Eating Well Is Hard
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akern1987
Posts: 288 Member
I have such a hard time staying within my calorie goal, daily. I'm not sure what's wrong with me besides just loving food, but I think I need some help...Does anyone have any strategies they use to just cut off once they've had enough. It's so hard and even when I don't mean to I eat to the point of overfull so often...I have taken steps to be better, I try to make healthier choices (cutting down on fast food, and processed foods, adding healthier options like fruit and yogurt) and have added a regular exercise routine into my day, but I know that if I can't get my food under control I'll never see any real loss.
Help?
Help?
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Replies
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What is your calorie goal set to and how much weight do you have to lose?
It may help us make suggestions if you make your diary public.0 -
Open your diary if you want specific suggestions.
Otherwise, my guess is that you are making too many changes all at once.
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What do you like to eat
There's generally ways to lower the calorie count0 -
That is the hard part for sure. I've been having some mental struggles with that as well. I just finished up an 8 month reverse diet/bulking phase and am a few weeks into a cutting phase. It's tough to restrict your calories back down. When you struggle, remember your goals. If reaching them is more important to you than simply having 1 more of whatever, that'll help you say no. Also, I help to run a great support and accountability group on Facebook for people looking to improve their health and fitness. It's just a bunch of people supporting and encouraging each other to make progress towards their goals. It's an awesome community and has helped me stay on track. If you're interested in it, I'd be glad to chat with you about it.
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Have you tried eating more filling food? if im hungry on a night I pick on beetroot & pickled onions, I buy low calorie crisps & wholemeal rice and bread
It makes a massive difference, are you drinking plenty of water?
if you could share abit more info I could try and help abit more, whats your job like, are you busy up and about or sat at a desk? how much do you have to loose? and like the others have said if you un lock your diary thats the easiest way for people to help
I have managed to get my appetite under control my problem is im not very strong, so if my partner fancies a takeaway il cave. Weekends are a nightmare but when I plan I can keep my diet under control
xx
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Definitely no nutritionist here, just personal opinion.
Water helps fill us up so make sure you're getting enough.
Same with protein. A little at each meal helps me with any hunger pangs.
The fruit and yogurt are both possibly high in sugar. Especially low fat yoghurt. Sugar =short term boost in energy and mood followed by a crash leaving you with the nibbles again.
Keep a track of mood alongside food, and work out if there are other factors triggering the eating, with me it's low mood and tiredness. Just knowing I'm eating because I am tired can stop me.
Experiment to see what works for you, for instance rather than eating three big meals, plan ahead for six little ones so you're eating but it's all planned. Personally I have a little in the morning, a decent meal at lunchtime, then snack until early evening after which my body says enough food now.
Plan ahead. Taking out all the food in the morning stops me grazing through the cupboards. Eating all day isn't ideal, but for instance snacking on carrots and celery all day shouldn't cause problems, so plan for the worst and get healthier snacks and make sure you can see it, we reach normally for what we can see. Or so I understand.
If you have emotional binges, I've found looking there are alternatives for me which means instead of reaching for the ice cream, I can reach for serrano ham and garlic stuffed olives, . I get a similar indulgent high, but for fewer calories.
Anyway, just my two cents.0 -
One thing to realize is that this is going to be a long journey. Just be signing up for this app, we don't automatically become super-awesome always eating perfectly and hitting our macros. We are going to slip, we are going to stumble, and there are going to be days where we stumble, hit our heads hard, and go into a complete (food) coma.
Perhaps when you get to wanting something, substitute it for something a little better for you calorie wise? Like, instead of chips and dip, have some carrots and hummus. (accurately weighed, of course. If you don't have a food scale, I'd get one soon as ya can)
I'm bad about mindless eating and grazing. I think majority of my calories come from snacks most days. try to do something else when you feel "bored" and go look in the fridge. Occupy your hands, do a crossword puzzle, play a game, fold some clothes. Occupy your mouth, too -- chew a piece of gum.
Good luck!!0 -
Thank you all so much. I will make my diary public so if anyone wants to take a look feel free.
I do like to drink lots of water and I actually just gave up soda (for lent, but I'm going to try to keep that up even after Easter).
Thanks so much for the encouragement!0 -
You don't have many days logged. From what I looked at, though, you just simply have to make yourself eat less. It's fine if you want to go out to eat, but instead of 3 biscuits, eat one. You're going to have to cut your portions down. Watch condiments like mayo. Try light mayo, or mustard if you like it. Go for one slice of cheese on a sandwich instead of 2. Look at what you eat, and figure out what you think is really worth the calories, and what is not.0
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It looks like you're drinking a lot of calories too -- lemonade, capuccino. If you could replace those with water or an artificially sweetened beverage, you would have more calories to spend on food. Good luck!0
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Thanks! And I do drink a lot of calories, I'm trying to get that under control.
I appreciate all of the advise! You guys are awesome
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Actually, you're lucky, it looks like it should be relatively easy to cut some things out and still have satisfying meals.
