Calorie counting isn't rocket science... or is it?

This is frustrating... I've been counting calories since 3 days ago.  I just can't go over bloody 1, 000 calories.  I've even gotten to drinking more coffee but obviously doesn't help since filter coffee, without milk or sugar the way I like it, is something insanely low-  like 2 calories.  I can't imagine snacking because already I feel full most of the day, but I suppose that's the solution I need. I eat about two pieces of fruit a day, I don't want to go over that because of the sugar.  The cravings are worse at night and I usually have a couple of spoons of Jungle Crunch (raisins, almonds and various seeds) which is yummy and that satisfies me.

I don't want my metabolism to slow down. Since on my current activity level I need about 1 550 calories a day, I fear the diet is wrecking my metabolism.

I started dieting and working out about 12 days ago and have lost 3.5 Ks (7.7 lbs) which I think is a bit too fast? I want to do this the right way this time so the weight stays off. 

What foods do you guys suggest?

It isnt rocket science  LOL but sometimes feels that way.  Few questions for you....how much are you looking to lose?  Do you eat every few hours?

Everyone has to find their own way to succeed at this.  For me, I eat every 2-3 hrs so I never get ravenously hungry.  I drink water like a fish.  I exercise every day. 

'They' say you shouldnt lose more than .5-2 lbs a week.  I believe the 2lbs would be for someone with a great deal of weight to lose. 

For food ideas....try some almonds *unsalted*.  Good source of protein for you.  Fish is wonderful as well as chicken breast.  Have you tried protein bars?  What about something like muscle milk to bump up the calories?

Include some energy-dense, nutrition-dense foods in your day rather than too many bulky, low-calorie foods and drinks.  And then plan your day in advance because, yes, your body is going to struggle if you starve it.  Wrecking your metabolism is the least of your worries, frankly.  Crash-dieting has all kinds of unforeseen consequences.

If you need 1500 a day, aim for 3 x 400 cal meals and 3 x 100 cal snacks, for example.   Use the CC food log to work out what a 400 cal breakfast looks like... for example, 2 large poached eggs (140) on 2 slices of wholegrain toast (160) with a small glass of orange juice (100)... very simple 400 cals.

A 100 cal snack could be a low-fat yoghurt or a medium-sized banana.  If you don't like the idea of snacking you could call them 'dessert' and have them after a main meal.

But think it through and set it out rather than leaving it to chance.

The weight drop is really common for new / starting dieting.   Most agree that a lot of that weight is water.

Your lack of appetite could be due to the oft mentioned "starvation mode".  Which is really a misnomer.  You are not starving but your body IS conserving energy and possibly fat stores.  Lack of appetite is one symptom because your body just is not going to waste energy, that is is conserving, on giving you an appetite when the body knows that appetite won't be satiated. 

The fact that you are having "cravings" at the end of the day is the signal that your body really wants more food!  It sounds to me that by limiting your choices then to some trail mix you are intentionally trying to deni those cravings.  Why do this?  Why not just eat the meal your body actually wants?

The only real fix is to feed yourself.  Try 5-6 smaller meals a day.  And be sure to eat REGULARLY.  NEVER SKIP A MEAL.  Just from my own experience, if you eat at roughly the same time every day, your appetite will return very quickly.  Getting your calories up another 400-500 won't be so hard.  Try calorie dense foods like peanut butter.  Have a hamburger :)  Drink a glass of milk or two in the day.  Have two eggs instead of one, have a piece of cheese, eat a cup of beans.  

Just be aware that as your appetite returns you will need to transition those calorie dense foods to more healthful options.  Suddenly there will not seem enough food in the world to satisfy.   At this point you will want to opt for more fiber rich and bulky foods like veggies.  

Finally use the tools on CC and make sure that 1400 calories is really enough. 

If you are active,excercise or walk or ride your bike instead of driving, you may need more calories.   You might not but it does not hurt to double check.

Original Post by devilish_patsy:

It isnt rocket science  LOL but sometimes feels that way.  Few questions for you....how much are you looking to lose?  Do you eat every few hours?

Everyone has to find their own way to succeed at this.  For me, I eat every 2-3 hrs so I never get ravenously hungry.  I drink water like a fish.  I exercise every day. 

'They' say you shouldnt lose more than .5-2 lbs a week.  I believe the 2lbs would be for someone with a great deal of weight to lose. 

For food ideas....try some almonds *unsalted*.  Good source of protein for you.  Fish is wonderful as well as chicken breast.  Have you tried protein bars?  What about something like muscle milk to bump up the calories?

