Curious about how you do it...
Replies
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Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »... 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.
Perhaps it shouldn't be necessary, but it can be a valid strategy.
When I have a restaurant dinner or lunch planned (once every few weeks), it's often my strategy to skip breakfast. I went without breakfast for months at the beginning of my weight-loss, made it easier to stick to my calorie goal.
For me, I never got dizzy or anything. Sure, I was hungry, but I would be hungry anyway, even when I had breakfast. I prefer eating most of my calories later in the day and I don't eat 'all the time' (3 or 4 meal/snacks), it works for me.
Obviously it isn't a good idea for people who get lightheaded when skipping meals. Or people who lose control and binge after skipping a meal. But it can work fine for others. Just a matter of experimenting.6 -
Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »... 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.
Perhaps it shouldn't be necessary, but it can be a valid strategy.
When I have a restaurant dinner or lunch planned (once every few weeks), it's often my strategy to skip breakfast. I went without breakfast for months at the beginning of my weight-loss, made it easier to stick to my calorie goal.
For me, I never got dizzy or anything. Sure, I was hungry, but I would be hungry anyway, even when I had breakfast. I prefer eating most of my calories later in the day and I don't eat 'all the time' (3 or 4 meal/snacks), it works for me.
Obviously it isn't a good idea for people who get lightheaded when skipping meals. Or people who lose control and binge after skipping a meal. But it can work fine for others. Just a matter of experimenting.
You summed up my problem beautifully!! I can't skip a meal because I feel faint or I lose control and binge on anything I see even bloody fox nuts. now how do I find a balance? What strategy shall I use to keep my blood sugar level steady??
P. S. Thank you everyone for your helpful advice.0 -
Are you diabetic?
If not, then there is no need really to employ a strategy to keep you blood sugar level steady - your pancreas will for that for you.
I am not a breakfast skipper either - except occasionally on weekends when I have combined late breakfast/early lunch. what we call brunch
if skipping meals does not work for you - don't do it.
Like everyone - experiment with different portions see what is worth it to you, when you can fit in a treat food and in what portion size etc.4 -
I've had a look through your diary OP, and you don't appear to be eating up to your calorie goal any day - sometimes coming in over 600 calories under.
How was your calorie goal determined, and how long ago was that?
Something is obviously wrong - it might be that the calorie goal is too high (but based on the calories you've logged, I don't think that's it) and needs recalculating, perhaps using a different method.
How confident are you in the accuracy of the calories in the foods you're eating? i.e. how many of the entries were foods/recipes created by you vs by somebody else in the community? Do you weigh and track absolutely everything? For me for example, I have a tendency to track a medium banana, but if I weigh it, the range I consider to be medium varies significantly, meaning big swings in the number of calories I'm actually eating.6 -
I feel hungry a lot of the time, and am not good at ignoring it. I don't skip breakfast, I'd be chewing off my arm.
This is what I find helpful-
Wholegrains - one slice of wholemeal toast and peanut butter and I'm happy, can put away half a loaf of white toast with jam and barely feel it.
Volume - add veg to everything, or eat a bowl of salad before dinner. I change the ratios, a bit more of the chilli with lots of veg, a bit less of the rice for example.
Soup - a big bowl of veg soup and a couple of oatcakes is very filling.
Its been hot here, I've been eating a lot of ice lollies. I'm sat here with a punnet of strawberries sat next to me, I can dip in and out and it won't make a big difference.
Personally I don't do moderation very well. So I don't buy a big bar of chocolate, I'll just eat it all. I will buy a small one when I want it though. I can't be left in charge of chocolate biscuits.
Try a few things, take note of what works for you and what doesn't.1 -
I've had a look through your diary OP, and you don't appear to be eating up to your calorie goal any day - sometimes coming in over 600 calories under.
How was your calorie goal determined, and how long ago was that?
Something is obviously wrong - it might be that the calorie goal is too high (but based on the calories you've logged, I don't think that's it) and needs recalculating, perhaps using a different method.
How confident are you in the accuracy of the calories in the foods you're eating? i.e. how many of the entries were foods/recipes created by you vs by somebody else in the community? Do you weigh and track absolutely everything? For me for example, I have a tendency to track a medium banana, but if I weigh it, the range I consider to be medium varies significantly, meaning big swings in the number of calories I'm actually eating.
