Help, can't keep with the program :(

m36lizardi
m36lizardi Posts: 13 Member
edited November 12 in Motivation and Support
Breakfast and lunch as well as snacks are good, but when I get home and its time for dinner, I blow it lots of times. Now I gained back what I lost last year and am at a loss. How do I control this? Please help me with advice or tricks I can use to overcome this.

Replies

  • SusanUW83
    SusanUW83 Posts: 152 Member
    Plan out your dinner in advance so it fits in your calories. Control portions. Feel free to add me as friend -- easier to give advice if you open your diary to people.
  • Chls122
    Chls122 Posts: 22 Member
    For starters, are you sure you're eating enough? I mean it's good to be at a deficit but if your deficit is too large you may be causing yourself to get super hungry later in the day. I had that issue a few months ago, I was eating at 1200 and I had increased my activity level and didn't adjust my activity level here and ended up starving to death daily, I'm now at a happy 1800 calories, giving me about a 15% daily deficit from my TDEE. Another thing to look at is the quality of the food you're eating, are you getting enough good fat? I find for myself that if I eat a piece of fruit as a snack I need to pair it with a good fat, like 1 hard boiled egg or 20 almonds etc. Apple slices dipped in nut butter is one of my go-to snacks.

    Also, feel free to add me as a friend.
    An open diary can help us figure out a bit more.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
    open your diary. Are you getting enough food/nutrients during the day?
  • Codilee87
    Codilee87 Posts: 509 Member
    Evenings are tough for me too, mostly because I make dinner for 5 because my husband works nights but then I don't go to bed until midnight so that is about 7 hours without a meal. I try to eat my dinner later and have a light snack around 8 but it can be challenging to resist raiding the kitchen. I try to distract myself by reading or cleaning (tonight I am pinteresting) or just go to bed earlier if possible. Pre-logging definitely helps, its much better to decide beforehand what I'm going to eat and when, rather than eating on impulse and trying to figure out how much I had afterwards.
  • m36lizardi
    m36lizardi Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks ladies. Wow, didn't even consider 1,200 may be too low. The tip about an egg to pair with a fruit snack sounds great. Before reading all your advice, this evening I ate chocolate, about a handful of chocolate covered almonds. A no no but it was better than last night's debacle. I'll pack tomorrow's food now with maybe 1,500 calories and a fruit and egg for snacks. Thanks for the tips. Its quite a battle for me and I need a task master to whip up my brain or control. I need to open my eyes to other options to keep me on track.
  • m36lizardi
    m36lizardi Posts: 13 Member
    How do you determine the correct number of calories a day to take to lose weight? Is there a formula out there?
  • Lissa_Kaye
    Lissa_Kaye Posts: 214 Member
    Input your info here
    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    I eat a big break fast and snack after lunch because if I let myself get too hungry I will binge at night. And then binge after dinner. Snack kinda often.
  • Lissa_Kaye
    Lissa_Kaye Posts: 214 Member
    Forgot to tell you. What ever number it comes up with, multiply it by 0.85 and eat that amount per day. You can change it in your settings. Also change your macros to 40% carbs 30% fat, and 30% protein. I prefer 40 carbs, 25 fat, 35 protein. You can message me if you have other questions or need help with your numbers.
  • m36lizardi
    m36lizardi Posts: 13 Member
    I think you're right Lissa. I'm binging because too hungry to choose right foods let alone control portions. Prepared my food plan for tomorrow with more proper snacks. We'll see how this goes.
  • mainebeachbum
    mainebeachbum Posts: 385 Member
    I do something kind of weird. I cook my dinner meal for the next night after I eat dinner. I find if I get home, and I am hungry and/or tired, and my meal is not prepped, I will grab a snack. Which in turn seems to turn on cravings for more. My family has gotten used to re-heating their dinner. We still eat together. It gives me time to relax, and I stay on track. Then I prep food for the next day. I also usually keep a back up meal in fridge, too, in case something happens or the family decides they don't like the healthy meal. Then I don't feel guilty because they still eat. (Although I do encourage them to eat healthy.) It's weird, but it works for us.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    You must know why you are going over at dinner. You need to understand that before you can present a solution.

