How can I cut calories without having to cut out the foods that I like?

arditarose wrote: »

ILUVPOPPYDEARLY wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

ana3067 wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

christinev297 wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

Eagerlylookingforward wrote: »

You really need to cut out carbs in your liquids, so the daily hot chocolate and fraps need to be sugar free. In fact if you can cut them out you will notice a huge savings in calories. There are other noodles that are made with rice, yellow beans, udon etc. try them instead of regular pasta. It may take a few tries, but you really will start enjoying them more than regular pasta.

No

Care to explain why?
I often see just plain "NO" as a reply here. Which isn't really a helpful response at all

Because its unnecessary to give up anything. Nothing needs to be "sugar free", she doesn't have to give up carbs. She just needs a caloric deficit to lose weight, thats it. It's CICO and learning moderation will benefit for a sustainable diet.

Lose weight yes, but if you want that weight to be mostly fat you need to have a reasonably healthy diet to meet your macros.

No you don't. You need to be eating enough protein, have a small to moderate deficit only (i.e. no more than 1lb/week), and lift heavy weights at hte gym. None of this requires eating any weird pasta substitutes or cutting out Starbucks. Sugar doesn't somehow kill one's muscular maintenance.

We're saying the same thing I think. If you eat all those drinks + the pasta, then there's probably not enough room left for the protein. That's about 1000 calories of carbs and fat and not much protein. I don't know OP's calorie target so it's hard to say.

I don't think OP knows her calorie goal either!

OP, have you figured this out yet?

I think it's 1200 calories with a daily hour workout. I want to lose 20-40 pounds.

What is your height and weight? And activity level?

kitchensolo wrote: »

Here are a few tweaks that'll definitely help you get things under control, and still allow you to keep every one of these things in your diet. Once these start working, then I'd keep dialing things down until the point where you've eliminated things completely. Then, stick with that. Here's what I would do:

Overall tips: Consume all meals you have out of a bowl. Skip the plates, they encourage you to eat more. And go with small bowls - like those you'd find in an Asian restaurant for miso soup. If you really want to challenge yourself, start eating with chopsticks. Until you get proficient, it'll slow you down, which allows your brain to catch up with your eating speed. lastly drink a full glass of water before each meal. Then don't drink anything during your meal (this part is harder, BUT drinking during a meal is great at cleaning the palate and convincing you that you're still hungry.) This last part I learned living with folks from Asia for the past 20 years. It's an interesting habit - and not many of them struggle with weight like we Americans. ;-) Lastly enter all of this into your calorie-count here on MFP, and understand how all of this pans out for you in particular. Sugar is most definitely your weak-spot, it seems.

Breakfast: Add another egg or two to fill you up. Remove a yolk or two if you'd like. Also, try cooking them in the microwave. Scramble in a bowl first, then put it in the micro for 2 mins. Flip and cook another minute or for whatever length of time works for you. By whisking them in the bowl first, they'll be super-fluffy, and rise nicely in the microwave. try on slice of cheese instead of two. Tear it into pieces instead of eating it whole to trick your brain into thinking your eating a larger portion (which, in effect, you are.) Bonus: No oil. ;-)

By eating more protein for breakfast you'll have less desire for the bagel and the juice. So eat the eggs entirely first. Then start with 1/2 or a quarter bagel if you'd like. For the juice, my best trick in the world is to add plain ol' seltzer water to just an ounce or two of juice. You'll save a ton of calories, and it'll taste a ton better. Trust me on this one. If you have to start with more taste at first, go with half juice/half seltzer. But, I guarantee you, you'll be fine with even less. An alternative suggestion would be to make your grape juice into popsicles (small ones) and enjoy your juice that way. That's what Moms do for kids, and it works.

Mid morning snack: This is nearly perfect from a pure nutrition standpoint, just avoid yogurt with fruit. If you like fruit, get plain yogurt and add your own frozen blueberries. Smash a few up for extra juice/sweetness. If you still need a little more sweetness add a teaspoon of pure Maple syrup. That'll do the trick. The Cheerios are generally fine. Experiment with Hemp Milk or Almond Milk (Plain though, on both counts). Regular milk has sugar in it too.

Lunch: You don't suggest a lot here, as far as portion size goes, but I'd try to incorporate some other protein into your diet. You say you don't like all of the good proteins people would likely suggest, so how about trying something that gets close to a steak without being one: You won't believe how close a King Oyster Mushroom comes to the texture of meat, and portobello mushrooms are a good second. Look into vegan/vegetarian cookbooks for ideas. If you've absolutely got to have steak, enlarge the heck out of your salad (make it HUGE) and eat it first. Or, slice the meat extra thin and add it to the salad. Keep your portion to 3oz. For the dressing, get it on the side and dip your fork in it prior to dipping your fork into your salad. That'll satisfy your taste buds. You won't believe how much you leave behind. And, remember dip it, don't scoop it. ;-) Also, what works for me with dressings is to mess with my taste buds. Dressings are often a combination of salt and sugar which we like, so if you like olives, and olives for salt. Or, pickles, lets say. Then for sugar, raisins, or apples. Adding fruit will work wonders. Then, again if you still want to keep the dressing nearby, just dip your fork. You might surprise yourself though with your ability to get by with olives and raisins. Just don't overdo it on the raisins. ;-)

Afternoon snack: This snack is your killer. If it were me, I'd try these few things. Mostly mix up your order. Try it first without the sauce or syrup. See if you still enjoy it. If so, go with that, then try and eliminate something else. Ask for half the chips, perhaps, then eventually none. Go with a smaller size/skip days, etc. Your taste buds will absolutely adjust as you start weaning yourself from the sugar. After awhile as you lessen the sweetness going up again will taste horrible. Trust in yourself and experiment. If you're really daring, and can get by with just a taste, see if your Starbucks buddies (they have to be at this point if you're going there every day) will just give you a sample every day. I'm sure they're allowed to do that for customers anyway. Lastly, on the syrup, ask for it on the side and occasionally dip the tip of your straw into it while drinking.

Dinner: Here, try decreasing your portions and/or using meat substitutes (tempe/tofu/prepackages stuff). You can also use ground beef and tofu together ... you'll never know the difference when covered in sauce. Shop around for alternatives to white pasta ziti. There are TONS.

Snack: Make your own hot chocolate instead which will have hardly any (if any sugar in it), or try Swiss Miss' "No Sugar Added" version. People seem to like it on Amazon. Only 60 calories a packet, I believe. Or, better yet, try Vega's Chocolate Covered Savi Seeds. Each packet is only 170 calories and contains 17X more Omega 3 oils than Sockeye Salmon. The stuff is insane, and will help your nutrition, and choco-fix. Alternately a square or two of 72% cacao chocolate can hit the spot as well. Try letting it dissolve in your mouth in chunks instead of chewing it, to mimic the feel of the hot chocolate. You may also be able to warm it in milk for lesser calories than your Swiss Miss.

Good luck. You're young, and can change your habits easily at your age. You know what also might help? Count the dollars on how much money you're spending. Your Starbucks habit alone must cost nearly $2600. a year if you enjoy it every day. Start doing the math on what else you could do with that money ... even just half of it, and you'll start thinking twice about grabbing one every day. Likewise, I always find figuring out how many hours/days I'd have to work in order to earn that sort of spending money is also a very good deterrent.

Please let us know how you progress! The forums are great when the dialog goes two-ways, so don't leave us hangin'! ;-)