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stangshypegirl
stangshypegirl Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss

im struggling with eating too much or too little. any advice?

Answers

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 36,244 Member

    Hello and welcome!

    Can you say more about the nature of the struggle? I'm not clear whether maybe you're under-eating below your calorie goal and then having bouts of deprivation-triggered over-eating, struggling to figure out how to mix and match foods to hit near calorie goal in the first place, having appetite/craving issues, or . . . something else?

    No matter what's going on, I'd almost bet someone here - probably many someones here - have been through it, can could offer ideas you could try.

    It's pretty normal to take some time at first to figure out how best to choose foods and plan meals to hit a new calorie goal, especially if new to food logging at the same time. It's OK not to be perfect right away. It's fine to work at gradually getting better, and sticking with that will eventually lead to success, even if it's a "two steps forward, one step back" process at first.

    If that kind of thing is part of the problem, then I'd encourage you to give yourself some grace. It's OK to have some initial mis-steps, learn from them, and keep going with patience and persistence. Long term, things will gradually improve, and good results will happen.

    Best wishes!

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,605 Member

    My best tools are a digital food scale ($20 on amazon or available at Walmart or Target) and then pre-logging my food before I eat it.

    When I was losing weight I would log the whole day's food in the morning. If I accidentally went off-plan during the day I just changed the entries. I mean, Life Happens.

    Some people here pre-log for the whole week.

    It takes practice, like anything else in life.

  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 4,664 Member

    Patience. You're learning how to eat for the rest of your life. Enjoy the experience.

  • dankenyon1986
    dankenyon1986 Posts: 5 Member

    I swapped out my normal dinner plates and pasta bowls and use the side plates and cereal bowls instead.

    It makes it much harder to do over sized portions and when you look back to previous generations the dinnerwear was a lot smaller

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,481 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48579168#Comment_48579168

    Good one, but weighing and logging the food accurately, and having a realistic calorie deficit will still give the answer whether one eats too little or too much.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 36,244 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48579185#Comment_48579185

    Speaking as someone who still has dishes acquired in the 1970s (wedding presents!) . . . the difference is very substantial. A portion that looks rational in one of those soup bowls would barely coat the bottom of most of the modern soup bowls.

    The psychological impact of smaller plates/bowls can be helpful for some of us. In one sense, the size of a bowl/plate subtly defines what's considered "normal" for portion sizes. Dishes and portions have both gotten lots bigger over these decades.

    Post-weight-loss, I went shopping for some new bowls, as I'd finally broken too many of the 1970s ones. I had trouble. I got dessert bowls (so called) for things like cereal and soup, and they're still bigger than the 1970s soup bowls. For plates, in many cases I'm happier with ones that are sold as appetizer plates or similar nowadays.

    Why did the "obesity crisis" get rolling in the 1980s? It's complicated, but the size of dishes is either among the causes, or among the effects, I'm pretty sure. It may be different outside the US, don't know.

  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 844 Member

    check out this video on determining your calorie target The WORST Calorie Mistake Everyone Makes

    Another way to 'measure' portion sizes is using the 'hand' method. Details are on this website Portion Size Chart for Best Calorie Control | Precision Nutrition

  • NeedToLoseWeight2000
    NeedToLoseWeight2000 Posts: 48 Member

    I switched my snack bags for the really little square ones and I feel full after eating one serving as opposed to if I would’ve eating out of the regular sandwich bags. Our eyes help our stomach decide if it’s full yet.

  • anamariaferraz
    anamariaferraz Posts: 4 Member

    have easier quick meals on hand that are high in protein and low in fat. Like someone else said you’re learning to eat healthy so don’t be so hard on yourself.

    Try google for some recipes that have good healthy nutrition and keep you full longer. If you eat the right foods you will get it. And it’s not like you have to eat more to hit your goals. Just the right stuff. It’ll start to become easier as you go.
    add a protein shake or just a yummie delicious smoothie. Snack on some veggies or nuts. You got this!

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