 

 Hi Patsy!

I need to lose 20Ks... that's about 40 lbs. I've always been bulky and heavy without looking round or fat if you know what I mean, since I used to play sports constantly...  and that's a little under my target weight actually. I think that's why my weight got out of hand because I didn't LOOK like I was gaining weight but my clothes size was telling me otherwise, plus I don't own a scale (bought one the other day though!)

I eat when my body tells me I'm hungry, but I keep track of what I eat using the CC... usually 5-6 times a day. I usually use the CC before going home (too lazy to use the pc at home) so I plan what I eat later and put it in the counter in advance. I love both fish and chicken breast, so I need to bguy some more next time I do the groceries. I kind of have a deep freezer full of beef, pork, bacon (!!!), whole as well as chicken pieces since I stock up on meat months in advance. I suppose I just need to change my shopping habits as well.

Water, I drink about geeez something over 8 litres a day, always have... and I kick box for about half an hour every day.

Thanks, will get some almonds tomorrow. Will be upping my exercise when my RHR is lower. By the way, I brought it down from 88 (MENTAL I know) to 72 in under two weeks. Good right?

Original Post by gi-jane:

Include some energy-dense, nutrition-dense foods in your day rather than too many bulky, low-calorie foods and drinks.  And then plan your day in advance because, yes, your body is going to struggle if you starve it.  Wrecking your metabolism is the least of your worries, frankly.  Crash-dieting has all kinds of unforeseen consequences.

If you need 1500 a day, aim for 3 x 400 cal meals and 3 x 100 cal snacks, for example.   Use the CC food log to work out what a 400 cal breakfast looks like... for example, 2 large poached eggs (140) on 2 slices of wholegrain toast (160) with a small glass of orange juice (100)... very simple 400 cals.

A 100 cal snack could be a low-fat yoghurt or a medium-sized banana.  If you don't like the idea of snacking you could call them 'dessert' and have them after a main meal.

But think it through and set it out rather than leaving it to chance.

 

 Energy dense food as in higher in carbs?  The thing is it doesn't feel like I'm straving myself during the day, just at night, right around bedtime!  Haven't even broken down my meals, just ate when I felt hungry, but watched what I ate. Lesser on the saturated foods now which is great, I don't feel bloated most of the time. So I suppose planning the meals will help. Thanks gi-jane!

Original Post by madamq:

The weight drop is really common for new / starting dieting.   Most agree that a lot of that weight is water.

Your lack of appetite could be due to the oft mentioned "starvation mode".  Which is really a misnomer.  You are not starving but your body IS conserving energy and possibly fat stores.  Lack of appetite is one symptom because your body just is not going to waste energy, that is is conserving, on giving you an appetite when the body knows that appetite won't be satiated. 

The fact that you are having "cravings" at the end of the day is the signal that your body really wants more food!  It sounds to me that by limiting your choices then to some trail mix you are intentionally trying to deni those cravings.  Why do this?  Why not just eat the meal your body actually wants?

The only real fix is to feed yourself.  Try 5-6 smaller meals a day.  And be sure to eat REGULARLY.  NEVER SKIP A MEAL.  Just from my own experience, if you eat at roughly the same time every day, your appetite will return very quickly.  Getting your calories up another 400-500 won't be so hard.  Try calorie dense foods like peanut butter.  Have a hamburger :)  Drink a glass of milk or two in the day.  Have two eggs instead of one, have a piece of cheese, eat a cup of beans.  

Just be aware that as your appetite returns you will need to transition those calorie dense foods to more healthful options.  Suddenly there will not seem enough food in the world to satisfy.   At this point you will want to opt for more fiber rich and bulky foods like veggies.  

Finally use the tools on CC and make sure that 1400 calories is really enough. 

If you are active,excercise or walk or ride your bike instead of driving, you may need more calories.   You might not but it does not hurt to double check.

 

 Hi madamq. The reason for the trail mix is it's the easiest thing to reach for, apart rom cheese and crackers. And I've never really eaten it a lot, and funny that I end up really liking it. My jaws just hurt after the 5th teasepoon which is why I stop lol. I basically eat what I want, as long as there isn't too much sugar or fat in it. The longer I stick to healthier eating habits though, the worse the temptation will be I am sure.

I am really worried about underfeeding myself but I am doing better today... calculating my dinner in will put me a just over 1200... I think another banana should do the trick.  One thing I struggle with is breakfast. I just can't seem to eat without wanting to barf in the morning (apart from my caffeine)... I haven't eaten breakfast for YEARS. Anyway I tried this morning and managed half a bowl of cereal with low fat milk and kept it down lol so that's better. And I might have some peanut butter in my cupboard... and I do love cheese.

