What happens when/if you hit your goal?
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mblair4185
Posts: 26 Member
So Im new to this and I will be honest...its miserable. Im starving all of the time. It came to me today (after going to three different restaurants looking for a breakfast that was edible and low calorie!) that IF I can make it through this long enough to lose the 35 pds Im wanting to..what happens next? Am I going to have to be miserable like this the rest of my life just to maintain that weight? Do you get to start eating a normal 2000 calories a day or what??
This is just so frustrating. Ive literally just spent 4 hours looking for low cal recipes that I would actually eat and its nearly impossible. I dont see how everyone does it.
In the end its not realistic if Im going to have to continue to be miserable in everything I eat...
This is just so frustrating. Ive literally just spent 4 hours looking for low cal recipes that I would actually eat and its nearly impossible. I dont see how everyone does it.
In the end its not realistic if Im going to have to continue to be miserable in everything I eat...
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Replies
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Once I hit my goal, I was then able to eat my exercise calories back and still maintain my weight. My wife doesn't want me to lose not 1 more lb, so she busts my chops if I don't eat my 2,500 cals / day. In fact, I even have to eat ice cream a couple days / week to consume enough cals.
There are lots of benefits once you hit your goal. (Assuming you continue to exercise.)
Good luck!0 -
For your question - once you meet your goal, you'd eat at maintenance. If you keep eating at a deficit, you'd keep losing weight.
BUT if you're miserable, my question for you has 2 parts:
1. What is your goal set at, in terms of how much weight to lose per week and how many calories to eat.
2. What types of food do you eat?
Personally, I have about 15 pounds left to lose and my goal is to have a 500 calorie deficit per day. I typically eat in the 1400-1600 calorie range. I eat a decent amount of lean protein (chicken is a staple product), plenty of dairy (some 2%, some regular), lots of fruits and veggies (I try, my 'lots' may be an exaggeration). I eat bread, but less than I used to & often a lower calorie/lower sugar variety. I enjoy sweets, treats. But in moderation. I eat out - fast food and sit down. Had steak and broccoli today for lunch.
When I'm done, I'll eat 1900-2000 calories per day and need to keep focused to keep my activity level up. I don't want to reach my goal weight and then spend 5 hours every night sitting in front of the tv.0 -
ME:
Go to the gym the next day. Try not to become a conceited a-hole. Remember to be polite to the guys who are NOW interested but not fall into that trap of "I'm good enough for you now, ok goodie!"
I will keep it moving and go climb on my bike.0 -
You create and pursue another.0
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When you're done losing weight you eat at maintenance. Ta-da!
Maybe you should reconsider your intake if you're miserable all the time. What is your weight loss goal per week set at and what is your calorie intake? I'm set at 0.5 lb per week and eating 1950 calories a day.
Also, if I limited myself to low calorie meals every day I'd probably kill myself. I eat Mc Donald's and pizza at least once a week, ice cream every night. You have to view this as a lifestyle change. Not a diet. Enjoy what you eat. Just eat a little less than before, hit your macros and calorie goal and be happy.0 -
after going to three different restaurants looking for a breakfast that was edible and low calorie
Yeah, I'm sorry to be so brusque but you're just going to learn how to cook and MAKE your breakfast. Everything has a solution.
Miserable, starving, those are really strong words. Try not to use exaggerated language and try to see a solution. If you have to pack your brekkie and lunches, then do it.
If you don't know how to cook, then learn how.
Think of something that could be worse. Think about NOT being able to climb onto that rock you are sitting in that picture (nice pic; is that the west?) Change your outlook about what your doing and you will feel better.
Good luck and keep coming back.0 -
You create and pursue another.
Good answer!0 -
You start another goal. I'm studying to be a Zumba instructor. Actually, I'm already certified as a Basic and Zumba Gold instructor, but I'm slogging away at my ACE group fitness instructor certification exam.
You shouldn't be hungry. Are you eating enough? I eat about 1500 calories a day plus some of my exercise calories. My goal is to lose 1/2 pound a week. When I reach my new goal, which is to lose some body fat, I am going to approach maintenance differently than the first time. This time I will add 100 calories a week until I stabilize.0 -
Once you hit maintenance, you get to eat a few more calories, as long as you stay active. I still continue to log and work out, same as when I was focused on losing weight.
