Getting used to reduced calories
lynntfuzz
Posts: 21 Member
I've been successful at weight loss through calorie counting in the past but I'm older now. I'm finding it really hard to get used to reducing the calories. I get so hungry at night. I know it takes some time to get used to and it helps to fiddle with exactly what you eat during the day so you are more full. But how long does it take to get used to the calorie reduction? I've even set my target to 1700 calories to cut myself some slack. At this age I probably have to go lower to really lose weight. Any advice? Experience? Thx!!!! -Lynn (and feel free to add me as a friend!!!! hint hint... )
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What works for me is eating mostly high volume, low calorie foods. Vegetable soup, for example.0
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Make sure you're getting plenty of protein, fat and fibre to help keep you full.0
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Hmm. Probably took about two weeks? I was coming off of a ton of different "eat all you want as long as it's only Food Category X" diets, so at first I thought I was starving. But it no longer feels like that most of the time, so...?0
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It'll take a few weeks. Try to drink tea or water to curb hunger. Eat more protein and veggies.0
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I'm re-learning how to do this after a good loss and years-long maintenance
so I feel you.
Definitely thisTavistockToad wrote: »Make sure you're getting plenty of protein, fat and fibre to help keep you full.
which involves saying no to less-fibrous carbs more often, because they can eat up your calorie allowance and leave you feeling empty. For me anyway, staying on the "cleaner" side helps. By "cleaner" I mean brown / multigrain breads, pasta etc, because they've got more fibre. (I'm eating my way through the last white bread and pasta I'll buy for a while.) I know people can lose eating anything, but if you're down to small numbers and aren't doing a ton of activity, it can make a difference.
Same for leaner meats. I can have more chicken than I can sausages or burgers, so - more chicken
I'm cutting little corners here and there - half-fat mayo for sandwiches, small 1% latte instead of medium 2%.
I've never been fooled by liquid, soups and water don't help, ime. It's a quick cheat that only works until you go to the bathroom. (I don't actually think we do mistake hunger for thirst.)0 -
For me anyway, staying on the "cleaner" side helps. By "cleaner" I mean brown / multigrain breads, pasta etc, because they've got more fibre.
I hate to say this, and perhaps this isn't true for everybody, but I have found the "brown" foods you describe to be just as calorically dense (overall) as the white, and they spike my blood sugar as much as the white versions. And or whatever reason (opinions and even studies vary on this), that translates to more hunger for me.
Again, not trying to say this must be true for everybody. But I do know that I was on a TII Diabetes group for a while and many people said the same things. To be clear, I am technically not TII at this time, but my doctor tells me based on fasting levels that I am pre-TII. (Fasting of 103 and then 107 four weeks apart. Since minimizing my refined grains and starchy foods, yes, including starchy veggies, sadly, my numbers are much better.)
If it works for you, though, then I'm glad for you! Keep it up and here's to a happy, healthy 2015. And of course a full and delicious one! 
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Delete...weird double-post?0
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... I'm finding it really hard to get used to reducing the calories. I get so hungry at night. ....
Could you please define "at night" as in how many hours since you had dinner? I know for me, because of my job, I would eat a traditional dinner at 7pm but then be up until 1am so would get hungry again at around midnight. I had to shift my meal times around a bit which helped a lot. But if you're getting hungry just before bed because you're used to a nibble then have some herbal tea and go to bed to hide from the calorie temptations.
I would agree that it takes weeks. If you set your target at 1700 but were eating 2500 it would feel like an act of cruelty. Maybe every week drop it 50 to 100 calories and you won't notice the change. This strategy helped me as well.
Hope any of this helped. Good luck to you.
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Alaways have in your fridge a big bowl full of carrot sticks, radishes, small florets of broccoli and other small vegetables & fruit, ideal to stave off hunger between meals, it fills you up and is virtually cal-free... and it tastes good too!0
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Maybe you could do some more exercise to eat more calories, that gets me through the first couple of weeks anyway.0
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It's not for everyone but when I was eating 1500 a day, I liked to break it into 3 meals and 2-3 snacks so I felt like I was eating more. Sometimes I ate back my exercise calories and sometimes I 'saved' them for more calories on the weekends.
