1600 cal and so hungry.

melissaanderton
melissaanderton Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys I'm a stay at home mum. 162cm and don't do any exercise atm. I'm a bit of a yoyo dieter. 18m ago I droped for 90-70kg through eating 1200cal weddings are great motivation. Anyway as soon as I reintroduces chocolate to my diet my addicted self was back to eating a family sized block a day and back to 90kg.

Anyway life story aside. This time I'm logging my food and just trying to stay between 1400-1700 cal a day. I don't do any exercise. I've managed to re quite chocolate after 6m of false starts. I need a chocolate version of AA.

Anyway as much as I'm trying to eat fairly healthy with out going the whole hog. I eat dinner at 7 and by 9:30 bed time I'm starving. Is this normal? To be fair 15 min after each meal I'm hungry, well looking for food.

Breakie is usually egg or avo on toast
Morning tea fruit
Lunch left over dinner or a sammie
Arvo tea yougurt or nuts or fruit or crackers and cheese.
Dinner is basically red meat, vege and either rice or spuds. (Home kill so I'm not allowed to buy fish or chicken).
We have a strong family philosophy of all eating the same dinner together. That and our food budget is pretty tight. I know I eat avo and it's a like $5 a fruit. Salads don't feature in our house in the winter unfortunately mostly cause only I eat them.

So in the summer I grow my own.

I'm trying not to go Ott and just take it really slowly this time and ramp it up over time. Do you think it's just a mental game it's only week 3 and theoretically I shouldn't need to eat every 5min. IDK how I stuck to such a low cal diet last time I guess I was desperate to get in the dress and it was summer so salads and fresh fruit.

Replies

  • Hanibanani2020
    Hanibanani2020 Posts: 523 Member
    Play around with your macros to see what makes you feel full longer. Or you could try saving a few calories for a before bed snack.
  • shrinkingweez
    shrinkingweez Posts: 25 Member
    At 1600 calories, how much weight should you be losing per week according to mfp? If it's more than a pound, maybe ease up on your restrictions to only 1lb a week or 0.5lbs a week, if that calorie allowance is more sustainable.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    Are you sure its hunger? Try drinking water before & after each meal. It may be more about getting used to eating a reasonable amount (compared to overeating previously) and not real hunger. With a little time that could improve.
  • Hanibanani2020
    Hanibanani2020 Posts: 523 Member
    You could also try a cup of tea or hot water and lemon with a dash of honey to feel fuller
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    What Goal did you select for your weight loss rate? What activity level did you select? How many calories did MFP give you? It won't have given you a range of 1400-1700. Also, are you weighing everything that you consume so that you accurately know your calories?

    I agree with all of the above. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger pangs. Some people find carbs filling, some people find protein more filling. Play around. I lost 17kg eating the same foods that I ate before but in smaller portions. I have a much smaller amount of rice (100g, cooked weight), potatoes (1 or two small pieces) or pasta (65g dry weight), with more veg and protein to fill me up.

    As I don't eat the same thing over and over, I also try to pre-log what I'm going to eat. I do this the night before or at the start of each day. Some things will be an estimated weight, until I actually prepare the meal, but it gives me a rough idea. Any snacks are then based on how many calories I have left to play with.

    Maybe look at how many calories are in each of your snacks and choose what you're going to have based on how your day is panning out.

    Could you incorporate any exercise, even a half hour brisk walk, in to your day? That would give you a few more calories to eat.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    I agree with the prelogging idea! I will often map out meals or days, and then as the day actually unfolds: edit as needed. Sometimes it is just changing quantities, sometimes removing some items and adding others. If I want to have something in particular it helps me 'fit' things into my day.

    Confession: I am considering an Arby's Beef & Cheddar with mozzarella sticks one day soon for lunch. Kind of a splurge. BIG calories, so to fit that in I need to aim for smaller calorie but still filling breakfast and dinner, and make sure I get in plenty of activity. Its the sort of thing I can do every now and then with planning: but not often.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    Instead of buying chocolate,buy veggies!....
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 702 Member
    Would it be possible to try to substitute other things that may get rid of the chocolate itch, but not be quite so calorific?

    For example, I will quite often add cocoa to my morning porridge, I will happily eat that with fruit and feel like I've had chocolate for breakfast. But 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa is hardly anything in calories.
    Some chocolate milk for a snack, you get the idea.

    I know that for myself sometimes nothing but the proper stuff will do, but often having these things means that happens less often.

    It might also be worth looking at what your eating in terms of wholegrains. One slice of wholemeal toast will fill me up for a morning, but I can eat several slices of white toast and an hour later I'll be looking for something else.
    Could also try adding some vegetable soup to lunch or dinner, it's easy and cheap to make, and I find it helps fill the holes.

