Curious about how you do it...

I've read in a bunch of threads where posters say they can eat burger and ice cream everyday and still lose weight. How?? I have been eating *kitten* salad for dinner since the past three months and gaining and losing 3 kgs over and over again. I don't wanna eat burger and cakes everday I just wanna see results with my simple diet!? Why is it so hard😭🙏
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Replies

  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 988 Member
    edited July 2021
    For a burger, I weigh four ounces of beef, log it, scan the bun package. Log it all! I only occasionally (a few times a year) eat a burger out (fast food or restaurant) because there’s no real way for me to know the data. For ice cream, if I have room for it in my #s, I may do half a serving of regular ice cream (measured on a food scale) or a full serving of Halo Top.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,341 Member
    Agree with @MsCzar

    I prelog the night before, sometimes several days out.

    Having an expectation of what and when I’ll be eating relieves the anxiety of oh-god-I’ll-never-be-full-again.

    I specifically schedule in several good snacks, as well as several hot drinks. Hot tea or coffee require a short ritual to make, can’t be gulped, and are very satisfying in lieu of food- particularly one doused in cinnamon (my diabetic husband taught me that cinnamon “tastes” like sugar.)

    I used to be a terminal ice cream/cake/pie/candy gobbler. Nothing was safe around me. Fruit and cottage cheese or sugar free pudding mixed with yogurt fulfills that for me now.

    Ironically, if I’m going to binge nowadays, it’s typically on tortilla chips, crackers, hummus, pita or baba ganoush. I’ve had untouched chocolate in the pantry since before Christmas. It’s the crunchies and savouries I have to keep out of the house now.
  • Mangoperson88
    Mangoperson88 Posts: 339 Member
    For me, the key is to stay active. The more active, the more I'm able to eat. It helps, of course, that I'm relatively tall and heavy so I get more calories to play with and fit in higher calorie foods sometimes. If you're shorter, less active, and not very heavy, your calorie allowance is going to be smaller.

    It has been hot lately, so for the past month it really has been "ice cream every day". When I say ice cream, I don't mean a large 1500 calorie tub. I buy a 75 gram single serving ice cream that has about 140 calories. This is as easy to fit in as a banana, and has fewer calories than my typical salad. When I want an especially high calorie meal, I simply skip breakfast. This means I have more calories to spare for that meal. It's all about calorie management.

    Think of calories like money. How you choose to spend them is up to you, and you choose what's worth the "money" and what isn't. Physical activity earns you extra calories to spend.

    Your advice is good I'm 5'3" 78-80 kgs and relatively active and I mostly eat home cooked very simple meals but what you said about skipping breakfast if I wanna fit in a high calorie meal? Won't I feel dizzy? I eat a light dinner and have a glass of warm milk with nutmeg powder to induce sleep but I just can't skip meals early in the day as I feel hangry :/
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,926 Member
    I dont eat burgers - but a home made burger wouldnt be that calorie dense would it?

    You could have one for dinner every night if you wanted to - I mean, boring and repetitive but not difficult to fit in calorie wise as a meal, maybe with low calorie green salad on the side.

    Icecream I do have regularly - I buy pre packaged squares of low fat icecream which are only 70 calories each - not hard to fit in to even a lowish calorie allowance.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,033 Member
    I don't eat hamburgers and ice-cream specifically each day, but I do have treat foods every day. Some days that's a 100-150 calorie snack in the evening (rice crackers/frozen yoghurt/...), some days (usually after I've had an active day) it's a tub of Ben&Jerry's that I share with my BF (usually 500 or so calories) or a bowl of potato chips.

    I'm not a huge fan of hamburgers, but we do have them occasionally for dinner. I choose a lower fat hamburger patty for myself, so I can have two hamburgers (2 patties, 2 buns, 2 slices of cheese) with loads of raw veg on the side and that way it isn't really more calories than a regular dinner.

    It just takes a little planning: limiting calories the other meals that day and/or calorie banking and/or planning treats when Ive been more active.
  • lillyblack1982
    lillyblack1982 Posts: 61 Member
    I'm 5'4" and 62kg, so to lose weight I don't get a lot of calories to play with. 1400-1500 seems to be the right number for extremely slow weight loss for me (before adding in exercise, which I have intentionally ramped up in order to have more wiggle room).

    I estimate a home cooked burger and fries to be around a thousand calories (at least the ones I make from a meal kit are around that range). I can't fit a thousand calorie dinner in my day easily so I make one slightly smaller burger for me and a bigger one for my DH, and I aim to take 1/3 of the fries rather than half. Then I don't finish the whole burger (I stop when I feel full, I usually eat about 3/4 of it). With those little adjustments that 1000 calorie meal can be 750 instead, which is much easier to work in once a week.

    I also have ice cream once a week, either the day before or the day of my long run. I'm training for a half marathon so an hour+ run earns me back enough calories that 150g of ice cream isn't a big deal.

    Again though this is once a week, not every day, and I plan for it. I've accepted the fact that certain things are just not worth having every day (I used to be a daily wine drinker but not anymore), but I still have them-- just a little less often.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,668 Member
    When I was actively trying to lose, I would eat a real treat once or twice a week, usually on the weekend to make it easier to stay on track the rest of the time. It was easier to stick to 1200 calories all week if I knew that on Saturday I could have ice cream and Sunday a beer or pizza or whatever. I just made sure that it was a treat, not an every day occurrence and that I didn't make it a 'cheat day' or all day indulgence.

    Becoming more active will allow you to indulge yourself a bit more often, you just have to make sure that you eat less on days you aren't as active or that it balances out over a few days. I usually eat dessert every day, now that I am in maintenance, but I run 35-40 miles a week, so I have a lot of extra calories. A small bowl of ice cream or oatmeal cookie is easy to fit in.
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,039 Member
    ... I mostly eat home cooked very simple meals but what you said about skipping breakfast if I wanna fit in a high calorie meal? Won't I feel dizzy? I eat a light dinner and have a glass of warm milk with nutmeg powder to induce sleep but I just can't skip meals early in the day as I feel hangry :/

    It shouldn't ever be necessary to skip a meal. I'm now down 36 Kg now and never skip meals. If you are doing all or most of your own cooking, you may only need to shift to making meals and snacks that are big on taste, but low on calories and that will allow you to eat frequently without feeling deprived. Make that food scale your best friend.

    I love to cook and plan my meals in advance.
    I am not kidding. I eat All. Day. Long.

    Breakfast:
    Coffee, homemade yogurt with chopped prunes & granola

    10AM:
    Coffee & 15g dark chocolate with hazelnuts

    11:30AM:
    Medium apple

    1PM:
    Asian marinaded salad: cucumber, carrot, onion & courgette salad topped with 20g Chanachur Mumbai Mix
    (Dressing: honey/sesame oil/rice wine vinegar/almond butter)

    3PM:
    350g Watermelon

    4:30PM:
    Large glass of diet soda over ice

    5:30PM
    Spicy Vegetarian Chili
    Whole Milk

    On days with a higher calorie meal, I just shift things around. For instance, today I'd swap the salad with dressing for a big bowl of grated carrots and skip the granola, milk and chocolate. That would free up more than 500 calories. OK - maybe the chocolate would stay. ;)