What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.2 -
I'm not diabetic but it runs in my family. Actually come to think of it since the past few days my tongue has been feeling really dry and I drink a lot of water so dunno why that's happening? Mumbai is very hot and humid. So basically, someone said if I feel dizzy I should ignore it? I eat healthy and nutrient dense foods so that will help me make it through the day right?1
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what works for people is different. because, well, people are different.
I've lost 150 pounds. I eat what I want, as long as I can make it fit in my calories (and if i go over a bit, its just not a big deal)
I eat burgers and pizza and ice cream and cookies and all kinds of 'regular' foods. junk foods.
it doesnt mean i eat them every day or in massive quantities (usually. lol)
we had spaghetti last night.
having BLTs tonight.
probably eating out (most likely mexican) tomorrow night.
I do eat a lot of salads. but i like salads. we eat grilled chicken salad a LOT in the summer. i dont eat things i dont like (like broccoli or kale. gross.)
I dont typically eat breakfast because im not a breakfast person. never have been. a lot of times what i log as breakfast was really lunch for me.
the key is consistency. and that is what you will see with anyone who has successfully lost weight. creating habits that will last a life time. Eat within your calories. dont choose a super high deficit. it is not a race, and most people who LOSE weight fast, burn out and/or eventually gain it back. better to lose slow and keep it off.
life is too short not to enjoy it. that includes foods you love. just learn how to incorporate them so you are not depriving yourself of the things you like.
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Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »I've had a look through your diary OP, and you don't appear to be eating up to your calorie goal any day - sometimes coming in over 600 calories under.
How was your calorie goal determined, and how long ago was that?
Something is obviously wrong - it might be that the calorie goal is too high (but based on the calories you've logged, I don't think that's it) and needs recalculating, perhaps using a different method.
How confident are you in the accuracy of the calories in the foods you're eating? i.e. how many of the entries were foods/recipes created by you vs by somebody else in the community? Do you weigh and track absolutely everything? For me for example, I have a tendency to track a medium banana, but if I weigh it, the range I consider to be medium varies significantly, meaning big swings in the number of calories I'm actually eating.
What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.
There are quite a few "lentil pancakes" in the database, just type that into the search.
You can also just enter each ingredient separately, like "lentil flour" "sugar" etc.
Eat the food you like, find something that's close to it in the database and log food for a couple months. Eat ALL your recommended calories, not UNDER them.
After a couple months you'll know if you're close enough with your logging. If not, you will need to adjust in some way.
Try to get some exercise, it's good for you. When you exercise, add that into the "exercise" tab and it will give you more calories. Eat those, too!! That's the way the site is designed to be used; eat all the calories, not under them.3 -
Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.
That's quite a good example of what I mean. I find there can be a lot of difference between the American version of a food and the English version that I need to track - portion sizes can vary, for example. Plus some of the entries in the database are out of date as manufacturers are constantly revising their products, then somebody may have made a mistake when keying it etc. If you can get to grips with the recipe builder, that will hopefully give you more accuracy for the number of calories you're consuming. I don't create all my foods from scratch, but the majority will reflect either the product packaging or the weighed ingredients, so hopefully I'm not inaccurate.2 -
Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »
What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.
I would really advocate you using the recipe builder (and at least trying to work out what goes into those pancakes if they're shop bought rather than home made). Likewise the other foods/meals you eat regularly. It takes a little effort in the short term, but long term it saves time and calories!
And in answer to your other comments - no. Never ignore dizziness. Feeling a little hungry = fine. Have a drink of something refreshing and it should pass. Feeling light headed - erm.. try drinking something and then, if it's not passed after 10 mins or so, go grab some fruit or veg. Feeling dizzy so that you're afraid of losing your balance - nope. Eat, then see your doctor in due course to be on the safe side. (Particularly if you've been drinking more than everyone else in your family and still have a dry mouth, or if your weight is persistently skewed one way or the other regardless of what you do.
I eat the same breakfast and lunch - boring, but I know it'll fill me until dinner. If I've not exercised, dinner is usually a 400-500 calorie pasta or rice dish. If I've got exercise calories* from the day's activities I'll eat some or all of those - which allows me to have half a pizza and salad, or Fish and Chips (I'm British. It's kinda a given we'll eat this at least once a week!) - or ice cream/beer/chocolate... what ever floats my boat that day. If it fits the calories, in my belly it goes!
(*I have MFP set as sedentary, but I take intentional exercise - (I mix it up between 30 mins yoga, an hour's (+) cycle, swim or 30 mins run, as well as a resistance band work out once a week) every day -and I walk the dog every day too - so usually have around an additional 400 calories (average) additional.
