Can't seem to keep calories low

@Sued0nim I'm set to lose .5 per week. I am 138 pounds, 5' 4.75" and 48 years old. I have a sedentary job. My maintenance according to mfp is 1580 so a 250 deficit gives me 1330. I am trying to transition to maintenance so this week I added 100 calories to my goal. I do eat back most of my fitbit adjustment so I usually eat around 1600 per day and I'm still losing slowly. I'm 3 pounds from goal so I am starting to add in more calories. I hope to end up with a maintenance around 1800-2000. I don't think it is necessary for most people to go down to the minimum calorie limit, but some people need to.

I am at about the same calorie allotment and I really enjoy eating, so I work my butt off in my workouts and eat back most, if not all of my exercise calories. So far, that is working for me. Also, I tend to eat a lot of the same things- especially during the week- so it is easier to know how many calories each meal and snack usually takes and plan around that. So I would recommend finding 1-3 go-to breakfasts, lunches and snacks that are the calories that will allow you to have what you want for supper.

Take a look at that 700 or more calories you're eating before lunch and figure out what you can cut.

Eat lower calorie foods. Try more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, that kind of thing. Stay full, stay healthy, lose weight and eat a LOT of food.

I'm set to 1350, but generally eat back a decent amount of my exercise calories (300-800 a day). My diary's open to friends--send me a request if you want and you can go poking around.

Are you hungry earlier in the day or later in the day? Eat a smaller dinner or change and eat a smaller breakfast or lunch.
I get hungrier later in the day. I prelog my day and eat more in the evening. 500 calories for the evening isn't terrible though. Eat more vegetables in the evening.

Stuff I eat:
Breakfast- Greek yogurt, granola bars, cereal with milk, sandwich, dinner leftovers, fruit, cottage cheese (about 200-300 calories)
Lunch- sandwich, salad, or dinner leftovers (about 300-500 calories)
Dinner- something different every night of the month. (about 500-600 calories) I have soup once a week usually.
Snacks- things like fruit, chips, popcorn, pretzels, chocolate, cookies, granola bar, carrots, celery, broccoli, trail mix, deviled eggs, pickles, cottage cheese (about 100-300 calories)

Another thought you could try is skipping breakfast to save those calories for later. Some people can do it, others can not. It's called intermittent fasting if you want to look into it.

I do better if I eat more often. Staples--Weight Watchers lite string cheese, Stacy's bagel chips, Pecan crackers, saltines, bagels, Laughing Cow cheese wedges, loaf bread, breakfast strips, bacon, eggs, nonfat milk, nonfat Greek yogurt, Luna Protein bars. Shaved turkey breast and ham, tuna. Bananas. Guacamole 100 calorie cups.

I eat crackers often because they have about the same calories as bread but take so long to eat, esp. the bagel chips. The WW string cheese is just awesome--drier because it's low-fat. I like that it's drier because it's even stringyer. I get the jalapeno. 50 calories, about 6 grams of protein. Laughing Cow wedges are stupid good--35-50 calories. Bacon is very low in calories, so are breakfast strips. Deli meat is low in calories. I use Land o Lakes lite butter. It tastes good but is half the calories of butter.

I know none of this sounds at all "healthy," but I have lost weight eating frequent small meals. I feel less deprived.

Try giving yourself more volume. If you think you're eating a lot of food, you might be less hungry. Big salads, lots of veggies in my egg whites (and in general--I've been known to eat a bag of frozen broccoli in a day (cooking it first )) and especially riced cauliflower really help me. I tend to be a volume eater.

hmvanwink wrote: »

Another thought you could try is skipping breakfast to save those calories for later. Some people can do it, others can not. It's called intermittent fasting if you want to look into it.

This is what I do, i haven't 'eaten' breakfast for years. I do drink lots of cups of tea with milk, so i get fullness but low calories. Breakfast is wasted calories for me, as it just makes me hungrier all day, plus i would rather save my calories for dinner and dessert.