I find that eating plenty of foods rich in dietary fiber and protein helped keep me sated. Grilled chicken, quinoa, beans, sweet potatoes and squashes are really filling for the calorie count. Having a piece of fruit (like an apple, pear, banana or dates) with nut butter and chia seeds kept me fuller longer than eating it alone. Also having extra liquids helped, I ate a bowl of low sodium miso or drank some hot tea in the afternoons. It gave me more calories for dinner and snacks in the evenings.
The easiest place for me to shave off calories was breakfast, having a bowl of oatmeal with dried berries and ground flax for the nutty/fatty flavor or two scrambled eggs with nutritional yeast for extra cheesy flavor and protein and some coffee was enough in the mornings and usually around 200-250c.0 -
SteveEighty wrote: »Alaways have in your fridge a big bowl full of carrot sticks, radishes, small florets of broccoli and other small vegetables & fruit, ideal to stave off hunger between meals, it fills you up and is virtually cal-free... and it tastes good too!
Not calorie free...be careful you don't make that mistake ...I can easily eat 100 calories of carrots with a dollop of hummus...making that a 200 calorie snack (same as egg on toast)
But still a good suggestion...I like cooking up my vegetables into a big filling chilli or Mediterranean stew that I eat with a sprinkling of cheddar ..yum0 -
It took me until the next morning, when I saw my weight had decreased. And every day my weight went down a little bit more. I also rediscovered exercise. I joined a gym. I bought a heart rate monitor and ate back nearly all my calories (but I was on 1200 to start with).0
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No, I haven't made any mistake. I wrote "virtually cal-free" because it is: 14 cals in 100 g of carrots, same with broccoli, you won't find anything better to fill you up between meals without damages. It's partly how I lost 80 lbs in just over 5 months (and believe me, I like my food, that's why I'd got so fat in the first place!).
The trick here is precisely to NOT use hoummous, sauce, cheese, etc. to go with these little snacks between meals, or only exceptionally (you can have a treat during the weight-loss period of course but not too often - consistency is the key).
As for prepared meals, like you, I love to eat chillies, low-fat stews, noodles, white meat, stir fries, salads (little dressing only), etc. washed down with some wine most evenings, but in small quantities only, otherwise I know what will happen! (I'll balloon again). Six months after losing 80 lbs, I haven't put anything back on, have even lost an extra 2 lbs, partly thanks to these bowls of carrot sticks/broccoli florets, etc. that I dip into whenever I'm a little hungry (will have, maybe, 10 carrot sticks at a time), they've really helped me. They are the business!0 -
SteveEighty wrote: »No, I haven't made any mistake. I wrote "virtually cal-free" because it is: 14 cals in 100 g of carrots, same with broccoli, you won't find anything better to fill you up between meals without damages. It's partly how I lost 80 lbs in just over 5 months (and believe me, I like my food, that's why I'd got so fat in the first place!).
The trick here is precisely to NOT use hoummous, sauce, cheese, etc. to go with these little snacks between meals, or only exceptionally (you can have a treat during the weight-loss period of course but not too often - consistency is the key).
As for prepared meals, like you, I love to eat chillies, low-fat stews, noodles, white meat, stir fries, salads (little dressing only), etc. washed down with some wine most evenings, but in small quantities only, otherwise I know what will happen! (I'll balloon again). Six months after losing 80 lbs, I haven't put anything back on, have even lost an extra 2 lbs, partly thanks to these bowls of carrot sticks/broccoli florets, etc. that I dip into whenever I'm a little hungry (will have, maybe, 10 carrot sticks at a time), they've really helped me. They are the business!
