Feeling like I'm eating too much.

ingovals · February 2015

I started somewhat suddenly last Friday using MFP, I hadn't prepared properly so I was lacking things like a scale for measuring food and even a good one to measure my own weight.

So I've had to estimate somewhat the amount I'm eating, also I do not eat too much prepared food (you know with nutritional info already on it), make it myself from raw ingredients.

On some occasions I feel like I've eaten too much and am very full even though my cal intake is perhaps a little less then the app suggests. I'm a bit afraid I might be doing something wrong.

For dinner yesterday I made a tortilla with rice and beans, and some homemade salsa. The tortilla itself (we didn't have wholewheat ones) was 200 cal, the large amount of rice was (my guesstimate) 250 cal and beans 100. I also added together the ingredients of the salsa but only managed to use half of it. This amounted to less then I had left for the day but still I felt so full.

Is feeling full still normal, does some food make you feel it more than others, things like rice for example?

Should I perhaps aim for a more weight loss per week?

The app recommends ~2000 cal per day so I aim for 500 for breakfast, lunch and dinner and a extra 500 for inbetween snacks, normally fruit. I'm having a hard time hitting these 500 cal, especially for breakfast. I normally ate nothing for breakfast, and sometimes nothing for lunch as well. But then I would eat a huge dinner and I would always be snacking on something unhealthy in between ( I noticed that after I started I would be constantly walking into the kitchen to grab a cracker or something, and stop because I wasn't even hungry). Could my body just be trying to get used to my more changing eating times.

I'm 33, 6'2" and 228 lbs. Somewhat bulky so my initial aim is 198 lbs.

zerafa99 · February 2015

If you cook from scratch like me you can still get an acurate calorie count from MFP. Go to the recipe area and key in the items and their indivibual weight and it will give you the calories. For example, if making a cottage pie, key in the ingredients and decide how many portions you will have and key that in too. I do this dividing my dish into four portoons and freeze the remaining portions for another day. When you eat the next portion just click on recipes, select cottage pie, Fish pie or whatever and it will insert one portion with its total ingredient calorie count.
I find it helps to decide your menu for the following day the night before. You can then search for the fresh contents of your meal plus extras like herbs and spices. Doing this helps you to adjust what you intended eating if you discover it,s higher in fat or carbs than you thought and you can then substitute it for something healthier. 2,000 calories per day sound high unless you are male. I am on 1,000 to 1,200 per day but rarely reach 1,000 and don't feel hungry. Try eating slowly to give the chance for the signals that you are full to reach your brain from your stomach. Also have a glass of water before your meal and you will eat less. Hope this helps. Good luck.

zerafa99 · February 2015

I ommited to say, try to eat a healthy well balanced breakfast rather than reach 500 calories. Then you will have more calories to use up on your main meals, fruit between meals etc. Thism is just what MFP is very good for as it tells you after each entry how many calories are still available.

ingovals · February 2015

Yes I'm male and 6'2" (188cm), I intend on measuring but I lack the scale to weight the ingredients (I'm buying one later today).

I'm just worried that when I feel full I still have ways to go to get my caloric target for today, not always but I had that yesterday so I'm feeling like I'm overeating while the app disagrees. Maybe I should up my target to 1kg per week instead of 0,5.

zerafa99 · February 2015

I would suggest you stop eating when you feel full. Some foods help you to last longer between meals like wholemeal bread, cereals like muslei, weetabix etc and pasta and brown rice. Weight loss is also related to exercise. I have an ankle problem at present so stopped going to the gym and have very little exercise and am feeling full after 800 calories per day.
The more you exercise the more calories you burn off so if you are sedentery you won't need to eat all of your daily allowance. Sometimes our body signals that we feel hungry when in actual fact we are thirsty. Drinking plenty of water helps the digestive system when dieting and prevents constipation.
Do you have a physical job?
I started the 5:2 diet on January 17th and have lost a stone. On this diet you fast for two days ( you could have 600 calories) then eat your normal calorie allowance for 5 days. It's working well for me:-)

ingovals · February 2015

I got a proper scale (well two, one bathroom scale for weighing myself, and one kitchen scale for the food) and also lowered the daily caloric intake for me.

