Diet not going well!
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klyeson123
Posts: 6 Member
Me and my girlfriend are trying to lose some weight, we're not very fat but more podgy and don't have any tone, we are both looming to lose about 2 stone each, me being 12st and her being 10st atm, I've been using my fitness pal for a while now but keep stopping as I'm really struggling to keep the calories under 1700 a day, my breakfast is always the same at 200cal and my lunch is always the same at about 900cal so it's only leaving me with about 600 for my main tea, I have sandwiches with a yoghurt, crisps and a banana and Apple, always drink water all day, if I eat any less for lunch then I always feel very hungry so I just don't know what else I can substitute for lunch as I work out of a van at different locations, I have no access to a microwave or kettle. Also for tea, we just don't ever know what to have as everything is always so high in calories, any help would be great, sorry for the long thread.
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Replies
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You have to change how much you're eating. If you can't change what you eat, take a look at your portions. You also need to look at everything that is about to go into your mouth and question 'is this worth it?' I could eat a candy bar, but I don't want to waste 300 calories on it, so I don't. If you stick to it, you will get the hang of it and you will be able to train yourself to pay attention to numbers and weed out bad food for the most part. Also, you're going to be hungry at first. My fiance would get so angry at me for about the first month. He'd say "God I'd just rather hear you complain about being fat than listen to you complain about being hungry CONSTANTLY!" You are going to have to sacrifice what feels like a lot at first. But it does get easier if you just stick to it.6
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First, is 1,700 a realistic goal for you? How much did you tell MFP you wanted to lose per week?
Second, have you tried adjusting what you're eating to feel fuller? Some people find that carbohydrates fill them up quite well, but you may or may not be in that group. If you're having yogurt (presumably sweetened), chips, a banana, and an apple in one meal (along with bread from a sandwich), it sounds like your lunch may be very high carbohydrate. You may want to test eating more fat or protein for lunch and seeing if that helps you have fewer calories for lunch and still feel full.11 -
MFP has given me 1700 a day as I've put that I want to lose 2 pounds a week, I don't think that is actually very hard tbh, do you think that maybe having a salad for lunch, maybe a chicken or salmon salad, would be a much better option, but also for tea, everything we eat always seems to rack up calories, usually like a roast or a carbonara, don't ever know what to make and looking online for tips just brings up things like avocados and things that me and my girlfriend would never eat as we don't enjoy it3
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Well, if you want a larger evening meal, then yes, that lunch needs to be trimmed. It doesn't need to be a salad, but perhaps smaller portions of what you're eating now?
I know you say you get hungry if you make it any smaller, but have you looked at the macro split. I know for me, that 900 calories would be very filling, and I *rarely* eat a meal that big, unless it's a special treat.4 -
If you just pudgy..😊, I’d add some exercise to your day . Even just a fast walk will tone you both up , yes you might be hungry after but discipline is needed.
I’m questioning 1700 for a man ... how much did you say you want to loose a week?
Also another thought, measure each other
Arms, chest, waist thighs , calf’s ...
Then exercise, toning is easily attainable with light exercise🌸10 -
For lower calorie dinners, it is quite quick and easy to make a spaghetti bolognese or beef chilli. They can also be made in bulk and frozen in portions which can make dinners easier during busy weeks.0
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klyeson123 wrote: »MFP has given me 1700 a day as I've put that I want to lose 2 pounds a week, I don't think that is actually very hard tbh, do you think that maybe having a salad for lunch, maybe a chicken or salmon salad, would be a much better option, but also for tea, everything we eat always seems to rack up calories, usually like a roast or a carbonara, don't ever know what to make and looking online for tips just brings up things like avocados and things that me and my girlfriend would never eat as we don't enjoy it
Well, just know that if you want to eat more calories, you can choose a less rapid rate of loss and you'll have more to eat each day. That you're here asking the questions indicates that -- at least right now -- 1,700 *is* hard for you.
A salad for lunch may be a better option, if you enjoy it and it fills you up. I do think you need to switch something up because it doesn't sound like -- for you personally -- using 900 calories a day for lunch is going to work. You can also try just cutting some calories from your lunch -- do you need two pieces of fruit, for example? 900 calories for most people is a *lot*, so I highly recommend you begin playing with what you eat for lunch to see if you can feel full on fewer calories. Rather than completely switching up your meal, maybe think of ways that you could tweak what you're currently having to make it higher in protein (and then see if the higher protein is more satisfying to you).
