Can anyone please help me understand
fairyfootsteps40
Posts: 19 Member
Hi all. Right to try cutting a long boring story story I used to be vegan, due to health reasons I had to change my way of eating. I only eat chicken, turkey, tuna and cod. I don't drink milk, I can't bring myself to, i eat eggs and I can eat a bit of cheese. So my question is i have been looking into keto because I am just eating way to much carbs and need to stop, it's habit from being vegan I think, but I have been fiddling around with macros and my calorie limit but when I seem to get the macros right the calories are under by a lot and when I get the calories somewhat near the macros are all over the place. Is there a simpler way of doing this or because I am still very limited on what I eat should I not try this?
I apologise for seeming dim but any advice will be appreciated
I apologise for seeming dim but any advice will be appreciated
4
Replies
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Calories are what matter. What is your goal? To lose?2
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Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »Calories are what matter. What is your goal? To lose?
My calories are 1460 and I want to lose weight approx 2 stone/ 28 lb0 -
If you open your diary it would help to see what you're eating daily. Otherwise, I don't know what to say. I hit my macros--no problem.
PS: My diary is always open if you want to take a look. It goes back 5 yrs. Much of it is in Italian because I live here and buy Italian products.2 -
You are over thinking this.9 -
As others have already said, its not what you eat, its the amount of calories and eating less than you burn.0
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I agree over thinking it and over complicating it. Calories are simple. I just thought I would give something new a try.
Thank you0 -
I like my carbs, they make happy. Do what makes you happy!4
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If you already have a relatively restricted diet because of your health, you are probably going to find it pretty difficult to have a filling balanced diet if you then restrict yourself further, I have lost weight eating relatively high carb, I just make sure more of those carbs are fruit and veg these days than they were before and try not to buy bread in because I can't moderate it, I will eat the whole loaf as toast in a matter of hours
If you're struggling to get your protein or fat up, perhaps try some vegan protein powder if you don't like/can't have milk and have it with water/nut milk or have a protein bar. Avocado, nuts and oils are quick and easy ways to get more fat in.6 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »If you already have a relatively restricted diet because of your health, you are probably going to find it pretty difficult to have a filling balanced diet if you then restrict yourself further, I have lost weight eating relatively high carb, I just make sure more of those carbs are fruit and veg these days than they were before and try not to buy bread in because I can't moderate it, I will eat the whole loaf as toast in a matter of hours
If you're struggling to get your protein or fat up, perhaps try some vegan protein powder if you don't like/can't have milk and have it with water/nut milk or have a protein bar. Avocado, nuts and oils are quick and easy ways to get more fat in.
Bread is my biggest downfall. Well bread, potatoes and well I could eat fruit all day long.
I am just a carbaholic and if I had my way I would be a carb munchining happy vegan again1 -
As I said previously, bread, potatoes etc, there's nothing wrong with them, so learn to moderate them.
To lose weight we have to restrict calories, so eat the foods you enjoy but eat at a calorie deficit to lose.
I could happily eat bread til the cows come home, but I don't. I choose to have 3 slices a day, one at breakfast with poached or scrambed eggs, two for a sandwich at lunch, and potatoes/pasta/rice with veg and meat for dinner - I averaged 1700 calories a day when I was losing and lost 0.5lb a week. Don't make the weight loss journey harder than it is by cutting out foods you love - to lose weight and keep it off for good you have to find a way of eating that you can do for the rest of your life.2 -
fairyfootsteps40 wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »If you already have a relatively restricted diet because of your health, you are probably going to find it pretty difficult to have a filling balanced diet if you then restrict yourself further, I have lost weight eating relatively high carb, I just make sure more of those carbs are fruit and veg these days than they were before and try not to buy bread in because I can't moderate it, I will eat the whole loaf as toast in a matter of hours
If you're struggling to get your protein or fat up, perhaps try some vegan protein powder if you don't like/can't have milk and have it with water/nut milk or have a protein bar. Avocado, nuts and oils are quick and easy ways to get more fat in.
Bread is my biggest downfall. Well bread, potatoes and well I could eat fruit all day long.
