How in fresh h*ll does anyone stay within their calorie budget?!!!

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  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I make smarter choices.
  • katdum1978
    katdum1978 Posts: 15 Member
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    1300 calories just isn't enough food. Change your weekly goal and it is so much easier to meet the targets and still lose weight. if you want to lose weight faster - maybe try working out a few times a week and not adding any food those days?

    I started on a 1300 calorie a day diet and lasted only three days as by the end of the day I was having to cut down so much and worry so much about how much I was eating at dinner. Not worth it. Better to increase the amount of food you are eating and eat really healthy. Peanut butter is shockingly low in protein - better to eat a slice of cheese. Toast with avocado and cheese is quite delightful and filling. Also, I would steer clear of packaged/processed foods. Better to eat real food, and lots and lots of vegetables. I mostly follow a vegan diet, and the more vegetables, the better.

    Best of luck,
    Kate
  • FernGitt
    FernGitt Posts: 10 Member
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    Back home now. Thanks for all of the advice. Lord have mercy I am so not comfortable making my food diary public. Sorry. Maybe as I get further along. Trying to answer all of your questions. No I don't drink pop (what we call it here in Detroit.) I also don't use artificial sweeteners - they upset my stomach terribly and taste awful. I like to use real sugar or a small amount of raw honey. Stevia, Monk Fruit, Agave Nectar all taste bad to me too. I'll look into whole milk for my coffee - I hadn't thought of that. I absolutely had only a shmear of Jiff regular peanut butter - it didn't even measure 1 whole tablespoon! I eat Aunt Millie's 100% whole wheat bread - from memory I think it's like 60 or 70 cals a slice. ? Sometimes when I log in a food some crazy alert badge will pop up and say "you've exceeded your fat grams" or "you've exceeded your sugar." I'm like wth it's 10 am? You are kind to say that I don't really need to lose. I gained 10 pounds from last September 2015 to this September and now 6 more. I have all kinds of fat in areas I didn't before. It just bums me out because I hate looking and feeling like this. That's why I'm trying to lose. At my age it's much harder. I love all of your food advice and will research more on this website. I guess I'm so used to making amazing food for others that I don't take the time to make something quality for myself.
  • uglycrying
    uglycrying Posts: 28 Member
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    Try to adjust your coffee gradually, e.g. use 2 teaspoon of sugar instead of 3 and gradually cut down. When I first started tracking, I was astounded to see about 200-400 calories was from coffee alone (I drank too much coffee & took mine with a lot of half & half). I gradually cut down to less h&h, used the fat-free stuff, swapped to skim milk... A year or so later and I drink mine black and enjoy it. It's best not to drink your calories. I decided I liked eating food more than drinking things. You may be able to tell a difference in taste, but ultimately reaching your goals has to be more important. Also, tastes adjust.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited December 2016
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    FernGitt wrote: »
    I've worked with a personal trainer before, I've logged all my calories, measurements, and exercise so this is not new to me. BUT, that was back when I was in my late 20's and now that I'm in my early 40's the game has certainly changed. I'm 5'9" and 157 pounds and not happy with my size or how tight my clothing is. I'm trying to get back down to 140 and the myfitnesspal app is telling me I can eat 1300 calories a day. After eating a slice of wheat toast with a small shmear of peanut butter for protein (I'm hypoglycemic and need lots of protein) with a small cup of coffee, I'm already doomed for the day calorie-wise. Add in the Lean Cuisine thing I had for lunch with an 8 ounce glass of low sugar Kool Aid and I had 300 calories left at 1 pm. Seriously??? How in fresh h*ll does anyone stay within their budget? If I'm almost breaking the bank with a piece of whole wheat toast and a Lean Cuisine I'm screwed. :/

    -Find a lower calorie bread. Some are 100 cals per slice
    -Weigh peanut butter. Peanut butter doesn't have much protien at all. Find higher protien breakfasts such as cottage cheese or Greek yogurt.
    -There are coffee creamers at 20 cals or lower per tablespoon. Doesn't Walden Farms make a 0 calorie creamer?
    -switch to sugar-free koolaid
    -If you simply cannot replace all the sugar in your coffee, replace half with a sweetener you tolerate.
  • FernGitt
    FernGitt Posts: 10 Member
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    Never heard of Walden Farms, I'll have to look into that too. :) Thanks.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    I sympathise with the sweetener problem - I can't stand them either. I would always go for a smaller amount of real sugar. People who like them find it hard (understandably) to imagine how bad they taste to people who don't! The only context where I can stand them is in toothpaste and sugar free gum. The mint flavour seems to mask it.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited December 2016
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    FernGitt wrote: »
    Back home now. Thanks for all of the advice. Lord have mercy I am so not comfortable making my food diary public. Sorry. Maybe as I get further along. Trying to answer all of your questions. No I don't drink pop (what we call it here in Detroit.) I also don't use artificial sweeteners - they upset my stomach terribly and taste awful. I like to use real sugar or a small amount of raw honey. Stevia, Monk Fruit, Agave Nectar all taste bad to me too. I'll look into whole milk for my coffee - I hadn't thought of that. I absolutely had only a shmear of Jiff regular peanut butter - it didn't even measure 1 whole tablespoon! I eat Aunt Millie's 100% whole wheat bread - from memory I think it's like 60 or 70 cals a slice. ? Sometimes when I log in a food some crazy alert badge will pop up and say "you've exceeded your fat grams" or "you've exceeded your sugar." I'm like wth it's 10 am? You are kind to say that I don't really need to lose. I gained 10 pounds from last September 2015 to this September and now 6 more. I have all kinds of fat in areas I didn't before. It just bums me out because I hate looking and feeling like this. That's why I'm trying to lose. At my age it's much harder. I love all of your food advice and will research more on this website. I guess I'm so used to making amazing food for others that I don't take the time to make something quality for myself.

