I have been a total failure for the last couple of day as the end of the day draws near. I have to get it together. I don't think that I can have snacks in my presence anymore. I'm binging on snacks. Is there anyone out there that does not eat snacks (cookies & crackers)? I think I will have to stop buying cookies and crackers and just eat fruit as snacks. This has got to stop!!!

I went off-plan yesterday. I was tired at the end of the day and *felt*like*eating*! I was tempted to eat out, but I knew I needed groceries, so I bucked up and went to the grocery store on the way home. I allowed myself to indulge a little, since I didn't eat out. I didn't write down everything, but I'm pretty sure it was under 2000. So I'm calling it 2000. Didn't get the walking that I had planned, so I'm sure I wiped out my deficit for the week. I'll figure it out later.

So glad that calorie counter link has helped. I stumbled upon that awhile ago and liked it. Really like the idea of zig-zagging cals. Not only does it keep your body out of the 'same cals in' rut but it also gives you some leeway if you have days where you go over your limit.

LAgreen -- I can't just eat fruit for a snack if I'm truly hungry. . . it just doesn't do squat for me. I HAVE to eat protein and carbs (the good kind of carbs). Peanut butter is a go-to for me. Spread some on a banana or mixed with some raisins or even on some Ritz or pretzels. Yogurt is always good too. Oh, and I love those baby-bell cheese wheels they sell. 70 cals per wheel, you could have two with some crackers, pretzels, fruit . . . once the food 'hits' it does satisfy the hunger and keeps it at bay much, much longer than if you just eat fruit or veggies. At least it does for me. Sometimes I'm "kinda" hungry and know that if I don't eat soon I'll be starving hungry (then all common sense leaves me) . . . trail mix bars or even nutri-grain bars are pretty good and I personally find that they satisfy the sweet cravings and knock the hunger, especially if I have them w/a cup of coffee.

Ok. I will try doing that. Thank you so much for the information. I guess there is still hope for me. I just can't give up.

b: kashi cereal and 2% milk, coffee - 400
l: low-carb wrap w/leftover pork (about 3oz, tops), sauteed veggies (a lot!), some shredded cheddar and a small dolloped of lite sour cream - 350
s: a wafair theeen piece of brownie and a cup of coffee - 100
d: (planned): unstuffed shells casserole, side salad. No ideas on cals, calling it 500-600. New recipe, hoping it tastes good. Here's a link if anyone is interested.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/...B07D5874EC7F23

Total: 1400-1500

eta: At the bottom of the unstuffed shells recipe it gave the cals: the recipe said it makes 6 servings at 590 cals per serving - yeah I'm rounding that 590 up to 600. 600 cals times 6 servings = 3600 for the entire casserole. There are five of us and there are two generous sized portions left. So, if my limited mathletic abilities have not failed me, 3600 divided by 8 (servings) = 450 cals. I'm going to call it 500 just to be safe. Hey, I made a pretty good guesstimate on the cals didn't I? :yes: Oh, I never did make a side salad . . had a ton of veggies at lunch so it's all good.

Total: see above . . pretty spot on!

Oh ok and here's something else I've been doing.

I get up M-F at 5:30am. God-awful early and it's even earlier if you look at the time on an analog clock. Anyway, I have coffee (praise be to the coffee bean!) and I have 16oz of coffee w/2 level tspns sugar and 1/4 cup whole milk, 75 cals total, but my stomach usually starts growling between 7 - 7:30. Hmmm, no way am I eating that early. I just refuse because I'll hit my daily cals before dinner and well, just NO. So I usually try to get the exercise in and that shuts my stomach up for a bit, I do drink water during the exercise too. I really really don't like to eat b-fast prior to 8:30 at the earliest, 9 - 9:30 is better.

Today was no different . . . I just told my stomach to shut up, I literally just ignored the rumbling (yes, sometimes it is hard but I do it anyway), went down to mah batcave and hopped on the treadmill, got done and the rumbling had subsided, planned on taking a 10 min. computer break (it turned into 45 min. :rolleyes:), decided to get a shower first, then ate around 9:15 or so, then walked the dogs, then out for millions of errands/food shopping. I never did get hungry until I walked in the door at 1:15 and starting fixing lunch. I ate that kashi cereal (which is higher in cals per serving than say honey nut cherrios) and 2% milk . . . but the higher cals and the fat in the 2% milk help keep me fuller longer so I often opt for that, rather than just focusing on the lower cal stuff cause with the lower cal stuff I get too hungry too soon . . . it doesn't 'stick' with me.

Just got done lunch about two hours ago (along w/that bit of brownie and coffee). It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon . . . I'll need to start thinking about dinner within the next 90 mins or so because they are all starting to pile in and and will be hungry for dinner most likely sooner that me. Hopefully my late lunch will keep my from eating too much dinner but I never would have lasted until 1:30 had I eaten my b-fast at 7am, even if I had a snack around 10 or so. And since I was in Target I would have gotten a bag of popcorn (that probably has a zillion cals in it) if I had been hungry . . which I would have been.

Oh geez, that was pretty rambly! Anyway I think I'm trying to say that sometimes it's ok to have a rumbly tummy but you have to get to know when that can work for you but realize that if it gets too rumbly you'll go past the point of good-choices and reach for just anything. I hope that made sense! :dizzy:

No, never give up! Keep trying and tweaking to figure out what works for you. I found the first several weeks to be hard and full of trial and error but just kept at it figuring sooner or later I'd hit upon a combo that worked. What's my option? I'd just eat myself right out of every piece of clothing I own and . . . yeah, wasn't interested in doing that.

