Weight loss through counting calories
asarabia665
Posts: 3 Member
So currently I'm 190 lbs looking to overall lose 40 lbs... I exercise regularly, but I find counting calories to be difficult. My main issue is that I stay within my 1500 calorie limit, but then I always seem to still feel hungry... Is there anything I can do? Are there low calorie meals that I can eat an abundance of ? Please help...
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Replies
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Eating more protein and fibrous foods can help you feel more full.2
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These are my really general tips for hunger:
1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. Eating enough includes eating back at least a portion of the extra calories you burn through exercise if you're using MFP's set up. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.
3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.
4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.
5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.
6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.
7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.12 -
If you're 190 lbs, exercise daily, and are only eating 1500, there's a good chance you're undereating. Can you make it work in the long term? Possibly, depending on your will-power. Would I recommend it? Probably not, especially if you're the type of person who likes to fit treats/pizza/etc. in, 1500 calories a day with junk food can be tough.0
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I started out at 180 and am down 38 pounds. Looking to lose a couple more. I started in June 2015 and have gradually lost the weight. I find that if I eat more protein it makes a huge difference. I didn't give anything up as I wanted this to be a life style change. The days I eat higher carb foods and less protein I feel hungry. I don't eat them every day but I do like having a protein bar for a snack once in a while. It kind of curbs the sweet tooth and takes care of the hunger. Good luck to you.3
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bclarke1990 wrote: »If you're 190 lbs, exercise daily, and are only eating 1500, there's a good chance you're undereating. Can you make it work in the long term? Possibly, depending on your will-power. Would I recommend it? Probably not, especially if you're the type of person who likes to fit treats/pizza/etc. in, 1500 calories a day with junk food can be tough.
I started at 180 and am currently set at 1300 a day. I can easily fit "junk food" into my calories. I have pizza once a week (not counting left overs) and chocolate or chips almost daily. If you eat enough fiber and protein you feel full longer.
Without OP's full stats, there's no way to tell if they're undertaking. 1500 is very reasonable.0 -
asarabia665 wrote: »So currently I'm 190 lbs looking to overall lose 40 lbs... I exercise regularly, but I find counting calories to be difficult. My main issue is that I stay within my 1500 calorie limit, but then I always seem to still feel hungry... Is there anything I can do? Are there low calorie meals that I can eat an abundance of ? Please help...
I see you are 19 and male. How tall are you? You're likely undereating, especially given that you exercise.
With only 40 pounds to lose, set your calorie goal to lose 1 pound per week rather than the two pounds per week that many of us try and fail as it is too aggressive for the weight we need to lose.0 -
My cals are set to 1200 (by MFP with 1 lb/wk setting) mainly because I'm super short 5'1. Because it's at the lowest female cal limit (1500 is lowest male cal setting) I pay attention to my body and eat into my exercise cals on days I'm extra hungry...like today;) It may be a too aggressive deficit or maybe that you need to eat your exercise cals;)0
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Calories worked for me when I would fill half my plate with salad at lunch, and half my plate with veggies at dinner.. the rest of the plate were moderate amounts of meat/fish and potatoes/rice etc.
You can eat a huge plate of veggies and salad for relatively little calories and feel quite full.
I also would eat ALOT of artifical sugar based products. Not for everyone - but it worked for me and my favourite thing to do would be to make lots and lots of sugar free jelly (jello) and just tuck into it whenever I felt the need to eat and couldn't control it.
The opposite end is doing a lower carb diet. A lot of people notice that when they cut out the potatoes, rice and pasta (and sugar) from their meals they feel much fuller and for a lot longer, causing much less overeating due to hunger.
The last option I guess is just to up your calorie intake and expect a slower weight loss. but if you are struggling to stay within your calories and overeat quite often, you might as well set yourself a higher calorie goal and be happier whilst your losing weight.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »asarabia665 wrote: »So currently I'm 190 lbs looking to overall lose 40 lbs... I exercise regularly, but I find counting calories to be difficult. My main issue is that I stay within my 1500 calorie limit, but then I always seem to still feel hungry... Is there anything I can do? Are there low calorie meals that I can eat an abundance of ? Please help...
I see you are 19 and male. How tall are you? You're likely undereating, especially given that you exercise.
