How do you stay within your calorie budget?

Losing weight quickly is not a good idea. Cutting your calories too much can lead to overwhelming hunger and binging cycles---and yes an ED. Exercise isn't necessary for weight loss, but you'll have a better body at the end, and it helps mentally while doing the process. You have to make your body your friend and have it work for you. Feed it the correct amount and you'll soon feel the difference.

First off, you don't need to burn thousands of calories a day. Start smaller and you can always ramp up. Pick something you like doing and can keep up--form a habit.

If you decide not to exercise, then your body needs fewer calories. You'll have to try different foods and combinations to see what works for you. There are many threads on the subject if you do a search. I live in Italy and we have the Mediterranean way of eating, so I work within that.

Wishing you luck. You'll need to be persistent and just never give up. That's the way to success.

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

@snowflake954 I already walk 20-30 minutes a day. Once I've lost another 6kg I'll start using my scooter again. Pokemon go keeps me outside.

Curious. Why would you use your scooter after you lose 6 kg? People who think they'll lose the weight and then go back to life as usual regain--with friends. The better way to think is to establish habits and a way of eating that you can continue long term. After weight loss, many people find maintaining hard. People on here that are successful have a plan for the end so they'll keep the weight off. I'd encourage you to do that.

Easy. I dont eat over processed hyper palatable *kitten* mega companies invest billions of r&d on

Like we were saying in your pasta thread, upping your protein and veggies may help fill you up better.

Understanding satiety: feeling full after a meal

...Tips on how to feel fuller

So how can we best try to enhance these feelings of fullness to help us control how much we eat? Here are some top tips for helping you feel fuller:

1. Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so including some protein at every meal should help keep you satisfied. Foods high in protein include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans and pulses.
2. If you are watching your weight, opt for lower fat versions, using leaner cuts of meat, cutting off visible fat and avoiding the skin on poultry as this will help reduce the energy density of the diet, which can help to enhance satiety (see below).
3. Foods that are high in fibre may also enhance feelings of fullness so try to include plenty of high-fibre foods in the diet such as wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables.
4. Alcohol seems to stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more. Alcoholic beverages can make you forget about your intentions to eat healthily by making you lose your inhibitions. Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so you should cut down on alcohol consumption if you are trying to control your weight.
5. The ‘energy density’ of food has a strong influence on feelings of fullness or satiety. Energy density is the amount of energy (or calories) per gram of food. Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories. Low energy density foods include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods. Click here for more information on energy density.

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

Any smart food swaps or snacks or whatever?

Things I've heard of:
-Have sweet potato instead of potato
-Brown bread instead of white bread
-Cauliflower rice instead of white rice or mixed with, or brown rice
-Remove burger buns from burgers and just eat the middles
-Order thin crusts on pizzas

This Is one I've never understood. Similar calorie amounts, and I personally find sweet potato so easy to overeat while potato is much more filling.

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

Lietchi wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

Any smart food swaps or snacks or whatever?

Things I've heard of:
-Have sweet potato instead of potato
-Brown bread instead of white bread
-Cauliflower rice instead of white rice or mixed with, or brown rice
-Remove burger buns from burgers and just eat the middles
-Order thin crusts on pizzas

This Is one I've never understood. Similar calorie amounts, and I personally find sweet potato so easy to overeat while potato is much more filling.

I feel like sweet potato has more flavour, so you add less toppings to it and don't need to eat as much to be satisfied.

You mean baked whole? That's not the way I usually eat my (sweet) potatoes, so usually no toppings involved for me. I tried eating baked sweet potatoes once (without toppings). I could eat a lb or more, hence my conclusion that they are way less satiating than regular potatoes, at least to me.

Snap, I've got a medium term goal of 40kg loss, but ultimately I need to lose just over 50kg to see a "healthy" BMI.

I'm a volume eater too, so I load my plate with veggies. It's not unusual for me to have close to a lb of vegetables with dinner! I also keep my carbs on the law side and eat a hefty serve of protein with each meal - bah to this "palm sized piece" malarkey!