First of all, I recommend putting together your breakfast at home rather than hitting fast food. Simple breakfast sandwiches can be assembled a few days in advance and it's amazing how many calories you can cut out. And, if you are eating at home and don't need the portability of a sandwich, you can skip the bread/biscuit calorie bomb and just make an omelet. I just had a HUGE omelet for breakfast -- portobella mushrooms, broccoli, bacon, and sharp cheddar in egg whites...and I clocked in at 153 calories for the whole thing. Your Chik fil A breakfast was over a thousand!
Drinking calories is trouble, too. Try fizzy water or flavored seltzers for refreshment with 0 calories if water gets dull. (Maybe that's the kind of "soda" you could add back after Easter?) Unsweetened ice tea (regular or herbal) is also nice.
Another favorite low cal meal for me is a turkey wrap. I use it for lunch, but for people with higher TDEEs, it has few enough calories to be a snack. (It fills me up WAY too much for that, though) get some flatbreads, I like the Joseph's ones with Flax. A half sheet is about 50 calories, the whole is 100. I cover it with a coat of hummus, then slices of deli turkey and TONS of veggies -- crispy lettuce, cucumbers, arugula...and then roll it up and eat. I'm stuffed to the gills after a full sheet wrap, and it's still less than 300 calories for the whole thing.
I see you had lobster (yum) at Bonefish one night...if they have them at your supermarket, watch for them to go on sale and have them steamed in the store. Really rich and filling and high in protein and surprisingly low calorie! (just be moderate with the melted butter, which usually goes along with lobs, LOL. Try a squeeze of lemon juice and see if you like it that way. Otherwise, just use the butter wisely)
Find ways to add more vegetables to your diet. I actually love salads, but I know some people hate them and think of them as "dieter's rabbit food." If you're not a salad fan, keep some cut up carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers on hand, maybe with a dip like hummus or greek yogurt on hand. In fact, the fat, protein, and fiber in veggies with a good greek yogurt dip is a near perfect recipe for reduced calorie satisfaction!0 -
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I had a realization that really helped me stay on track. Dieting is as much mental as it is anything else.
1) I really sat down and thought about what I was actually doing to my body by continuing to be overweight, and not give myself the proper diet my body needs. When you actually think about what you can be doing to your body, it makes the goals a little more obtainable.
2) (this was a big one for me) I actually sat and thought about how I felt after a meal. If I ate a terrible meal, high in calories and fat, no real nutrition. I would feel terrible about it an hour later, and be hungry again soon. Now, when I eat a nutritious healthy meal I feel great an hour later. I think of all the positives the new diet is doing to my body. The vitamins, minerals etc and how they are actually helping me.
As far as snacking/eating goes. My plan is to always keep tons of fresh whole fruits and veggies around. I eat a couple of handfuls of baby carrots of snap peas when I get a bit hungry. The fiber fills me up for a while, and I know it falls in line with my goals. Seeing the progress helps a lot. I had to put away a few pairs of pants, because I couldn't wear them anymore with out fear of them falling down.
Having a partner helps too. Someone to go through it with.
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OP, try making changes one at a time. So say this week, you are going to limit yourself to 100 beverage calories per day. Once you have that down, try adding low cal veggies to your dinner to fill you up better. Once you have that down, pick something else. I'm just pulling those examples out of the air, but you get my drift! Sometimes when you try to change 100 things all at once it is so overwhelming that you get paralyzed.
One thing at a time will take a little longer, but making it stick for the long haul is the important thing
And try to log consistently, even when your day was embarrassing. Analyzing where you went wrong on the bad days, and easy fixes if you get in that situation again, are the only way you can get better...
Good luck!0 -
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You will benefit a lot from logging consistently, even when you're over. It'll be a LOT easier to see where you can cut down. And think of it this way -- it'll feel a bit crummy at first, but when you succeed at figuring out how to lower the count in a sustainable way, you'll feel so great about how far you've come, just from that!
It might also help you to change your goal on MFP to Maintenance for now. You're not hitting your target anyway, so having it show a way lower calorie count than you know how to hit is only going to make you feel worse. Set it to Maintenance, you'll get a lot more calories. Make your first goal to log everything, no matter what. Second goal is to come in at OR under maintenance calories. Once you're hitting this consistently, and you're comfortable with it, drop it lower, maybe to 0.5 lb per week, or 1 lb per week. Once you're hitting that, you can lower it again.
Finally, if you're planning to eat out, it can be *really* helpful to look at the nutrition menu ahead of time. That way, you can see all the calorie counts and figure out what will fit into your day, and then you know what to order. Otherwise, we get there, and it's easy to feel like we can just add that one other thing, or order the other item.
And I love your profile picture!
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- log everything
- figure out what is worth the calories for you
- cook more, and make your own entries instead of using random ones from the database
Honestly it's hard to comment because your logging is too inaccurate.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »
no just no
There is no reason losing weight should be hellish...I lost 60lbs and loved every minute of it...I ate what I wanted, when I wanted within my limits...you don't have to give up food just limit quantities.
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No, it isn't "hard". It's a choice.0
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