You can have anything for dinner that fits your calories. If your favorite meals for dinner are roast or carbonara, you'll either have to make the calories elsewhere in your day, eat smaller portions that fit into your calories, or find alternative meals. If you look at the "Recipes" section here, you may get some ideas from what other people are having for dinner. There's no need to eat avocados if you don't like them, there are tons of reasonable calorie meals that don't include avocado.11 -
Rather than trying to lose 2lbs/week with a 1000cal cut that you can’t maintain, you should do a smaller, more manageable cut of 500 or 250cal that you can maintain. It is unhealthy and can be dangerous to lose weight too quickly. Also, as you are finding, cutting too many calories often results in a binge that ruins any progress you have made.10
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We did go to the gym about 5 times a week, start off with 20 minutes on the treadmill and then do some weights, I'm pretty knowledgeable about training but the diet is a killer, I used to live with my nan and my portions were tiny but I didn't know any different, I went into the army and started eating bigger meals as I was working harder but then when I came out, I couldn't go back to eating smaller portions and moved out with my girlfriend so I just have a lot bigger portions, as our diet is quite bad, even after going to the gym for about 6-8 months, we didn't actually much change if any at all, I have put that I am a male and I put that I would like to lose 2 pounds a week, which doesn't sound like much at all. I'm not very big at all, my waist is 32, my arms are 28 I think, my chest is about 38-40, my legs are the smallest part on my body as my thighs are quite thick and muscly but my calfs are just tiny, looks like I've never heard of leg day, 900 calories is a normal meal size for most people I know, when I see something at about 600-700, it just seems so low in calories and nothing on the plate0
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klyeson123 wrote: »We did go to the gym about 5 times a week, start off with 20 minutes on the treadmill and then do some weights, I'm pretty knowledgeable about training but the diet is a killer, I used to live with my nan and my portions were tiny but I didn't know any different, I went into the army and started eating bigger meals as I was working harder but then when I came out, I couldn't go back to eating smaller portions and moved out with my girlfriend so I just have a lot bigger portions, as our diet is quite bad, even after going to the gym for about 6-8 months, we didn't actually much change if any at all, I have put that I am a male and I put that I would like to lose 2 pounds a week, which doesn't sound like much at all. I'm not very big at all, my waist is 32, my arms are 28 I think, my chest is about 38-40, my legs are the smallest part on my body as my thighs are quite thick and muscly but my calfs are just tiny, looks like I've never heard of leg day, 900 calories is a normal meal size for most people I know, when I see something at about 600-700, it just seems so low in calories and nothing on the plate
Unless you have 75+ lbs to lose, 2 lbs per week is very aggressive. Also, are you logging your exercise and eating back some of those calories? If you are trying to hit a 1000 cal deficit AND not eating any of your exercise calories, you're hungry because your body needs more fuel. Change to a more realistic rate of loss and give your body what it needs :drinker:13 -
How much would you all suggest then as I though 2lbs a week was pretty slow, I am 12st now and would like to lose about 2st in the next six months to a year0
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I have just changed it to 1lb a week and it looks much better, now says I have 2200 a day20
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IMHO, 1 lb per week would be perfect with a 30 lb total goal. Losing weight fast is a recipe for hunger, poor workout performance, muscle loss, and problems sticking with it. 1 lb per week, combined with adequate fat & protein intake, and regular strength training will give you a great chance of sticking with it to goal, transitioning to maintenance easier, and looking better when you get there!9
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klyeson123 wrote: »We did go to the gym about 5 times a week, start off with 20 minutes on the treadmill and then do some weights, I'm pretty knowledgeable about training but the diet is a killer, I used to live with my nan and my portions were tiny but I didn't know any different, I went into the army and started eating bigger meals as I was working harder but then when I came out, I couldn't go back to eating smaller portions and moved out with my girlfriend so I just have a lot bigger portions, as our diet is quite bad, even after going to the gym for about 6-8 months, we didn't actually much change if any at all, I have put that I am a male and I put that I would like to lose 2 pounds a week, which doesn't sound like much at all. I'm not very big at all, my waist is 32, my arms are 28 I think, my chest is about 38-40, my legs are the smallest part on my body as my thighs are quite thick and muscly but my calfs are just tiny, looks like I've never heard of leg day, 900 calories is a normal meal size for most people I know, when I see something at about 600-700, it just seems so low in calories and nothing on the plate
A few things are jumping out at me.- Do you mind sharing how tall you are and how much you weigh? A 32 waist isn't especially large.
- Given my last sentence, I suspect that 2lbs a week is too aggressive . I mean it's aggressive period and it's the at the upper limit of people should strive to lose who aren't having their weight loss closely monitored by their doctor(s).
- 900 calories seems like a lot for lunch. For reference, yesterday my lunch was 657 calories than that was a larger than usual lunch for me. I had roasted chicken, rice, and two latkes (because of the holiday). That said, I also almost always have a breakfast that is at least 250 calories.
