Confused by the diet part

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eve1980
eve1980 Posts: 10 Member
edited July 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
So let me be honest about something: I have not been consistent. I'm still eating my Chipotle with chips and iced coffee. I'm trying. I'm an emotional eater, I love comfort foods and familiarity, and I am used to eating large portions. I'm working on measuring my food, only eating what's been prepared by me and logged, and only eating when I'm hungry.

Some issues I'm having are 1) eating well all day and then demolishing whatever is in sight when I get home, 2) sticking to a plan-should I focus on carbs/fat/protein or just calories, 3) should I use MFP 1200 calories or the other guy's calculator that says it should be 1900 calories 4) am I eating too many carbs or should I be eating oatmeal, fruit and veggies and not worry about carbs?

I'm trying not to get caught up in the food issue because it is the reason I quit. It's so confusing to me. Someone please help me keep it simple.

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited July 2015
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    1. Try logging the entire day and sticking to that plan when you get home.
    2. In your situation, focusing just on calories for now would probably be most beneficial.
    3. It depends on your goal, your stats, your activity, etc.
    4. Don't worry about carbs, per se, unless a doctor has told you otherwise.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    2 popular mantras............calories in vs. calories out and eat less, move more.

    There is no need to make radical changes right now. Measure and log the foods you normally eat. Do these foods keep you full? If not, start tweaking things. Foods that are filling have protein, fat and / or fiber.

    Unless you have medical issues....no need to limit carbs. However (see filling foods list above)....if I just have oatmeal for breakfast I would be hungry a short time later. Fiber helps, but that's just one piece of the puzzle.

    Protein is one of the things that helps you keep lean muscle. Try to meet this goal everyday.

    Setting your goals.....2 methods.

    MFP does not include exercise up front (adds calories for logged workouts) and MFP uses "I want to lose xx pounds per week" to get to your goal. 1200 is MFPs lowest minimum default. That means you have an aggressive weekly goal or you are a petite senior lady.

    TDEE includes exercise up front, and then you take a percentage off. 30% for obese....5% for very close to goal.

    These calories essentially come out the same if what you input matches.

    Veggies are a great way to volumize your meals. These can fill up your plate, or reduce the calories** in a high carb / high fat casserole.....reduces the calories for the same serving size**
  • eve1980
    eve1980 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thank you both. The foods I normally eat keep me ultra full, but it's usually Chipotle or something heavy and I only need to eat once a day. I wouldnt be able to realistically count those calories so I decided to start making my food at home.

    So yea, what I ate today is not keeping me full. In fact, I'm feeling extremely hungry right now and snacked on an apple and water. That really just makes me hungrier. SO under normal circumstances, I would go to Chipotle and get a burrito bowl and chips. So 1200 is apparently not enough for me.

    I will probably look at the TDEE again as I believe that is what gave me the 1923 calorie goal. I only know that I burn 100 calories an hour doing nothing. But I will focus on finding the right calorie goal and eating within that and not so much on the other stuff.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    eve1980 wrote: »
    Thank you both. The foods I normally eat keep me ultra full, but it's usually Chipotle or something heavy and I only need to eat once a day. I wouldnt be able to realistically count those calories so I decided to start making my food at home.

    So yea, what I ate today is not keeping me full. In fact, I'm feeling extremely hungry right now and snacked on an apple and water. That really just makes me hungrier. SO under normal circumstances, I would go to Chipotle and get a burrito bowl and chips. So 1200 is apparently not enough for me.

    I will probably look at the TDEE again as I believe that is what gave me the 1923 calorie goal. I only know that I burn 100 calories an hour doing nothing. But I will focus on finding the right calorie goal and eating within that and not so much on the other stuff.
    Well, the 1200 from MFP is probably without exercise and the 1923 would include exercise and everything else. Unless you burn a legitimate 723 calories a day in purposeful exercise, you're probably going to want to aim somewhere in between. Maybe 1500-1600 for a while and see how that works for your hunger and for your weight loss goals.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    eve1980 wrote: »
    Thank you both. The foods I normally eat keep me ultra full, but it's usually Chipotle or something heavy and I only need to eat once a day. I wouldnt be able to realistically count those calories so I decided to start making my food at home.

    So yea, what I ate today is not keeping me full. In fact, I'm feeling extremely hungry right now and snacked on an apple and water. That really just makes me hungrier. SO under normal circumstances, I would go to Chipotle and get a burrito bowl and chips. So 1200 is apparently not enough for me.

    I will probably look at the TDEE again as I believe that is what gave me the 1923 calorie goal. I only know that I burn 100 calories an hour doing nothing. But I will focus on finding the right calorie goal and eating within that and not so much on the other stuff.
    Well, the 1200 from MFP is probably without exercise and the 1923 would include exercise and everything else. Unless you burn a legitimate 723 calories a day in purposeful exercise, you're probably going to want to aim somewhere in between. Maybe 1500-1600 for a while and see how that works for your hunger and for your weight loss goals.

    This! This is good info. I eat between 1600-1700 calories a day and I'm losing!
  • eve1980
    eve1980 Posts: 10 Member
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    Ok. I see. Thank you. I burn about 500 most days exercising so I will increase it to 1500 and see how that works. Thank you.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    Wait...so are you eating once a day or several times a day?