41 cals in 100g carrots and they weigh heavy
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The idea here - in my suggestion - is not to be annal about the number of cals and split hair (28/100 g for carrots actually - 41 is for 150 g -, figures vary but is very low in cals http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories-in-food/salad/Raw-Carrot.htm) but to get the general picture: if you replace the usual snacks between meals with bits of vegetables and fruits, you're on very safe grounds and it fills you up for a while, which is what the OP needs help with. Don't we all! Even on a Maintenance Plan, it's a recurring problem and I've found that my suggestion works very well.0
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SteveEighty wrote: »The idea here - in my suggestion - is not to be annal about the number of cals and split hair (28/100 g for carrots actually - 41 is for 150 g -, figures vary but is very low in cals http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories-in-food/salad/Raw-Carrot.htm) but to get the general picture: if you replace the usual snacks between meals with bits of vegetables and fruits, you're on very safe grounds and it fills you up for a while, which is what the OP needs help with. Don't we all! Even on a Maintenance Plan, it's a recurring problem and I've found that my suggestion works very well.
Without wishing to nitpick ...even your USDA says 41/100g
nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2383/2
I don't snack on raw, plain vegetables ...that would not work for me ...it's about finding ones own balance and tricks ...and learning to understand a real hunger cue and ignore the ones that are just appetite ...if you've just eaten you're probably not hungry ..if you leave it 30 mins it might go away0 -
No, it says 28 in the table (41 is for 150g): Calorie and Nutrition Values for 100g of Raw Carrot - Calories 28.
That's way beside the point anyhow, as explained in my previous post, whether it's 10, 20 30 or 40 it's excellent stuff to have in one's fridge. My two posts also suggested broccoli (about 30 cals/100 g) and radishes (12 cals/100g) to put in the between-meal bowls to stave off the hunger.
It is one of the alternatives, by no means the only one, but I hope it'll help the OP, it did - and still does - help me an awful lot to keep off the weight and remain healthy at the same time (alongside the other stuff, food control, exercising, etc.).0 -
I have problems in the evenings too. What I've found helps (sometimes) is to have a small breakfast, bigger mid-day meal and then the biggest meal in the early evening. Then I try to just have drinks after that. I like being able to have a more "normal" sized meal in the evening. I know this is obvious, but getting to bed earlyish helps too. If I stay up later than usual, I always want to eat!
If 1700 calories is a deficit, you should still lose weight, even if it's slow. I lost all my weight at a fairly small deficit (usually around 300 calories or so), because I found that easier to stick to.0 -
imo hunger is your first target to avoid.
Spread your food through the day and adjust it to balance out.
look for the food that gives you more bang for your calories.
Exercise (gets you eatback calories)+ drink water( is importnat for hydration and fills you up).0 -
I don't snack on raw, plain vegetables ...that would not work for me ...it's about finding ones own balance and tricks ...and learning to understand a real hunger cue and ignore the ones that are just appetite ...if you've just eaten you're probably not hungry ..if you leave it 30 mins it might go away
They don't have to be raw, you can slightly cook them as well, they taste nicer if slightly cooked. Like I wrote, it is one of many alternative techniques between meals (not after you've just eaten no, but between meals), one that's worked for me during and after my big weight-loss prog (has worked for my wife too, she lost 50 lbs and is maintaining it well). I've found it's worked for other people, especially those who are home-based.
I agree with you about the "30 mins" thing. Yes, losing a lot of weight or keeping it of is also about sacrifice, resilience, about suffering a lot at first (especially the first month when your body copes with the changes), then a little then not really after a good while (as your stomach adjusts to your new regime), it's about changing your mindset, no pain no gain as they say.
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SteveEighty wrote: »No, it says 28 in the table (41 is for 150g): Calorie and Nutrition Values for 100g of Raw Carrot - Calories 28.
.
What are you looking at? That's not true
Here I screen grabbed it for you ...see the top where it says per 100g?
Laughs at self for even pretending to care about 13 cals/ 100g difference
One of those "can't come to bed dear, someone is wrong on the internet" moments ...:laughing:0 -
What everyone here is basically telling you - find what works for you and play around with it until it does.