I've doubled checked, I do need only 1550 at my excercise level if I am to reach my goal by the end of the year. Being a photojournalist means a lot of sitting behind the computer writing stories so I don't get much exercise.

And hopefully when I get my eating habits sorted, the cravings will go away!

'Energy-dense' as in high calories.  (Really try not to think about 'carbs' at all because it's a complete red herring)   Something like olive oil, for example.  A couple of teaspoons on a salad as a dressing is an extra 80 calories.  A tiny little ounce of nuts as a snack is 150.   Neither of these will make you feel bloated but they will add useful calories to your day.

If watching what you eat and waiting until you're hungry results in sub 1000 cals then it's not a good strategy.   Because the less you eat, the less hungry you feel and that's a very slippery slope to all kinds of nasties.  If you're more pro-active and make sure you get the right nourishment and the right calories you will be able to stay the distance.... and you'll be less likely to regain it afterwards.  Keep persevering with breakfast...

Original Post by firedoor78:

Energy dense food as in higher in carbs?  The thing is it doesn't feel like I'm straving myself during the day, just at night, right around bedtime! 

The only reason for someone to feel hungry at night, though, is if they didn't get enough food during the day.  You may just not notice during the day because you're busy and have other things on your mind.  Then, in the evening, with less other things to focus on, you realise you're still hungry.  There's nothing wrong with having an evening snack if you're just hungry in the evening, but if you're *starving* that's probably indicating that you needed more calories earlier.  Small changes like 2 tbsp. of peanut butter on your whole grain toast instead of 1 tbsp or (as gi-jane suggested) a few tsp. of olive oil on a salad or a sprinkle of nuts or avocado or cheese on the salad would help.

 One thing I struggle with is breakfast. I just can't seem to eat without wanting to barf in the morning (apart from my caffeine)... I haven't eaten breakfast for YEARS. Anyway I tried this morning and managed half a bowl of cereal with low fat milk and kept it down lol so that's better. And I might have some peanut butter in my cupboard... and I do love cheese.

 I was the exact same way! I don't know if you have the option or not, but I find that I just can't eat breakfast within about an hour of waking up. Even my kids are the same way, don't know what it is... So I get up at 6am, I eat breakfast at 8am, by then, my tummy is ready. I usually work from home, but on the days that I am in the office, I bring a mug and a package of oatmeal with me, you could even try a good breakfast bar and a piece of fruit. Something that doesn't take lots of prep, and doesn't give off lots of odour. ;o)  My favorite at home breakfast(my 6 & 8yr old love it too) is Light (color) Rye bread toasted w/ light onion chive cream cheese on it. Kind of has the same texture as a bagel, but w/o all the cals. Good luck!

I would keep to your disciplined ways, but just add a few things that are healthy and will get you up to the 1,500 mark that you said you needed. A handful of almonds is about 200 calories. That should get you halfway there. Then, perhaps get some flavored protein powder. One scoop is only about 120 calories, but mix it with some milk or blend it into a smoothie and you'll definitely hit the 1,500 mark. A handful of almonds and a protein shake can pack a real calorie punch without you even knowing it. The protein and the healthy fats will do your body good in the long run!

Ah, if only I was in the position where I had to struggle to eat more. Haha, it's always a struggle to manage my daily allotment out. 

When I am low on calories at the end of the day and have to pack in some calories even though I'm not necessarily starvingly hungry, I go for juice. 8 fluid ounces of Multi-V juice is around 80-100 calories, and it's not hard to DRINK. Also, since you love cheese (so do I, omg) haul out the crackers and slice up some cheese in advance so that when you need a snack, you can pop a couple of those suckers in your mouth. About 25 grams of cheese is almost 100 calories, so two or three of those will finish off the day without feeling like you're eating when you're not hungry.

I also like a bit of chocolate here and there, and so I do eat ONE Ferrero Rocher when the craving strikes. 72 calories for chocolatey goodness is a special treat for if I have caloric room.

I, too, get hungry at night time, mostly because that's my "chill out" time, and I associate food with chilling out and having a bit of a relax. So, what? Eat if you want to, transfer your breakfast calories (breakfast makes me nauseated, too, in the morning. Fortunately I have a schedule which allows me to sleep in until around 11am and stay up a bit later) to nighttime, when you want them. I've been doing that for three weeks now, and I still lose. I also do my exercise at night before I go to bed.

