Eating to Maintenance for almost a year, trouble cutting cal

bookdame
bookdame Posts: 67
edited October 4 in Motivation and Support
Hi,

I am trying to figure out why it is that every day, no matter what balance of carbs, protein and fat I eat, I CONSISTENTLY EAT BACK MY CALORIES. To the point where MFP tells me in 5 weeks I'll still weight almost the same as I do today.

I do cardio and usually eat back my exercise calories plus the deficit MFP gives me. I find the hardest part of the day is after dinner, I tend to graze quite a bit.

I just want to be able to give myself the deficit without being completely starved at 1am. This is what is holding me back--- not having the deficit EVER. I know I am eating enough protein to fill me up, fiber, and I drink over 10 cups of water most days. I am so frustrated with myself and want to get out of this rut! i don't think I can drink any more water than I already do!

5'3'', 145 pounds, same as a year ago....I'm so tired of counting calories if it just means I'm never going to overcome/control my intake. Its not like I feel "stuffed" after dinner or after snacking. I just eat until i feel satisfied like I can fall asleep.... I've tried cutting out all added sugar, drinking calming tea.... Please Help!

Replies

  • janeinspain
    janeinspain Posts: 173 Member
    Veggies are filling. If you eat them raw, in a salad, even more. Low calorie, high-protein foods: eggs, chicken & turkey breast, fish. You're not eating the right stuff, that's all. Plus, start lifting weights, if you're not doing already.
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
    Do you work out at all? If you could manage 500 cals of exercise per day without eating any more the weight would fly off you!
  • bookdame
    bookdame Posts: 67
    I do work out, I am starting Body for Life. I ride my bike to work everyday (about 10 minutes each way, not too hard but there are two gradual inclines). I've been spinning but recently I hurt my knee running and now the HIIT with pretty flat cycling is all I can do until the knee stops throbbing.

    I eat chicken, fish, greek yogurt. Here is my summary of yesterday. You can see I'm trying to get alot of protein, healthy fats and a pile of veggies at every meal. Maybe I need to start eating way more raw foods? I'm so hungry!

    Breakfast

    Coffee - Brewed from grounds, 2 cup (8 fl oz)
    Silk Soy Milk - Original Soymilk ,
    Vegetable - Slice of Red Onion, 2 thin slice
    Egg Whites - Egg Whites, 3 egg white from a large egg
    Northeast - Baby Spinach , 2 cup
    Trader Joe's - Organic Wheat Wraps, 0.9 wrap
    Nature's Path - Organic Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon Cereal, 0.25 Cup
    Hadley - Whole Golden Zahidi Dates, 1 Dates

    Totals 362 48 8 25

    Mid-Morning Snacks

    Bananas - Raw, 1 large (8" to 8-7/8" long)
    Luna Bar - Toasted Nuts N Cranberry, 1 bar (48g)

    Totals 291 57 5 10


    Lunch

    Trader Joe's - Chinese Chicken Salad Reduced Fat No Dressing, 1 container
    Trader Joe's - Satay Peanut Sauce, 2 Tbsp 60 6 4 2
    Kikkoman - Less Sodium Soy Sauce, 1 tablespoon

    Totals 300 40 12 32

    Mid-Afternoon Snacks
    Nature's Path - Organic Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon Cereal, 0.25 Cup
    Tj's - Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt, 152.09 grams 80 5 0 15
    Fresh & Easy - Berry Medley, 1/2 cup
    Hadley - Whole Golden Zahidi Dates, 1 Date
    Nature's Path - Organic Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon Cereal, 0.18 Cup
    (handful)
    Schnucks - Almonds - Roasted Salted, 10 nuts

    Totals 249 35 5 21

    Dinner
    Boca - Vegan Meatless Burger, 1 burger
    Trader Joe's - California Style - Complete Protein - Bread, 1.1 slice
    Bertolli - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 tsp
    Asparagus - Spears - Medium, 5 spears
    Fresh Brussel Sprouts - Steamed Brussel Sprouts, 4 sprouts
    Raw/ Organic - Red - Yellow - Orange Bell Peppers, 1/4 cup
    Trader Joe's - Roasted Garlic Hummus Dip, 1.3 tbsp
    Carrots - Raw, 1 medium 25 6 0 1

    Totals 350 45 11 25

    After Dinner Snacks
    Kashi - Tlc Cherry Dark Chocolate Chewy Granola Bar, 1 Bar (35g)
    Dole - Pitted Dates, 1 dates
    Trader Joe's - Cinnamon Graham Crackers, 1.25 grahams
    Nature's Path - Organic Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon Cereal, 0.25 Cup (handful)
    Generic - Almonds Raw Approximately10 almonds
    Totals 316 52 11 10

    Totals 1,868 277 52 123
    Your Daily Goal 1,395 191 46 51
    Remaining -473 -86 -6 -72
  • bookdame
    bookdame Posts: 67
    I am going to start strength training but I was hoping someone could make suggestions. I am 145, my goal weight is 130. I could be happy with 135. As I said I have about 10 cups of water a day. This is just enough food to get me to stop thinking about eating at night.... Otherwise I am thinking about food all the time!

