I am so sick of counting my calories

jerleen369
jerleen369 Posts: 1
in Motivation and Support
I am 25, 5'5, weight 158lbs. I was doing so well but I just moved to Sweden for the summer and living with a family. The kids have all these snack around me and I break 6 days of the week! I didn't eat sweets very often back in the States, but here its like everyone goes out for coffee and sweets. Not to mention, they have amazing sweets that I have never had before. I want to enjoy myself and I understand that there needs to be balance. I just feel like I lost my groove and motivation to lose the weight and I prepared myself before I moved here that this could happen.. So I am trying to reach out because I promised myself if I got to this point I won't let myself give up.

Of four months of "dieting" I'm only 5 lbs downs and goal is 20 lbs. I keep going up and down by 2 lbs. I work out and stay active but thats because I know I am eating almost 1,700-2,000 calories a day and my goal is 1,500. Not to mention when its my period I'm always hungry.
Side note: When I was back in the states and on a good routine, I was making pretty good progress. Almost 1-1.5 lbs a week. I got down to 155 from 166. Now I'm at 158.

I know I have come a long way and have created better habit but I can't keep my portions down here. And I always want to eat when the kids are eating!
Can someone look at my food dairy and tell me what I absolutely must cut out!?

I work out about 5-6 days a week doing 30-45mins elliptical,15-20min HITT, 7mins jump rope, and walking for 40mins. I switch between these and mix them up.

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    If you are staying within a two pound range, you are doing fine. When you get back home, you can set up a plan for yourself that works. For now, eat smaller portions. Instead of a muffin, eat half. Or eat the muffin and skip something else. What if you decided to only have one sweet a day? Would that work for you?
  • sentaruu
    sentaruu Posts: 2,206 Member
    if you are only there for the summer you should definitely experience things you wont normally back here in the states. But, you should try to exercise some willpower. I'm surprised that you're having issues with portion sizes being larger than here in the US. If it were me I would cut out most of the "crap" food and limit myself to one treat/sweet per day and try to fit it into my range. that being said, don't let your diet make you miss out on something you might not be able to experience again.
    have a great time over there and good luck!
  • kk_140
    kk_140 Posts: 518 Member
    why not just maintain until you get back? You're on an adventure and should enjoy it!
  • elaineshuter
    elaineshuter Posts: 8 Member
    Try and focus on getting better quality foods into your diary so you get more bang for your buck. Having a quick look at your diary I noticed a lot of high calorie foods, ice cream and treats that do little to satiate you and do a lot to use up your daily allowance, no wonder you feel hungry all the time. Think about setting a goal of having 3 nutrient dense meals a day with plenty of veggies, salad, lean proteins, that are both filling and nutrient dense. There should be enough left over with planning to enjoy a Swedish treat every now and then. Get back to basics, leaving it until you get back to the States will just create a bigger problem for you to deal with later.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    I moved to Tunisia for a year and I'm taking a break from meticulously counting calories right now. I'm just trying to be reasonable in my eating and stay active. I don't own a scale here so I am not tracking my weight right now either. I did bring all clothing that was fitting either well or a bit on the snug side. I didn't bring with me any clothing that I could "grow into"

    I log my food on occasion to make sure I'm not slipping too much and to get an idea of calories and protein in foods that I didn't ordinarily eat when I was in the States but I don't track every morsel like I used to because with some of these foods, I have no idea what's even in them!

    As for sweets, I have the same problem as you. I eat the sweets but only if they're "special" I don't do any extra snacking on low quality sweets or snacks or anything that I can easily get in the USA so I save my indulgences for the really good stuff my mother-in-law makes.

    So far, so good. My "too snug" clothing is actually fitting me a bit better so I may have lost a few pounds... as long as I can still wear the clothes I brought I'm not going to worry about it.
  • earlyxer
    earlyxer Posts: 240 Member
    It doesn't take a lot of looking to see where the problems are in your diary.

    Lose the fruit - it's inimical to dieting anyway, it's mostly sugar. It has fiber - yeah, yeah, yeah but so does broccoli.

    Two ice creams sundaes per day is going to hurt. No doubt about it.

    You're better off eating eggs for breakfast than granola too, no matter it's euro-popularity. I know some of those breakfast buffets in Scandanavia can look pretty strange! Aim for the protein.
  • PaulFields56
    PaulFields56 Posts: 108 Member
    You have some good advice here: Your "adventure" is temporary. Enjoy it for the duration and know that you can make adjustments when you get to the end. I know that it's hard to manage calories when you go into a new situation--think of the dreaded freshman 15. At least your tracking lets you see what you are doing. I suspect, if you were there long enough, your normal self control would re-assert itself.

    You might also try planning a treat or two into the day. That way, you get the benefit of enjoying your experience abroad, while having some control over your diet.

    I'm glad you're maintaining. Keep it up.
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
    why not just maintain until you get back? You're on an adventure and should enjoy it!
    This is good advice.
  • phil6707
    phil6707 Posts: 541 Member
    if you are in Sweden, you will wall much more than in the US and eat much smaller portion.

    I lose 4-5 pounds each time I go back visit my family in France and we have big dinner everyday.

    Food is higher quality and portion small, just enjoy it as they do, it is just for 4 months
  • OldSportOldsport
    OldSportOldsport Posts: 275 Member
    Just a suggestion but when it comes to sweet things/high calorie things why not only eat things that you can only find in Sweden and can't get in the US? Combine that maybe with only allowing yourself one treat a day - unless you come across something really new and exciting! You get your sweet treats, your Swedish experience and probably a calorie drop as well.

    Examples in your diary: Haagen Dazs, Magnum - Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream W/ Chocolate Sauce Core etc

    I'd also consider apart from cutting back on the icecream looking at your serving size for some of your essentials - like hummus - 100g as a dip seems to be quite a lot that might be worth reconsidering. Have a brilliant time though - and maintaining between two pounds weight variance is pretty good anyway!
  • Scienceteacher42
    Scienceteacher42 Posts: 27 Member
    Since you are eating sweets with the kids, why not just take a little bit off of their snack instead of eating your own portion. This will help them consume less sweets as well. Sometimes when we are tempted, just a couple of bites is all we really need to fight the craving, but if we have an entire serving in front of us, we will eat it ALL!!!! nom, nom nom

    This way, you still get the experience, but you aren't getting all of the calories. And the just take a break advice is great as well. I was super busy this past winter and so I stopped logging, and stopped exercising as much and just maintained my weight. I wasn't able to achieve my other goals of getting stronger, but I didn't quit or give up, I just took a break. I took longer to get on track than I wanted, but now I am make to losing my 1-1.5 pounds a week, getting stronger, and feeling great. I don't feel guilty for my break because I know that I took 10 years to gain the weight, a 6 month break isn't going to stop me from eventually getting it all off.

    Enjoy your time!
  • SEAFOODMAN
    SEAFOODMAN Posts: 342
    cut the ice cream out or once a week. just high calories,sugar and carbs........its my weakness 2
    keep your carbs 150-200.............add a protein shake for breakfast or a couple of eggs.
    you prob wan't your calories in the 1500-1700 range if you want to lose
    drink a gallon of water a day.
    try to cut calories and limit your goodies.
    if you're having trouble controlling calories, save as many for the end of the day.....................plan your whole day so you know how to manage your calories.................it's a tough game................weight will fluctuate 2-5lbs on any given day
  • SEAFOODMAN
    SEAFOODMAN Posts: 342
    I was looking at rmr chart............if you avg 1355 you definitely would lose..........I know it seems low.....you could always do 5:2 and just eat more 5 days a week.

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