Help On Changing Meal Plan... Advice
Options
collegefbfan
Posts: 346 Member
So in reading what a lot of posters leave on here about eating twice a day, only eating when hungry, not worrying about macros except fat and carbs and let protein fall where it may. I am trying to conform to some of these ways. Like I have to have breakfast. And supper. I was thinking about mainly getting greens in at lunch. I eat greens at other times also, but just saying. I feel like my weight loss has stalled and this is including more activity among other things. Is this the way to go?
0
Replies
-
Have you had zero loss for several weeks or has your loss just slowed a little? Because slowing is natural. People eat to many different plans but the important thing is to find what's comfortable for you - if you're eating 2 meals a day to try and speed up losses but you would be happier eating 3 then you're more likely to fall off plan.
If you lose no weight at all for a few weeks it can be worth switching things up. But everyone - even folks who eat one meal a day - sees stalls now and then.
Only eating when hungry is generally hard to disagree with, though. So maybe try that for a few days and see when you want to eat.1 -
For some reason here lately, I am trying to distinguish between hunger eating and habit eating. It's like now I can't tell. I think a craving that I am trying to stay away from is getting to me. General Tso's chicken!!! But I have not cheated yet. Not going to.1
-
0
-
Not quite 30. I think 22-26 pounds. It sways back and forth. Just in a rut I guess.0
-
If you think you are eating out of habit or otherwise when not actually hungry then you should work on that for sure. But, as far as weight loss, what you've been doing is working so there's absolutely no reason to think that it has suddenly stopped. It just doesn't work like that. Looking at the scale as validation that "it's working" will eventually be disappointing to everyone because at some point the body always slows down on weight loss to do some maintenance or whatever... but it just stops at some point. That doesn't mean fat loss stops though.
I weigh the same today as I did a year ago but I wear a full size smaller clothes and it's very obvious I've lost a lot of fat in photos. I tried doing different things to "break the stall" too and nothing changed on the scale. At one point I was actually 8 pounds less than right now, but I'm still the same size as I was then. That was just a few months ago. I put on about 8 pounds from my lowest ever weight but I've not gotten bigger anywhere. If I let that scale number decide that what I'm doing isn't working, I would've been so discouraged and given up eventually, but since I was also interested in keto for other reasons, and kept eating right, I got to learn that the scale is a big fat lying, liar pants!
Work on being aware of real hunger signals and keep doing what you've been doing and you'll keep losing fat even if the scale doesn't seem to be cooperating.3 -
I found that keeping a simple, regular very well logged food plan worked best for me to lose weight consistantly...while I was in lose weight mode. At first I lost several pounds a week but over the course of losing 110 pounds that slowed down to maybe a pound a week by the end of it and I had to struggle for that. It wasn't always consistant either...some weeks no loss then a sudden drop of a few pounds.
I was uber consistant with the food plan, so it really shows that doing a perfect food week might not give you a pay off loss for a few weeks.
I think remaining consistant in the face of the stall is the biggest predictor of success.
Haven't had that much luck with maintaining the loss consistantly though, once I reached my goal...but I'm also looking for a workable food plan for this phase.
I feel like I'm getting close, but sticking with it is the big thing.
Good luck.
2 -
Our first inclination tends to be increase activity and eat less, however that is not necessarily the best answer. So if you are looking to go to two meals a day but you are hungry, not really a great idea for long term success. And 22 pounds in 5-6 weeks is pretty amazing!0
-
Like I said, just in a rut I guess. Not sure if it is food boredom, thinking that the extra fat bomb is going to stall my results, etc. I also thought this was the rule of thumb: If your weight decreases, shouldn't you adjust calories to your current weight and not where you started. For me, should I still be eating like I weigh 256 pounds or like I weigh? My current 233 pounds?0
-
collegefbfan wrote: »Like I said, just in a rut I guess. Not sure if it is food boredom, thinking that the extra fat bomb is going to stall my results, etc. I also thought this was the rule of thumb: If your weight decreases, shouldn't you adjust calories to your current weight and not where you started. For me, should I still be eating like I weigh 256 pounds or like I weigh? My current 233 pounds?
Your current weight0 -
If you're stuck in a rut, look for new recipes. There's tons on pinterest. I used to eat quiches every morning, you can make a bunch of small to-go ones, freeze them and nuke them in the AM before you leave. I skip breakfast now though and just have coffee with a good amount of heavy cream.
I also find that it helps logging my meals before I eat them, which means instead of eating breakfast I'm finding recipes and plotting out my dinners based on what I have in the fridge. If somethings too high in carbs or something I can adjust as needed and don't have to worry too much about it. Like today I haven't had dinner yet but I plan on making up a few grilled chicken patties and having a big chicken salad for dinner.