    I'll start exchanging my steamed veggies for raw ones and see if that makes me fuller. Any other suggestions? Has anyone else been in this position before? I don't want to have a bad attitude-- I want to believe I can do this without being obsessive and guilt-ridden.
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
    Looks like a pretty good diary to me. Are you vegetarian? If not I find chicken, or game (low fat meats) are about the most filling thing I can have: I like vegetarian substitutes but they just don't fill me up.

    Also, homemade soup can be virtually calorie free and although not massively filling can stop you feeling hungry if you just want that full up feeling.

    One final thing: over time my stomach has shrunk and I feel full eating a lot less now: try going a week putting up with the hunger- it might go away.
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
    I totally hear you. I've tried a lot of things and I seem stuck at the same weight (though my fitness is a lot better and people keep complimenting me on my weight loss, even though it's nonexistent...). Here's some thoughts after reading your post:

    Have you tried restricting for a short amount of time, then giving yourself a cheat day (or a cheat meal)? For me, it's easier to go to bed hungry if I know in a few days I can eat something delicious and not worry about how over it makes me. Then, after a little while, maybe the restricting part will seem easier.

    I definitely agree with people who say to up your workouts - like I said, I keep getting complimented on my weight loss even though I weigh the same - but what I have done is started pushing myself much more, doing HIIT, more weights, etc. Previously I would "coast" a lot in my workouts. You may not lose weight, but you will feel better! (And you will get more calories to eat back!)

    Also, since you're not really overweight, I think it's just a much harder, slower process. The only way I was able to get my body fat % under 20% in my adult life is when my husband and I went through a really rough financial time and we literally didn't have money for food. Hooray! 7 pounds less than I am now! But I was starving all the time, miserable, and the second our finances improved we both ate like crazy people and gained it all back....the point being, maybe it just isn't what your body wants to do. There's all this research that our bodies have a "set point" for our adult weights, and no matter how much/how little we eat, there's not much we can do to get past that. Again, I think working out and improving your fitness levels will make you feel better about yourself and your body, and will probably result in losing inches, even if you don't lose pounds!

    Good luck!!
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    Your snacks are the same calorie count as your meals and involve a lot of carbs (granola bar, cereal, dried fruit).

    I'm not a nutritionist, but with those snacks I'd be having a sugar crash and a massive case of the evening munchies. Perhaps reducing the size of your snacks or substituting a cheese stick or something lower carb would help.
  • janeinspain
    janeinspain Posts: 173 Member
    Your diary looks pretty good and filling. I have one more idea: Try to go low-carb. That is as little carb as possible, under 100 g/day, preferably quite lower. Do some research online on what you can eat, there are loads of web-pages on the subject. This should take care of your hunger.
    First and foremost, no bread, rice, potatoes and pasta. Fruits are high in carbs, you could cut them out for a while, to see if this way of eating works for you or not. Blueberries, nectarines, peaches, strawberries are some of the lowest in carbs.
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
    Your diary looks pretty good and filling. I have one more idea: Try to go low-carb. That is as little carb as possible, under 100 g/day, preferably quite lower. Do some research online on what you can eat, there are loads of web-pages on the subject. This should take care of your hunger.
    First and foremost, no bread, rice, potatoes and pasta. Fruits are high in carbs, you could cut them out for a while, to see if this way of eating works for you or not. Blueberries, nectarines, peaches, strawberries are some of the lowest in carbs.

    Might work for the hunger: rubbish if you're training for long distance running.. Carbs are good for you if you know how to use them!
  • janeinspain
    janeinspain Posts: 173 Member
    Your diary looks pretty good and filling. I have one more idea: Try to go low-carb. That is as little carb as possible, under 100 g/day, preferably quite lower. Do some research online on what you can eat, there are loads of web-pages on the subject. This should take care of your hunger.
    First and foremost, no bread, rice, potatoes and pasta. Fruits are high in carbs, you could cut them out for a while, to see if this way of eating works for you or not. Blueberries, nectarines, peaches, strawberries are some of the lowest in carbs.

    Might work for the hunger: rubbish if you're training for long distance running.. Carbs are good for you if you know how to use them!

    Well, training for long-distance running is not the case of the OP, neither my case. Given her situation, this is the last thing that I can advise her to do, simply because I had very positive results following the low-carb dieting tips. Mind you, I didn't do keto, I enjoy vegetables and fruits quite a lot, but try to stay around 100 g of carbs/day, lately going to 150 due to the abundance of delicious autumn fruits. :)
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