Eating 1400 calories? What do you eat?

So I recently dropped my calorie budget to 1400 calories. It has been a struggle. I feel like I barely have room for anything. Would love to get some ideas from all of you.

What are you eating?

Replies

jc1961AA

cmriverside wrote: »

If you get some exercise for an hour a day, you'll get 300-400 more calories. 1700 is a lot easier than 1400.

This

I started eating a couple of small soft tortilla with about 100gr turkey steak grilled and salad made of red onion, tomatoes, lettuce and sweet red pepper, and a generous amount of salsa. I think it get to just over 300 calories and it is quite filling

jadedone

cmriverside wrote: »

@jadedone - I took a peak at your food diary. You are using a lot of cups and generalized portions for your food. You are obviously eating more than you think or you would be losing. "Cups" "medium" "2.38 diameter" etc. are not good measurements and your logging is most likely OFF by several hundred calories a day. Are you weighing that salmon to see if it's 3.5 ounces - or are you guesstimating? A cup of chicken? 8 macadamia nuts? All of that can throw off your logging.

Buy a food scale. Use USDA verified entries in the database here - there are lots of erroneous entries in the food list here. Here's a thread about how to use it:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10621050/how-to-use-the-usda-food-database-mfp-food-database-for-accurate-logging/p1

Thank you for the tip, it is hard to separate the good from the bad in the database.

I do not weigh now, I have in the past. I do not eat at home all the time for a myriad of reasons, so I need to be realistic about my life. But I get pretty good at eyeballing sunce I spent a year measuring. I am OK with the guestimates for now.

For example, the salmon is pretty accurate - since I had just picked it up from the butcher. Medium carrots? Well I am being lazy, I have the prepackaged baby carrots at work, each pack is 25 calories. So if I grab the same amount for my plate, it is pretty close. I tested my spoons, so I know how much to pour to get to a teaspoon or tablespoon. I had a batch of really small fruits. So medium is accurate.

I do not want to become super food obsessed, it isn’t healthy for me. I am looking for the minimum viable in order to get to my goals. I’d rather focus my energies on limiting the amount of oil I used to roast the veggies than if I had 50 or 55 grams of broccoli. I am still working on the sustainable behavior lens for myself. Filling my plate with half veggies. Sticking to card deck protein portions....

CharlieBeansmomTracey

jadedone wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

@jadedone - I took a peak at your food diary. You are using a lot of cups and generalized portions for your food. You are obviously eating more than you think or you would be losing. "Cups" "medium" "2.38 diameter" etc. are not good measurements and your logging is most likely OFF by several hundred calories a day. Are you weighing that salmon to see if it's 3.5 ounces - or are you guesstimating? A cup of chicken? 8 macadamia nuts? All of that can throw off your logging.

Buy a food scale. Use USDA verified entries in the database here - there are lots of erroneous entries in the food list here. Here's a thread about how to use it:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10621050/how-to-use-the-usda-food-database-mfp-food-database-for-accurate-logging/p1

Thank you for the tip, it is hard to separate the good from the bad in the database.

I do not weigh now, I have in the past. I do not eat at home all the time for a myriad of reasons, so I need to be realistic about my life. But I get pretty good at eyeballing sunce I spent a year measuring. I am OK with the guestimates for now.

For example, the salmon is pretty accurate - since I had just picked it up from the butcher. Medium carrots? Well I am being lazy, I have the prepackaged baby carrots at work, each pack is 25 calories. So if I grab the same amount for my plate, it is pretty close. I tested my spoons, so I know how much to pour to get to a teaspoon or tablespoon. I had a batch of really small fruits. So medium is accurate.

I do not want to become super food obsessed, it isn’t healthy for me. I am looking for the minimum viable in order to get to my goals. I’d rather focus my energies on limiting the amount of oil I used to roast the veggies than if I had 50 or 55 grams of broccoli. I am still working on the sustainable behavior lens for myself. Filling my plate with half veggies. Sticking to card deck protein portions....

thing is packaged food can be off by up to 20% per serving. if you dont use a food scale you really dont know how much you are really eating. I learned that the hard way.and using spoons arent really that accurate. the thing with fruits is medium size can range from 20-100 calorie difference per fruit. 2 medium apples can vary. one could be 100 calories or more and the other may be less. its not being food obsessed its being accurate. sometimes its what you have to do to get the weight coming off again. if you arent losing then guesstimating isnt working for you. and is your thyroid levels in the range it should be or ? because thyroid issues can make it hard to lose too(my daughter is hypothyroid). you say you are afraid to become super food obsessed? did you have an eating disorder in the past?

pdxwine

My daily goal is 1410 calories per day.