As your weight decreases, yes, you have to adjust your macros and calories. I dont know if you're following low carb or keto, but I use the keto calculator to adjust: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
Congrats on your losses
0 -
I adjust my calorie intake as my weight drops but keep my macro percentages about the same.0
-
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »If you think you are eating out of habit or otherwise when not actually hungry then you should work on that for sure. But, as far as weight loss, what you've been doing is working so there's absolutely no reason to think that it has suddenly stopped. It just doesn't work like that. Looking at the scale as validation that "it's working" will eventually be disappointing to everyone because at some point the body always slows down on weight loss to do some maintenance or whatever... but it just stops at some point. That doesn't mean fat loss stops though.
I weigh the same today as I did a year ago but I wear a full size smaller clothes and it's very obvious I've lost a lot of fat in photos. I tried doing different things to "break the stall" too and nothing changed on the scale. At one point I was actually 8 pounds less than right now, but I'm still the same size as I was then. That was just a few months ago. I put on about 8 pounds from my lowest ever weight but I've not gotten bigger anywhere. If I let that scale number decide that what I'm doing isn't working, I would've been so discouraged and given up eventually, but since I was also interested in keto for other reasons, and kept eating right, I got to learn that the scale is a big fat lying, liar pants!
Work on being aware of real hunger signals and keep doing what you've been doing and you'll keep losing fat even if the scale doesn't seem to be cooperating.
Thank you for this! I know you've posted similar info before just seems like every time the stupid scale gets me down, I happen to run across this and I am instantly feel better. <<hugs>> for sharing!
1 -
collegefbfan wrote: »Like I said, just in a rut I guess. Not sure if it is food boredom, thinking that the extra fat bomb is going to stall my results, etc. I also thought this was the rule of thumb: If your weight decreases, shouldn't you adjust calories to your current weight and not where you started. For me, should I still be eating like I weigh 256 pounds or like I weigh? My current 233 pounds?
Maybe eat the maintenance calories for your ideal weight? I've heard that's a good way to do it too.
I eventually stopped counting calories because I got to a point where I was too focused on trying to force weight loss and I wasn't learning to follow the hunger signals and figuring out what is boredom and what is craving and such. So much value in learning to eat just when you need to. I'm still working on that. I think that's the ultimate challenge. It's probably the lifetime challenge I guess. There's always gonna be times we just want to eat but don't really need to... just have to make sure we also spend enough time not eating to counter those times.Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »If you think you are eating out of habit or otherwise when not actually hungry then you should work on that for sure. But, as far as weight loss, what you've been doing is working so there's absolutely no reason to think that it has suddenly stopped. It just doesn't work like that. Looking at the scale as validation that "it's working" will eventually be disappointing to everyone because at some point the body always slows down on weight loss to do some maintenance or whatever... but it just stops at some point. That doesn't mean fat loss stops though.
I weigh the same today as I did a year ago but I wear a full size smaller clothes and it's very obvious I've lost a lot of fat in photos. I tried doing different things to "break the stall" too and nothing changed on the scale. At one point I was actually 8 pounds less than right now, but I'm still the same size as I was then. That was just a few months ago. I put on about 8 pounds from my lowest ever weight but I've not gotten bigger anywhere. If I let that scale number decide that what I'm doing isn't working, I would've been so discouraged and given up eventually, but since I was also interested in keto for other reasons, and kept eating right, I got to learn that the scale is a big fat lying, liar pants!
Work on being aware of real hunger signals and keep doing what you've been doing and you'll keep losing fat even if the scale doesn't seem to be cooperating.
Thank you for this! I know you've posted similar info before just seems like every time the stupid scale gets me down, I happen to run across this and I am instantly feel better. <<hugs>> for sharing!
You're welcome! We all need this reminder over and over again. I haven't liked that the scale has gone up lately but my clothes are not any tighter so I have to get out of my own head about nonsense numbers when it's my physical size that is my real goal to change.0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »collegefbfan wrote: »Like I said, just in a rut I guess. Not sure if it is food boredom, thinking that the extra fat bomb is going to stall my results, etc. I also thought this was the rule of thumb: If your weight decreases, shouldn't you adjust calories to your current weight and not where you started. For me, should I still be eating like I weigh 256 pounds or like I weigh? My current 233 pounds?
Maybe eat the maintenance calories for your ideal weight? I've heard that's a good way to do it too.
I eventually stopped counting calories because I got to a point where I was too focused on trying to force weight loss and I wasn't learning to follow the hunger signals and figuring out what is boredom and what is craving and such. So much value in learning to eat just when you need to. I'm still working on that. I think that's the ultimate challenge. It's probably the lifetime challenge I guess. There's always gonna be times we just want to eat but don't really need to... just have to make sure we also spend enough time not eating to counter those times.Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »If you think you are eating out of habit or otherwise when not actually hungry then you should work on that for sure. But, as far as weight loss, what you've been doing is working so there's absolutely no reason to think that it has suddenly stopped. It just doesn't work like that. Looking at the scale as validation that "it's working" will eventually be disappointing to everyone because at some point the body always slows down on weight loss to do some maintenance or whatever... but it just stops at some point. That doesn't mean fat loss stops though.
