Help - I've been logging now for about 10 days and finding it very difficult to stick to calories

It won't make you feel satisfied but it might curb the appetite enough to be able to stick to it: carrots. When you are hungry just eat lots of carrots.

So you have 300 calorie breakfast, 400 calorie lunch and dinner and save the rest for munching on carrots whenever hunger pangs hit.

It's not ideal but it might get you through.

Also go for a walk when you are hungry (not near shops though! :P) often if I go for a walk I don't feel as hungry after.

With 20lbs to go perhaps 1/2lb a week would be better esp if you are finding the limit for 1lb a week too little.

Goal should be not to lose as fast as possible but do it at a reasonable rate and still live life.

up you calories, MFP told me 1200 and i tried it for 2 weeks, lost too much weight too quickly and was struggling to keep in the calorie allowance, i now have 1750 and i dont feel deprived and can factor most things into my diet, i do work out daily but dont eat all of my calories back, as the post above says .... go for .5lbs a week. Remember it has to be a sustainable life choice, and who wants to live on 1200 a day for the rest of your life

candistyx wrote: »

It won't make you feel satisfied but it might curb the appetite enough to be able to stick to it: carrots. When you are hungry just eat lots of carrots.

So you have 300 calorie breakfast, 400 calorie lunch and dinner and save the rest for munching on carrots whenever hunger pangs hit.

It's not ideal but it might get you through.

Also go for a walk when you are hungry (not near shops though! :P) often if I go for a walk I don't feel as hungry after.

Carrots - i agree. They take a while to munch through, and they make you feel full.

The key is to find something you can live with for an extended period of time. Perhaps try a goal of .5 pounds per week, and only eat back exercise calories if you feel you've exerted yourself more than usual. If 1/week is 1350 then .5/week should be 1600. And gives you MUCH more room.

Dinner ideas:
4-6 ounces lean meat 100-200 calories
salad & baked/steamed veggie 100-150 calories (I use cheese, lite dressing)
Something starchy - couscous, baked sweet potato, rice, etc. 150 or so calories

Lunches, I have something similar or a PB&J on light bread w fruit/veggies/pretzels/small salad.

Breakfast I tend to snack thru the morning on weekdays. An ounce of cheese, a small breakfast pita sandwich, a banana or apple. This morning Vitatops because they were on sale.

Snacks: nuts, yogurt, fruit, protein bars, sweet treats as you see fit.

For protein bars - look at labels IMO. I buy a brand that I like, has 180 or so calories and 13g protein. Not a TON of protein but also not loaded w/ a bunch of fat & sugar. And I don't like to eat things that remind me of cardboard!

I'm in a soup phase just now. Can have a big bowl of home made vegetable soup for very few calories. Then chicken and veg or something like that. Fills me right up

I give myself 1500 calories a day and don't eat back my exercise calories mainly because I haven't found a reliable way of measuring them and it just seems like too much hard work

I personally try to minimise the amount of starchy carbs I have like bread and pasta, mainly because not only do they not keep me full for long but also because I blow up like a big balloon. Instead I try to fill up on proteins.

I snack on carrots or a small portion of nuts, cottage cheese things like that

Good luck

bigbeff wrote: »

Hi,

My thoughts for a standard day are:
Breakfast - eggs and spinach or porridge
Snack - banana or apple
Lunch - either chicken/fish/veggie option with plenty of veg or salad
Dinner - Something light, soup, salad or lean meat and veg

I don't eat too much at lunchtime, just a small portion of whatever. My downfall at work is the amount of cakes and biscuits that are in the staff room every day. I am trying to be strong and choose the fruit option or the super seeds!

Please, any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!!

Sounds to me like you are hungry because you are not eating enough. Try to have protein, a bit of fat, and some carbs at every meal.

The breakfast of eggs and spinach sounds ok, but how about adding some yogurt or milk or a citrus fruit to it. Porridge is something I eat most days, but I doctor it up with an egg, or some nuts, and often cook it on milk instead of water.

If you have having a banana or apple for a snack, add some peanut or other nut butter to it so it stays with you longer and doesn't set off a hunger lurch a short while later.

The lunch sounds ok. But if it's salad only, add some protein to it ... some beans, or a piece of chicken breast or tuna fish ... something besides just vegetables. Use a real salad dressing instead of low fat.

Dinner ... again, something light might be ok if it's balanced, but you will need a snack later on depending on what time you eat. You might get more lasting power if you add milk or cheese or yogurt to that meal.

Good luck.

Choose the egg & spinach for breakfast, the fat and protein in the eggs and the fiber in the spinach will help keep you fuller longer. Make sure you're adding some protein and fat to each of your meals. Avocado is a good example of fat plus fiber. Hope that helps!

Another vote for raising your calories and making sure to have protein and fat to balance your carbs when you eat.

Agreed with everyone who said you're not getting enough fat. For breakfast, try an egg and avocado on whole-wheat toast.

Also: I don't think we hear it enough, but IT'S OK TO BE HUNGRY. For most of us, we are SO dehydrated that what we think are hunger cues, are actually thirst cues. Next time you feel peckish, drink a big glass of water and see how you feel 20 minutes later. You likely won't be hungry anymore.

I've only been at it for a month and while I haven't lost much, I have learned a whole lot. I weigh and log every single thing that has calories over about 10. I don't bother with celery, tomatoes, lettuce and that sort of thing. Somewhere someone posted a thread asking people what small things they do to cut calories and there were some great ideas and good info.

I plan for the times during the day when I will likely be hungrier or be around a lot of food. If I'm going to be at a party in the evening, I will exercise during the day and have a very low cal breakfast and lunch. I'm on 1350 a day and I really like to cook, so it can be hard. I try to keep my breakfast under 200 calories and my lunch under 300. This allows me to still have a nice dinner and snack or bit of dessert. Breakfast is normally a piece of toast or steel-cut oats and coffee. Lunch is often a sandwich with 1/2 oz sliced cheese, one or two slices of thin deli-sliced meat and sliced tomato and lettuce on it, and coffee or tea.

I also make a huge pot of vegetable soup that is about 167 calories per 2 cup serving. I can fill up easily on it without blowing the calorie limit. Weighing and calculating everything has the added benefit of making me intentionally choose not to use mayo when mustard would be fine. Mayo is calorie rich and mustard is almost calorie free. I switched to skim milk for my lattes. I spread as small of an amount of butter as I can on things. Instead of a tablespoon I might barely use a teaspoon. It is the small things that add up.

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MFP gives you extra calories if you exercise, so you can eat a little more.

What you listed, though, seems like it would certainly fit into 1350 calories!

If you get hungry, eat more fresh produce. It's fairly to very low-cal and filling. If you tried to eat 1350 calories of only healthy food, you'd probably have a hard time getting to the goal because you'd be too stuffed.