Hi everyone,
Im in need of some help when it comes to calorie counting.
So far I've been at it for a week and while I've lost 3 pounds and im so thrilled about it im afraid that im starving my body because im hungry all the time. I've been eating at about 2000 calories each day give or take and I work out about 4 times a week. I've read that you should eat about 500 calories less than what you burn. And I've done the calculators and they say I burn 3025 a day. So I should be on target. But im always so hungry. I guess my question is am I cutting too many calories too fast?
Also a normal meal day would be like:
Breakfast- 1 cup yogurt 1 slice wht toast 1 cup frozen berries
Snack- a serving of baby carrots and a cheese stick
Lunch- a chicken breast salad with tomatos cucumbers and oil and vinegar. Also a cup of milk and a fruit
Snack- a 100 calories parfait yogurt things (they are so good)
Dinner- usually a chicken stir fry with peppers onions mushrooms over brown rice and a mug of tea
And I usually either eat a cheese stick or another cup of milk before bed.
how about a more filling breakfast such as oat meal with fresh fruit cut up in in? Or egg white with peppers and other things. I always like to have a very filling breakfast as it sets the tone for the entire day for me. THen throughout the day I lighten up but I always eat a great amount of protiens. GOod luck
A few things that came to mind...
Your meals look nice and healthy! I agree with the poster above that thirst and boredom can be mistaken for hunger, especially at the beginning of weight loss. Also, it took me a while to realize that what I thought was "hunger" was just not being full. What I feel normally now in between meals used to feel like hunger to me. I was just always stuffed with food before and it took time to readjust.
All that said, you may find that 2000 IS too low for you at this time. If I was able to start over, I would play around with the number a bit and eat the highest number of calories I could while still losing. Your body will adjust and you'll need to lower the number as you lose weight. If you start higher, you'll have more wiggle room to reduce it. I'd try eating 2500 cal for a week and see if you still lose. Best of luck!
Oh, and are you drinking LOTS of water?? That can help fill you up and it's good for you too!
Try to have more fibre in your diet eg. bananas. Matilda08's suggestion of having oatmeal for breakfast is a great idea too. Or have foods that are low in GI (glycemic index). That basically means they turn to sugar at a much slower rate and will keep you feeling full for a longer period of time. Also make sure to have 2 servings of whole grains a day. They keep you full too
Actually in my opinion, burning 3025 calories a day with a calorie intake of 2000 (+/-) is pretty ... dangerous You might be burning lean muscle.. Be careful!
Brittney -- Welcome!! 2000 calories sounds like a good start, but there's no problem if you want to up it a bit. Just keep track of the results! See what happens after a couple of weeks.
I agree that you're eating healthy, but you may have to play around with types of foods and quantities to get it right for you. For example, I used to eat "protein pancakes" for breakfast a lot. Something I learned from the weight lifters. It's egg whites, cottage cheese and oatmeal whipped up and put on a griddle. I LOVED them. And they are really healthy. But over 400 calories for breakfast and they didn't hold me long enough. So I started having smaller breakfasts that would allow me to stick to my calories. Now a favorite is a piece of wheat toast, with 1/2 ounce of peanut butter, a little cinnamon, and 1/2 banana sliced on top. It's more like 250 calories and seems to keep me filled for a few hours.
I guess what I'm saying is, don't be afraid to experiment. You'll learn a lot about how you react to different kinds of foods, what keeps you full, etc. Just keep track!
Hey Brittney girl, I think you are doing fantastic! Your meals sound nice and healthy, the only thing I might tweak is having a little more protein at breakfast. I have found that eating protein any time I eat any carbs helps keep me more full.
But the biggest thing is just getting over the hump! I can't make a money back guarantee on it, but I have a feeling that if you keep at it for a couple more weeks, you will start to notice that you are a lot more satisfied. Now but for the odd day of cravings, I am no longer hungry like I was at the beginning. Not at all! I would stick with the 2000 for now and see if you adapt to it.
And just because I throw this out every chance I get, I found out before I started this time that I have very severe sleep apnea, and since I got my sleep fixed, my cravings and appetite were DRAMATICALLY reduced from the get-go. Definitely worth looking in to if you are a very heavy snorer or if anyone has told you you stop breathing in your sleep. Sleeping properly has made ALL the difference in this weight loss endeavor for me.
I find that sometimes when I think I am hungry I am actually thirsty or bored. Boredom will bring me to the refrigerator more than anything.
I agree! I usually make sure at each meal and snack I'm having at least one glass of water and I think that really helps to fill me up and hold me over until my next meal or snack.
Thank you ladies for your encouragement and advice. You've all left me with something to think about. I really appreciate the support I find on this board, its incredible.
Im going to try to tweak my diet a little especially in the morning since you've all given me a sense of how important it is and perhaps upping the intake to see if that's what works for me. Thank you all once again
I think the most important thing to remember is that experimentation isn't just ok, it's the only way to find out what works best for you. You don't have to pick a precise plan and stick with it forever no matter what. You can and probably should tweak and test.
I can't tell you how many "tweaks" I've gone through "this time," but I can say that it's a lot more than ever in the past. In the past, whenever I wasn't entirely happy with a specific diet, I ended up quitting rather than tweaking. For some reason I only knew how to be absolutely on a plan, or absolutely off a plan - and whenever I went off one plan, I couldn't psychologically just start another. I always had to have a "break" in-between (almost always regaining a large amount of weight during the break).
Now, I just transition right into the next tweak. I've never lost so much weight on so many different plans (and I probably have many more tweaks in my future).
help with calorie counting
You might be burning lean muscle.. Be careful!