Breakfast - usually Chobani Greek Yogurt (sometimes Shredded Wheat with whole milk)

AM Snack - 8 almonds

Lunch - Tuna wrap, a piece of fruit, a fun-size chocolate bar.

PM Snack - hummus and vegetables

Dinner - some type of protein (3 ounces) fish, chicken, beef, pork, etc; salad with various vegetables and balsamic vinegar; sometimes a yam, potato or pasta. Also two glasses of wine and some type of dessert item (some chocolate, a mini yogurt or such.)

jadedone

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

thing is packaged food can be off by up to 20% per serving. if you dont use a food scale you really dont know how much you are really eating. I learned that the hard way.and using spoons arent really that accurate. the thing with fruits is medium size can range from 20-100 calorie difference per fruit. 2 medium apples can vary. one could be 100 calories or more and the other may be less. its not being food obsessed its being accurate. sometimes its what you have to do to get the weight coming off again. if you arent losing then guesstimating isnt working for you. and is your thyroid levels in the range it should be or ? because thyroid issues can make it hard to lose too(my daughter is hypothyroid). you say you are afraid to become super food obsessed? did you have an eating disorder in the past?

I do not eat much packaged foods. It is rare. But i figure being off by a few baby carrots isn’t going to kill me.

I nave been doing 1400 calories for around 2 weeks. One of those weeks was my period. Things were moving, and things tend to stop for me when my period hits. I lose pretty slowly and if there is anything remotely off with my cycle all things stall. I have had a stressful first few months of the year, and I have lost the 8 pounds I gained over the holidays. And taking a break. So I am feeling ok about where things are trending. It is too soon to tell if the calorie change will do the trick.

Right now I’d love some food ideas, not a deep dive on if my plan is working or not. There isn’t enough evidence to diagnose anything at this point. 2 weeks is meaningless.

For me the weighing food is a “big gun” as is getting hardcore about macros. I am not close enough to my goal weight to pull out the big guns. I also do not want to expemd all of my spare mental energy on food choices. I tend to have insomnia and my brain is way too active at bedtime as it is.

I have enough on my plate figuring out my hormomes, getting enough sleep, getting enough exercise and starting a new job. I’m sticking with the easier food adjustments eating 15% less than I was last month.

If I am in the neighborhood food wise and not eating back my exercise calories, I can evaluate if things are working after 6 weeks.

cmriverside

None of us can tell you what to eat. That is a personal choice, you understand that, right?

We've all suggested you not listen to a naturopath and to UP your fats and log accurately. Other than that, you'll have to figure out on your own how much of each food that you enjoy ends up on your plate.

Good luck, we tried. We all have to figure out foods and amounts by experimentation. That's what you'll have to do, too.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

jadedone wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

thing is packaged food can be off by up to 20% per serving. if you dont use a food scale you really dont know how much you are really eating. I learned that the hard way.and using spoons arent really that accurate. the thing with fruits is medium size can range from 20-100 calorie difference per fruit. 2 medium apples can vary. one could be 100 calories or more and the other may be less. its not being food obsessed its being accurate. sometimes its what you have to do to get the weight coming off again. if you arent losing then guesstimating isnt working for you. and is your thyroid levels in the range it should be or ? because thyroid issues can make it hard to lose too(my daughter is hypothyroid). you say you are afraid to become super food obsessed? did you have an eating disorder in the past?

I do not eat much packaged foods. It is rare. But i figure being off by a few baby carrots isn’t going to kill me.

I nave been doing 1400 calories for around 2 weeks. One of those weeks was my period. Things were moving, and things tend to stop for me when my period hits. I lose pretty slowly and if there is anything remotely off with my cycle all things stall. I have had a stressful first few months of the year, and I have lost the 8 pounds I gained over the holidays. And taking a break. So I am feeling ok about where things are trending. It is too soon to tell if the calorie change will do the trick.

Right now I’d love some food ideas, not a deep dive on if my plan is working or not. There isn’t enough evidence to diagnose anything at this point. 2 weeks is meaningless.

For me the weighing food is a “big gun” as is getting hardcore about macros. I am not close enough to my goal weight to pull out the big guns. I also do not want to expemd all of my spare mental energy on food choices. I tend to have insomnia and my brain is way too active at bedtime as it is.

I have enough on my plate figuring out my hormomes, getting enough sleep, getting enough exercise and starting a new job. I’m sticking with the easier food adjustments eating 15% less than I was last month.