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klyeson123 wrote: »We did go to the gym about 5 times a week, start off with 20 minutes on the treadmill and then do some weights, I'm pretty knowledgeable about training but the diet is a killer, I used to live with my nan and my portions were tiny but I didn't know any different, I went into the army and started eating bigger meals as I was working harder but then when I came out, I couldn't go back to eating smaller portions and moved out with my girlfriend so I just have a lot bigger portions, as our diet is quite bad, even after going to the gym for about 6-8 months, we didn't actually much change if any at all, I have put that I am a male and I put that I would like to lose 2 pounds a week, which doesn't sound like much at all. I'm not very big at all, my waist is 32, my arms are 28 I think, my chest is about 38-40, my legs are the smallest part on my body as my thighs are quite thick and muscly but my calfs are just tiny, looks like I've never heard of leg day, 900 calories is a normal meal size for most people I know, when I see something at about 600-700, it just seems so low in calories and nothing on the plate
600-700 calories doesn't have to be a small amount of food provided that you are balancing foods with a lower calorie density. Maybe many people *do* eat 900 calories regularly for lunch, but if they're doing that they're either having fewer calories at other meals, balancing it out with a higher activity level, or simply eating more than they need (with the weight issues that are a result).1 -
I am only 5'7, I'm not very large on any part of my body but my belly, even when in the forces, I was running 5 miles a day and doing my training on top and my whole body was pretty shredded, even my legs which have always been just skin, but I still had a bit of podge on my belly, I don't know if it's my diet, my exercises or what but I was doing strength and conditioning a lot which was a lot of planks and sit up, sprinting and circuit training so I thought that if ever, then would be the time I lost my belly, my body fat is at about 22-23 atm but I did have it down to 16 and still had a slight belly, my breakfast is always 2 weetabix with milk and a bit of sugar which is 196 calories, I can easily still to 2200 calories a day as that's what it has came up for 1lb loss a week but my meals just always seem to be pretty high calories as I eat fairly big portions0
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900 calories is a lot for lunch. That’s more than half your calories.
I would suggest slowing your weight loss goal to 1 lb a week so you can have more calories and shifting around how you divide out your calories between meals. Everyone is different but I do best with a big breakfast and dinner and a small lunch just to tide me over between the 2 bigger meals. If what you are doing now isn’t working for you then it doesn’t matter if you think 900 calories is a normal sized meal for most people you know - it’s clearly not working for you so you need to do something different.4 -
A pound a week is good. People get an exaggerated idea about weight loss from watching the TV, but in reality, losing a pound a week is a good healthy rate for most people. If you lose too quickly, you're more likely to gain it back quickly. Eating back half your exercise calories is also a good idea. Are you satisfied with that light a breakfast or does it make you starving at lunchtime? You might try adding some protein with breakfast, at least occasionally. With an additional 1000 calories a day, you should be able to eat a filling dinner and even have room for some healthy snacks. Maybe take your lunch apple and eat it mid-afternoon or late evening?2
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klyeson123 wrote: »MFP has given me 1700 a day as I've put that I want to lose 2 pounds a week, I don't think that is actually very hard tbh, do you think that maybe having a salad for lunch, maybe a chicken or salmon salad, would be a much better option, but also for tea, everything we eat always seems to rack up calories, usually like a roast or a carbonara, don't ever know what to make and looking online for tips just brings up things like avocados and things that me and my girlfriend would never eat as we don't enjoy it
So reduce your goal from 2 lbs to 1 1/2 (or better, 1 lb) per week. If you only have two stone to lose, 2 lbs a week is too aggressive. And is 10 stone a reasonable goal weight for you? How tall are you? Whoops, I see you answered that upthread. At 5'7" and 12 stone, you're just a little overweight (BMI 26.3), so 2 lbs a week is definitely too aggressive. If you manage to lose that fast, you may not like the way you look when you get to goal (thin, yet still not "toned" and still looking somewhat pudgy).
There's nothing wrong with a roast. I'm guessing it's the sides that are driving it up. Or maybe this is a dialect gap, and roast entails something beyond just the roast meat for you? In any case, have a reasonable portion of meat, a small portion any starchy veg, a small portion of any kind of gravy or sauce (or just skip it), and lots of non-starchy veg.
I'm assuming "a carbonara" is what we call pasta carbonara in the U.S. You can cut the calories by limiting the amount of cheese and meat (guanciale, pancetta, bacon, whatever) you use, and just having a single serving (50 grams or so) of pasta. You can bulk it out with vegetable, like spiral cut zucchini "zoodles" if you like that sort of thing, or just toss in your favorite steamed or sauteed non-starchy vegetables.5 -
I find that cutting back on breads, pasta, rice, and focusing more on good protein and vegetables helps fill my plate and belly with fewer calories. Look for lean meats, like chicken breast, turkey, pork chop/loin, lean beef...skip the breading or fried food. Try a bunch of vegetables to see what you like. My hubby and I usually agree on broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, or frozen mixed. I also like squash, tomatoes, and okra, but he doesn't.0
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