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This is a great visual representation of priorities from Renaissance Periodization. Notice how Adherence takes up a whole side of the pyramid. Without adherence you go nowhere; you could have the most optimal, bespoke plan imaginable but if you don't execute it, nothing else matters.
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Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.
Well, thank you for posting about this. We need more Indian food in the database! I like to eat Indian food a few times a month (in the US from a restaurant), and logging it is currently very difficult. You would be doing a big service to this community to add more Indian dishes with the proper names to the database. Maybe label the names with the word "Indian" to make it easier to find. You can create the food by looking the calories and other nutrition information up on labels and just add up the totals per serving.
But, for your own use, the recipe builder is fantastic. I find it a little easier to use from a computer than from a phone.5 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »What do you mean? The thing is I'm Indian and MFP is not familiar with some of the local foods here. Like for breakfast I eat pancakes made of gram flour or lentil flour and the Indian name is cheela or chilla so when I searched the database all the options were some fancy coffee drinks available in US lol. I have not thoroughly explored the site so I don't know how to use recipe builder maybe I'll check it out later.
Well, thank you for posting about this. We need more Indian food in the database! I like to eat Indian food a few times a month (in the US from a restaurant), and logging it is currently very difficult. You would be doing a big service to this community to add more Indian dishes with the proper names to the database. Maybe label the names with the word "Indian" to make it easier to find. You can create the food by looking the calories and other nutrition information up on labels and just add up the totals per serving.
But, for your own use, the recipe builder is fantastic. I find it a little easier to use from a computer than from a phone.
Wait, I can actually add foods to the database for everyone?? That's incredible!! There are a lot of local vegetables that you don't find in restaurants abroad unavailable in the database! And these are really low on calories and cooked in very little oil atleast in my household!!3 -
Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »I'm not diabetic but it runs in my family. Actually come to think of it since the past few days my tongue has been feeling really dry and I drink a lot of water so dunno why that's happening? Mumbai is very hot and humid. So basically, someone said if I feel dizzy I should ignore it? I eat healthy and nutrient dense foods so that will help me make it through the day right?
No I dont think anyone said if you feel dizzy you should ignore it.
I think you should experiment with what works for you - if skipping breakfast makes you feel dizzy - don't do it.
If you are concerned about the possibility of diabetes, get a fasting blood test done
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Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »Wait, I can actually add foods to the database for everyone?? That's incredible!!
In fact, everything you add to the database is public! When I first joined the site, I really thought it was incredible. I've since learned that It's both good and bad: The database is very comprehensive, but it's also full of questionable entries.
I think India can teach the rest of the world a lot about vegetarian cooking (particularly if you also eat dairy). There really is no other cuisine that turns vegetables into such delicious and filling dishes. But the restaurant versions (just like restaurant versions of many cuisines) are rich and high in salt. There must be dietary guidance designed specifically for the Indian palette.
Hey, didn't you start this thread talking about hamburgers?
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »Wait, I can actually add foods to the database for everyone?? That's incredible!!
In fact, everything you add to the database is public! When I first joined the site, I really thought it was incredible. I've since learned that It's both good and bad: The database is very comprehensive, but it's also full of questionable entries.
I think India can teach the rest of the world a lot about vegetarian cooking (particularly if you also eat dairy). There really is no other cuisine that turns vegetables into such delicious and filling dishes. But the restaurant versions (just like restaurant versions of many cuisines) are rich and high in salt. There must be dietary guidance designed specifically for the Indian palette.
Hey, didn't you start this thread talking about hamburgers?
Not everything is public anymore, at least if you are adding from the web version (or I'd assume, Android.) When you add a new food it asks you if you want to share it to the database. You have to specifically say "yes" for it to be visible to everyone.
In the early days of MFP though - every food was automatically "public," which is good and bad. It built a huge crowd-sourced database, but it also created 235 entries for one type of cracker.
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Frompumpkin2cinderella wrote: »I'm not diabetic but it runs in my family. Actually come to think of it since the past few days my tongue has been feeling really dry and I drink a lot of water so dunno why that's happening? Mumbai is very hot and humid. So basically, someone said if I feel dizzy I should ignore it? I eat healthy and nutrient dense foods so that will help me make it through the day right?
If you feel dizzy when skipping a meal, and you’re sure you’re getting enough calories, definitely ask your doctor for a blood glucose test. It is possible to have issues with hypoglycemia and not be diabetic.
Small meals eaten more frequently throughout the day might help.
But definitely discuss this with your doctor.0
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