If I am in the neighborhood dood wise and not eating back my exercise calories, I can evaluate if things are working after 6 weeks.

you dont need to exercise to lose weight though, exercises is good for your body and health but not needed to lose weight. and weight fluctuates hr to hr,day to day so if it hasnt moved then you may be retaining water. if you are struggling with insomnia then that can hinder weight loss too. you need to figure out how to get more sleep(yoga or meditation may help. you dont have to be close to goal to use a scale to be more accurate. its a tool to help you be more accurate is all.

for hormone issues,if you truly have hormone issues you need to see someone to get them straightened out. but you are right 2 weeks is not enough time. you could be retaining a lot of water which can mask weight loss. you do need to try and get your health issues on track first though and it sounds like you are under a lot of stress which is another thing that can hinder weight loss as well. But if you have a decent amount to lose.(cant remember if you said how much or not-im sleep deprived today). then you can estimate for a few more weeks and then see where you are.

as for what to eat. you can eat what you like just less of it. MFP is set in a way to eat back exercise calories because your deficit is built in without exercise. when it asks to set an activity goal it means what you do for work and your daily activities outside of exercise. you will still have a deficit if you eat back some of your exercise calories. eating too little can cause hormone and other issues.at least try to net your 1400 calories. you can gauge from there like you said.oh and insomnia seems like it goes hand in hand with thyroid issues as my daughter has insomnia too.

Sam29a

I'm on 1220 calories and it's not great. I don't eat lunch, have a small snack instead.

Also, I find I can easily cut out things like condiments, salad dressings, I cook without oil, make my oats with water, that saves me a lot of calories. Eating lots of vegetables and fruit also helps as they're generally lower in calories than processed food. I still manage to eat chocolate or some other treat daily which keeps me sane. I did manage 1200 calories for just over a year and I know it does get easier with time. Just hang in there!

rheddmobile

If you can get the thyroid sorted, that should make everything easier. I found that my non-exercise activity goes up a lot when my thyroid meds are at the correct level. Your TDEE seems really low right now, so hopefully it will improve when you get your hormones in order!

Spaghetti squash and zoodles make good bases for low calorie meals. If you get sick of chicken, don't forget other low calorie proteins such as grilled fish and roast pork loin. I like to roast a whole pork loin to just done enough, then use it throughout the week in quick dishes such as stir fries and sandwiches. Wraps are also good - instead of tortillas use lettuce, cabbage leaves, or nori. Very low calorie flavorings: lemon and lime juice, spices and herbs, vanilla and other extracts, apple cider vinegar.

I would also suggest some higher intensity exercise to earn a few more calories.

And do reconsider weighing. If you use the right techniques it doesn't have to become an obsession. I have a kitchen scale with a tare button, just put my plate right on the scale and put one food on, hit tare, put the second food on, etc. takes hardly more time than logging. You say not weighing is working for you, but you also say you are having trouble losing weight so clearly something isn't working.

jadedone

Sam29a wrote: »

I'm on 1220 calories and it's not great. I don't eat lunch, have a small snack instead.

Also, I find I can easily cut out things like condiments, salad dressings, I cook without oil, make my oats with water, that saves me a lot of calories. Eating lots of vegetables and fruit also helps as they're generally lower in calories than processed food. I still manage to eat chocolate or some other treat daily which keeps me sane. I did manage 1200 calories for just over a year and I know it does get easier with time. Just hang in there!

Good tips! I’m toying around with the idea of smaller breakfasts, since I like heartier lunch and dinner. Or sneaking in a lot of veggies breakfast to stay caught up.

unknown

This content has been removed.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

jadedone wrote: »

Sam29a wrote: »

I'm on 1220 calories and it's not great. I don't eat lunch, have a small snack instead.

Also, I find I can easily cut out things like condiments, salad dressings, I cook without oil, make my oats with water, that saves me a lot of calories. Eating lots of vegetables and fruit also helps as they're generally lower in calories than processed food. I still manage to eat chocolate or some other treat daily which keeps me sane. I did manage 1200 calories for just over a year and I know it does get easier with time. Just hang in there!

Good tips! I’m toying around with the idea of smaller breakfasts, since I like heartier lunch and dinner. Or sneaking in a lot of veggies breakfast to stay caught up.

if you arent a big breakfast eater and rather have a big lunch or dinner you can skip breakfast and have maybe a cup of coffee or something small in the am as long as you dont have any issues with say blood sugar to where you need to eat breakfast to keep things in order.some people do OMAD(one meal a day) and get all their calories in that one meal. play around with different times(what works best for you) and find what satiates your appetite. for some its more fat, for others its more protein or carbs. experiment with different things and see what suits you best. just get your calories and you should be fine

fr33sia12

I'm on 1400 calories a day, more when I exercise, my diary is open for anyone to check out