bathsheba_c Member

That sounds like a very reasonable amount of weight loss for one month. Keep in mind that this isn’t just about losing weight; ideally, you will be changing your eating habits to be healthier (and also so you don’t gain it all back after you stop restricting calories).

How long has your weight been the same? Were you able to lose weight before? Weight can fluctuate a lot, so I wouldn’t worry unless you haven’t lost weight in over a month. If that’s the situation, it’s possibly you are overestimating how many calories you are burning during exercise or underestimating how many calories…

Definitely not something to be ashamed of. Are you getting any sort of therapy? I’m concerned that, if you try to lose weight without sorting out your personal relationship with food, you’ll make yourself a miserable wreck without even making progress on losing weight.

The recommended daily protein intake for adults is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. I’m aiming to lose 1 lb per week and using the default macronutrient settings, and MFP wants me to eat 1 gram per kg of body weight, or 25% more than the amount I actually need.

Most green vegetables are 20-30% protein by calories. Also, if you eat more vegetables during a meal, that’s likely to supplant other, lower-protein foods.

It sounds to me like you tend to go to extremes. What does MFP recommend for you? That would be a good starting point. More generally, though, I think it would be more helpful to you long-term to think about weight loss more holistically. What caused you to gain the weight to begin with? What precipitates your binging…

How much protein are you looking to add? I ask because MFP’s default is actually slightly higher than the amount of protein you need, I suspect because people losing weight have an easier time restricting calories when they’re eating more protein. If you’re looking at ways to slightly increase your protein, try eating more…

Am I understanding right that you are only eating 1300-1600 calories a day and burning 2000 calories in exercise each week (so let’s say about 300 calories a day)? That sounds like it’s really not enough food.

I once went on a trip in a place where the local custom was to serve juice to guests. I was drinking 3-4 juices a day without noticing it. By the second day, I felt so sick. Upset stomach, run down, headache, the works. Long story short, juice is fine in moderation, juicing as a health practice is not good for you.

It really depends what the cause of the high cholesterol is. For example, your mom is a little on the heavy side, but older women are supposed to be a little on the heavy side, so weight loss is not likely to help much. Everyone with high cholesterol is advised to eat more healthily and exercise, but we don’t know what…

Hummus, yogurt, sour cream mixed with cottage cheese, blended soups (vichyssoise, gazpacho, cream of tomato soup, etc.), semolina. Also, you can get your fruits from baby food pouches so you have more variety than just apple sauce.

This is more a cooking method than a specific recipe. Slice your tofu lengthwise. Dry out the slices. Soak them in a sauce or marinade of your choice. Sear them on a grill pan or griddle.

If I’m ravenously hungry and I’ve been losing at the pace I would expect based on my calorie deficit, I assume I’ve either overcounted my calories or undercounted my activity level, and I eat more. Even if I’m wrong, one day isn’t going to make or break anything.

Silly question - why wouldn’t you just use your phone’s alarm clock to let you know when to start and stop eating?

No. My diet is naturally high in fermented foods, like yogurt and pickles, and I still love sugar. Fiber might help if you don’t already get enough of it because fiber helps you feel fuller for longer. I know that, when I’m hungry before mealtime is when I tend to overdo it on sugar. What helped me is that I don’t deny…

Is there a specific reason why you don’t want breakfast to be carb-heavy? It would be easier to give you advice if we knew the reason. Maybe you’re finding that breakfast is the Achilles’ heel in hitting your calorie and macro goals. Maybe you aren’t staying full until lunch time. Also, carbs are good for you. Your brain…

What does “low calorie” mean? Like other people mentioned, having too aggressive a goal can lead to binge eating. And too aggressive a goal also means less flexibility to enjoy foods that are relatively calorie-dense, like desserts or fried foods.

I would hope it’s being cautiously prescribed, just like I would hope any other medication is being cautiously prescribed. The reality is that many people become fat due to factors they can’t control. Poverty often means no access to fresh foods, no time to cook healthy meals, and no time or money to exercise. Some…

Something that helps me with exercise is making sure to eat well about an hour before exercising. I try to get a good mix of protein and carbohydrates. The carbs give me immediate energy for the exercise, and the protein sustains me through to the end. I’m still pretty hungry about an hour afterwards, but I’m less ravenous…

I agree with what others have said about not moralizing food. I would also add something that has helped me, namely focusing more on the process than on the outcome. I am not dieting. I am living life while making gradual changes to my nutrition to improve my health. Do I want to live a life where I never have any sweets…

First of all, it’s fantastic that you are putting your mental health above your weight. Do you have someone (a therapist, a dietitian, etc.) who can monitor you to stop you when it looks like you’re relapsing? Also, it might help to reframe what you are doing as “improving your health through a balanced diet” rather than…

I’m not vegetarian, but I’ve been reducing my meat consumption by a lot. What helped me more than specific recipes was knowing what a balanced meat-free diet looks like. I had trouble getting enough protein without meat and enough fiber in general. I solved that by increasing my consumption of pulses (only one portion a…

I don’t really like reheated chicken. There are two things that help me. The first is to braise the chicken in a liquid and then I can reheat in the same liquid with good results. The other is to just find uses for the chicken that don’t require reheating (salads, sandwiches, etc). Also, keep in mind that dark meat reheats…

Not exactly, but I do usually make enough for leftovers, and then I’ll copy-paste from one day to the other. Another thing I’ll do is prep a few food elements ahead of time and then mix and match, which makes logging easier. For instance, I’ll marinate and sear tofu, and then I’ll use it inside summer rolls one day and to…

Do you pair proteins with carbs when you eat? The protein slows down how quickly your body absorbs the carbs, whereas if you eat a meal or snack that is almost all carbs, your blood sugar will skyrocket then plummet, which can trigger a craving for more sugar to get your energy up. I’d also recommend patience. Our bodies…

I just finished a 3-session vegan cooking course taught by a non-vegan clinical dietitian. I hate to say this, but you need to learn to cook. There are lots of things you can do to make it less painful (canned beans instead of dried, frozen precut vegetables, cut your vegetables for the week in advance all at once), but…

I don’t like framing it as “cheating” for the same reason I don’t view myself as “on a diet.” My goal is to improve my nutrition and my fitness, and I am losing the weight that was caused by poor nutrition. So if I have a week where calorie restriction interferes with my physical or psychological well-being, I’ll eat at…

In addition to what the others have said, I would add that, as you transition to a plant-based diet, it’s worth rethinking your concept of a “meal” so that you aren’t as dependent on meat substitutes. For instance, many Asian cultures conceive of a meal as a number of small dishes served around rice. You can apply that…

In addition to the number of calories, how is your balance of macros? It’s fairly easy on a vegan diet to eat too many carbs. For instance, you could eat too much fruit or your ratio of grains to legumes could be off (you need grains + legumes to make complete proteins, but grains are overall fairly low in protein). Or you…

This advertising appeals to me because, when I first wanted to invest in actual workout clothes that would be comfortable and whisk away sweat, I COULD NOT FIND THEM IN MY SIZE. And this was going to serious sportswear stores and being portly but not obese. Color me cynical, but they aren’t being body positive so much as…