What to do when you hit your allowance too early.

Hi are you carrying out any sort of fitness on a day to day basis? As this will count on your diary and give you room to move.

Lots of things carry toward fitness, walking, cleaning, gardening and even cooking.

Also remember that sometimes when you snack, its actualy your body telling you, that you are thirsty, I find have a water bottle with me all the time can helpl this, and can get you past that craving.

But please factor some sort of fitness into your day.

If you need and other info I am happy to help.

Stick in there and you will get there in the end.

Shane

If it's happening consistently then take a look at what you're doing.

Are you meeting your nutritional goals? Getting enough protein? Carbs aren't a bad thing, but I definitely noticed that I feel much hungrier through the day if I have too much. Could that be a factor for you?

Also, dunno what level you're eating at, but there's a chance your cal limit might be too low for you. You might be approaching weight loss too aggressively. Take a look at that as well. You might not want to raise your limit or see that it's going to take you longer, but look at it this way: if you're constantly over your cals anyway, then why not accept that you need a higher limit and work towards that instead of something unrealistic for you. If you're not meeting your goals then that constant disappointment is going to be more discouraging than taking a bit longer to get to where you want (and could lead to you quitting before getting there anyway). Haven't looked at your diary so can't say this for certain, but you might not be currently eating at a level which will stall weightloss- you might be right where you need to be. But if you're seeing red numbers day after day, then you're going to think you're doing something wrong, when you either might not be or maybe just need to cut back a slight amount instead of the drastic amount you're trying for right now.

I feel like I've rambled a lot in this post, so hope it makes sense!

Here are some things that work for me when I don't have many cals to work with, adapted for you:
1. pack and prepare fruit and veggie snacks
-put three oranges or apples in your bag
-cut 3 stalks of celery into 3-4 sections of sticks and put 2 Tbsp. PB in a small container.
-always have a bag of unsalted roasted almonds (super yummy!)
-put cut berries, melons or picked grapes into a small container for the day in your bag

2. add in another exercise before or after dinner
-go for another long walk and walk faster than usual, like you're kind of in a hurry
-do a workout on YouTube
-play netball again

3. eat more veggies and protein for breakfast and lunch
-a nice salad without too much dressing and mostly veggies can cost about 150 calories
-don't use breads a lot since they tend to be 100+ calories for one single slice/serving
-brothy soups, like veggie ones, have little calories, lots of vitamin benefits and can still be filling and yummy

All in all, you'll have to do some more planning. Also, learn about what foods help fat burn and metabolism boost and plan your day so you can stretch out your calories.

You can do it!

Ive been on here and other tracking sites a while but I always seem to have the issue of running out of my allowance before dinner. By the time dinner rolls around, its like 'oh well Im already over for today, Ill just start again tomorrow!'
I realise how bad this is, thats why I need advice.
So please tell me, what do you do when you hit your limit too early in the day? Do you just stop eating anything? Should i try to walk until i have enough cals in my allowance to 'afford' dinner? I dont know whats best!

Well like some said, maybe you're starting out too low, you might be a person who has to work their way to it. If you are on 1200 up it to 1400/1500 for a bit.

What I try to do is log in my dinner calories first thing in the morning, and that tells me how many calories I have left for the day so then I THINK about what I want for breakfast and lunch and I figure out what I can have with what calories were left.

I have a bigger (400 cal ) breakfast, low cal snack and lunch (200-300) which leaves me 500-600 for dinner and low cal snack, if that day is a cardio day, it's even better because I typically can burn off the lunch and snacks to allow for more dinner and breakfast.

The whole point of logging your food is so you can prevent "running out of calories before dinner". I mean, it happens occasionally, but if it is happening consistently, then you're not planning out your meals very well. I plan out what I'm going to eat each day, to make sure I have enough calories for the day.

You are having lots of fruit at lunchtime . If you really want to have your peanut butter sandwich at lunch then use the fruits as your snacks. That will cut out the two cheese snacks. I would have a more filling breakfast- porridge or all bran cereal with low fat milk will be less calories but more satisfying. When you get home to your mums meal just eat the protein bit and fill your plate with low cal veg or salad. Eg, if she has made chicken with potatoes, skip the potatoes. For pasta bolognase skip the pasta. Good luck.

If I were in your shoes I would exercise to earn at least 200 cal extra per day.

That would put you at 1570 which is around what I eat in a day.



^ I' d suggest this! I tried the TDEE method - 20%, but it didn't work for me! MFP gives me around the same calorie allowance as you and then I try to do 30 - 45 mins exercise to give me an extra 200 - 250 calories a day. Beware though! MFP is said to overestimate burns. I only eat back 50% of what MFP calculates the burn to be.
Some days, though, I go over and I try not to stress about it too much and just resolve to do better tomorrow!:laugh:

The whole point of logging your food is so you can prevent "running out of calories before dinner". I mean, it happens occasionally, but if it is happening consistently, then you're not planning out your meals very well. I plan out what I'm going to eat each day, to make sure I have enough calories for the day.

This. Plan your days out. Here are some things that help me be consistent:

- Plan out the next day's breakfast and lunch (I should plan dinner too, but I don't for various boring reasons). I make tomorrow's lunch and put it in the fridge.
- If I do go over, I still try to eat reasonable.
- I don't beat myself up if I go over my goal by 100-300 calories. I don't use it as an excuse to binge either. "Oh look, I'm over my goal by 2 calories. Sigh. I might as well eat this box of Oreos now... and cover them in ice cream... after I drink 5 beers."
- After you start logging enough meals, you'll be able to guesstimate how much a meal is and make better decisions about eating during the day.
- On occasion, if I'm over and hungry, I'll just go to bed a little earlier, without eating that meal that will put me WAAAAAY over my calories, and the next day have a NORMAL breakfast.

Instead of having a smoothie in the a.m., why don't you try eating your calories so you're more sated. Greek yogurt with those strawberries and some nuts in it is a great breakfast and knocks about 100-120 off those calories, which you can save later towards your dinner. Try preplanning your day so you can see where you need to adjust. I did 1300 for the first three months here, and never had that problem keeping within my caloric goals.