How do stay within your calorie goal?

irma73
irma73 Posts: 25 Member
in Motivation and Support
I started my day off great, but once I got home it was all over. I had 2 drum sticks and a whole bag of salad.
How do you "train" yourself not to go over your calories? It's really important I stay within my goal to shed some
weight due to my knee injury. Any suggestions would be appreciated? :smile:

Replies

  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Two drum sticks and a bag of salad, is what? 500 calories?

    I stay within my calories by choosing a limit that allows me to have a 500+ calorie dinner?:huh:

    ETA: Looked at your diary, what kind of salad kit was that?
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    Plan ahead - Prelog your day :flowerforyou:
  • amwbox
    amwbox Posts: 576 Member
    Really...you just have to say no. That simple.
  • wickedpursuit
    wickedpursuit Posts: 47 Member
    Prelogging major meals and 'must have' snacks... and carefully timing my snacks so I don't get home in ravenous eatbeast mode. It usually works! You may also want to prepare your meals in advance, so there isn't any room to grab whatever you find and eat it. I spend Sunday cooking all of my lunches and dinners for the week and it saves me a stupid amount of time later - just throw a tupperware full of food in the microwave and eat.
  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
    It's hard for me too, I have to exercise daily so I can eat more. I eat all of my exercise calories back or else I get *starving*
  • ftrobbie
    ftrobbie Posts: 1,017 Member
    Plan ahead - Prelog your day :flowerforyou:

    +1

    The great thing about not planning is that total failure comes as a complete surprise without being preceded by weeks and weeks of worry.

    Seriously, plan the work, work the plan. It is a lot easier spending 10 minutes the night before planning the day the ahead than it is guessing and doing it on the fly. For today I know I have 650 cals spare for "opportunities", the rest of the day has already been planned out. I can have opportunities depending on how I feel.

    Good luck to you
  • irma73
    irma73 Posts: 25 Member
    Thank you for your replies. I did pre-plan my breakfast, snacks, and lunch. When I ran out of food I grabbed the red vines at work. So, by the time I came home I was just thinking about food, food, food. I wasn't as prepared as I thought. I should have packed more veggies in my lunch. Tomorrow will be better!
  • 053069
    053069 Posts: 52 Member
    you can exercise and eat your calories back as someone said before. spend your calories more wise. you can do it !!! get meal examples from this forum.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    I agree with everyone who says to plan your day ahead of time. But I'll also add that it becomes easier over time. Once you've been doing this for awhile (I've been logging for 2 years now) you'll get a sense of how much you've eaten and how many calories you have left. But in the beginning you have to be super vigilant and look at labels before you eat. That way you won't eat an entire bag of salad and two drumsticks.
  • kmash32
    kmash32 Posts: 275 Member
    Pre-log and plan meals. Also if dinner is where your problem is, then figure out what type of afternoon snack makes it so you don't get home starving. For me it is Greek yogurt (due to protein) or A Kind bar or nuts (due to fat). I find that if I eat empty calories at this time like candy or chocolate then I am starving. If I am going to eat that type of stuff it is usually after dinner.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    It was a Fresh and Easy Bistro Salad (salad bag)

    Yeah bagged salads on the east coast are just lettuce, which is why I was guessing your whole meal was 500 calories or so. Anyway, 660 calories just see excessively high. Am guessing yours had cheese? Or dressing? I would just skip one or the other next time?
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    I pre log the whole week and make small changes as necessary.
  • mztmarie
    mztmarie Posts: 4 Member
    Get you a group of low cal snacks and stash them so you can grab something when you get hungry. I keep 100 calorie almond packs and protein bars in my car, home and work. I also have raw fruit and fruit cups and Oscar Meyer protein packs and protein shakes (I LOVE Pure Premier vanilla shakes). The snacks average about 100-200 calories and mostly protein so that I feel fuller longer. This way you have options for when those hunger pains hit!
  • sugarlemonpie
    sugarlemonpie Posts: 311 Member
    I stay fairly regimented. I preplan my meals for the day and think about how many calories I want to consume that day and when. I leave room for some healthy snacks. There are about 3 breakfasts I rotate when I feel like them, and I portion leftovers for lunch or have an Amy's organic frozen meal.

    Dinner is tricky sometimes and I portion out how much I am allowed. Food scales and measuring cups are my friends. If I know we're gonna go out to eat I am sure to exercise in the morning.

    Just have to plan your days out and think ahead!
  • ftrobbie
    ftrobbie Posts: 1,017 Member
    I stay fairly regimented. I preplan my meals for the day and think about how many calories I want to consume that day and when. I leave room for some healthy snacks. There are about 3 breakfasts I rotate when I feel like them, and I portion leftovers for lunch or have an Amy's organic frozen meal.

    Dinner is tricky sometimes and I portion out how much I am allowed. Food scales and measuring cups are my friends. If I know we're gonna go out to eat I am sure to exercise in the morning.

    Just have to plan your days out and think ahead!

    I use a slightly different plan. Sort out food in the following order

    Dinner
    Breakfast
    Lunch
    Mid morning snack
    Mid afternoon snack
    Supper, with what is left over.

