Giving myself more calories to play with

Did you not like the responses on the other thread(s) you started? Are you hoping to get different answers?

You said you don't feel like you are ready to lose weight.

There's not anything anyone here can say that will change that.

You can't 'eat more with less calories'. You can increase your activity though to increase your TDEE so you can eat more.

My advice though is that if you really want some pasta... have some pasta. Seriously. I'm way less likely to resort to snacking if I have satisfying meals... and if I really want something specific, it will be much more satisfying to me. A couple days ago I had lasagna and sweet and sour chicken with rice, for example. I was satisfied and still managed to stick to my goal (1800). If I had eaten chicken breast with cauliflower rice instead when I really wanted pasta, I would have been more likely to go for the cookies or chocolate to find that 'satisfaction'.

Then the next day we still had both, but I didn't really want them that much anymore, so I had a ground beef patty with veggies instead, and it was fine.

The key for me really is to make my meals as satisfying as possible. And if I want a treat, I plan for it, have a lower calorie breakfast and dinner, and make it fit... For me though, I make lunch my main meal, as if it has more calories, I'll be less likely to be hungry in the afternoon and end up over my calorie goal, but we're all different.

What's important too is to pick a goal you are comfortable with. If you're miserable at 1300 calories or whatever, just decrease your goal to losing 1 pound a week... I NEVER ate under 1650, and I lost 80 pounds. I did however make sure to walk at least an hour a day (plus other things).

Of course you can eat more with less calories. Volumetrics. Eat lean cuts of meat, low fat dairy, hundreds and HUNDREDS of grams of veg. You've going to have to watch your fat levels so make sure you add in some avocado and olive oil once in awhile, or whatever you like to get fats in.

I'm a fan of the shirataki noodle which has basically no calories (5 per serving). I eat them whether I'm losing, maintaining or gaining.

To increase the calories you burn, you have to be more active. Whatever that might entail for YOU that YOU enjoy doing.

To eat more with less calories will involve food choice. So for example, think about trying to eat 100 grams of broccoli or greens compared to eating 100 grams of cooked rice. The broccoli or greens will be more food volume in your stomach and less calories compared to the rice.

Do not give up the foods you love (unless there is a health issue that justifies it), just learn to incorporate smaller portions into your meals. If you tell someone they cannot have something, the brain tends to work against you and cause cravings for that food item. Eating the food you like let's you not feel deprived, thus you won't have those cravings.

Intermittent Fasting (IF), protein powder, etc... Are just tools that "might" help along the way. IF is just a diet protocol that some people find they better adhere to as they can go long stretches of not eating and save all their calories for larger meals. It still has to create a caloric deficit at the end of the day just like eating more frequent meals. Protein powder is fine if you are not meeting your daily protein need through other food choices (meat and veg.). Appetite suppressants are typically just expensive marketing for higher dose of caffeine (and I am not advocating the use of these products). Nothing wrong with caffeine, but you can refer back to food volume I mentioned to help with appetite. Also, when hunger is really tough, don't go with highly palatable food choices. So for example, how much plain baked potato can you eat compared to same baked potato with added condiments that make it more tasty. Try eating 100 grams of plain Greek yogurt with no added flavorings, you will be tired of eating it after a few spoonfuls

Sorry if post comes across a little fast and loose. Was trying to relay pertinent info without getting to "wordy"

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

@arditarose I love it when you comment on my posts, you seem to know what you are doing. I think you are amazing!

lol. Well sometimes I think I know what's best for me, and if others seem like they want to try it I'll help. But then I learn I might not even know what's best for me. I changed my diet up this week actually by upping my fats and my love for volumetrics is taking a bit of a hit

If you're not ready to lose weight then don't stress yourself out so much about it. It's okay to feel like you're not ready to commit to a lifestyle change like this. I mean wouldn't you feel worst if you lost the weight but then gained it all back plus some?

Maybe instead of making LOTS of little changes just make one or two small changes. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed when we're changing too many things about ourselves and it's hard to focus on the end goal. I think what's helped me the most is I make really small goals and some of them aren't weight related. Just last week I reached goal #2: Log into MFP for 100 days! I was so happy.

As far as your diet goes, is there a reason you're cutting out so many things you love? If it's a matter of willpower just know that by cutting these things out you're not teaching yourself how to say no or how to eat smaller portions. You're just setting yourself up to crave and binge later. That's how I was.

I

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

I don't know, I'm weird like that.

I wouldn't say it's weird. I'd say you're reacting exactly how someone would on a restrictive diet like yours. It sounds like, and I'm sorry if I'm overstepping here, you don't have a very healthy relationship with food. Especially carby or starchy foods. It's okay to cut back but when you're restricting yourself and failing you need to re-evaluate what's going on. This route is obviously not working for you. There's no magic solution to this. Start exercising willpower because I can tell you it doesn't get any easier down the road when you're being so restrictive about things.

I try not to cut out any foods I like. I don't eat as much of them but I do still have them. Like bread. I have cut most bread out of my diet but still have toast 1-2x a week with breakfast or the occasional toasted tuna sandwich. I make my own pizza so it's not as unhealthy as take out. I still eat chips, sometimes I need the extra sodium and it beats drinking salt water lol.

benzieboxx wrote: »

I

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

I don't know, I'm weird like that.

I wouldn't say it's weird. I'd say you're reacting exactly how someone would on a restrictive diet like yours. It sounds like, and I'm sorry if I'm overstepping here, you don't have a very healthy relationship with food. Especially carby or starchy foods. It's okay to cut back but when you're restricting yourself and failing you need to re-evaluate what's going on. This route is obviously not working for you. There's no magic solution to this. Start exercising willpower because I can tell you it doesn't get any easier down the road when you're being so restrictive about things.

There is a double standard in OP's posts. Such as I like to binge, I eat KFC, etc... Priorities are not set right and the money being spent on KFC and binging foods can be redirected into more volumes of foods as described. Also a carton of egg whites is a bit cheaper than a whole dozen eggs and goes A long way and certainly a high protein and certainly will cure some saiety.

Don't cut the treats like chocolate every once in a while, or even daily (small bit) but use the rest of the money you have to buy the things you want to acheive in your diet, which I see is not being done very constructively.