Anyone else struggling to stay under calorie goal?

When my calories start getting up there, I start eating more fruits and veggies, you can eat more feel more full without so many calories..

If you make your food diary available to us we might be able to help more specifically.

To me, the 'starving for snacks' is a mental thing. I remember when I started adding 8pm crackers to my daily routine (and at a different time, a 3pm granola bar) and after making those part of my routine, if I didn't eat them, my body was HUNGRY! But once I got out of making that my norm, then my body no longer craved food at that time.

Change your snacks to make sure they are small/1 serving size and healthly...if small isn't working, then cut out 25% of fhe size for a week...then cut by 50%...then cut to make it 1 serving

Also, in my experience...eating well may help you lose some weight, but for me it only allowed me to maintain my weight. To lose weight I had to exercise.

I have ALWAYS struggled with wanting to eat at night. (After dinner) I don't even have to be hungry! Its just something I've always done and its a deeply ingrained habit going all the way back to childhood. Because eating after dinner is a trigger for me to keep eating till I turn out the light for bed-- I had to go cold turkey on it!

Now, as soon as dinner is over, I go to the bathroom and brush and floss my teeth. Getting the taste of food out of my mouth has been the best way to break this lifelong habit. I also took up crocheting so i had something to do with my hands while watching TV. I turn out all the lights in the kitchen and declare it "closed" and I dont' turn them on again for anything. It was hard cause old habits die hard but after a few weeks of this new routine, it became easier. I also allow myself water to drink but no flavored beverages after dinner cause they tend to cause me to crave some other kind of "flavor". Just gargle after dinner and refuse snacks. After a while, its really not that hard to continue. Its all a matter of changing a habit. Takes about 3 weeks.

That took care of my "going over" the calorie goal for the day immediately. Good Luck! I know its hard but you can do it!

Before you reach for the snack, drink a glass of water. Then once you eat the snack, drink another glass. I find that if I know I have to drink a glass of water every time I reach for something to eat, I eat less (I can't stand the taste of water, but I still drink it haha). Also, make sure you are getting enough protein and carbs. Those are what will keep you full. When you do feel like you need to snack, reach for some trailmix, nuts, string cheese, yoghurt mixed with some low-fat granola and berries, a couple slices of deli ham/turkey, a slice of lowfat cheese/tomato/ rolled into some deli meat...the list is endless.....

all the best!!!

If you make your food diary available to us we might be able to help more specifically.

I'd love to but as I mentioned above i use my food diary as a journal also in which i write personal things about my day inside and I do not wish to share. thank u though

I don't think that you can put anything in you food diary except a list of food and exercise. Are you confusing that with your blog on the site?

(i'm not opening my diary for i also use it as a diary so general advice or suggestions are appreciated)

I generally believe that people are more than entitled to keep their logs private and that it's no one else's business what you eat. It irks me when people are like "ugh, your log is private!" like it's their right to see what you eat.

That being said, it's very difficult to make suggestions on what you could change in order to stay under calories without seeing what you are already doing. You did describe your typical day, but that doesn't really help much. So from what you've given us to go on, here's some suggestions:

- Actually TRY to stay good on lunch. You said you could if you tried, so try.

- When you're home between lunch and dinner, be active. Do something other than munch. Go for a jog, do laundry, something. You said you eat because you're home and just feel like eating. Need to work on breaking that habit. In the meantime, maybe switch your snack. If you're eating calorie dense snacks, switch to raw veggies - baby carrots or celery are good choices. They are both very low calorie, but they can give you the satisfaction of chewing and eating.

- Same thing for after dinner snacks. I actually have those little Babybel cheese rounds in my fridge for a snack and some colby-jack cubes. They're around 100ish calories, and I find cheese to be very satisfying.

Other general suggestions:

- When you feel bored and hungry, drink some water. Put the water in your tummy rather than snacks.

- If you're already at your calorie for the day, but have the munchies before bed, just go to bed earlier. The extra rest isn't a bad thing.

- Perhaps reduce the calorie size of your breakfast and lunch. You could spread the calories out a little more throughout the day. That would let you eat more frequently.

And one more thing. You didn't mention how much over you're over on a regular basis. You may need to adjust your goal. When I started I was doing 2# per week at around 1500-1580 calories. After I lost some weight, that 2# per week had me down to like 1300 calories. I can't eat at 1300 calories and NOT feel absolutely famished. I tried it for a week or two, but was constantly over and constantly hungry. I sacrificed the speed of loss and manually upped my calories to 1500. That puts me at around 1.6# loss per week, which is fine for me. I don't think I could do a 1200 calorie goal right now. Maybe in a few months I will, but not right now. Maybe consider adjusting your loss/week goal to give you a few more calories. Also, double check your activity level settings. If you're mildly active on a daily basis due to work/school/whatever, make sure you're not set to sedentary. That'll give you a few more calories to play with.

If you make your food diary available to us we might be able to help more specifically.

