1370 calories a day is hard!
Replies
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purpleannex wrote: »
You did the crime, now you have to do the time.
Once your sentence is up you'll be able to eat "normally" and it'll all be fine, until then, suck it up, use it, remember what you're going through so you don't have to repeat it.
This kind of thinking, that weight gain is a “crime” deserving of a “sentence,” is not a mind set that will set you up for success. It’s a wormhole of blame that will subconsciously derail you because you’re telling yourself you’re bad and not worthy of success.
OP, it’s perfectly OK to have a slower rate of loss so you can eat more. If you want long term success, feeling starving or depriving yourself of enough food to function won’t get you there.
Look for snacks that are low cal, nutrient dense and satisfy you. I like protein chips, I know other folk can’t stand them. I also eat turkey jerky and baby bells. Give yourself time to figure everything out—you will!12 -
purpleannex wrote: »Sounds like you want your cake and eat it.
When you were gaining weight, it happened because you were eating more calories than you were expending. You were eating too much.
If you want to lose weight you have to bite the bullet and eat less than you need.
That means you're going to be hungry.
You did the crime, now you have to do the time.
Once your sentence is up you'll be able to eat "normally" and it'll all be fine, until then, suck it up, use it, remember what you're going through so you don't have to repeat it.
I would respectfully disagree. Many folks manage through trial and error to eat at a deficit with minimal or no hunger. And I don't believe there is any reason to tie morality into eating or weight, even by analogy.
OP, start taking those walks and getting yourself a few extra cals to eat. You might also want to start making notes in your diary on how you feel throughout the day. When you look back through the week, start with the meals that stuck with you - what do they have in common? What about the meals that left you hungry in an hour? You will start to see a pattern and can keep tweaking as you go as you learn the foods that will work well. Good luck!7 -
I'm scouring the internet for meal ideas under 300 calories. I feel better if I graze throughout the day, but the calorie count makes me feel like I can have meals OR snacks - not both. Heck, even a big mug of coffee with creamer in the morning can knock 100 calories right out of my day. Six triscuits and 2 tablespoons of hummus took another 200. So there's a quarter of my day's "supply" down the drain.
I'm trying to focus on protein and fiber, so that I can feel even a little full. Drinking water, as much as I can stand. More veggies. As much fruit as I want (compared to cookies, it's a good thing). And yet I still come to the end of the day with barely enough calories for dinner.
Can anyone suggest websites or recipies for filling, low-cal meals? Are there any other strategies for feeling well-fed while eating so little? Thank you.
1360/day before additional exercise is my MFP level for losing .5 lb a week. You're right, it's not a lot. Adding activity can make it easier because you then can eat more. But I have found that while I used to be a grazer, at this calorie level I need to eat differently in order to not feel constantly hungry. So I aim for 2-3 meals and a snack or two, and choose that my evening meal is the most calorie dense.
My first meal of the day (might be in the AM or shortly afternoon) is almost always greek yogurt mixed with low-fat cottage cheese and fresh fruit, and I drink my coffee black except for the last cup which gets 40 calories worth of whole fat milk. After that meal is done, I have 1,000 calories more or less for the rest of the day. Supper is usually 500-600 calories, leaving 400 or 500 calories for what comes in between. So, my strategy is to pre-plan two actual meals and then leave the rest for "grazing."
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I'm scouring the internet for meal ideas under 300 calories. I feel better if I graze throughout the day, but the calorie count makes me feel like I can have meals OR snacks - not both. Heck, even a big mug of coffee with creamer in the morning can knock 100 calories right out of my day. Six triscuits and 2 tablespoons of hummus took another 200. So there's a quarter of my day's "supply" down the drain.
I'm trying to focus on protein and fiber, so that I can feel even a little full. Drinking water, as much as I can stand. More veggies. As much fruit as I want (compared to cookies, it's a good thing). And yet I still come to the end of the day with barely enough calories for dinner.
Can anyone suggest websites or recipies for filling, low-cal meals? Are there any other strategies for feeling well-fed while eating so little? Thank you.
A little aside--did you do a few days or a week eating "normally" and logging on MFP? That way you could see how many calories you had been consuming before starting your weight loss plan. I found that really helpful. But if not, even writing a typical "before" day with the calorie counts could give you some insight.
I'm currently eating 1600 calories to lose 1 lb. per week. I have lost 35 lbs. with 65 left. I started at 2 lbs. per week eating about 1450 calories--I reset my goals every 5-10 lbs. and continued to lose. At 1200 calories per day, I changed the goals to 1 lb. per week so I could eat more--I could no do 1200 calories.
In that time I did learn that I had to cut out some high calorie items in order not to feel hungry. I do exercise, at least 60 minutes per day, so I could eat more.
For small meals, soups and salads, are good options. A small meal for me will also be a serving of pasta, with vegetables and 1 tsp. of olive oil.
For breakfast, bacon and eggs, surprisingly works, or oatmeal and an egg. Lean protein with vegetables can also be under 500 calories--chicken and fish are good for this.
Another option is to set your calories for 1470/1500 and give yourself more to eat--you will lose less per week but I've found that extra 100-150 calories does make a big difference.
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I set my goal as losing 250g (0,5lb) per week, so myfitnesspal gave me a 1250 calories daily threshold. It seems like so little! I've been able to do it this week (I started logging all my walks or I wouldn't have been), except for the macros with which I'm not beeing so nitpicky for now. But is this really right?
Also, I go to the gym, but strength training counts for nothing towards your calorie goals, which just doesn't sound right. Thoughts?0 -
I prelog my food at the beginning of the day, or sometimes the night before. I work out Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and then I know how much I have for snacks. Exercising means I either have a treat or I am under for the day.
I also found that I was starving for the first week of MFP but as I adjusted I now find what I eat is enough....most days.0 -
I set my goal as losing 250g (0,5lb) per week, so myfitnesspal gave me a 1250 calories daily threshold. It seems like so little! I've been able to do it this week (I started logging all my walks or I wouldn't have been), except for the macros with which I'm not beeing so nitpicky for now. But is this really right?
Also, I go to the gym, but strength training counts for nothing towards your calorie goals, which just doesn't sound right. Thoughts?
You need to start your own thread instead of hijacking this one. It's not fair to the OP of this thread to distract people from their questions (and it's against MFP policy).
Plus, you'll get more responses because your question will be seen by more people2 -
I’m a big believer in eating what you like and not giving up your faves, but there were some tweaks I had to make to make this a sustainable plan.
300 calories worth of spaghetti squash, marinara, and veggie crumbles (or beef or turkey or whatever you like) is way more food than 300 calories worth of pasta
100 calories worth of cucumber is more food than 100 calories worth of nuts
That kind of thing. I don’t eat as much peanutbutter or hummus as I used to. And I almost always try to have a veggie side to my meal like steamed broccoli or roasted squash and zucchini. And sometimes I just don’t do any of that stuff and eat what I want under calories and allow myself to feel hungry between meals.5
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