With only 40 pounds to lose, set your calorie goal to lose 1 pound per week rather than the two pounds per week that many of us try and fail as it is too aggressive for the weight we need to lose.
Agreed. My son is 21 and maintains on 3500-4k a day...depending on his workouts. He has lost about 30lbs since the winter eating about 3k a day. He does BJJ x3 a week, MMAx2 and some form of resistance training (usually bodyweight)
I suspect you are actually hungry and need to fuel your body. Suggestion eat more food. Protein, fats and starches are always good for young men the protein and fats help keep you feeling fuller longer and starches give you that satisfaction other carbs don't...you can eat all the salad you want but you will still feel empty.
As well don't be afraid of burgers and pizza etc.1 -
Go eat lots of salad and greens. They are low in calories and perfect for anyone limited on calories.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »asarabia665 wrote: »So currently I'm 190 lbs looking to overall lose 40 lbs... I exercise regularly, but I find counting calories to be difficult. My main issue is that I stay within my 1500 calorie limit, but then I always seem to still feel hungry... Is there anything I can do? Are there low calorie meals that I can eat an abundance of ? Please help...
I see you are 19 and male. How tall are you? You're likely undereating, especially given that you exercise.
With only 40 pounds to lose, set your calorie goal to lose 1 pound per week rather than the two pounds per week that many of us try and fail as it is too aggressive for the weight we need to lose.
Agreed. My son is 21 and maintains on 3500-4k a day...depending on his workouts. He has lost about 30lbs since the winter eating about 3k a day. He does BJJ x3 a week, MMAx2 and some form of resistance training (usually bodyweight)
I suspect you are actually hungry and need to fuel your body. Suggestion eat more food. Protein, fats and starches are always good for young men the protein and fats help keep you feeling fuller longer and starches give you that satisfaction other carbs don't...you can eat all the salad you want but you will still feel empty.
As well don't be afraid of burgers and pizza etc.
If you want to knock what I say again, at least quote me first!!!0 -
Mirabelle1983 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »asarabia665 wrote: »So currently I'm 190 lbs looking to overall lose 40 lbs... I exercise regularly, but I find counting calories to be difficult. My main issue is that I stay within my 1500 calorie limit, but then I always seem to still feel hungry... Is there anything I can do? Are there low calorie meals that I can eat an abundance of ? Please help...
I see you are 19 and male. How tall are you? You're likely undereating, especially given that you exercise.
With only 40 pounds to lose, set your calorie goal to lose 1 pound per week rather than the two pounds per week that many of us try and fail as it is too aggressive for the weight we need to lose.
Agreed. My son is 21 and maintains on 3500-4k a day...depending on his workouts. He has lost about 30lbs since the winter eating about 3k a day. He does BJJ x3 a week, MMAx2 and some form of resistance training (usually bodyweight)
I suspect you are actually hungry and need to fuel your body. Suggestion eat more food. Protein, fats and starches are always good for young men the protein and fats help keep you feeling fuller longer and starches give you that satisfaction other carbs don't...you can eat all the salad you want but you will still feel empty.
As well don't be afraid of burgers and pizza etc.
If you want to knock what I say again, at least quote me first!!!
????? please don't derail threads. Not sure where this is coming from anyway...
anyway OP I stand by what I said....if you are a male 19 and working out eat lots of food...do your workouts...
eat more filling foods...not what makes just "fills you up" but make sure you are feeling satisfied as well.0 -
Your always hungry because you're used to consuming large amounts of food still.
In time, the "being hungry all the time" goes away as your stomach shrinks, and your hormones regulating hunger come back under control.0 -
Good source for info http://www.dietdoctor.com/0
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coreyreichle wrote: »Your always hungry because you're used to consuming large amounts of food still.
In time, the "being hungry all the time" goes away as your stomach shrinks, and your hormones regulating hunger come back under control.
If this is a 19 year old young man working out "regularly" he is actually hungry at 1500 calories and should be eating more food to prevent hunger.0 -
coreyreichle wrote: »Your always hungry because you're used to consuming large amounts of food still.
In time, the "being hungry all the time" goes away as your stomach shrinks, and your hormones regulating hunger come back under control.