I'd love to but as I mentioned above i use my food diary as a journal also in which i write personal things about my day inside and I do not wish to share. thank u though

I don't think that you can put anything in you food diary except a list of food and exercise. Are you confusing that with your blog on the site?

There's a box on the bottom right hand side of your log that lets you put in notes about the day. Next to the water log. I've used it to track some challenge goals before.

How many calories are you trying for? Are you sure it is enough? What is your weekly goal set to?

**I'm one of those "Eat MORE!" people. We should start a club....

As others have noted, I also like to reach for veggies to munch on. You can eat an awful lot of cucumbers before they start to really affect your calorie count. I also like red bell peppers and carrots for snacking. When I eat calorie-dense meals, I will often mix it 50-50 with veggies (peas, cauliflower, etc.), which adds more flavor and makes the meal twice as big without doubling the calorie count.

As we dont know what you like to eat my best advice I can think of is to clue yourself up on what is lower in calories in general.This does tend to be fibrous stuff like fruits and veggies so I agree with what was said by one of the posts,but generally the more knowledge you have about the foods you like the easier it is to make low calorie wise choices that are filling.Some days I feel hungrier than others so I think its also important to listen to your body and it is not an exact science and being slightly over shouldnt really effect your weight loss.

Fab, I only can eat the right amount after I changed my goals. 2lbs a week was not actually possible for me I would get too hungry and binge. I had to change to 1lb a week. Just a thought. Better slow progress then no progress

Nope. I don't even count calories at all

Low carb, low cal breads are good. Protein like egg white omelets with lots of veggies or salsa with a slice of light bread and some grapes I eat it for a late night snack too. Berries, grapes, plums and peaches are low in cal and carbs. Low fat yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit. Tuna or chicken salad on a low carb tortilla but always add veggies to it to make it more filling. Hot peppers too, they help speed up the metabolism. Low fat popcorn is a must for me. When I make a sandwich I only add a little meat 1 or 2 thin slices and 1/2 slice of cheese with lots of lettuce and tomato. You just have to find ways to eat a lot without a lot of calories and carbs.

Breakfast Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Chol
Sugars - Granulated (sucrose), 1 tsp 16 4 0 0 0 0
Milk - Reduced fat, 2% milkfat, 1 fl oz 15 1 1 1 13 2
Coffee - Black, 10 fl oz 0 0 0 0 0 0

Lunch
Golden's - Spicy Mustard, 1 tsp 5 0 0 0 50 0
Empire Kosher - Fat Free Turkey Breast Slice, 2 slices 33 1 0 7 200 20
Alpine Lace - 2% Low Fat Swiss Cheese, 0.5 slice 25 1 2 4 48 8
Generic - Pepperidge Farms, Light Style, 7 Grain Bread, 2 slice 90 18 0 4 150 0
Tomato - Raw, Red, 0.25 tomato 3 1 0 0 2 0
Allens - Mixed Greens, 1/8 cup 11 1 0 1 0 0
Jolly Time Healthy Pop - Crispy White Naturally Flavored, 0.5 container (12.5 cups poppeds ea.) 125 29 3 5 325 0

Snack
Fresh Fruit (Generic) - Cantalope, 0.5 cup cubed (160g/ 6oz) 27 6 0 1 13 0
Baked Red Potato - by oz., 2 ounce 50 10 0 2 6 0
Chicken Grilled - Thigh, 1 Thigh 129 1 13 17 0 0

Dinner
Argo - 100% Pure Corn Starch, 0.5 tbsp 15 4 0 0 0 0
Aloha Shoyu - Lower Salt Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp 0 1 0 0 620 0
Chicken - Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast, Raw-Correct, 2 oz 72 0 0 14 28 30
Fresh & Easy - Stir-Fry Vegetable Blend, 1 cup 35 6 0 1 25 0
Brown Rice - Uncle Ben's - Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice, 0.5 cup cooked 85 18 1 2 0 0

Snack
Bell Pepper - Red - Large - Raw, 0.5 pepper 25 5 0 1 3 0
Albertsons - Zesty Italian Dressing, 1 tbsp 40 2 4 0 245 0
Tomato - Raw, Red, 1 tomato 10 5 0 1 6 0
Kellogg's Fun Pack Cereal - Honey Smacks, 1 Box (32g) 120 28 1 2 60 0

Snack
Snyder's - Mini Pretzels - 100 Calorie Pack , 1 Bag 100 22 0 2 220 0
Sabra - Hummus - Supremely Spicy, 1 Tbsp (28g) 35 2 3 1 65 0
Blue Diamond - Almonds - Whole Natural (Raw), 1 oz 160 6 14 6 0 0

Totals 1,226 172 42 72 2,079 60
Your Daily Goal 1,410 194 47 53 2,500 300
Remaining 184 22 5 -19 421 240
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Chol

chop up fruit in the morning, mix all together and put in the fridge. count the calories and use it for breakfast with a low cal yogurt and any time during the day u feal hungary