    I feel hungry a lot, and find it difficult to just ignore it. It's worth fiddling around a bit to find what works best for you.
  • Sand_TIger
    Sand_TIger Posts: 1,099 Member
    What about the kind of chocolate? I can find a couple squares of dark for less than 100 calories, that's not hard to fit in. Someone I know buys a bag of mini dark chocolate chips, weighs out the portions, and eats them slowly. Regarding veggies, many times frozen ones are quite cheap, and you can do odd things like blend a serving of them up into your scrambled eggs, or have them as a side instead of a side the rest of the family is having, or make everybody eat the darn things. They also last a long time if you only eat a half cup or a cup at a time.

    I'd be pretty hungry on that allowance because I personally need more protein than that. Then again, I don't know what the sandwiches are made with. But that's still a lot of bread - so maybe think about a half sandwich with more filling, or at least have veggies on the side. If I had egg and toast in the morning the toast would set up a blood sugar cycle that would keep me hungry and craving carbs all day, but your mileage may definitely vary.

    I hope I gave some food for thought, and all the best to you.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,679 Member
    I get you on the chocolate. I was easily eating a couple of pounds a day (and that’s being kind). Easing myself out of chocolate and sweets was integral to any kind of success for me.

    My morning smoothie for the past eighteen months has been a banana, almond milk and cottage cheese OR a cup of kefir, 8gr ground chocolate, 8 gr nut butter, and 5gr molasses, a dash of vanilla, with a heap of ice blended until the texture of ice cream.

    For whatever reason, it tasted like a Wendy’s Frosty to me, plus felt like I was having ice cream for breakfast, and helped me over the initial hump, even though it contained very little actual chocolate.

    Dessert is Greek yogurt with 8gr instant sugar free chocolate pudding mix whipped together and topped with a squirt of whipped cream and 5gr Dutch hagel. That’s great (and filling!) protein, and a little hagel goes a long way towards making dessert feel decadent. You’re in the UK so hagel should be readily available. ( It’s simply pure chocolate sprinkles or what I think you all call “hundreds and thousands”.)

    BTW lately I add a few grams of Jordan’s sugar free chocolate coconut to my smoothie or pudding. It lets me cut back even further on the chocolate powder in the mornings. As I’ve lost my taste for sweets, the artificial sweeteners don’t taste half bad nowadays.
  • gininthegym
    gininthegym Posts: 47 Member
    How did you decide on your calorie allowance ? I find that My Fitness Pal seems to allocate a low daily allowance. I used a calculator form Macros Inc and then just dropped mine a little more to be on the safe side. It's tough to get into the flow of eating for weight loss. I tend to eat a lot of fat free greek yogurt with protein powder stirred through to gain my protein goals whilst keeping the fat/carbs and calories down. You've had some good advice - just make a start and tweak as you go. You will get there.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    gininthegym wrote: »
    How did you decide on your calorie allowance ? I find that My Fitness Pal seems to allocate a low daily allowance. I used a calculator form Macros Inc and then just dropped mine a little more to be on the safe side. It's tough to get into the flow of eating for weight loss. I tend to eat a lot of fat free greek yogurt with protein powder stirred through to gain my protein goals whilst keeping the fat/carbs and calories down. You've had some good advice - just make a start and tweak as you go. You will get there.

    No, MFP doesn't. The allowance is calculated based on gender, age, weight, body size - and the weekly weightloss goal you chose If you want too much in too short a time then you end up with low calories. But that's totally up to you and not MFP.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,617 Member
    gininthegym wrote: »
    How did you decide on your calorie allowance ? I find that My Fitness Pal seems to allocate a low daily allowance. I used a calculator form Macros Inc and then just dropped mine a little more to be on the safe side. It's tough to get into the flow of eating for weight loss. I tend to eat a lot of fat free greek yogurt with protein powder stirred through to gain my protein goals whilst keeping the fat/carbs and calories down. You've had some good advice - just make a start and tweak as you go. You will get there.

    MFP tends to estimate a little lower than other calculators, because it ask you to set your activity level (in your profile) based on daily life stuff (job, home, etc.) not including intentional exercise. Then, you're supposed to log your exercise separately and eat those calories back, too. (MFP is a NEAT calculator, i.e., non-exercise activity thermogenesis.)

    Most other calculators ask you to include planned exercise in your activity level, then they average that into your calorie numbers over the course of a normal week. In that scenario, you aren't expecting to log intentional exercise as a calorie addition, so the base goal is higher. (These are called TDEE calculators, i.e. total daily energy expenditure).