If you're feeling miserable, you should take a look at your calorie target and types of food you eat. Are you set for 2lb per week? That is a bit steep if you only need to lose 35lb. Also, make sure you eat back your exercise cals if you are using the standard MFP set up. I ate at least 1500kcal per day while losing. The last 5kg I probably averaged close to 2000kcal per day and still lost slowly. Try eating more protein and fibre rich food. E.g. A massive chicken salad has same calories as a relatively small amount of fried chicken, and keeps me fuller.
Losing weight and getting healthy doesn't have to get a stressful unhappy experience.0 -
You shouldn't be miserable and starving now! If you are, then I'm guessing your current calorie goal is too low (is it the all-too-common 1200?).
Going by your ticker on your profile, you have about 35lbs to lose? If so, and if you set your weekly loss goal to 2lbs a week, go into your settings and change it to 1 or .5 lbs a week. You will still be in a calorie deficit and lose, but you'll be eating a better and more sustainable number of cals. You don't want to over eat, but you don't want to under eat, either - first of all, because it SUCKS, and second because food is fuel, and your body needs fuel to function well.
As the weight comes off, you adjust the goals, tweak the calories along the way as needed, until you get to goal.0 -
I make a plan way ahead of time and set new goals. I will hit my goal in about a month. Then I will set my calories to maintainance level and work towards different goals. For me that means, after I hit my goal next month I am entering a powerlifting contest, a couple of races, and then training for my APFT in October as for my near term goals.0
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I saw your other posts - and it looks like you have a goal of 2 pounds per week with 35 pounds to lose. This is not very realistic, and is likely the source of your frustration and misery. Try updating it to 1.5 or even 1 pound per week - you'll have more calories per day, and a goal that is more realistic.
And work to increase your activity. Little bits here & there.0 -
Most restaurants will make an egg-white omelet. Even McDonalds has egg whites now. You make it work however you can. I used to take the kids to McDonald's (I've since weaned them off of it), and order 2 grilled chicken sandwiches, double up the chicken, throw away one bun, and have a diet Coke.
Nonetheless, I think you're putting the cart before the horse, if you're worrying about when and/or IF you reach your goal. Your mindset reeks of doubt, skepticism and uncertainty. That's surely a formula for failure. If you do it properly (ie: not trying to lose 20 lbs in 3 weeks) and slowly, dieting is not a horrble experience at all. As a matter of fact, when you're losing weight consistently while still eating foods you love, it's quite rewarding. So stop starving yourself, and don't worry about what you're going to do when you reach your goal. Focus on today.0 -
That's how I do it too. 1 lbs / weekI saw your other posts - and it looks like you have a goal of 2 pounds per week with 35 pounds to lose. This is not very realistic, and is likely the source of your frustration and misery. Try updating it to 1.5 or even 1 pound per week - you'll have more calories per day, and a goal that is more realistic.
And work to increase your activity. Little bits here & there.0 -
You mentioned that you're new at this. I remember being SUPER miserable when I started watching what I ate too (1200 calories a day is crazy low!). I'd say it took me about 3 weeks before I wasn't any more. My friend who also started at the same time only noticed it for a week so it varies. I cried a lot in those 3 weeks. I was exhausted (since I kept staying up late to cook as I'd never cooked for myself before and I was having difficulty doing it quickly). I think you will make it through, just keep at it a while longer. It definitely takes getting used to! But once you're there, you eat at maintenance (so for a woman that would be around 1500 - 1600 or maybe higher depending on your height).
I have some tips or ideas. They might not be great haha but I'm brainstorming here.
1) Try cooking big batches in a slow cooker (or oven) so you don't have to worry about cooking every day. I actually ended up making lasagna since you can fit your carbs, protein, veggies, and dairy all in one piece (plus Italian is my comfort food). It's actually a fairly complete meal (and you can use whole wheat noodles and the texture, if you don't like it, isn't noticeable)! And I'd take a huge slice (like 1/6th of it) as my meal. I usually used a low calorie jarred sauce, extra lean ground beef or chicken, I cut back on the cheese a bit, usually a max of 1.5 cups shredded per lasagna (just enough to stick it together). I usually find slow cooker soups don't keep me feeling full though... unless it's basically solid ground beef and beans.