If this is a 19 year old young man working out "regularly" he is actually hungry at 1500 calories and should be eating more food to prevent hunger.
Most people mean "Walking every day for 30 mins" as "exercising regularly". 1500 calories is completely in the safe guidelines for a male on a calorie restriction, for someone 5'7" and 190 lbs (Which means they have an excess of 50 lbs to lose to get to a healthy BMI).
I did 1500 cals a day for a while. It's doable, and the insatiable hunger goes away once your stomach shrinks, and your hunger-controlling hormones begin to regulate properly again.1 -
coreyreichle wrote: »coreyreichle wrote: »Your always hungry because you're used to consuming large amounts of food still.
In time, the "being hungry all the time" goes away as your stomach shrinks, and your hormones regulating hunger come back under control.
If this is a 19 year old young man working out "regularly" he is actually hungry at 1500 calories and should be eating more food to prevent hunger.
Most people mean "Walking every day for 30 mins" as "exercising regularly". 1500 calories is completely in the safe guidelines for a male on a calorie restriction, for someone 5'7" and 190 lbs (Which means they have an excess of 50 lbs to lose to get to a healthy BMI).
I did 1500 cals a day for a while. It's doable, and the insatiable hunger goes away once your stomach shrinks, and your hunger-controlling hormones begin to regulate properly again.
Yes I get that but as a woman who is 5 ft 7 and started at 205 I was eating 1460 calories and was not hungry...ever.
1500 is the minimum for men period and in order to get in proper nutrition everything has to be almost "perfect" ie macro's and micros. I suspect that isn't the case here therefore eating more food is not going to stop weight loss but it will eliminate the hunger and lack of proper nutrition. Esp for a 19 year old young man.
There is no reason to be hungry while losing weight if you are doing in a healthy reasonable manner.0 -
asarabia665 wrote: »So currently I'm 190 lbs looking to overall lose 40 lbs... I exercise regularly, but I find counting calories to be difficult. My main issue is that I stay within my 1500 calorie limit, but then I always seem to still feel hungry... Is there anything I can do? Are there low calorie meals that I can eat an abundance of ? Please help...
@asarabia665 counting calories is the only way we know how many calories we are eating. Yes many do just fine not counting when eating disorders get resolved.
In my case when I found the right macro for my body the calories more or less controlled by my appetite after my hunger controlling hormones got fixed.
Again in my experience getting the macro that worked for my body was job #1. As one that does eat the same menus most of the time makes the counting a subconscious task most of the time.
This morning eating at McDonald's someone out of sight was putting syrup on perhaps pancakes and the smell made me nauseated. Eating my old macro I could drink the syrup straight due to my disordered way of eating.0 -
coreyreichle wrote: »coreyreichle wrote: »Your always hungry because you're used to consuming large amounts of food still.
In time, the "being hungry all the time" goes away as your stomach shrinks, and your hormones regulating hunger come back under control.
If this is a 19 year old young man working out "regularly" he is actually hungry at 1500 calories and should be eating more food to prevent hunger.
Most people mean "Walking every day for 30 mins" as "exercising regularly". 1500 calories is completely in the safe guidelines for a male on a calorie restriction, for someone 5'7" and 190 lbs (Which means they have an excess of 50 lbs to lose to get to a healthy BMI).
I did 1500 cals a day for a while. It's doable, and the insatiable hunger goes away once your stomach shrinks, and your hunger-controlling hormones begin to regulate properly again.
Yes I get that but as a woman who is 5 ft 7 and started at 205 I was eating 1460 calories and was not hungry...ever.
Awesome for you.1500 is the minimum for men period and in order to get in proper nutrition everything has to be almost "perfect" ie macro's and micros. I suspect that isn't the case here therefore eating more food is not going to stop weight loss but it will eliminate the hunger and lack of proper nutrition. Esp for a 19 year old young man.
There is no reason to be hungry while losing weight if you are doing in a healthy reasonable manner.
Almost everyone feels hungry when they are first starting out, mostly because our hunger signals are all jacked up.
And, no, your macros don't have to be "almost perfect" ever, to be honest. Macros are optional, in the short term, and don't stretch into importance until you're able to define goals, or into the long term.