Eating 3 meals a day leaves me feeling hungry all the dang time. So I make sure to have 5-6 "meals" a day (within my calories). I eat when bored, so I've found projects and "things" to do to keep me occupied. I like to snack when reading, so I've taken to drinking tea or warm water instead. After 4-5 days of eating protein and veggies my body REALLY wants carbs, so I have some pasta (within budget of course) for dinner, maybe some toast for breakfast, to take away that intense craving without binge eating. Don't do it all at once, just play around with one option or one meal or one idea until you come to a set of rules that work for you. Then stick with it.0 -
lol@ the cripplefight.0
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1700 cals is a good amount to eat so you shouldn't feel starving, it must be more about WHAT you are eating for those cals. Your diary isn't open for us to see that.
The thing is to be able to eat as much as possible and still lose - totally achievable by the way on 1700 cals
I've sent you a FR
ps in the evening is when I'm most hungry, I drink lots of water and cups of tea, it really helps! plus I leave an allotted 200 cals for a treat if I need it. If you're eating plenty of protein you really wont ever feel hungry. Sometimes its just a notion and one you can wean yourself off in a few short weeks.0 -
For me anyway, staying on the "cleaner" side helps. By "cleaner" I mean brown / multigrain breads, pasta etc, because they've got more fibre.
I hate to say this, and perhaps this isn't true for everybody, but I have found the "brown" foods you describe to be just as calorically dense (overall) as the white, and they spike my blood sugar as much as the white versions. And or whatever reason (opinions and even studies vary on this), that translates to more hunger for me.
Again, not trying to say this must be true for everybody. But I do know that I was on a TII Diabetes group for a while and many people said the same things. To be clear, I am technically not TII at this time, but my doctor tells me based on fasting levels that I am pre-TII. (Fasting of 103 and then 107 four weeks apart. Since minimizing my refined grains and starchy foods, yes, including starchy veggies, sadly, my numbers are much better.)
If it works for you, though, then I'm glad for you! Keep it up and here's to a happy, healthy 2015. And of course a full and delicious one!
That's interesting! It does seem to fill me up better, but who knows.0 -
I'd really forgotten what an art it is, to balance macros within a budget. I hate having a smaller budget (can't rely on activity as in the past bc of injuries/arthritis). Not doing that well with the diet focus, is all I can say.
Here's a basic thing about weight loss that I maybe once knew but don't remember: how is it that we cut calories during loss, but don't gain weight when we bring things back up to maintenance? I maintained on a really high number of calories for a long time, until I had to cut my activity back. I'm pretty sure I ate more than I burned, too.0 -
I'd really forgotten what an art it is, to balance macros within a budget. I hate having a smaller budget (can't rely on activity as in the past bc of injuries/arthritis). Not doing that well with the diet focus, is all I can say.
Here's a basic thing about weight loss that I maybe once knew but don't remember: how is it that we cut calories during loss, but don't gain weight when we bring things back up to maintenance? I maintained on a really high number of calories for a long time, until I had to cut my activity back. I'm pretty sure I ate more than I burned, too.
If you ate more than you burned you'd put on weight
If you eat at the same level you burn you don't
There's no complicated reasons...it's just maths0 -
The mental part - wanting yummier foods - took a few weeks. The physical part - hunger adjustments - took less than a week. 0
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For me, I think the hunger part was largely mental--like I was used to eating at certain times so wanted to eat then, even though I wasn't really hungry. For some of those subbing raw veggies for a while did help, as I weaned myself away from thinking of those as times I had to eat. That part went away quickly, and since then hunger hasn't really been an issue. I do eat a pretty high volume of food, though--I pile my plate with extra vegetables so my meals have never seemed smaller (or less tasty, for that matter) than before.
I do sometimes wish I could just eat whatever and in any quantity without thinking about it like I used to, though, but that was less of an issue early on and comes and goes if you just wait it out or think of all the positives.0
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