2) Calculate the calories of things before you cook them. Adjust the calculations if you make changes (i.e. need more or less butter and such).
3) Eat lots of veggies steamed - they're really low calorie and you don't add calories since you're not using oil. Potatoes and corn have more. I would bring chopped broccoli or carrots along as snacks. Broccoli tastes great steamed and then with seasonings on it like seasoned salt or tex mex mixes...
4) Apples are really good too. I buy the biggest ones I can find (about 80 calories) but they take a while to eat so it's good for snacking.
5) Ah! If you're really having trouble maybe try slowly decreasing your calories every day until you get down to where you want to be. Or eat as many fruits and veggies as you want (not if they're accompanied with oil or butter though) - every time you're hungry (before you eat a meal and between meals). Snack on them as you're cooking, or on the ride home from work, late at night, etc. Worry about those calories later - like start counting them once you're a couple of weeks in but for now use them as filler foods.
5) Plan for snacks - I like Fibre 1 Oats and Chocolate chewy bars. They're 140 calories but since they have fibre, they are a bit more filling and are sweet. They make me pretty happy.
6) Don't be afraid of calories. Not everything you eat has to have few calories! I usually eat around 600 calories just at lunch. It keeps me going the rest of the day until dinner.
7) Try to go to bed early. There are a couple of reasons... a) it reduces stress and can help you lose more weight than you would with the same amount of calories; b) You probably won't get as hungry while you're sleeping; c) Unless you sleep walk and eat, you can't even eat anything while asleep. You may find you can go to bed a bit hungry and wake up not hungry.
I hope some of these ideas may help you. Finally... maybe you just need to take an objective look - do you actually need or want to lose weight? I don't know your situation, mind. This is my problem now. I got most of the way down and kinda just feel like "Meh, what does it matter any more?" - because if I were a doctor looking at me, I'd say good enough. Not very motivational.0 -
Wow! Okay, So I just got home (from my first try at walking with the hubs doing 5 miles...we did 2.5 so not bad for our first whack at it!) I am so amazed by all the comments I received!! Thank you everyone for the feedback and alot of you are just plain funny. This helps a lot too because I was a bit overwhelmed with the whole diet thing this morning so laughing makes it better!
My husband and I are doing this together. Trying to be more active, eat less and in turn get back to where we were 5 years ago when we got married. We are both wanting to lose around 35 pds. I personally am almost 5'7 180pds. I would like to be back at 145
I have never in my life had any sort of weight that I needed to lose until now. My whole family is thin and Ive always been that way too. However, about 6 years ago I was put on Celexa (have recently been switched to another drug but thats a whole other story!) So I know those drugs cause weight gain in and of themselves. Then we started a wedding photography business that no doubt keeps us busy busy busy BUT we are only activity shooting 2 days a week. The rest of the time is sitting on the couch editing/taking care of business. We eat out 3 times a day sometimes 4 or 5 and its been like that since we got married. We have went through spurts of trying cooking at home, healthy eating, clean eating etc. In the end we both LOVE to eat, try new places to eat and hate working out.
I know all of the factors above have without a doubt caused the weight gain and Im in a sort of depression about it. Im not used to being this size (even though I feel I carry it well and Im not morbidly obese or anything) I am flat out disgusted with what I look like right now. The hubs feels the same way about himself (maybe a little or a lot less emotional about it though haha!)
So we bought the fitbit bracelets and decided that maybe using those to motivate us and show us where we need to be as far as activity, and using myfitnesspal to do the calorie tracking...maybe it wouldnt be as bad as we thought!
Well, The fitbit is difficult for us to understand and really so is a lot of myfitnesspal. We are really not familiar with how your body takes in, loses etc. Also, there is a HUGE difference in what our fitbits are telling us. For example, today we walked 2.5 miles. His said we were active for 39 min. Mine said 7 min. Mine updated my myfitnesspal with 51 calories and his updated with 421!! He is also allowed a few hundred more calories every day than I am even though we are set to lose the same amount, the same way?