I weigh the same today as I did a year ago but I wear a full size smaller clothes and it's very obvious I've lost a lot of fat in photos. I tried doing different things to "break the stall" too and nothing changed on the scale. At one point I was actually 8 pounds less than right now, but I'm still the same size as I was then. That was just a few months ago. I put on about 8 pounds from my lowest ever weight but I've not gotten bigger anywhere. If I let that scale number decide that what I'm doing isn't working, I would've been so discouraged and given up eventually, but since I was also interested in keto for other reasons, and kept eating right, I got to learn that the scale is a big fat lying, liar pants!
Work on being aware of real hunger signals and keep doing what you've been doing and you'll keep losing fat even if the scale doesn't seem to be cooperating.
Thank you for this! I know you've posted similar info before just seems like every time the stupid scale gets me down, I happen to run across this and I am instantly feel better. <<hugs>> for sharing!
You're welcome! We all need this reminder over and over again. I haven't liked that the scale has gone up lately but my clothes are not any tighter so I have to get out of my own head about nonsense numbers when it's my physical size that is my real goal to change.
Eating the maintenance calories of your ideal weight may work but then it doesn't leave you lots of wiggle room when you get closer to your goal weight. For example, if you're eating the calories of a goal weight that is quite low...you'd be at a huge deficit for a while and then as you lose, you can't re-adjust much. It'd be like dropping right down to 1200 (as a woman) until I got close to goal. And then when I needed to adjust because I was five lbs to goal, the calorie amount would be too small to dial down. You wouldn't have anywhere to go.
I do agree that as you lose, you should adjust your macros and calories. But don't dip too low if you're not that close to goal yet.
0 -
collegefbfan wrote: »For some reason here lately, I am trying to distinguish between hunger eating and habit eating. It's like now I can't tell. I think a craving that I am trying to stay away from is getting to me. General Tso's chicken!!! But I have not cheated yet. Not going to.
When I'm craving, I try to find something similar on Pinterest that will help me over the urge. I'm not really hungry, but just feel like I'm missing whatever it is so I try to find a suitable substitute.
If you cook, you can try this one ....
http://www.ruled.me/keto-bites-general-tsos-chicken/
My cooking skills have been stretched quite a bit since starting.1 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ I've considered coconut manna but think it would be just a little too tasty for me. A jar full of creamy goodness in the pantry calling my name. I don't make fat bombs either. Boring, I know.
ETA: LOL. I posted this on the wrong thread but I'm sure you figured out what I'm referring to.0 -
collegefbfan wrote: »For some reason here lately, I am trying to distinguish between hunger eating and habit eating. It's like now I can't tell. I think a craving that I am trying to stay away from is getting to me. General Tso's chicken!!! But I have not cheated yet. Not going to.
When I'm craving, I try to find something similar on Pinterest that will help me over the urge. I'm not really hungry, but just feel like I'm missing whatever it is so I try to find a suitable substitute.
If you cook, you can try this one ....
http://www.ruled.me/keto-bites-general-tsos-chicken/
My cooking skills have been stretched quite a bit since starting.
We really like a number of the Asian themed recipes on ruled.me0 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ I've considered coconut manna but think it would be just a little too tasty for me. A jar full of creamy goodness in the pantry calling my name. I don't make fat bombs either. Boring, I know.
ETA: LOL. I posted this on the wrong thread but I'm sure you figured out what I'm referring to.
That could certainly be an issue. I don't make fat bombs either. Don't really think of them as food. Not a fan of using sweeteners but I still like a touch of sweet occasionally of course. My formerly sugar addicted self seems to be able to manage things like this without going off the rails. Thankfully! Seems like as long as the sweet doesn't come from adding it (artificial or not) or from high amounts of natural sweetness that it isn't a trigger for me.0 -
collegefbfan wrote: »So in reading what a lot of posters leave on here about eating twice a day, only eating when hungry, not worrying about macros except fat and carbs and let protein fall where it may. I am trying to conform to some of these ways. Like I have to have breakfast. And supper. I was thinking about mainly getting greens in at lunch. I eat greens at other times also, but just saying. I feel like my weight loss has stalled and this is including more activity among other things. Is this the way to go?
My $.02 -
It might or might not be the way to go; no one else can answer for you.
We're all our own unique science projects (whether we choose to acknowledge it or not), especially those of us with T2D - for us, consistent meter use (5x-10x daily) until we know our patterns is the only way we'll ever start to see the whole elephant.
Once the elephant begins to take form, you might consider not counting calories.... But in the meantime, less information is not better!
2 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ @kpk54
I made a coconut pudding this weekend with 1 can Trader Joes Coconut Cream, 1/3c Chia seeds, dash of vanilla extract and 3 twists of my salt grinder. It was mildly tapioca pudding like and if you love coconut, you'll like it!1