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

springlering62 wrote: »

OMG so many substitutions……

Diet soda for full sugar

Sugar free lattes with skim versus the calorie laden coffee shop drinks

Low fat yogurt and cottage cheese versus full fat

Lower cal cuts of meat versus the fattier ones

Liquid egg whites for eggs

Applesauce for oil or butter when making cakes or brownies

Part skim cheeses versus full fat

Full fat “soft ball” mozarella versus shredded. The stuff you shred yourself is lower cal, even full fat, than the part skim shredded. Happy day when I learned that!

I cut my homemade pizza crust recipe in half and still make a satisfying full sized pizza.

Walden Farms zero cal syrups and salad dressings

Sweet balsamic vinegar in leiu of salad dressings or syrups (it’s fabulous over fruit)

Salsa is very low cal and can be used as everything from a sauce to a salad dressing to a marinade

I threw a pork roast seasoned with honey aleppo, liquid smoke, salt and pepper in the crockpot a couple of days ago, intending to add some bbq sauce at the end. It was so fragrant I didn’t have to add anything else and it was delicious on toast.

Lewis Bakeries low cal breads are quite good. I often use a single 30 cal slice in leiu if a hotdog or burger bun. Serving that shredded pork in the toast was also delicious.

A Carb Smart type soft tortilla as a wrap for lunch sandwiches or as a tortilla. A large tortilla is about 35 cal or so.

Stir fry on cauliflower rice, or even better, “real” rice mixed with cauliflower rice. It’s also great with red beans and sausage poured over it, and cauliflower is negligible calories. It’s so visually similar to rice it even tastes like it if it’s mixed with rice. Great bulk extender.

Browning meat? Invest in a Ninja nonstick skillet (no Teflon etc). If you preheat it very hot for five minutes or so, you can brown meats or stir fry with no oils and it cleans up with a simple swish of the sponge. It also goes straight in the oven.

When you put your mind to it, there’s almost always a lower cal substitution.

Thank you sooo much! such a helpful post

I can add to this list.

Cook lentils and make half lentils / half ground meat for things like tacos or other loose ground meat mixtures. It's cheaper, adds a bunch of fiber and helps you feel fuller than just the meat alone.

Another ground meat addition for taco salads or somewhere you want a crunch when you eat... add water chestnuts. They absorb the seasonings you cook with and add crunch. No need for tortilla chips if you have the water chestnuts.

Skinny Syrups (www.skinnymixes.com) have some of my favorite flavors. I add them to water, coffee, tea... even club soda to make my own zero calorie sodas.
I also use the syrups for other things... add some water to the salted caramel in a spray bottle and spritz my air popped popcorn, add a drop of the cinnamon dolce to my homemade sloppy joe mix, etc.
Add some of the skinny syrup to nonfat plain greek yogurt for any flavor imaginable. Mix in berries, tiny bit of cereal or crumbled piece of cookie for a homemade parfait.

Add steamed or sauteed veggies to your pasta to make the portion seem bigger.
We use similar shaped veggies like steam green beans with elbows, spiralized zucchini or broccoli slaw with angel hair, steamed cut carrots with wagon wheels, etc. Marinara sauce is pretty low calorie so add plenty of sauce and a protein (meatballs, chicken, shrimp) to help fill up too.

If you need chips look for a high serving count. I always feel more satisfied with 17 veggie straws than I do with 7 tortilla chips. Calorie wise and weight it's the same but the number of crunches make me feel more satisfied.

Make dip mixes by using half light sour cream and half nonfat plain greek yogurt instead of real sour cream with real mayo.

Anything that can be a sandwich or wrap can also be a salad.

Keto tortillas are lower in calories than regular ones. Toast them on a skillet for more texture and flavor.

If you are on a limited budget but still want healthier alternatives Aldi has a bunch of Fit & Active products (like 35 calorie per slice bread) cheaper than the bigger stores.

Turnips make a pretty decent potato replacement... especially if you make your recipes half potato & half turnip. I only make mashed "potato" with the half & half method now and no one seems to have noticed.

Turnips in the air fryer can also be a decent fry replacement with your condiment of choice (I actually like "buffalo fries" where I toss them in buffalo sauce and then dip in light ranch)

Microwaved apples with a tiny smidge of cinnamon and/or caramel taste like baked apples without having to add a bunch of sugar.