Eat less = lose weight?

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It is hard to me to eat less. :'( someone tells me if you want to lose weight, the first step is to eat less????

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,166 Member
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    307114882 wrote: »
    It is hard to me to eat less. :'( someone tells me if you want to lose weight, the first step is to eat less????

    Fewer calories. Not necessarily lower volume of food.

    Or, if your gain has been really quite slow, you might be able to lose by moving more (exercise or daily life). Most people have been over-eating by too many calories to just lose weight by adding activity, in my experience, and if they don't do something to manage calories, it can be easy to eat more because of the added exercise, and end up at the same weight.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    Less = less calories, not necessarily less food. A lot of times, lower calorie foods can be more filling than higher calorie foods if you choose right.

    For example, I'll get at least full with a cup of 2% cottage cheese and 10 oz of Pineapple (330 calories total) than a burger and fries (1200 calories). That is not to say that I never have burgers and fries, but I am able to meet my calorie goal by eating a variety of foods, many of them that can fill me for not a lot of calories.

  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited April 2019
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    Sometimes, just adding in higher volumes of low calorie foods works wonders. For example, I make a lower-calorie version of french fries by tossing julienned potato in a Ziploc bag with about a teaspoon of oil and some spices, then baking at 425 for 25 minutes. But if I think that I want more "fries" without adding extra potato, I'll julienne some carrots, too. I find it easy to overdo rice with a stir-fry, but I've discovered that I can have a far greater volume of spiralized vegetable noodles, mostly for a fraction of the calories an equivalent amount of rice would give me. (Caveat: my two favorite vegetables for this are butternut squash and turnip; I haven't bought nor run the data on sweet potato noodles... yet)

    Salsa has about 25 to 50% the calories of ketchup. It helps that I love salsa, of course.

    I probably snack a lot more, but I snack on protein and high-fiber foods that help me feel fuller.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,394 Member
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    Working out just doesn't burn a lot of calories.

    Running generally burns 0.63 * weight in lbs * distance in miles

    So if you're 150lbs, then running 3 miles burns 283kcal. As a beginning runner you might need 45 minutes for that.

    If you run every second day for a month (rest days are important) you get in 15 runs and burn 4252kcal. That's just over 1lbs. But you might also be a bit more hungry and hence eat more.

    Walking obviously burns a lot less (0.3 instead of 0.63). Lifting weights burns less per 45 minutes, every fitness class will likely burn less per 45 minutes.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Also, it depends on your stats--how much do you have to lose? If it's a lot--50, 100, 150lbs, etc.. You can eat more and still lose, for awhile. If you don't have much to lose--20 lbs or less, it takes longer and you have to be precise with your deficit. Exercise gives you a little more to eat, but not as much as people think. Get a digital food scale and start logging. Take a look at your daily diary and study what foods you like and their calorie content. Concentrate on foods you like with lower calorie counts. Then, once you've got all that down, study your "macros" and make sure you're getting enough protein, fats, etc., so you get your essential nutrients. It's not hard, just a habit. Good luck.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    eat less calories. not necessarily less quantity
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    I'd cut all the peanut brittle from your lunch.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
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    echmain3 wrote: »
    307114882 wrote: »
    It is hard to me to eat less. :'( someone tells me if you want to lose weight, the first step is to eat less????

    Huh?

    Aren’t you the same person who posted a bunch of “tips” a few days ago?

    I thought you had this all figured out.

    The very same. And those tips included "Eat more and eat less" (huh?), and "eat a banana or apple in the afternoon as a meal but "don't eat snacks" (because by calling the apple a "meal", it suddenly has different properties to a "snack"?)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,166 Member
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    echmain3 wrote: »
    307114882 wrote: »
    It is hard to me to eat less. :'( someone tells me if you want to lose weight, the first step is to eat less????

    Huh?

    Aren’t you the same person who posted a bunch of “tips” a few days ago?

    I thought you had this all figured out.

    I've come to wonder whether that post was a trial balloon of ideas to check out . . . possibly by someone for whom the majority language or culture here are not their first. Not sure, so inclined to interpret generaously for now.
  • 307114882
    307114882 Posts: 45 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    echmain3 wrote: »
    307114882 wrote: »
    It is hard to me to eat less. :'( someone tells me if you want to lose weight, the first step is to eat less????

    Huh?

    Aren’t you the same person who posted a bunch of “tips” a few days ago?

    I thought you had this all figured out.

    I've come to wonder whether that post was a trial balloon of ideas to check out . . . possibly by someone for whom the majority language or culture here are not their first. Not sure, so inclined to interpret generaously for now.

    so sorry to confuse you all. i am new for the workout, maybe there's something i don't know and also confuse me. so sorry.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,166 Member
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    307114882 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    echmain3 wrote: »
    307114882 wrote: »
    It is hard to me to eat less. :'( someone tells me if you want to lose weight, the first step is to eat less????

    Huh?

    Aren’t you the same person who posted a bunch of “tips” a few days ago?

    I thought you had this all figured out.

    I've come to wonder whether that post was a trial balloon of ideas to check out . . . possibly by someone for whom the majority language or culture here are not their first. Not sure, so inclined to interpret generaously for now.

    so sorry to confuse you all. i am new for the workout, maybe there's something i don't know and also confuse me. so sorry.

    No worries: Everything is just fine. Stick with it, keep communicating, and it'll all work out well. :flowerforyou: