Has anyone been able to stick to their daily calories?

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Aimeesdiet
Aimeesdiet Posts: 27 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been using my fitness pal off and on for years and I gave never been able to stick to my daily calories. Is anyone else experiencing that problem? Does anyone have any tips? How did you make the app work for you?

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  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
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    How many calories did MFP give you? Are you being too aggressive?


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  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    It took a couple/few weeks to retrain my brain to be able to think of foods in calorie form to best plan my day. It was up and down a lot in the early days! But once I found a rhythm it was much easier. Breakfast was hard - I have to eat in the morning (blood sugar regulation) and starting out I was in the 4-500+ calorie range for that one meal, now I have variations of the same thing and keep it under 300 (cutting bagel in quarters instead of just halves saves a BUNCH of calories, and I eat egg and cheese on it open face rather than a sandwich). I use a different mayo - my old one was 100 calories per serving, this one is 45 and the taste difference isn’t noticeable enough for how I use it. Being mindful ingredients and serving size is the key for me.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    edited July 2020
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    Yes and no. When I make the effort and plan, it is NO problem at all. On the other hand, if I skip those steps: yikes!

    Where do you have trouble? What small things can you do to tweak your intake? Perhaps do not try to drop to a super low calorie goal, but first try something moderate. Its all about building habits.

    Having a reasonable calorie goal is the first step as others have suggested. Why do something extreme if you know you won't stick to it? The least aggressive strategy would be to set MFP to maintain, and then work in a 15-30 minute walk per day for exercise. Track for 4-6 weeks. How do you do eating at this level? Goal for the scale: not to gain. If you lose a little bit from the exercise, great, but the main priority would be to lay some foundation habits and form a solid starting point. THEN reduce that calorie goal by 250-500 daily

    Do you use condiments/dips/dressings? If so, what changes can you make to use fewer calories on these things?
    Do you drink regular soda, juices, etc.? If so, what changes can you make to use fewer calories on these things?

    Use that sort of logic and see what you can come up with.
  • WitePhantom
    WitePhantom Posts: 7 Member
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    Meal planning. I have two or three things with about the same number of calories to choose from all week. I plan dinners ahead of time and pre-log them. I plan whatever snacks will fit my leftover calories in a way that I know will keep me satisfied between meals. And honestly I find it way easier to stick to my calories if I work out first thing in the morning. I have no idea why. Maybe it’s mental, maybe it’s knowing how many calories I have for the day. It’s just easier for me. And I absolutely make sure I’m eating things I enjoy as well as are reasonably good for me. When you look forward to your meals, you’re less likely to want to snack.
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
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    I have a lot more success when I do a few things:

    1. Skip breakfast (I don’t have my first meal until 11 at the earliest, usually closer to noon or 1)
    2. Log dinner first. Knowing what number of calories I need to save for dinner helps me manage my calories for earlier meals better
    3. Meal Plan - it’s easier for me to log dinner first when I’ve planned out all my dinners for the week. I don’t meal prep though.
    4. Log everything before I eat it.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    Shortgirlrunning wrote: »
    I have a lot more success when I do a few things:

    1. Skip breakfast (I don’t have my first meal until 11 at the earliest, usually closer to noon or 1)
    2. Log dinner first. Knowing what number of calories I need to save for dinner helps me manage my calories for earlier meals better
    3. Meal Plan - it’s easier for me to log dinner first when I’ve planned out all my dinners for the week. I don’t meal prep though.
    4. Log everything before I eat it.

    This is really similar to how I do it as well, like weirdly so, lol.
  • SERmom3
    SERmom3 Posts: 568 Member
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    springlering62 wrote: »
    Yes, but I had to train myself to re-think food, and to develope new tastes and basically appreciate stuff beyond junk food.

    There’s a thread here about “volume eating” that was helpful in the beginning. When I realized I could eat large plates of filling, tasty food instead of small batches of calorie dense foods, that was a revelation.

    My husband still gawks in wonder at the massive salads I eat out of mixing bowls. I seldom go over 450 calories, and that’s even including a meat and feta.

    I use delicious flavored balsamic (about 10-15 calories a tbsp) for salad dressing instead of a regular salad dressing. I also dress fruits & cottage cheese with balsamic, and often use it as a marinade for meats. Chocolate balsamic and some salsa makes a fab carnitas.
    ...

    I agree with so much of the above. I had to learn what I could eat so I could feel full without going over calories. Over time I have naturally reduced bread and other high cal/low nutrition items because it wasn’t worth it to me. I love chips, but 1 ounce is around 150 calories. That’s more than 10% of my daily calories! It’s not always worth it for me.

    I also eat huge salads out of mixing bowls! My husband jokes that it’s my food trough! I don’t eat much during the day so at dinner I love to eat a lot, but it’s generally pretty healthy with lots of veggies. I love a grilled chicken salad.

    One tip for those that might use too much dressing with a big salad... I’ve found that it is helpful to mix the salad dressing with all the salad veggies before I add my chicken or cheese. The chicken and cheese already have enough flavor, so mixing the dressing with just the veggies helps get the flavor where I want it. I use a fat free Catalina dressing that is 50 calories for 2 Tbs (35ml).
  • Geneveremfp
    Geneveremfp Posts: 504 Member
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    Easily but I had to change a couple of things. The first time I did this I used maximum weight loss per week and tried to eat under it every day. It was too much and I couldn't fit stuff in. I really felt like I was dieting not being healthier. I've upped my calories. I could happily eat on this number if calories forever if needed.

    The other thing I changed was my food. Gradually my food has become better healthier and more nutrient dense. I prefer it. I used to have meals that would look like - meat, potatoes, one or two veg. Now my meals look like - whole grains, veg based protein, loads of veg, fresh herbs, garlic, ginger. Snacks would be chocolate bars etc. Now snacks are peanut butter, fruit, maybe some crisps, a couple of squares of dark chocolate.
    I prefer the way I eat now and get really disappointed when I'm at someone's house and they cook bland beige food like I used to eat a lot. It took time though replacing one meal at a time. Trying a couple of new recipes a week etc

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