Struggling ...

Just starting out, but I'm seeing some progress so far with tracking. I actually deliberately like to save most of my calories for dinner - I have a husband who works physical labor and a teen daughter, who may have struggled with ED - but doing fantastic now, so I really like having a larger dinner as a family - but healthy. I typically will have a protein, vegetables, and a carb; ideally minimally processed. I will use olive oil to cook which is more calorie dense. So if your having a large dinner now & like having it then maybe start working on improving the quality of the dinners. Since I'm having smaller breakfast/lunch/snacks (I am taller/larger so may be targeting more calories) I mostly focus the other meals on getting enough protein through the day, and drinking lots of water - both of which keep hunger in check and make dinner plans more easy to stick too. I buy chicken breast slices and will use that in different ways (salad, stir fry) - I'll often make my lunches on Sunday so they're ready and so I'm not tempted to either skip or choose something more convenient/less healthy. I also will typically have a protein shake with coffee and a granola bar (low sugar/10g protein) for breakfast that doesn't require a lot of work. I even fill up a pitcher of water the night before & my goal each day is to finish that pitcher before I drink non-water options (family knows it's my pitcher).

Hoping my experiences help with your struggle-My calories bounce all over the place right now. I tend to be an 'all or nothing' sort of girl, so I am giving my 'all' to making sure that the food I choose is quality-like using butter, not margarine, and other real foods. No processed junk. I set my goal at 1500, with intention of making this a lifestyle instead of a diet. So, if I go as high as 1800 a day or two out of a week, I am ok with that. That also allows me some flexibility in how low I go. Besides, I think there is some benefit to calorie confusion, kind of like muscle confusion. If our bodies don't know what calorie intake to prepare for, or how much of a deficit to plan for, it should make it more difficult for our body to set whether it will hold on to fat/water or release it in preparation for tomorrow. Also, I choose to fast from time to time, for health reasons, not weight loss. It is a pleasant side benefit for me. I concentrate on getting enough water and protein, add vitamins due to automimmune issues, try to keep carbs under 100g a day, and keep sugar totals under 50g per day. Since all my foods are real foods, I don't worry about fat intake because I am eating real, whole food and my fats are like avocados, meat, butter, nuts, eggs-not corn oil and Crisco. My goals are set at 25% carbs, 40% fat, and 35% protein regardless of calories count. I still visit with friends and eat out from time to time and obviously can't know all of the ingredients then, but next meal I return to my norms. We don't want to stay too low on calories for too long, especially if we are close to our standard weight, but when we are 30lbs or more over, personally I don't think it is an issue. I am not a nutritionist, but have seen research papers that agree and disagree with this thought, so I am doing what makes sense to me. There are determining factors for us all that may make us choose a different feeding path-diabetes, insulin resistant, kidney issues, PCOS, etc. Over the past month, I have been under calorie goal more than I have hit it, and other than a few nasty cravings for candy bars and cakes, things are going well. My health is improving, and I have lost about 16 lbs in a little over a month. No one else has mentioned anything, but I am in a smaller size of clothing after a little over a month. I visit physicians often enough to keep tabs on how this actually is working for me, and am having lab work done again in a few weeks. At this point, I eat 2 meals a day, sometimes only 1. Sometimes I have an extra bit. I think allowing some flexibility may be the key to being able to develop an eating plan, rather than a diet that I go off of as soon as I get to the size/weight I want to be. My two cents? Keep logging your intake (and realize that most calorie counts are about 30% lower than actual anyway) and choosing real food, establishing your percentages of the macros as your target. Walk a little, lift a little, and sleep well at night. Keep us posted as you progress! Cheering you on from the States!