I am just a carbaholic and if I had my way I would be a carb munchining happy vegan again
I eat a fair amount of potatoes, I just weigh them out, no issues moderating them, with bread, I still eat it (I have just finished a big fat doorstop chicken sandwich from the deli next to work), I just don't buy it in to keep at home where possible, on the rare occasion I do, I take out what I need for whatever I am making and freeze the rest of the loaf so I can't go toast-crazy. It's only a downfall if it makes you go over your calorie intake regularly.0 -
It has just been hard transitioning from being vegan when I used to eat unlimited amounts of these food and still lose weight. Its like i have had to re-educate myself about eating. I am just finding a starting place hard.0
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fairyfootsteps40 wrote: »It has just been hard transitioning from being vegan when I used to eat unlimited amounts of these food and still lose weight. Its like i have had to re-educate myself about eating. I am just finding a starting place hard.
Just start logging and hitting your calorie goal. Do you want to cut carbs because one of the other macros is too low, or do you want to cut carbs because people are telling you that you have to cut carbs?
If you want to cut carbs because one of the other macros is too low, it's way easier to brainstorm how you can get more of fat or protein than to focus on cutting back on something.
If you want to cut carbs because someone told you that you have to cut carbs, they were wrong, so don't worry about it.
Many folks here look at their protein and fat goals as a minimum and let carbs fall where they may. :drinker:3 -
My first piece of advice for anyone trying to get started or restarting is usually just to log everything they eat normally for at least a couple of days and then you have something to work from to see where you might be taking in calories that you can cut back with small changes to get to your calorie goal for loss.2
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fairyfootsteps40 wrote: »It has just been hard transitioning from being vegan when I used to eat unlimited amounts of these food and still lose weight. Its like i have had to re-educate myself about eating. I am just finding a starting place hard.
If you were losing weight when you were vegan it’s because you were eating at a calorie deficit without realizing it. Now that you’ve changed your diet and want to lose weight - you still need a calorie deficit. You can either eat less calories than your maintenances or exercise to burn more calories, or a combination of both. The calorie deficit can be achieved eating any kind of food but one of the best ways to ensure it is to accurately log your intake. So start there.
Put your stats and goal weight and goal rate of loss in the system. If less than 50 lbs to lose, 1 lb/week is a good goal. If less than 20 lbs, go for 0.5 lb/week.
Let it calculate a calorie target for you.
Eat that many calories, focusing on a variety of foods that provide nutrition, satiety and enjoyment.
Log everything as accurately as possible, ideally using a food scale
When you exercise, log and eat back some of those.
Be patient and don’t over think it.2 -
Eggs, cheese, bacon, tuna, chicken, beef, peanut butter, greek yogurt with protein granola and heavy creme for my coffee are some of the foods I eat to hit my protein and fat macros first, then fill the rest with carbs to complete my calories for the day. The fats and proteins are filling to me and I usually do not crave too many carbs like bread and rice. It is all about creating new habits0
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As long as you are within your calorie goals you should be fine. I do not carb restrict at all, I eat like @kimny72 mentioned, I aim to hit a certain protein goal and don't really give much thought to carb counts. I also eat 3-5 servings of fruit a day because they are delicious and they fit in my calorie requirements. Has a doctor indicated you need to cut back on carbs/sugar for your health issues, or are you simply concerned about getting more protein? I like my snacks to contain both fruit and protein (so peanut butter + banana, Berries + yogurt, goat cheese stuffed dates, walnuts + prunes, etc). I feel like it gets my over my afternoon slump quickly but also has some staying power to keep my satisfied until dinner.
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I think I have seen and read so much about cutting carbs, eat more protein and fat I thought that was what this whole healthy eating, way of life should be after being in a culinary bubble for so long.
I have all my info in and I have a calorie target so I will, like you all have said, start there.
Thank you all for your advice.2 -
As long as you are within your calorie goals you should be fine. I do not carb restrict at all, I eat like @kimny72 mentioned, I aim to hit a certain protein goal and don't really give much thought to carb counts. I also eat 3-5 servings of fruit a day because they are delicious and they fit in my calorie requirements. Has a doctor indicated you need to cut back on carbs/sugar for your health issues, or are you simply concerned about getting more protein? I like my snacks to contain both fruit and protein (so peanut butter + banana, Berries + yogurt, goat cheese stuffed dates, walnuts + prunes, etc). I feel like it gets my over my afternoon slump quickly but also has some staying power to keep my satisfied until dinner.
Lots of health reasons unfortunately not nessacerally carbs but need more of the other foods that I wasn't eating.1
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