    It would be helpful of you opened your diary and people can see whats been going on, assuming its an accurate record. Otherwise you are just going to get very general suggestions as people guess.
  • AliciaV30
    AliciaV30 Posts: 147 Member
    You know what I've been doing lately is getting a bunch of low calorie dinner recipes from Pinterest that has helped me sooooo much. They have healthy snacks on there too. I know dinner is hard but u can do it. I'm a stay at home mom and every meal is hard for me cause I have access to all the junk my husband wants and my kids but now that I'm cooking low calorie meals and snacks everyone is eating healthier. It's a process once u find urs just stick to it and don't look back. I still meet my hubby at McDonald's with the kids at his lunch hour and while they r enjoying burgers I'm stuffing my face with their salads which are really good btw u just have to make that switch in ur head. Plz add me if u need motivation I'm always here.
  • felipealvarez96
    felipealvarez96 Posts: 11 Member
    I think u have to have a plan and go for it. Eating healthy is hard and sometimes 'we' give in to the temptation, no big deal just try to stay persistent. I would recommend to eat no heavy foods after 6pm since we tend to slow down toward the end of the day and try to do a calorie deficit about 10-15% lower than your maintance calorie intake. If you need help or guidance ask me be more than happy to help you with what ever I can stay positive and good luck.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited January 2015
    felipealvarez96 wrote: »
    I think u have to have a plan and go for it. Eating healthy is hard and sometimes 'we' give in to the temptation, no big deal just try to stay persistent. I would recommend to eat no heavy foods after 6pm since we tend to slow down toward the end of the day and try to do a calorie deficit about 10-15% lower than your maintance calorie intake. If you need help or guidance ask me be more than happy to help you with what ever I can stay positive and good luck.

    No. Don't listen to this. Besides the part of being persistent, which is important. Eating healthy does not have to be hard. It is OK to give in to temptation occasionally, but not always. Timing of meals does not impact calorie burn.

    What you must do: You have to determine how many calories to eat per day. Didn't MFP give you that at setup? Divide those calories into meals and use your food diary. You can adjust as you go. You can enter and remove items to see how you will do if you eat this, and that, add more of this and less of that.

    The program is supposed to be tailored to you, not the other way around, and you are the best person to decide what your program should be like. But it may take some practice, some trial and error. Best of luck.

  • m36lizardi
    m36lizardi Posts: 13 Member
    Yes the program has given me 1200 cal per day. This is the first day I'm actually snacking more in the afternoon on low cal food. And adding a protein to my fruit snack. Working so far. Just need to stay away fr the kitchen at night. Need to make this work. I'm so blown away by the replies i've gotten so far n great tips. Thanks, so need this.
  • m36lizardi
    m36lizardi Posts: 13 Member
    The pinterest tip from Alicia is great! Found a lot of ideas there. Thanks Alicia. I wasn't hungry last night. Did not binge. Now consistency is the nemesis. Must keep this up. Thanks everyone.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    I'm so sorry about your son :frowning: As far as staying on track with your weight loss, there's a wealth of information to be found here! Wish you all the best.
  • m36lizardi
    m36lizardi Posts: 13 Member
    Thank you. Today I ate 400+ calories more than my goal of 1,200. And lost 1 lb. Could I possibly be eating too little? Maybe I should up my goal for now to 1,300? We'll see.
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
    Something not addressed above is what weight loss goal you chose during your setup. It is really tempting to choose 2 lbs a week say, but that can be self-defeating if it gives you too small a calorie allowance to adhere to. 1200 a day is tough for most of us I think... maybe consider a plan that will have you lose slower but that you can stick with more consistently?
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
    Oh and beg pardon, on second read several folks above were wondering if 1200 was too aggressive. Slow and sustainable wins!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    m36lizardi wrote: »
    Thank you. Today I ate 400+ calories more than my goal of 1,200. And lost 1 lb. Could I possibly be eating too little? Maybe I should up my goal for now to 1,300? We'll see.
    If you aren't losing as fast as expected, you aren't eating too little. That's not how weightloss works, weightloss is logical, it works by physics - the less you eat, the faster you lose. But you also have a body, and that becomes hungry if you don't feed it enough, and a mind, and that becomes tired if you have to say no all the time, so it says yes, too, sometimes, or often, even if you decided to only say no. Weightloss doesn't show up on the scale from day to day, either. It takes weeks of consistent behavior to see a real trend. Day to day fluctuations is noise. Weightloss is slow. Weightloss can't happen fast if you have little to lose. Even if MFP sorta "promised" 2 pounds per week, you can't lose that fast if you don't have enough fat on you. Set your weekly goal to no more than 1% of your bodyweight. That will give you a calorie target that is easier to stick to, as well as more realistic expectations.
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