the cheese, the jello, etc., etc.
Be that as it may, I know I need to make some lifestyle changes and am therefore very receptive to your suggestions and your help.
It's a little tough right here at first, but with your help and suggestions, I know I can do this.
Thanks again for your help and your time!
Bill
When I don't have time to cook, I'll use frozen meals like Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones. But that's when I have no other options. I'd def, have more calories spread out throughout the day, and heavier calories at night, but lots of protein. My diary is open as well if you want to look at it.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 394 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 944 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions