Beginning calorie deficit when you're used to eating a lot

You will be used to grazing and snacking and feeling very full. You could start by adding lots of bulk through vegetables and salad. Add popcorn, cooked with no oil or butter - for the first couple of weeks, then gradually reduce the portions so you get used to not feeling overfull.

Cut out all refined carbs because they trigger really bad cravings. If you don't follow any other advice, follow this. It is so helpful. Without white flour and sugar you won't get that horrible crazed hunger that has you giving up by midday. Eat plenty of protein too. And drink a lot of water (not diet sodas) to fill up too.

When I finally got serious about losing the excess #50, I just slammed into a calorie deficit that was reasonable from an objective standpoint (sufficient nutrition, moderate deficit) and was *keenly* aware of feeling hungry the first couple of weeks. After that, I was good to go - I would feel "I could eat now" but not like I just had to. For me (so your own mileage will vary), I felt most satisfied eating lots of vegetables, limiting animal protein to lean meat, plain 0 fat greek yogurt, and fish, whole grains, beans and lentils, and whole fruits (apples, oranges, grapefruit mostly). Since then, because "maintenance" has been about gain a bit, eat at a deficit for a bit, the same strategy basically works.

I don't agree with the advice to gently do this or that gradually over a month or whatever. If you are determined to start now and you have the required mindset then grasp that feeling with both hands and just get on with it.

And I was eating a lot of calories through chocolate, crisps and bread and not eating that stuff does not make me less full or more hungry. I now just make different choices and consume food with less calories to get my calorie deficit.

Personally, I would just jump right into it. But that's me. It may or may not be the best route for you; only you can decide. I would likely focus on eating plenty of volume to help keep me full when I'm cutting back so drastically on what I eat. And while I know from the experience of 40 years of dieting what foods, macros, etc keep me most satiated, you probably will have to experiment for a while. I would expect some unpleasant side effects (hunger, maybe headaches, possibly chills, fatigue) the first week or two while your body adjusts to less fuel.

What @cherys and @igfrie did worked for me.

I have tried to calculate, and figure I was easily eating 8-10,000 a day. I do not for the life of me know how I wasn’t morbidly obese, and I’m grateful I wasn’t. I would start the day with a half dozen entemann’s donuts, start a family sized bag of M&Ms, have a big fast food lunch, finish the bag of candy and the box of donuts, start another bag of candy or cookies, and polish off a bag or two of Geneva cookies after dinner, Then there were the inevitable Cokes, and many glasses of milk to go with all that chocolate, and random sweets and treats I “deserved” in between all that.

When I was ready, I was ready, I stopped cold turkey, and put myself on 1400 a day, although I increased it a little bit every couple of months after that, til I stayed at 1870 for six months or so.

I think what @cherys says has some merit. If I had eased myself into it, I would have weakened and quit.

I started with an elimination diet my doctor had given me, so was very heavy on chicken, beans, vegetables and fruit,which helped. In other words, pretty much the food pyramid that we learned in the dark ages, minus dairy and grain.

It was hard for the first two or three weeks, but then I discovered that foods were tasting better, and becoming more satisfying as a result. Fruit now tastes waaaaaaay more sweet to me than candy.

As I’ve dabbled and tweaked, I’ve learned that protein helps keep me full, so I lean heavily on things like homemade beef jerky, cottage cheese, yogurt, and lots of chicken. Also, the “Volume Eaters” thread was helpful to me. I make massive salads for lunch. So big it can take me 30-45 minutes to eat the things,

YMMV, and this is just my experience of what worked for me. Everyone experiences this journey differently, so you’ll get s thousand different stories and recommendations.

This is really tricky and personal. You're getting a lot of good information and personal experience that will help you decide what will work for you. You might also find out that you try something and it just isn't manageable. I know that if I had overhauled my diet and cut my calories way down, I would have burned out. I started reading labels, weighing foods, and logging. At times, I had only one serving of something. Other times, 1.5 or 2. It didn't matter. It all got logged. If you managed to stay on keto for 3+ years, you can probably overhaul your diet and calorie intake and stick to it. It does sound like you have the right mindset and attitude for success. Be patient as you go through the process. You'll learn lots of things about yourself, food, your body, etc. Allow for slip ups and trust the process.

Best of luck to you!

Random question but I’m just now getting serious about counting all my calories and even logged after I ate an entire pizza but where does it show your calorie deficit-is that the same as calories remaining?

pink_mint wrote: »

Just wanted to provide a small progress report if it is helpful to anyone. I am 16 days into this weight loss effort. I set/ lowered my calories to 2,400 (from approximately 4,000 starting), tracked my intake without a food scale, and after some cycle related things and fluctuations, I'm officially at a 4 lb loss so far, 2 weeks into this.

So it is still very early and adjustments are sure to happen over time but... I guess this just goes to show what it's worth to know your own unique body, hunger levels, energy output etc. If I had started at 1,600 calories thinking I just obey MFP calculator or what I "should" be eating to lose, I would have quit and concluded there's something wrong with me by now.

I'm definitely eating less and it took a few days to get used to but it's tolerable at this point. I think some people just have a higher TDEE than they're 'supposed' to. Hence probably why I ate 4,000 calories a day and and wasn't as heavy as the calculations say I would be.

So I don't know if this is helpful to anyone but basically we're not computers, we're complex human beings. A food scale may or may not be necessary but there's a big picture🌻

Yes, possible.

Your calorie goal is a statistical estimate. MFP is close for most people, a bit off for some (high or low), and way off for a very few (that's rare). That's the nature of statistical estimates. The goal MFP calculates is essentially the average (mean) for people of your size, weight, age, etc.

MFP thinks I'd burn 25-30% fewer calories than nearly 5 years of carefully-logged weight loss/maintenance tell me I do (quite rare).

Is note that it's also very common (not universal) to lose faster in the first 1-2 weeks of a diet, because water weight depletes and average digestive contents in transit are lower. Those aren't fat reductions, but they show up on the scale. Sometimes there can be a couple weeks of pseudo-plateau or even fake gain after an initial faster loss, too, sadly, but it settles out with more time. Hang in there, regardless!