Thanks again. I enjoy reading what works for others. I like to try what others are doing as well. I'm a person that is ALWAYS open to listening and learning. Please continue to share your words of wisdom. It helps a lot and I'm sure others will agree.

Thanks for taking the time to share your day to day experiences.

Is this even an option? For me, no.

:dust: to you :hug:

WOW! I can't send you private messages yet, so I will have to expose all of this info on our forum. Please don't think I'm coming off to offend you, I am not, but here are my suggestions to you::

Sorry you have found yourself in a funk, but there is hope!
I'll give you a few suggestions and you can take them or leave them.

I reviewed this thread & see that you have posted 2 days of food--there may be more, I didn't go that in depth.

From 1/17
Breakfast - 1 med Banana ~ 120 calories
Snack - 1 Minneola Tangerine ~ 70 calories, 1 String Cheese ~ 60 calories
Lunch - 1 med Banana ~ 120 calories, 1 Back To Nature Cookie ~ 130 calories
Dinner - (Gumbo - portions below)
1 cup of long grain rice ~ 170 calories
4 oz of chicken breast ~ 120 calories
1/3 juice ~ 59 calories
Total ~ 849 calories.

From 1/19:
Breakfast - 1 cup of Yogurt - 140 calories
3/4 cup of Granola - 260 calories
Snack - 2 Kashi Cookies - 260 calories
1 Banana - 120 calories
Lunch - 1 cup of homemade vegetable soup -150 calories
15 Multi Seed Rice Thin Crackers - 130 calories
Snack - 1 Minneola Tangerine - 70 calories
Dinner - 1 cup of Long Grain Rice - 170 calories
1 cup of homemade vegetable Soup - 150 calories

I'll base my observations off of these 2 entries, as they are all I see.

1. Too many processed carbs.
**Consuming these are going to KEEP you hungry. The sooner you get rid of them, the sooner you will be on your way to success. While I was weening myself off of processed carbs, I took a cinnamon supplement called Gaia Cinnamon--2 caps per day for 2 months. It really DID help with the cravings & I was a TERRIBLE pizza and cake binge-eater!
**See my short blog on highly processed carbs from the June 21 entry
2. Too many carbs without a protein paired with it.
**When you eat a carb alone without the presence of protein, it digests and turns into quick usable sugar in the blood. Your body uses the sugar very quickly and in no time, you're hungry again.
3. Unbalanced meal planning.
4. Lack of veggies (shoot for 3 cups of fruits & veggies/day.
5. Inadequate accountability. Write down your food/meal plans every day on the 3FC site. Type them out, not for us, but for yourself..to keep you accountable. We definitely DO NOT stay OP every single day, but writing it out helps stay accountable and keeps you on track. Use the site to your advantage, not as a doom and gloom tool or fear that "OMG, someone else is watching everything I do" type thing. We'll only encourage you and give you support and ideas on what to change. It'll be up to you to actually do it.

Do you use MFP or another food app? If not, I would HIGHLY suggest using My Fitness Pal. Add me on there if you are a member. My handle is chosengiver. ((All completely FREE)) & you don't have to have the phone app to use the free computer website.

No offense taken. I have thick skin, so there is nothing no one can say to me to offend me. I always wear my big girl panties. :D

I write everything down that I eat. I may not post here on the thread but I carry a journal everywhere with me. That's how I know that I've gone WAY over my calories. I also plan my meals out in advance but it's those devilish snacks that keep calling my name. :dizzy:

What processed carbs are you seeing? My cookies?

I like the idea of the supplement to help with craving. I could REALLY use that. Thanks for mentioning that. :carrot:

I don't use the apps. It's so much trouble typing in all of that. :dizzy: I did sign up but I really don't like it.

I'm willing to try anything to make it work.

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.

I agree with K9Owner -- my experience with carbs without protein (or fat) is the same -- it makes my blood sugar spike, I'm told, and that is why I get super hungry. This was when I was in the habit of eating a piece of fruit as a mid-morning snack. Now I seldom eat fruit without some protein and/or fat.

And the vegetables!!! Yes, vegetables are my salvation!!! I treat the nonstarchy vegetables as "unlimited," and on the munchy days, I will eat heaping platefuls. When I do this, I count it as "1 cup." I know I am eating more calories than that, but I just count 1 cup's worth. I lost my weight doing it this way, so it totally works for me. I don't think very many people have gotten fat eating too many vegetables.

Today I had my favorite vegetable indulgence -- I like to take the George Foreman Grill and load it up with zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms. It covers an entire dinner plate. It is so filling, and one of the most delicious things I eat.

Often, when I go over my planned calories, it is because I did not have at least 4 GENEROUS servings of nonstarchy vegetables.

Go veggies!! Find the ones you love, and eat them every day!! Grill them, roast them, marinate them, cut them up raw --- do this in mass quantities. Think of it as an orgy of nutrition. :::blush:::

Thanks for the information. It helps a lot. :)

I hope I stop it right there! I had a pretty sedentary day, so I got on the mini trampoline and jogged in place during the news. I need to get back to burning more calories than I eat!

I was on 1100 calories for just a few days because I wanted to see what would happen if I went back to 1350 after that. You know, the famous old kickstarting your metabolism. I'd done it by eating 1600-2000 calories but nothing happened. I can't say anything about the restult but here's whats awesome:

If you are on 1100 for just a few days and want to get all your nutrients in, you have to really pay good attention. Now that I am back to 1350 it feels like everyday is a splurge day. Just because there is room for some 'snacks' again. (Those still being non processed goodies but still)