    The main difference is in how exercise is accounted for. Either one can work. The potential pitfall with the TDEE calculator is that sometimes people start trying to lose weight with pretty ambitious exercise plans, then sometimes have difficulty sticking with them. If that happens, they're wiping out some of their calorie deficit, and should expect to lose weight more slowly. Still, some people prefer having the same calorie goal every day. In that case, it's fine to use a TDEE calculator, but it's good to be aware of the difference, because if one's exercise plans change, a person should rerun the calculator for the new plan.
  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 443 Member
    For me, reducing other sources of sweet things really helped me want less chocolate (and sugary things), - and actually replacing them with something else. Also I found little bars of 100cal chocolates and I buy a multipack each week. When they're gone, they're gone. Over time I've got less of a craving for big chocolate bars and I'm more content with just a little bit, which is a massive improvement for someone like me :D
  • Lildarlinz
    Lildarlinz Posts: 276 Member
    The first few days were the hardest for me doing 1500 calories...but then It got easier
    I divided my calories into 3/4 meals so that would be 350-400 calories per meal
    In Aldi they do Danish bread 51 calories per slice.2 slices with 2 eggs is about 200-250 calories...
    You can buy alpen cereal bars for 67 calories....apple slice bags from Asda or Tesco 48 calories
    It just means you have to really look and count and log into MFP.

    Slimming world in Iceland (I wouldn’t bother with the meals) but they do nice mint bars and Jaffa cake ones for like 70 calories
    Aldi Ice cream 70 or 87 calories

    Also a good tip I have is if I fancy something like Tommorow I’m going to make some pizza
    So obviously it’s not the same as a crusty pizza you would get from the pizza shop
    But you could use bagels which are 165 calories and then just put your ham,cheese,tomato spread on with some salad

    Fish fingers sandwiches I did with the 52 calorie bread from Aldi!! Very yummy! But make sure it’s the low fat fish fingers not birds eye.

    I had a slimming world burger yesterday on pitta bread and I only managed one as it was so filling

    You can add me as a friend if you want or message me for some tips :) just have a good luck when you’re out shopping xx


  • AlexandraFindsHerself1971
    AlexandraFindsHerself1971 Posts: 3,106 Member
    I've found that I need a little fat and protein before bed to get me into bed and asleep. What I usually use is a cheese stick and three crackers (which is just enough cracker to go with the cheese) That comes in at 150 calories, and it works for me.

    My other small things I use are: Hot chocolate with real whipped cream, 1/4 cup of trail mix with nuts and candy and raisins in it (150 calories) . Moser Roth candy bars (200 calories) , and prepackaged crispy rice treats that come out at 100 calories each. I also unashamedly eat chips with my burgers because that makes my head happy, and I can budget that extra 140 calories in pretty easily.

    It's critical for me not to feel "deprived". Working sweets in three to four times a week, having a little bag of chips with my burger, and having real cream in my chai of an afternoon (60 calories) means that I am satisfied and make it to dinner.

    I wind up cooking variations on the main meal anyway, because I can't have nightshades or cruciferous vegetables or fruit, and one of my partners has to eat high-protein low carb after WLS, and the other much prefers potatoes over rice unless we're having something like curry over rice. So usually I get meat plus rice, he gets meat plus veggie, and she gets meat, potato, and veggie.
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
    That dreaded evening snack, like the villain lurking in the darkness, calling out to you, just 15 minutes after eating dinner.....
    I lost 20lbs last year. I used three strategies to deal with that evening snack:
    1) drink two glasses of water
    2) put a sign up inside the ‘snack’ cupboard that reads “STOP! Are those calories worth it” (I wanted to put the sign on the outside of the cupboard, but my husband objected)
    3) changed the portion size. What I realized was, I wasn’t hungry, it was more of a habit. So, instead of filling a small 1 cup bowl with my snack (usually peanuts, other nuts, raisins), I’d just pour 10 or 12 of the same snack into my hand. Then I’d eat then one at a time. This allowed me to satisfy the tactile experience and psychological desire of wanting a snack, and lowered the number of calories.
    Take care
  • edenseaview
    edenseaview Posts: 3 Member
    I know how u feel. Back on fitness pal after 4 years... started as I was losing weight for my wedding too. Put on about 8 kg since then and cannot seem to shift the weight. My calorie intake a day is 1500 and i’m constantly starving too. I was a caffeine addict in the past so I’ve switched to green tea and also increased my water intake as would usually go days on 1-2 glasses of water. Been reading everyone’s comments and there’s a lot of good advice. I love crisps but now I settle for fruit and nuts and low fat yoghurt in the evening. Stay strong. We can all do this!!!!!

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