    We're fans of Aunt Millie's products too-our staple is their whole grain white bread, which has 100 calories for 2 slices. They also have several light whole grain option that are 70 calories for 2 slices. Otherwise if you have an Aldi nearby-they have a really good 'sandwich skinny' multi grain rolls option-100 calories for one roll/2 slices and I'm really enjoying these as a bagel alternative right now. They taste really good toasted and then with light cheese spread on them (less calories than cream cheese), or with spray spread and spices/Parmesan cheese, toasted in the broiler, as a dinner bread.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    I sympathise with the sweetener problem - I can't stand them either. I would always go for a smaller amount of real sugar. People who like them find it hard (understandably) to imagine how bad they taste to people who don't! The only context where I can stand them is in toothpaste and sugar free gum. The mint flavour seems to mask it.

    My comment about this is whether the OP has tried multiple fake sweetener options? I don't necessarily like all of them but finally settled on one. I'd snag some of those little packs here and there and experiment. If it tastes like blergh, chuck the coffee and start again.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    edited December 2016
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    FernGitt wrote: »
    Sorry guys, I have to go to work so I can't post more till late tonight. I know the app hates my coffee habit (2 cups a day). I enjoy my coffee with 3 teaspoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cream (I sometimes used the powdered stuff as well but noticed it only saves me 10 calories.) Again, being a cook, my tastebuds are accustomed to the good stuff but I will try to buy some fat free cream (can't use skim or 2% milk it's just yuck.) Not being a pain in the butt - I know I need to make many dietary changes but Rome wasn't built in a day. ;)

    Would you like some coffee with that cream? Hehehehe

    Regarding the messages from the app about fat and protein goals for the day, unless you just love the app nagging you, you can turn those off:

    On the iOS app it's: More --> Settings --> Diary Settings -->. Then turn off "Show diary food insights"
    Link to MFP's article on diary food insights
  • red99ryder
    red99ryder Posts: 399 Member
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    i like my coffee too , i log it and count it , and move on from there ..

    good luck
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I decided I had to keep my coffee as-is and work around it. A few years ago, I gave up the sweetener in the coffee (was Splenda or raw sugar), and just use full-fat half-and-half. It cuts the acidity enough and it only took a week or two to get over it not being sweet. Now sweetened coffee is way too sweet! I would never give up my half and half, though.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    edited December 2016
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    a little lesson on "fat free" dairy products:
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/labels1.html

    If the serving size is small enough - as it is on half and half, probably, because they can define a "serving" as the tablespoon you put in your coffee -- it may actually have more calories and fat than is on the label. It's all about the fact that you don't have to report nutritional information from certain things if they weigh less than a certain amount. If there is less than a half-gram of any type of fat, they can say it is "zero grams."


    I just checked: Land O'Lakes "Fat Free Half and Half" has a serving size of "2 Tbs." And it contains the Mono and di-glycerides described in the article I linked.

    (And crap like this is, I suspect, why "giving up processed foods" sometimes results in weight loss on its own. With the labelling laws the way they are, you may actually have no realistic idea of what you're eating and how many calories your body will extract from it.)
  • Wicked_Seraph
    Wicked_Seraph Posts: 388 Member
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    YMMV but I find it easier to stay within my calorie limit via something akin to intermittent fasting (IF). Most days, this means I don't eat breakfast or lunch. I do like having my cup of coffee with generous creamer. By the time dinner rolls around, I've had less than 400 calories for the day. This gives me a LOT of calories to play with for dinner. This way of doing things makes it incredibly easy to stay within my calorie limit.

    Food substitutions are your friends. I don't eat peanut butter (cuz I loathe it lol) and avoid nuts. My sister uses PB2, which is a lower-calorie, powdered peanut butter. I buy sugar-free as often as possible since those things generally have fewer calories. I'm vegan, meaning many of the things that tend to pack a calorie punch aren't really part of my diet.
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    I used to drink my coffee with 3 tsp of sugar and a generous splash of flavored "creamer". When I switched to half and half (cheaper than either regular cream or the flavored creamers, and no trans fats) I found I didn't need as much sugar (ironically enough - you'd think since half and half has less sugar than the flavored creamer I'd need more sugar, but somehow it didn't work out that way). I eventually cut down, then eliminated the sugar altogether (I can't stand artificial sweeteners... ick), and just put half and half in my coffee (I can drink it black, but prefer it with half and half). Switching to half and half (or just whole milk) would save some calories in your coffee.

    I also want to second the notion that toast and peanut butter is not a very high protein breakfast. And it is very calorie dense, for precious little volume. Try an omelette with veggies. Or cottage cheese with veggies (I'm partial to tomato and sunflower kernels). Or plain, full fat Greek yogurt with berries. All much higher in protein, with more volume.
  • melzybelzy1989
    melzybelzy1989 Posts: 14 Member
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    CMNVA wrote: »
    Start looking for foods that aren't calorie bombs. I was on 1200 calories to start (now up to 1380). You can view my diary to see what I do if you'd like. Peanut butter is a KILLER as are a lot of forms of bread. You will need to find a lower calorie alternative to peanut butter to remain in your caloric goal. Also, keep in mind, it will probably take 2-3 weeks before you stop being ravenous on your calorie allotment. I suffered greatly at first, now, while I still am hungry often, it's very manageable. I have found that 2 Eggland's Best eggs (60 cals each), some turkey sausage crumbles (7 grams), some sautéed onions, all done in a 1/2 tsp of olive oil works well and gives me a good amount of protein and little to no sugar.

    Add me :)

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