    And if there is nothing left over for supper I know I should be ok, or if not I have made poor choices and need to swap some of them out. I control what I eat.
  • MagicalGiraffe
    MagicalGiraffe Posts: 102 Member
    For my bigger meals I'll prelog it and then go make it. Also I go for walks everyday to give me a few extra calories, but that's mainly just incase I have a hypo where I'd need to consume.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Really...you just have to say no. That simple.


    SRRRRiously...Exactly what I was thinking.
  • looseseal
    looseseal Posts: 216 Member
    Really...you just have to say no. That simple.


    SRRRRiously...Exactly what I was thinking.

    Impossible if you're really hungry.

    Pre-plan, eat protein and carbs each meal/snack. If you pre-plan your dinner and work your way back to lunch then b-fast it might be easier. I try to hit between 1350 - 1550 cals/day. If I'm sitting at 800-900 eaten before dinner I almost always stay within my range. If I'm sitting at 1100+ by dinner? Hmmm, usually that's a problem. Only time it's ok (for me) is if I sleep late and don't eat breakfast, end up eating just lunch and dinner. I love that!
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Really...you just have to say no. That simple.


    SRRRRiously...Exactly what I was thinking.

    Yep. It's that simple. That doesn't mean it's easy to accomplish, but the answer is simple.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    This eating all the foods late in the day happens to me when I don't eat enough cals throughout the day.

    I find I must eat 2 meals and 2 snacks so that I don't turn into a Hoover at dinnertime.

    Try that.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    ETA: Looked at your diary, what kind of salad kit was that?
    My thoughts too. 5 cups of salad is a damn big salad

    But yes, as everyone said PRE-LOG!

    If you want a treat, make it fit! Yesterdays dinner I had Famoso pizza and wine!
  • ThePinkPanda
    ThePinkPanda Posts: 208 Member
    Plan ahead - Prelog your day :flowerforyou:

    this! pre-log! and if you have time, pre-preparation can help prevent you from veering off course. obviously things can change on the fly and you need to be flexible, but taking most of the variables out of the day will help you stay at your goal intake.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    I started my day off great, but once I got home it was all over. I had 2 drum sticks and a whole bag of salad.
    How do you "train" yourself not to go over your calories? It's really important I stay within my goal to shed some
    weight due to my knee injury. Any suggestions would be appreciated? :smile:

    honestly.......please don't take this wrong......but you either really want it or you don't. There is a possibility.......Your goal could be unrealistically low. Set it for around a 250-500 deficit if you can't maintain a larger one. If you do that and still can't stay under.....I'd say you really just don't want it yet. Easier to stay heavier until you do.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    I am so active because I love working out that staying in my calorie goal is pretty much never a problem (2100-2700 calories per day).
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
    MFP gives me 1640 calories to be at a 250 calorie deficit. I used to struggle to stay within my goal. Then I got a Fitbit, which prompted me to walk a lot more, and the extra calories really helped.

    If you look at my diary, today and yesterday are pretty typical for me on a weekday. I plan all my calories for everything but dinner. I also use up all my calories on all the earlier snacks and meals. But I walk a lot. I sneak in breaks whenever and wherever I can. As a result, I usually have around 1,000 calories burned by the end of the workday that I can then use for dinner.
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
    Another +1 to prelog. I might be in a minority here, but I go as far as preparing most of the food the night before and logging it so I know where I am calorie-wise and can make better choices on the fly. For instance, I logged greek yogurt last night but decided my lunch was too much, I didn't have enough calories, so I swapped it out for some low-fat cottage cheese.

    You CAN do this.

    I agree about listening to your body and making notes in your food diary about how you felt with that day's food. For instance, I NEED a high protein food around 3 pm, to keep me going until I get off work and make it home for dinner. On the other hand, I do better with protein/fat breakfast, but need carbs before lunchtime to get my body energized.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I agree that planning really helps. It takes some practice, but you get better.

    Also, it's not for everyone, but when you eat a lot of the same things over again, it can be easier. I eat very similar things day after day for my lunches and breakfast if I have breakfast. Dinner is much more varied, but I usually leave myself at least 1000 cals for that, and I have a good repertoire of tried and tested meals that I know will come anywhere between 400 and 800 ish cals, allowing room to add a bigger portion of something, or more snacks or whatever.

    Put time and effort into preparing things ahead where possible, or at least pre-logging, and get into a groove of familiar meals and snacks so you know what you're working with. If you're always winging it, it will be much harder.
  • Nichole195
    Nichole195 Posts: 24
    Meal Prepping
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
    Also, it's not for everyone, but when you eat a lot of the same things over again, it can be easier. I eat very similar things day after day for my lunches and breakfast if I have breakfast. Dinner is much more varied, but I usually leave myself at least 1000 cals for that, and I have a good repertoire of tried and tested meals that I know will come anywhere between 400 and 800 ish cals, allowing room to add a bigger portion of something, or more snacks or whatever.

    I use pretty much the same approach during the week and then wing it on the weekends. Weekdays I'll have a protein shake, a mix of veggies that I prep and split into 5 bags on Sunday so I have them ready, greek yogurt, a banana, an apple, and a protein bar. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I'll have a grilled chicken breast sandwich and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll have a can of tuna with mayo. When I get home at night I usually eat whatever I want provided that I'm staying under goal, but I usually have plenty of calories to spare.

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