    I wonder if you ate more earlier in the day if you would have less of a tendency to want to overeat later. Eating more protein with breakfast helped me to break the habit of eating too much at night.

    If you are not feeling full enough, consider whether or not you are getting enough:
    -protein
    -fiber
    -fat
    -water/liquid

    Chipotle's food is not terribly unhealthy...they just have ENORMOUS portions. What about buying a burrito and dividing it up into several meals? 1/3 of a burrito with an apple is not a bad lunch.
  • eve1980
    eve1980 Posts: 10 Member
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    Now I am eating several times a day and incorporating snacks. Sometimes I could go all day without eating if I have a coffee or something. I try not to do that.

    I have a 32 oz water bottle that I try to drink at least 2 of a day. I think I'm just not eating enough and I know I could stand more protein.

    Friday is my new designated 'eat lunch with friends' day. So I will try dividing it up. I might have to start with 2 portions because Eve see food Eve want food. LOL. If it's sitting there I will eat it. That is a good suggestion and the fact that I never thought about it shows you how I look at food and portions.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    edited July 2015
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    You can still eat at Chipotle! Just make some changes in what you order. Don't get the chips, for instance. And try your burrito bowl with rice or beans but not both, less cheese or or no cheese if you can, and either sour cream or guacamole or not both. Also try to avoid the carnitas if you can, it is the meat with the most calories. But otherwise, a burrito bowl at Chipotle is not a bad meal at all. It's really the chips; a serving of those is 570 calories, before adding guac or salsa. The nutritional info is all online. They have a great calorie calculator so you can combine all sorts of ingredients and see how many calories it is.
  • Dawn410
    Dawn410 Posts: 120 Member
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    I had a big problem with afternoon/early evening bingeing. I work until 7:30 pm most nights and would try to wait until I got home to eat dinner. That led to a lot of snacking between 3pm and 6 pm. Now, I take a healthy dinner with me and eat it earlier than normal, usually around 5-5:30. I've found that my blood sugar drops in the late afternoon and I have to eat everything in sight. So bringing a healthy dinner to work has helped my calorie count tremendously. I don't get hungry again for the rest of the evening
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    eve1980 wrote: »
    Now I am eating several times a day and incorporating snacks. Sometimes I could go all day without eating if I have a coffee or something. I try not to do that.

    I have a 32 oz water bottle that I try to drink at least 2 of a day. I think I'm just not eating enough and I know I could stand more protein.

    Friday is my new designated 'eat lunch with friends' day. So I will try dividing it up. I might have to start with 2 portions because Eve see food Eve want food. LOL. If it's sitting there I will eat it. That is a good suggestion and the fact that I never thought about it shows you how I look at food and portions.

    Ya, not eating enough during the day can sure lead to demolishing whatever is in sight when you get home :)

    Lots of ways to make Chipotles fit in your calorie budget. Dividing in half or what @whmscll said above are good strategies.

    Here's their https://chipotle.com/nutrition-calculator
  • eve1980
    eve1980 Posts: 10 Member
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    I did what @whmscll suggested today. I kept staring at the other half lol, but I ate some watermelon and drank some water. I told everyone at work that only Friday is Chipotle day from now on. No chips.
  • aislingeach
    aislingeach Posts: 9 Member
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    I don't know if this helps you but a couple of things I noticed worked for me:
    1) be sure to get proteins and fat especially at breakfast because the carbs are good for nutrition but do not make me feel full for very long
    2) avoid starchy carbs after 2-3pm because they make my weight loss stop or go up
    3) on the days when am really hungry even when getting the recommended number of calories, I have to push past the hunger and stay on target. My nutritionist says your body does NOT want you to lose weight and the days when you are hungry are the days where your weight will drop the next morning when you weigh in. She has been right on that for me because if I can stay strong on those days I will have dropped some weight the next morning.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    End of day is my danger zone too. All "willpower" I might have started with flies out the window. Try eating realistic meals during the day, and maybe half a protein bar before you leave work. Then your one big meal may be a quarter what it used to be.

    To answer your original question, calories are more important than all the other stuff, and 1200 is too low.

    Diet is "die with a T". Instead of dieting make small life changes towards health.
  • aislingeach
    aislingeach Posts: 9 Member
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    I really wish that 1200 calories was too low but it sure varies by height, current weight/goal, and age. I am 54, 5' 1.5", currently at 130 lbs and trying to get to 125 lbs. I have to stay closer to 1000 calories a day to lose weight unless I am able to work out that day. Oh to be younger and taller; I am jealous!
  • ThisIsRae
    ThisIsRae Posts: 13 Member
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    If calorie counting is easiest for you, then focus on calories. Don't make drastic changes, just go with the easy "eat less, move more" (and I don't mean easy in the doing, I mean easy to remember and keep in mind all day). Small changes day in and day out and you will get there. If you are having trouble staying on track when you get home, try exercising first, try drinking a big glass of water before you start going crazy on the food, try having a small salad prepared from the day before and eat that first. I also love Chipotle and I still eat it, I just eat half! I used to suffer from the same "if I see it I will eat it" problem, so I stopped keeping crap food in the house (at first, although I've gotten myself more under control now :)). If you can't resist eating it in huge portions, don't bring it into the house (again, easier said than done). Best of luck :)

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