I eat too much...how should I go about shirnking my intake

Pennypig87 wrote: »

what do you mean?[/quote

Its easier for us to help you on intake if your diary is open. Go into Settings, Diary, scroll to bottom and click on Public.

And yes, the online calculators work great.

If you aren't able to log your food at the time you eat it, find some meals that are at the right number of calories for your goal and eat those regularly.

Sounds like you just need to trim your intake slightly, assuming you've been maintaining.

General tips:

Try having a smaller portion calorie dense items and larger portion of low calorie items. Like if you have a protein, starch and veggie for dinner: have less starch and add a 2nd veggie. Eat the same amount of food but less total calories this way.

Also pay attention to how foods are prepared. Eat less fried, and more baked/grilled.

Don't drink your calories. If you consume sweetened juices, tea, regular soda, coffee with cream and/or sugar - try switching to low cal/no cal alternatives.

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From what I can see you're eating a lot of baked foods (ie. banana bread, english muffins, etc.) I would say that if you could limit breads and rice to once a day you would probably be closer to your intake goals. Instead of almond butter on bread eat it with apples or some look for the lower carb/calorie bread that stores sell. I rarely eat pasta, rice or potatoes. If I'm making a stir fry, I just load a ridiculous amount veggies in there.

Also, if you eat more fruit and veggies, not including the starchy kind (corn, potatoes, bananas), you wouldn't have to worry as much if you go over by 50 or so calories.

MrM27 wrote: »

lastspen wrote: »

From what I can see you're eating a lot of baked foods (ie. banana bread, english muffins, etc.) I would say that if you could limit breads and rice to once a day you would probably be closer to your intake goals. Instead of almond butter on bread eat it with apples or some look for the lower carb/calorie bread that stores sell. I rarely eat pasta, rice or potatoes. If I'm making a stir fry, I just load a ridiculous amount veggies in there.

Also, if you eat more fruit and veggies, not including the starchy kind (corn, potatoes, bananas), you wouldn't have to worry as much if you go over by 50 or so calories.

Sorry but going 50 calories over is still going over. Limiting bread isn't going to etc her closer to her goal because of the bread but because she is eating less.

She's not always eating at a deficit.

Penny - are you going over your calories because you're hungry? Try eating more protein and high fiber veggies and less breads.


http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html

Tips on how to feel fuller

So how can we best try to enhance these feelings of fullness to help us control how much we eat? Here are some top tips for helping you feel fuller:

1. Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so including some protein at every meal should help keep you satisfied. Foods high in protein include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans and pulses.
2. If you are watching your weight, opt for lower fat versions, using leaner cuts of meat, cutting off visible fat and avoiding the skin on poultry as this will help reduce the energy density of the diet, which can help to enhance satiety (see below).
3. Foods that are high in fibre may also enhance feelings of fullness so try to include plenty of high-fibre foods in the diet such as wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables.
4. Alcohol seems to stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more. Alcoholic beverages can make you forget about your intentions to eat healthily by making you lose your inhibitions. Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so you should cut down on alcohol consumption if you are trying to control your weight.
5. The ‘energy density’ of food has a strong influence on feelings of fullness or satiety. Energy density is the amount of energy (or calories) per gram of food. Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories. Low energy density foods include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods. Click here for more information on energy density.

MrM27 wrote: »

Sorry but going 50 calories over is still going over. Limiting bread isn't going to etc her closer to her goal because of the bread but because she is eating less.

My statement said that she wouldn't have to worry about if she did and that is because she would truely be eating unprocessed foods (bread and pasta is processed) and because she is eating veggies they are more likely to be high fiber and more nutritious. Of course eating 50 calories is still going over, however 50 calories is not going to cause her to gain weight based on how MFP is set up.

Pennypig87 wrote: »

okay I opened it and I'm new sooo there aren't many days.... And i understand the process I was looking for tips of what has worked for other people I'm using the calorie counter but i log at the end of the day sooo I go over. I cant log throughout the day all the time.

I try to weigh everything (especially snack food) ahead of time and portion into single serving bags so I can grab one when I'm feeling snacky. I also use smaller plates and bowls so the serving sizes don't look small. If you make a sandwich on a small salad plate instead of a dinner plate it looks like more food.

DISCLAIMER: compared to most posters here I'm very relaxed in my plan. I don't eat clean or even super healthy (cake? yes please!) but it's been working really well for me and is sustainable (for me) long-term.

**Edit to add - I do weigh nearly everything. Fruits and vegetables are my "freebie" items and if I'm out of calories and feel hungry I'll still eat those and not worry. I battle disordered eating and not being able to have something because I am out of calories sets off all sorts of binge triggers.

Pennypig87 wrote: »

okay I opened it and I'm new sooo there aren't many days.... And i understand the process I was looking for tips of what has worked for other people I'm using the calorie counter but i log at the end of the day sooo I go over. I cant log throughout the day all the time.

Plan the day in advance and log it and stick to the plan until you get used to it and a better sense of what calories things have. Also, look over each day and see why you went over--where you could have saved calories.

eat less.

About being '50 calories over'. If you have MFP set for a deficit (250, 500, 750, 1000 per day) and eat 50 over your MFP 'plan' then you are not eating over maintenance. You're simply having a slightly smaller deficit (250-50 = 200 and so on). You don't have to be perfect every day.

But if you feel the need to eat more than your allowed calories everyday due to hunger, that's something to delve into. First is it true hunger? Try drinking water or doing something to take your mind off the topic of food. If it is truly hunger, you can try changing your meals/snacks to be the same or less calories but more filling. Or you may need to evaluate your goals - losing at a slower rate allows you to eat more per day. So if you have a 1 pound per week goal, try changing to .5 pounds per week.

To change up meals, you can aim for 1/2 the amount of rice/pasta/bread you'd normally eat and increase your lean protein (such as going from 4 ounce to 6 or 8 ounces) and also increase the amount of vegetables. Many vegetables are very low cal, meaning you can eat a lot for little calories. A salad with low fat cheese & light dressing can be huge amount of food for under 100-150 calories. Cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, etc. can be cooked a multitude of ways or eaten raw, also for few calories. You don't need to cut out rice/pasta/bread if you don't want to.

I have a bad tendency to eat out of boredom. I combat that by almost always having a drink nearby - water or tea without sugar or cream. It gives me something to do without adding calories.
Also, I like to plan and prepare a meal. I take the time to really make it nice, and even plate it nicely (on a small plate, so it looks full), then eat it slowly and really enjoy it.
If I have a craving, I indulge it, but just a little. For example, I might eat one or two squares of dark chocolate if I have a chocolate craving.
As far as the workouts go, you can even just try being more active in every day life if you can't get to the gym often enough. I work out a little bit every single day, like doing lunges down the hallway or pushups while I watch TV. I walk the five minutes to the bank rather than drive. I go work in my yard after work. It adds up.