It does have me at only 1200 calories a day. Its very hard right now because like I said we are used to eating out..freely. By the time I eat two meals (sometimes even just 1) I cant eat anymore according to myfitnesspal.
It is set to lose 2lb a week (Im ready for it to come off already and our 5 year anniversary is the beginning of December in a tropical place lol!) So I would LOVE to have my old self back! I didnt realize 2lb a week was really intense? Again, new to this!
We went grocery shopping this afternoon and tried to pick things that would fill us up but be lower calories. As I type this the hubs is making a sort of veggie soup. (We keep reading soups are great for this type of thing lol) We are both picky eaters in our own ways so eating healthy options is a big challenge lol.
It is so encouraging to get feedback from all of you on here though, people that are doing this and feeling great about it!! Seeing some of your info and the weight lost is such a positive reinforcement. I will try to post more positive things in the future...this morning like I said...it was a rough morning and I was feeling really down.
Thank you thank you thank you again to everyone for all the advice!!!!0 -
Can you explain what you mean by eat back the amount you work off? Does that mean if you walk and burn 200 calories and it adds that to what you can eat..you should eat it? I thought I had read that you shouldnt eat it back because then you wont lose anything?0
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Once you hit maintenance, you get to eat a few more calories, as long as you stay active. I still continue to log and work out, same as when I was focused on losing weight.
If you're feeling miserable, you should take a look at your calorie target and types of food you eat. Are you set for 2lb per week? That is a bit steep if you only need to lose 35lb. Also, make sure you eat back your exercise cals if you are using the standard MFP set up. I ate at least 1500kcal per day while losing. The last 5kg I probably averaged close to 2000kcal per day and still lost slowly. Try eating more protein and fibre rich food. E.g. A massive chicken salad has same calories as a relatively small amount of fried chicken, and keeps me fuller.
Losing weight and getting healthy doesn't have to get a stressful unhappy experience.
Can you explain what you mean by eat back the amount you work off? Does that mean if you walk and burn 200 calories and it adds that to what you can eat..you should eat it? I thought I had read that you shouldnt eat it back because then you wont lose anything?0 -
Can you explain what you mean by eat back the amount you work off? Does that mean if you walk and burn 200 calories and it adds that to what you can eat..you should eat it? I thought I had read that you shouldnt eat it back because then you wont lose anything?
MFP has your deficit already built in to your calorie goal.
1,200 is far too low for your current goals. You should be aiming for around 1lb/week at your range. Within 15 pounds of your goal, you should transition to .5lb/week.
You will get more calories to eat. And as long as you are accurately logging your food (down to the ounce/gram), and accurately logging your exercise burns, you will lose. You need to eat back your exercise cals because if you don't, you're not netting a good amount for the day, and most likely under 1,200 at your rate.0 -
So Im new to this and I will be honest...its miserable. Im starving all of the time.
SNIP
In the end its not realistic if Im going to have to continue to be miserable in everything I eat...
I've done this for a long time, I love food and hate being hungry, and I have some suggestions ..
USE YOUR DIARY to help yourself be less hungry. I found that when I had logged for a week or so there were a couple of things that used a LOT of calories that I didn't care about at all. For me, it was bread, big glasses of milk, and cheese. I substituted in water and tortillas and stopped snacking on cheese and VIOLA! big calorie deficit.
I could eat everything else - including small portions of ice cream for desert and a little chocolate every day. No hunger.
For you it might be something else. Look at your diary and see what's putting in the big numbers. Then substitute in something else.
I also found that if every time I was hungry I ate something satisfying - four or five cashews or a spoonful of ice cream - I stopped being hungry. And I got less and less hungry over time. Protein really helped me - and it didn't have to be a lot of protein. Roast beef rollup for lunch. Eggs or yogurt for breakfast. Ice cream after dinner.
I also found that if I went for a walk every day I got back 350 or so calories that I could eat back. Again, less hungry.
Finally, I was a lot less hungry and lost a lot more weight if my carbs were under 40%. This will happen naturally if you eat more protein. Easy to digest carbs spike your insulin, take the sugar out of your system, and then leave you hungry. More complex carbs or other types of food don't do that.
Good luck! It really does get better.0
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