Hell, most everyone on here advocates a different macro split as being "the best way". I still don't worry about macros, I just let things fall into place, and I'm not dying, and I'm still regularly PR'ing my runs and weights.3 -
coreyreichle wrote: »coreyreichle wrote: »coreyreichle wrote: »Your always hungry because you're used to consuming large amounts of food still.
In time, the "being hungry all the time" goes away as your stomach shrinks, and your hormones regulating hunger come back under control.
If this is a 19 year old young man working out "regularly" he is actually hungry at 1500 calories and should be eating more food to prevent hunger.
Most people mean "Walking every day for 30 mins" as "exercising regularly". 1500 calories is completely in the safe guidelines for a male on a calorie restriction, for someone 5'7" and 190 lbs (Which means they have an excess of 50 lbs to lose to get to a healthy BMI).
I did 1500 cals a day for a while. It's doable, and the insatiable hunger goes away once your stomach shrinks, and your hunger-controlling hormones begin to regulate properly again.
Yes I get that but as a woman who is 5 ft 7 and started at 205 I was eating 1460 calories and was not hungry...ever.
Awesome for you.1500 is the minimum for men period and in order to get in proper nutrition everything has to be almost "perfect" ie macro's and micros. I suspect that isn't the case here therefore eating more food is not going to stop weight loss but it will eliminate the hunger and lack of proper nutrition. Esp for a 19 year old young man.
There is no reason to be hungry while losing weight if you are doing in a healthy reasonable manner.
Almost everyone feels hungry when they are first starting out, mostly because our hunger signals are all jacked up.
And, no, your macros don't have to be "almost perfect" ever, to be honest. Macros are optional, in the short term, and don't stretch into importance until you're able to define goals, or into the long term.
Hell, most everyone on here advocates a different macro split as being "the best way". I still don't worry about macros, I just let things fall into place, and I'm not dying, and I'm still regularly PR'ing my runs and weights.
if you are an averaged sized man eating 1500 consistently to lose weight to get proper nutrition yes they do. 1500 is the lowest you can be as an average man and still get in proper RDA.
I am not advocating macro split for weight loss...what I am saying is that 1500 is not necessary and neither is being hungry.
When you start this weight loss thing the goal should be to eat as much food as possible and still lose weight...not be hungry and lose as fast as possible (I figure people that do that are punishing themselves for being over weight)1 -
asarabia665 wrote: »So currently I'm 190 lbs looking to overall lose 40 lbs... I exercise regularly, but I find counting calories to be difficult. My main issue is that I stay within my 1500 calorie limit, but then I always seem to still feel hungry... Is there anything I can do? Are there low calorie meals that I can eat an abundance of ? Please help...
Here OP have a look at this link - might make for interesting reading... especially about the filling half your plate with colourful veg and salad part - and broccoli.. who knew!
http://dailyburn.com/life/health/low-calorie-foods-feel-full/
The soup thing is quite a good idea too... forgot to mention that one, but you can easily use low calorie soup to fill you up before you eat your meal, as a sort of starter.
Good luck!0 -
When I get hungry, I drink a big glass of V8 (low sodium). . works every time. .0
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Thank you everyone who took the time to try and give me new ways of seeing things. I appreciate the gesture and plan to move forward with my adjusted plan.0
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If you are male, 1500 calories should be a minimum amount, not a maximum to stay under. When you said you "stay within" 1500 it made it sound like you are sometimes eating less than that which isnt good unless prescribed bya a doctor.
Go to the mfp set-up, set an activity level NOT including your exercise and let MFP calculate for you what your calories will be, I would suggest trying to lose no more than 1 lb/week. My guess is it will be more like 1700-1800 calories at least. Then log your exercise separately. You can eat back your exercise calories if you are hungry. If you arent losing weight after a few weeks, try cutting back to just eating back 50% of your exercise calories.0 -
My diet doctor (really go to him for help with weight loss ) and a nutritionist. He has me on a 1500 calorie too. but I also weigh over 300 lbs. Some days I struggle to not eat enough but most often I'm like I want more.. I do think what you eat is a good key to feeling full.. Definetely suggest you set a calorie limit based on your doctor's advice. Good luck it's a bumpy journey to get healthy, But I'm a believer it's worth it
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