[yesitsmeagain]

I need help cutting calories from my diet, but still making sure it keeps me full! My problem is that when I eat breakfast at 7 AM on work days, I am so hungry that I end up eating a second breakfast at 10 AM, plus lunch, supper and an evening snack (usually after my workout). Daily plate has me at 1450 calories a day.

Please help me fill up my tummy!

Normal day:
7 AM- Breakfast- high fiber cereal with skim milk (160 + 80 cal)
10 AM- Snack- oatmeal packet and piece of fruit (130 + 60 cal)
12 or 1: Lunch- something homemade like soup or healthy stew (veg, protein and carbs), plus a granola bar and carrot sticks (200-300 depending on the day, 160 + 30)
5 PM Supper: Something homemade or a sandwich, about 300-400 calories
7 PM Snack: smoothie or bowl of cereal (200-300 cal)

PLUS I will generally have a couple timbits or a couple squares of dark chocolate a day (around 100 cal)

Total: around 1600

Help me out ladies! I'm really not losing weight eating this much so I need to drop down. I would like to add more protein to the morning (like a hardboiled egg for breakfast) but I still don't think that could take me to lunch without a snack.

[garstar]

I would suggest trying some oatmeal or peanut butter for breakfast. I do a double serving of plain oatmeal (300 calories) when I have to go a while between breakfast and lunch. Then I have a piece of fruit for a snack in between. That'd total around 360 or so, which would be a bit less then what you're eating already.

Or, I'd cut the granola bar at lunch - and have it as a morning snack instead, that'd also cut some calories.

[yesitsmeagain]

But that granola bar provides me with a bit of happiness in my day... Ok fine, good ideas...I could do either oatmeal or a granola bar at snack or lunch depending on how I feel.

[kelly315]

Your plan sounds well devised, but I would suggest giving yourself more opportunity to be flexible. Flexibility prevents "cheating" by allowing yourself to have some of the food you might want to "cheat" with (in a balanced way). Also, flex plans (especially with varying calorie count days) will prevent your metabolism from stalling when it adjusts to the same number of cals each day.

But if your plan works for you, go for it! It's all about what feels good and works. Good luck!

[yesitsmeagain]

Originally Posted by kelly315

Your plan sounds well devised, but I would suggest giving yourself more opportunity to be flexible. Flexibility prevents "cheating" by allowing yourself to have some of the food you might want to "cheat" with (in a balanced way). Also, flex plans (especially with varying calorie count days) will prevent your metabolism from stalling when it adjusts to the same number of cals each day.

But if your plan works for you, go for it! It's all about what feels good and works. Good luck!

Would I alternate 1200 and 1600 calorie days then? Maybe 1200 could be on my non-exercise days.

[DRose]

For your morning cereal try having it with soymilk! 1 cup is only 90 calories, but I usually only put half a cup in.

Maybe instead of having oatmeal as your morning snack have a handful of almonds, they're healthy and it only takes a few of them to keep me full. I usually have 17 almonds as a snack.

Also, what kind of granola bars are you having? I really like to get the Nature Valley Oats N' Honey crunchy granola bars. They come in packs of two, but if you only eat one it's 90 calories.

Oh and for your evenning snack, if you're having cereal you could try one with less calories. Cheerios is only 100 calories per cup. I also like to have air popped popcorn with olive oil drizzled on top. I think a serving is 2 tbsp unpopped and it's only 140 calories.

[Its Courtney]

Yeah I agree subbing almonds for one of your snacks. Those are filling! And maybe eat celery as a snack...pretty much zero cals! Soy milk is a great sub...especially vanilla soy milk in cereal. It gives bland cereals a touch of sweetness.

[WebRover]

Originally Posted by yesitsmeagain

Normal day:
7 AM- Breakfast- high fiber cereal with skim milk (160 + 80 cal)
10 AM- Snack- oatmeal packet and piece of fruit (130 + 60 cal)
12 or 1: Lunch- something homemade like soup or healthy stew (veg, protein and carbs), plus a granola bar and carrot sticks (200-300 depending on the day, 160 + 30)
5 PM Supper: Something homemade or a sandwich, about 300-400 calories
7 PM Snack: smoothie or bowl of cereal (200-300 cal)

PLUS I will generally have a couple timbits or a couple squares of dark chocolate a day (around 100 cal)

Total: around 1600

Help me out ladies! I'm really not losing weight eating this much so I need to drop down. I would like to add more protein to the morning (like a hardboiled egg for breakfast) but I still don't think that could take me to lunch without a snack.

I don't know what meal plan you're on, but I see a lot of carbs, not much protein, almost no vegetables and no obvious healthy fats. Vegetables can fill you up with a lot of bulk for not many calories. The healthy fats and proteins also help you feel full. So going with your suggestion of a hardboiled egg, how about something like this:

7 am Hardboiled egg (77 calories), Oatmeal (1/2 cup real oatmeal - can still be microwaved) (73 calories), 1 cup milk (86 calories) = 236
10 am Raw veggies (pepper strips, celery, carrots, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, or a mix) 1/2 pepper cut in strips (12), 3/4 oz low fat cheese (37) = 49
Lunch Keep it the same making sure there are lots of veggies and protein and I'd eliminate the granola bar. =200-300 calories
Supper - Same comment (lots of veggies and protein). If it's a sandwich, make sure it's whole grain/whole wheat bread and consider making it open faced. =200-300 calories
Snack Smoothie or cereal - ok, but try to get some protein in there - smoothie with lf yogurt and or cottage cheese, whole fruit instead, lf yogurt and a sprinkle of whole grain cereal, veggies again, small portion nuts, etc. Half a cup of 2% cottage cheese is 102 calories. 1/4 cup Uncle Sam cereal for crunch adds 63 calories.

Beans (black, pinto, red, etc.) add bulk, fiber and protein for not a lot of calories as well.
A salad (lots of veggies, not just lettuce) with protein and easy on the dressing gives you a lot of bulk and is a good choice for a meal also.

Just some ideas for thought.