Men and women in their 40’s

whatever i have room in my calories for?

I've lost over 189 pounds.

right now I am having issues, so I will go by what is normal for me and not current.

typically i eat lunch and dinner. i eat the same things i always have. i pre log my food, sometimes just daily, sometimes i try to plan for the week, but that is always subject to change depending on my mood or schedule. we eat dinner out about once a week, usually the same evening as our chiropractor appointment because, well, we are out. usually mexican (i usually get taco salad, i dont eat the shell but i do eat plenty of chips and queso). sometimes chinese takeout (sesame chicken). sometimes another local restaurant (fish tacos or burger). those are pretty much our only choices. small town. we dont do fast food places. occasionally pizza, but im not a big pizza person. but we do it to toss a bone to my teenage son every couple of months lol

im not a big snacker, but when i do, fruits are most common, as well as the oikos triple zero greek yogurt. i like the boom chicka pop sweet and salty popcorn too. and oreos. i do love oreos. i generally save those for bedtime, though.

lunches vary. anything from a tuna wrap to taquitos or peanut butter. can also depend on what im having for dinner, as far as how many calories it is. if we are eating out, lunch might just be fruit or tuna wrap (i use low carb tortillas so my wraps come out super low calorie).

dinners... anything is game, pretty much. my husband needs to GAIN weight, so its all about portions for me. We eat a LOT of grilled chicken salad in the summer. We do BLT's a lot (I use my wraps and turkey bacon). that is what we are having tonight I think. Tomorrow we are having steak. in the winter i do more soups and stews and casseroles (if you dont know how to use the recipe builder and measure your portion out in grams, learn how to)

That said, this morning was red velvet pancakes and coffee.

Lunch will be Progresso soup and a bag of prepared vegetables with leftover salsa to dip them in.

Dinner will be tiny roasted potatoes, carrots and green peppers, chicken breast rubbed with a khmeli suneli seasoning, green beans, and a side salad.

Snacks: pickles, beef jerky, fudge gluten free brownie from the local bakery, Nugo protein bar, fruit with cottage cheese, and pumpkin/yogurt pudding with whipped cream and sugar sprinkles. And my mandatory two chai lattes. No day is complete without those.

Today is one of those glorious days when the heavens converge and the calories never seem to run out. I’m on track to come in under goal, even before exercise.

tech_hunter wrote: »

This is my millionth time starting tracking over and having to lose weight again. Thankfully not the entirety of what I was originally, but a significant enough amount that it makes me angry.

I have come to the conclusion that if I don't actually physically write it down or track it here, I will go hog wild. I am incapable of ever just walking away from watching myself like a hawk. I just need to realize this. It takes so little time, so it's not like a prison sentence, but I need to just suck it up and track every day, always.

i spent about 3-4 years in maintenance after losing 130ish pounds. If I workout regularly, 3-5 times a week, I can get away with not actually logging and just being VERY mindful about what I'm eating and stay in a 5 to 7 pound range that I am comfortable with.

If I am NOT working out, I have to actively weigh and log my food.

Losing so quickly at such a low weight already is a great way to lose extra muscle! I bet you chose the sedentary activity level and chose 2 lbs per week as a weight loss goal. You are don't seem to be logging your exercise calories to eat them back - which increases your already steep deficit. It will take longer to rebuild that muscle than it would take to lose just the fat (well, everyone loses *some* muscle, but the goal is to minimize the muscle loss!) with a reasonable deficit.

You're also flirting with a whole other host of potential negative outcomes - hair loss, fatigue, drop in libido, gallbladder issues, right on up to heart failure! For what? To lose a bunch of extra muscle in only 2 weeks and still not be satisfied with your appearance? It's really not worth your health, even if the worst that happens is the extra muscle loss.

Sorry - forgot to post any snacks. Usually I eat a protein granola bar at 2am, first break at work. At 5, I get another break, and I eat 300g of fat-free vanilla Greek Yogurt with 100g frozen strawberries, 50g frozen blueberries, and I'm using up a bag of chia seeds I bought a while ago, so I throw about 10g of those in there... When I get home from work, I eat a package of poptarts, or microwave a plate of s'mores, or maybe eat a couple of servings of ice cream. On Tuesdays, it's always Tacos for dinner. Thursdays frequently see me eating a medium Domino's pizza. The whole thing. Any other day of the week, it's 1000 - 1500 calories worth of protein, starch and veg. The protein could be chicken, pork or steak, usually 10 - 16 oz weighed raw. We cycle through instant potatoes, pasta, or rice for the starch, generally 2 servings. And we split a 1 lb bag of frozen veggies. Fills the plate up nice. I aim for 2400 calories per day. I am 5'3" and 132 lbs.