After 1 week I'm seeing some improvements (looks like I lost 1 Kg while aiming for 0.5-0.75) so I perhaps should not worry.

markiend · February 2015

If you have only recently started ( and haven't already ) .. take plenty of measurements and photos so you can track progress. The scale doesn't always tell the whole truth

terricherry2 · February 2015

First off, well done for deciding to make a change. Second, you'll probably find that when you start weighing things you're actually eating more calories than you think. Third, while very low calories may be appropriate for @zerafa99 , based on your stats 2000 sounds like a pretty good place to start. You can always adjust in a few weeks if it's not working. If you're still finding you're not meeting your target when you weigh food, try switching to more calorie/nutrient dense foods e.g. have a spoonful of peanut butter, use whole milk instead of low fat, put some avocado on the side etc.

And good luck.

NikkyT30 · February 2015

Pay attention to serving sizes on lables. Also there are ways to measure without a scales for example.... A serving of chicken should be about the size of your palm. Good luck to all on your journey:)

zerafa99 · February 2015

Good to hear that you now have two scales to help with your healthy eating plan. Try to increase your exercise if you can. Even extra walking helps. I'm on holiday next week so that will be a challenge when there is a large buffet but I will just have to be careful. :-)

pinkteapot3 · February 2015

Glad you got scales. I suspect that your "large amount of rice" was a fair bit more than 250 cals.

Look out for the difference between cooked and uncooked weight when logging rice. Very loosely (each type of rice is different), rice triples in weight when cooked, so around 70g dried is around 210g cooked. Again, varies by type so either weigh and log dried weight or weigh and log cooked weight.

Ronda612 · February 2015

I feel like I'm eating too much as well. My exercise adds 800 calories to my daily allotment. It's hard to eat all of that food--my weight is yo-yo-ing too! am I supposed to eat all of those calories? I'm feeling a little panicked. Thanks

deksgrl · February 2015

2,500 calories is a perfectly reasonable goal for a 200+ pound active male to lose weight on. Eat the foodz. The TYPE of food you eat is going to determine how full you feel. If you need to add calories, you can do that by choosing higher calorie foods. A glass of milk (not skim, 2% or whole), avocado, use olive oil when you cook or on your salad, real butter.

pjcfrancis · February 2015

I'm also 6'2". I set my calorie goal at 1600 based on an estimate provided by my Fitbit, from a 1000 calorie per day deficit. However, when it adjusts for exercise, I end up being able to eat around 2000 calories per day, which seems plenty. Weight loss depends on calories in vs calories out, but getting some exercise is vital for your health. My weight goal is 185 lbs, but my real goal is to make my exercise a permanent part of my lifestyle and to permanently eliminate the after-work binge that used to add up to 800 calories to my daily intake.
My hat is off to people who weigh everything, but I feel that as long as I'm honest with myself and most days I end up with a few hundred calories below my daily limit (plus the 1000 deficit) then I'm still in the right zone. The scale backs me up.
I don't think you should eat past feeling full. I'm really trying to learn to feel that full feeling, because I used to eat wayyyy past the full point. Now I'm eating slower and paying attention to how my stomach feels. When I feel "hungry" I ask myself if it's my mouth that's hungry or my stomach. I only eat if I can really feel it in my stomach and it doesn't go away 5 minutes after drinking water.

deksgrl · February 2015

pjcfrancis wrote: »

I'm also 6'2". I set my calorie goal at 1600 based on an estimate provided by my Fitbit, from a 1000 calorie per day deficit. However, when it adjusts for exercise, I end up being able to eat around 2000 calories per day, which seems plenty. Weight loss depends on calories in vs calories out, but getting some exercise is vital for your health. My weight goal is 185 lbs, but my real goal is to make my exercise a permanent part of my lifestyle and to permanently eliminate the after-work binge that used to add up to 800 calories to my daily intake.
My hat is off to people who weigh everything, but I feel that as long as I'm honest with myself and most days I end up with a few hundred calories below my daily limit (plus the 1000 deficit) then I'm still in the right zone. The scale backs me up.
I don't think you should eat past feeling full. I'm really trying to learn to feel that full feeling, because I used to eat wayyyy past the full point. Now I'm eating slower and paying attention to how my stomach feels. When I feel "hungry" I ask myself if it's my mouth that's hungry or my stomach. I only eat if I can really feel it in my stomach and it doesn't go away 5 minutes after drinking water.

You are much older than the OP so your calorie needs would be lower than his.

Feeling like I'm eating too much.

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