Just because conventionality states that you need to eat a healthy breakfast and exercise during the day, doesn't mean that if you are a nighttime kind of person that you shouldn't do just the opposite. If night is when you're hungry, eat. Eat something that will up your calories without stuffing yourself.

Good luck! You can do it!

xoxo ari

Original Post by makenasmom:

 I was the exact same way! I don't know if you have the option or not, but I find that I just can't eat breakfast within about an hour of waking up. Even my kids are the same way, don't know what it is... So I get up at 6am, I eat breakfast at 8am, by then, my tummy is ready. I usually work from home, but on the days that I am in the office, I bring a mug and a package of oatmeal with me, you could even try a good breakfast bar and a piece of fruit. Something that doesn't take lots of prep, and doesn't give off lots of odour. ;o)  My favorite at home breakfast(my 6 & 8yr old love it too) is Light (color) Rye bread toasted w/ light onion chive cream cheese on it. Kind of has the same texture as a bagel, but w/o all the cals. Good luck!

 

I have gotten into the habit of bringing fruit to work... and I suppose that's the best way. I haven't had oatmeal in years, sounds like a good time to get some! :D

Original Post by mds86:

I would keep to your disciplined ways, but just add a few things that are healthy and will get you up to the 1,500 mark that you said you needed. A handful of almonds is about 200 calories. That should get you halfway there. Then, perhaps get some flavored protein powder. One scoop is only about 120 calories, but mix it with some milk or blend it into a smoothie and you'll definitely hit the 1,500 mark. A handful of almonds and a protein shake can pack a real calorie punch without you even knowing it. The protein and the healthy fats will do your body good in the long run!

Ah, if only I was in the position where I had to struggle to eat more. Haha, it's always a struggle to manage my daily allotment out. 

 I'm sure I'll be at the point where I'll struggle to NOT eat more. I'm sure this is just the initial determination and excitement of starting to eat healthier lol....  Coincidentally I got some almonds today. Does that apply to pecans too?

Original Post by airee:

When I am low on calories at the end of the day and have to pack in some calories even though I'm not necessarily starvingly hungry, I go for juice. 8 fluid ounces of Multi-V juice is around 80-100 calories, and it's not hard to DRINK. Also, since you love cheese (so do I, omg) haul out the crackers and slice up some cheese in advance so that when you need a snack, you can pop a couple of those suckers in your mouth. About 25 grams of cheese is almost 100 calories, so two or three of those will finish off the day without feeling like you're eating when you're not hungry.

I also like a bit of chocolate here and there, and so I do eat ONE Ferrero Rocher when the craving strikes. 72 calories for chocolatey goodness is a special treat for if I have caloric room.

I, too, get hungry at night time, mostly because that's my "chill out" time, and I associate food with chilling out and having a bit of a relax. So, what? Eat if you want to, transfer your breakfast calories (breakfast makes me nauseated, too, in the morning. Fortunately I have a schedule which allows me to sleep in until around 11am and stay up a bit later) to nighttime, when you want them. I've been doing that for three weeks now, and I still lose. I also do my exercise at night before I go to bed.

Just because conventionality states that you need to eat a healthy breakfast and exercise during the day, doesn't mean that if you are a nighttime kind of person that you shouldn't do just the opposite. If night is when you're hungry, eat. Eat something that will up your calories without stuffing yourself.

Good luck! You can do it!

xoxo ari

 YES! Juice! LOL I still have loads of fruit juice in the fridge thanks loool.  I have a stash of crackers and edam cheese at work....and how can you stop at just one ferrero rocher? :p  I need to stay away from choccy until I am confident I suddenly won't go mad at the site of a tray ROFL. ;o)

I am a total night owl :D so having an 8 to 5 is seriously a struggle, especially in the morning lol... and thanks!!!!! XX

How do I eat only ONE Ferrero Rocher?

Well, you know, will-power, self-control, keeping my eyes on the prize, knowing that nothing tastes as good as thin feels, self-motivation and encouragement....



Uh, and my husband hides them from me. XDDDD

xo Ari

LOL!  It is so much better when spouses are supportive while you're going through something so emotionally and physically exhausting.  Still, am going to keep away from nice things like dessert until I am confident I won't go on a binge. ;o)

I am a sleep tech & there are reasons for your body to crave at night besides that you didn't eat enough in the day... Go to bed a lot earlier & watch it go away.  Your body is craving energy which you get from sleep.... well & food but also from sleep, just go to bed like before the cravings set in or an hour earlier= no binge. more sleep is better eh.

Tjlo