Little thing i could change?

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  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    start with eating as normal and logging it. That gives you a baseline.

    eat more veggies with every meal, but don't be shy about using full fat or dressings - as long as you factor in the calories into your day, they'll help keep you satisfied.

    I tend NOT to snack. I eat 3 meals a day, with breakfast being fairly late so close to lunch, and when hunger starts to set in the evening I just figure I won't die if I have to wait a bit longer to have a proper meal. Snacks tend not to satisfy me anyway so I'm better off just having a full meal.

    make sure your meals are big enough to be filling, but not so big you are stuffed.

    sleep more.

    enjoy your food. Don't eat something because your read somewhere that it's healthy. Savour your food. Food is not a chore, it should be a pleasure, but you should aim for flavour over quantity.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    A Foreman grill. Being able to make a meal really fast helps me.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    pebble4321 wrote: »
    You might like to work on overhauling one meal at a time - start with breakfast, get yourself some ideas for a breakfast that you like, that gives you good nutrition and that keeps you full until your next meal.
    Then work on lunch, dinner, snacks etc.

    In the meantime, I also suggest you just start logging. Log everything you eat in your diary so you have a good idea of where most of your calories are coming from, and which things work well and which things you want to change. This doesn't necessarily mean cutting calories on every meal - you might have a pretty high cal breakfast that makes you feel great and keeps you full until lunchtime - in which case I'd probably keep that and look to cut cals from snacks or other places.

    I also suggest that you reframe your goals in your head - as others have said, these small changes probably won't give you a dramatic weight loss in a short space of time, but that doesn't have to be your goal. I have my diary set for .25kg weight loss per week (1/2 pound) and am focusing mainly on good habits, eating better, moving more.
    In reality, I'm losing weight faster than that - averaging about 2kg (4 pounds or so a month) which I'm very happy with.

    For me, making smaller changes that are sustainable is a good strategy.

    I tend to disagree with some of this, depending on how I interpret what you are saying. Little things add up and can make a big difference, if you don't replace those things with other things that cancel out your effort - for instance, eating a salad that has 1500 calories, just because "salad is healthy", or going to the gym makes you so exhausted that you spend the rest of your day on the couch, whereas you would normally take your dog for a 90 minutes walk. It's also smart to focus on the little things that really count, for instance, if you eat out once a month, the effect of replacing french fries with baked potato, will be insignificant, but having one potato instead of two for dinner twice a week, can make a dent in your overall calorie intake.

    Logging is great for those that this works for, and it's only natural that most users of a site that has a food diary as a prominent (or key) feature, will encourage logging. (I don't really understand how people who are against logging, seem to be drawn to MFP, but anyway...) Logging can help you manage your calories so you can lose weight. But logging is not the same as calorie deficit. You still have to make it work for you. Logging can make you aware of your intake, and this can prompt you to make better decisions. But being "too" aware can make some people obsessive, and just getting in some "mindless", but good, habits, without focusing on numbers, can work better for them.

    This is obviously not directed at you, pebble, but to newcomers ;)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    Eat all the foods you like but reduce the portion size.

    If you crave high calorie foods aim to keep these to a minimum but still work them into your calorie allowance so you don't feel deprived.

    Drink lots of water.

    Move more.

    Fill up on lots of protein and fats as they will keep you feeling fuller for longer.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
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    Slowly reduce the number of times you order takeout or eat at a restaurant. I try to keep it to twice per week, but you'll figure out what works for you. I also try to keep my outings social as opposed to convenience or laziness - dinner with friends or going out to baseball game vs. ordering a pizza because I'm binge watching Orange is the New Black and don't feel like pausing to go to the kitchen to cook.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Plan meals and snacks even if you eat out.
    Log what you consume. You can see where you can make changes.
    Drink more water or unsweetened teas/coffee. If you are fine with artificial sweeteners then you can try drinks with those.
    Put more vegetables on your plate.
    Eat more protein, vevetables and fruits.
    Use less cooking oils, condiments, dressings. Salsa is low calorie though and adds a lot of flavor on a salad or other foods. Most herbs and spices are very low calorie so visit the spice aisle at the store.
    Cook more to control portion size and ingredients. Have interesting and tasty foods.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
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    Don't drink calories. (Or limit the calories you drink.)

    I switched from flavored creamer in my coffee to stevia and coconut milk. That's a huge calorie savings for me. I also get just coffee from Starbucks. (I'll splurge twice a year on a pumpkin spice latte and a peppermint mocha.)

    Give up soda (or greatly limit it). I let myself have 2 per month.

    Lots and lots of water.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
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    My advice is to just start logging without changing anything and see where you are at right now. You'll be able to see where your highest calorie choices are and you can start making small changes from there. What worked for me was just cutting portion sizes. I still eat all the same foods as I did before, I just eat less of them. I eventually worked up to using a food scale and weighing everything in grams, but I didn't start there because it was a bit overwhelming to me. Slowly I started learning how to use the food scale faster and smarter, and now I use it when I make basically every meal and it adds no time at all to my prep. Cutting out entire food groups or ingredients was something I tried in the past and completely failed at.

    The other change I did was cut back on all drinks with calories, particularly alcohol. Even though I was only drinking 1-2 beers or glasses of wine after work, it was enough calories to make a difference. For months I essentially cut out drinking during the week. Now I've started drinking more regularly again and I've been maintaining my weight for 6-8 weeks, so I know the first thing I can do to cut some calories is cut back on the alcohol again.
  • steph_vt
    steph_vt Posts: 38 Member
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    I dont drink alot of my calories soda wise anyway since i dont rlly like fizzy drinks so its pretty rare i drink them, i also dont drink alchohol that often. I think my biggest drinking calories are from tea and coffee, i use honey sometimes in my tea but the calories for honey isnt fantastic either :/ ive started drinking less coffees and teas but its still not fantastic. I dont rlly like sweeteners ive tried them but i rlly dont like the flavour :/
    I also dont eat out very often , takeout is also pr
    Prtty rare

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