Small Changes Make a Big Difference

Ashmorejennifer1
Ashmorejennifer1 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Dos anyone have any suggestions to small changes to make to a normal/high-calorie diet that would cut just a few calories every day. The goal is weight maintenance or even a small amount of weight loss. One suggestion I have heard is to eat whatever meals you like but divide them in half. Are there any other suggestions?

Replies

  • aedreana
    aedreana Posts: 979 Member
    Try prescription diet pills and if you don't already smoke, start smoking cigarettes. If you don't want to diet, those are the only two things that I know of to be appetite suppressants. Official disclaimer: cigarettes are a health hazard. I don't really understand why you don't want to diet. "Cutting back" instead of full-fledged dieting usually doesn't result in weight loss. I don't think either of those two suggestions in your original post will work. Counting every calorie-- dieting-- is the logical route to weight loss. If you don't wish to diet, I recommend you go the appetite suppressant route.
  • Ashmorejennifer1
    Ashmorejennifer1 Posts: 5
    It's not that I don't want to diet, it's that I can't- from a mental and metabolic point of view. The point here is to make small, realistic changes. But Cutting back does work even from a calorie standpoint. If I usually ate a 200 calorie snack every day, a 300 calorie breakfast, and a lunch and dinner that were 500 calories each it would work. I could cut breakfast, lunch, and dinner in half every days and save 650 calories a day, which would result in about a pound and a half of weight lost per week. I am just looking for new strategies to cut back that are realistic and healthy. Small actions add up to big results.
  • sbarella
    sbarella Posts: 713 Member
    Eat smaller portions of what you usually eat.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Try prescription diet pills and if you don't already smoke, start smoking cigarettes. If you don't want to diet, those are the only two things that I know of to be appetite suppressants. Official disclaimer: cigarettes are a health hazard. I don't really understand why you don't want to diet. "Cutting back" instead of full-fledged dieting usually doesn't result in weight loss. I don't think either of those two suggestions in your original post will work. Counting every calorie-- dieting-- is the logical route to weight loss. If you don't wish to diet, I recommend you go the appetite suppressant route.


    You do realize that she just told you she has a history of eating disorders, right?

    OP, the trick of putting half the meal away is intended more towards restaurants, where the serving size is way over a reasonable portion and there are added fats and calorie-raising ingredients. It's not intended for healthy home meals which are already appropriately sized.

    I am hesitant to make suggestions based on your history, but I will say that you should be able to pull off reasonable calories in the day by making sure half your plate is filled with veggies, one quarter grains/legumes/starches and one quarter proteins (meat, fish, chicken, eggs, tofu, etc.) Eat as wide a variety as you can, and include as many different colors in your veggies as you can. If you skip anything, skip the grains/legumes/starches, but try to include them for at least one meal a day. Make sure you eat real portions, not baby portions. The theory is that if you're eating half a plate of veggies, you won't have room to overeat.
  • aedreana
    aedreana Posts: 979 Member
    That would place you @ 850 calories/day. That IS s diet. I am on 700 calories/day. That is also a diet. No of course I wouldn't tell someone with anorexia to diet, because they wouldn't need to lose any weight, in fact they are already underweight.
  • Ashmorejennifer1
    Ashmorejennifer1 Posts: 5
    Snugglesmacks, thank you for the advice :) Haha it makes a lot of sense but I would never think of it myself. I think this would be good for me because then I won't have to worry about portions being "too big" because vegetables are low calorie. Maybe I'll even season them to make them really flavored.
    Also, I want to thank you for being aware of the whole eating disorder thing. I am healthy now and am so over the calorie restriction/bingeing thing. No more 1200 calorie diets for me (technically that's how much a 6 year old should eat)-- I'm moving on to generous portions of nutritious, filling foods haha.
  • sunnyogachick
    sunnyogachick Posts: 10
    a small change that I made in the beginning of my weight loss that made a huge difference was cutting drinks out (soda, juice, lattes etc). I drink water and occasionally unsweetened almond milk if I need to in my cereal or my acai smoothies in the morning. Drinking your calories is often unnoticed and can hinder your weight loss. especially if you enjoy heavy drinking lol empty calories right there
  • Aestuavi
    Aestuavi Posts: 15 Member
    No of course I wouldn't tell someone with anorexia to diet, because they wouldn't need to lose any weight, in fact they are already underweight.
    No. Anorexia is a mental and behavioural disorder, not a body type. There are many people who struggle with EDs without being underweight.
  • aedreana
    aedreana Posts: 979 Member
    "Anorexia" refers to people (or animals) who are abnormally underweight, not necessarily from an eating disorder. Cancer patients, AIDS patients, and elderly people with dementia or other health issues can lose their appetite and thus become so thin as to be accurately described as having anorexia.
  • nuttysam
    nuttysam Posts: 9 Member
    Actually Anorexia is medically defined as a loss of appetite or an inability to eat. Anorexia nervosa is the psychological condition associated with the the loss of appetite.

    Doctors could describe someone who has temporarily lost their appetite due to a virus as being "anorexic" temporarily.

    I'm not a doctor but I have worked in pharmaceutical drug safety for years and anorexia (without nervosa) is a common medical term for anyone who has lost their appetite.
  • ekat120
    ekat120 Posts: 407 Member
    If you don't already, try eating mindfully. When I take a bite, chew it slowly and pay attention to the flavor/texture, put my fork down, take a sip of water, then take another bite, I'm satisfied on less than when I shovel it in. Unfortunately, I usually shovel it in!

    I like this blog post: http://summertomato.com/how-toeat-less-without-noticing/
  • Aestuavi
    Aestuavi Posts: 15 Member
    I thought Ashmorejennifer1 had suffered from anorexia nervosa (= the ED), not being underweight due to other causes. I thought it was clear that I was referring to that. Either way, sorry if there was miscommunication.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I started using light bread instead of regular, cut back on beverages with calories, used mustard instead of mayo, a little less cheese here and there, etc...
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    If you don't already, try eating mindfully. When I take a bite, chew it slowly and pay attention to the flavor/texture, put my fork down, take a sip of water, then take another bite, I'm satisfied on less than when I shovel it in. Unfortunately, I usually shovel it in!

    I like this blog post: http://summertomato.com/how-toeat-less-without-noticing/
    This is a great blog. I enjoyed her book as well. Good, basic, common sense information.

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