staying within calories

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  • Ellst85
    Ellst85 Posts: 30 Member
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    LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »
    If losing weight was a piece of cake (pun intended), no one would have a weight problem. Yeah, it can be difficult to lose weight. Hunger is pretty normal while eating at a deficit. However, if you're extremely hungry all the time, you're either not eating enough calories in general or you're not getting enough volume.

    When I'm cutting, I like to stick to low calorie, high volume foods. Fruits and vegetables clearly fall into that category. It's also important to find things that are filling to you. Some people find nuts filling - I don't, and I generally think they're a waste of calories unless they're in butter form (I rarely go a day without peanut butter, even when cutting).

    As mentioned, you should be eating back exercise calories if you're exercising. Either that or you can use the TDEE method and not log exercise because those calories are already accounted for. TDEE is great if you have a set workout schedule. If you go some days/weeks without exercising or just do it when you feel like it, it's best to just add the calories you burn as long as you're using accurate estimates of calorie burns.

    For me, it's important to find a balance between foods I like and foods that keep me satisfied between meals. I could eat a HUGE salad filled with vegetables for very few calories, but 1) salads do nothing for my hunger, and 2) I'm not a big fan of salads unless they're filled with things that are higher in calories like meat and cheese. I could munch on a big bag of carrot sticks for my afternoon snack, but I'd be miserable, so I choose snacks that are macro friendly, but that I actually enjoy eating. Don't be too restrictive, but don't waste all of your calories on candy bars unless you're prepared to be hungry all day.

    Yep this- thanks for the dose of reality :-)
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    edited May 2015
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    SageIsla1985 wrote: »
    Ooo I lost most of my post!
    Yeah so I don't snack in the evening or anything - just during the day. I've just been on the eating crap train lately! It was a bank holiday weekend just gone and you know....life :-/ maybe tomorrow I will have my head in gear to avoid m&s at lunch time!

    People seem to take offense when I say this, but hear me out. Cut out the excuses. Yeah, yesterday was a holiday and we all have lives, but I had no issue staying within my calories yesterday because I didn't make up excuses for why it would be "okay" for me to make poor food choices. I indulge quite a bit, and that's totally fine, but own it instead of making excuses for it. Once you let go of the excuses and take full responsibility for what you eat, it'll get easier to do what you need to do to reach your goals. Excuses are the reason it took me 8 years of yo-yo dieting to finally do what it took to get the results I wanted.
    SageIsla1985 wrote: »
    I walk around 12000 steps every day and lift weights 3x a day- I really don't think that the issue is my exercise or what my calories are set at its my massive gob :'(

    You lift three times a DAY? I'm going to assume you mean three times a week.
  • Ellst85
    Ellst85 Posts: 30 Member
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    Ha yeah a week! No I totally get where you're coming from- like I said just having a bit of an internal struggle at the moment. I'm sure tomorrow is a new day etc. It's not that I don't know what needs to be done it's just the doing bit :-)
  • quiltingducky
    quiltingducky Posts: 103 Member
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    I find my appetite is controlled a lot by how much sugar or bad carbs I eat (such as bread, rolls, rice, pasta, etc). Now I am not saying to stop eating them altogether, but finding a reasonable limit for yourself may be the answer and maybe it will calm down your appetite.
  • JakeBrownVB
    JakeBrownVB Posts: 399 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Bad carbs... oh sweet jebus I just cringed so hard, are people still saying this kind of stuff? No such thing. Really. Unless bleach has carbs in it, in which case I retract my statement.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    Do you want to eat bread and cheese for dinner every night? I'd be hungry too if that's all I had!
  • Ellst85
    Ellst85 Posts: 30 Member
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    JakeBrownVB wrote: »
    Bad carbs... oh sweet jebus I just cringed so hard, are people still saying this kind of stuff? No such thing. Really. Unless bleach has carbs in it, in which case I retract my statement.
    :D
  • Merrysix
    Merrysix Posts: 336 Member
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    For me, pure carbs in any form (sugars in pastries or fruits, breads, pasta, etc.) leads to craving. For some types of metabolism, there is pretty persuasive science to back this up -- see summary in well.blogs.nytimes.com today titled "How Carbs Can Trigger Food Cravings by Anahad O'Connor, describing research published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and research published in 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows that sugary foods and other processed carbs cause abrupt spikes and falls in blood sugar and appear to stimulate parts of the brain involved in hunger, craving and reward. In other words if you eat these foods you want more. It isn't so much that in terms of actual energy/ calories there is a difference, but that these foods affect the neurotransmitters in the brain in a way that sets off craving and leads to overeating. That is why those who say "a calorie is a calorie" do disservice to those of us who are brain carb sensitive with resulting stronger cravings. The solution for those of us with this neurochemistry: a lower carb/higher protein/fat food plan to sustain a healthy way of eating that allows us to lose weight. Speaking only for myself, when I eat high carb foods of any variety (from ice cream to brown rice), it sets off cravings that make it harder to stick to my food plan. Bottom line -- easier not to eat them!


  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    It takes hard work to figure out a way of eating which works for you within your calories, practice at eating that way every day so it becomes a habit and then forgiveness when you don't follow it every now and then.
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    dopeysmelly wrote: »
    It takes hard work to figure out a way of eating which works for you within your calories, practice at eating that way every day so it becomes a habit and then forgiveness when you don't follow it every now and then.

    This is perfect advice! For me, high volume, whole foods with lots of protein and moderate fats (not low-fat) help keep me full on 1200 calories. Good luck!
  • Chrysalid2014
    Chrysalid2014 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Merrysix wrote: »
    For me, pure carbs in any form (sugars in pastries or fruits, breads, pasta, etc.) leads to craving. For some types of metabolism, there is pretty persuasive science to back this up -- see summary in well.blogs.nytimes.com today titled "How Carbs Can Trigger Food Cravings by Anahad O'Connor, describing research published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and research published in 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows that sugary foods and other processed carbs cause abrupt spikes and falls in blood sugar and appear to stimulate parts of the brain involved in hunger, craving and reward. In other words if you eat these foods you want more. It isn't so much that in terms of actual energy/ calories there is a difference, but that these foods affect the neurotransmitters in the brain in a way that sets off craving and leads to overeating. That is why those who say "a calorie is a calorie" do disservice to those of us who are brain carb sensitive with resulting stronger cravings. The solution for those of us with this neurochemistry: a lower carb/higher protein/fat food plan to sustain a healthy way of eating that allows us to lose weight. Speaking only for myself, when I eat high carb foods of any variety (from ice cream to brown rice), it sets off cravings that make it harder to stick to my food plan. Bottom line -- easier not to eat them!


    ^^ Yes. Wish I had discovered this truth 20 years ago.

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