I don't like rules. I like facts. For now, my only "rule" is that I don't eat more calories than my GoWear Fit says I've burned on any given day. The calories I've burned is indicative of the fact that I don't need to eat any more than that, which allows me to stick to the rule. It's only a rare occurrence that I will eat my total calories burned anyway these days. I do zig zag in the 1400 to 1900 range, most days are on the high end of the range. For now, it's working for me for a regular loss of 1 to 3 pounds a week.
I do best by splitting my daily calorie limit up into equal 3 meals. If I'm not as hungry for one meal I'll pass the saved calories over to the next, if I'm not as hungry at the next meal then I'll save them for a snack if I feel like I want one or just be a few calories ahead.
I don't keep meticulous track of my calories, most of it's in my head and since I have limits for meals all I have to do is stay in those limits, avoid snacks and I know I'm within my allotted amount.
I don't eat what's generally considered junk food or fast food at all and try to avoid eating out too much. I don't eat dairy but not for weight loss but because I feel that past infancy our bodies just aren't designed for milk. I try to get the biggest bang out of my calories by eating lots of high volume low calorie foods. I eat lots of veggies and chicken some fruit and stay very light on the sauces and margarine etc. I try to keep things simple, enjoy the taste of the food not the sauce or salt or butter flavor.
This has worked amazing for me and I've found it a lot less stressful then trying to balance different calorie amounts at different times of day.
I've just started calorie counting so my plan is to eat within my range of projected calories each day. I have problems with over eating so I'm just trying to shoot for a projected count and stay within that. After I get used to counting and staying within an area I'll work on seeing what I need to change. I'm using My Fitness Pal to count and it's great. It's very quick and easy to use.
I shoot for a 1,400-1,600 calorie range. Occasionally I will go over but if I get right back on track it doesn't affect my losses. I keep track of everything I eat in a little notebook that I keep in my purse at all times. I've tried various online calorie counters but they seem so time consuming to me, I just find it easier to write everything down.
I have a food scale at home so I pretty much weigh or measure everything. If the calorie count is not on the package, I use my LoseIt app or fitday to find fresh foods and such or calorieking.com to find restaurants and fast foods.
Right now I do not limit my prepackaged/frozen meals but plan to move towards a more whole foods approach when my bf and I move into our new house and start doing all of our own grocery shopping and cooking again (beginning of June- can't wait!)
Last edited by fashinjunkie09; 04-18-2010 at 03:43 PM.
Forgot to mention one of the most important strategies for me - when I mess up, ( and I do!) I just forget about it, and carry on OP from that moment on. No waiting until the next day, or next week. So far, so good.
I use Fitday, I weight and measure and track everything. I typically have a range of 1200-1500 calories a day, although I will go up to 1600 without considering myself off plan. I don't plan for 1600 but I don't ever let myself go hungry. My test for that is whether I want more veggies, or more usually, fruit. If I'm hungry for fruit even if I'm at 1500 calories, I chalk it up to legitimate hunger and eat it. If I'm thinking that gee, for 100 calories I could have a cookie or something, I tell myself that it's just boredom or habit or something and I distract myself and don't eat.
I try to focus on something more of a whole foods diet, although some I do have some processed foods, they are a much, much smaller part of what I eat than they used to be. Lots of veggies, lean proteins, low fat dairy, whole grains and small amount of fruit.
I split my calories into a small breakfast, a BIG lunch (a huge salad with chicken and egg and avocado and lots of veggies plus dressing and Bacos plus a whole wheat pita or other grain/starch), a smallish supper and a couple of snacks as needed, although often I just have the three meals.
Forgot to mention one of the most important strategies for me - when I mess up, ( and I do!) I just forget about it, and carry on OP from that moment on. No waiting until the next day, or next week. So far, so good.
this has been a very big thing for me too. I have this mantra about "the next bite" meaning that I don't have to wait until the next day or the next meal - I can make a good choice with the very next bite I eat, or more often, don't eat! lol! I can take a bite of a cookie and realize I don't REALLY want to be having it and I can throw it out. I don't have to finish it just because I ate part of it. I can stop right there and turn things around and be right back on plan. On the other hand, when I do go off plan, I try to own that choice and let myself enjoy what I'm having without beating myself up over it.
All of this seems to help me get back on track more quickly and easily and also helps me decide when it's worth going off plan. Sometimes, there are things I've eaten in the past that I realize just aren't worth it. I try to spend all of my calories more carefully, even the off plan ones!
I plan for the next day on caloriecount.com, possibly even two days ahead if I have nothing going on. I make adjustments throughout the day as necessary, mostly adding things when I'm truly hungry. That being said, when I plan in advance, I plan light...about 1200cal/day, when in reality, I aim for about 1300-1500cal/day. So I have a plan in place, but I know I have some wiggle room. That helps me mentally more than anything, to know that I have room to "mess up" a little and it isn't counting against me.
I do not adhere to any certain plan. I do try to make sure my sodium is low, my fiber is at least adequate, and I get at least the minimum of protein. I'm finding that I usually fall short on healthy fats which I'm working to improve. I'm also finally jumping on the whole foods bandwagon as much as I can. I feel silly that it's taken me so long to finally convert. It's amazing how much more satisfied I am on 300 cal of oatmeal (huuuge bowl, 1 cup dry oats makes a lot) rather than the 400 cal I was spending each morning on "healthy" processed cereal.
I tried the mini meals and snacking throughout the day, and while I was never truly hungry, I was never fully satisfied either. I went through the day still half-hungry and counting down seconds to my next snack. I've found that three squares of evenly spaced calories (breakfast, lunch, dinner) works best for me. I usually plan for one or two snacks that I always save for the evening. I've found that the eating experience is just as important to me as the food that I'm eating. I feel more satisfied if I sit down and eat a full (small) plate of prepared food than if I eat the same amount of food in a snacking way over a longer period of time.
Some of this calorie counting stuff is hard to figure out. I always knew that you have to eat to lose but i think that's becoming very clear. I spent the last several months not losing anything. When I started looking at what other people were using as Target calories for similar weight and lifestyle, I up-ed my calories and suddenly the weight is coming off. It is hard to get in all the calories with healthy food. I am eating between.1500 and 1600/day.
Well I'm one of those if it fits in my calorie budget then I can eat it. I track my calories in my Loseit app on my iPod Touch. I limit my salt intake and minimize carbs. I do that because I don't want any blood pressure issues and I loose better when I eat less carbs and more protein. I'm a daily tracker. I calculate my meals as I pack them in the morning and the rest when I get home. I don't do well having to constantly go to my iPod when I eat something. I know how much I can eat when I get home and it's working well.
I'm sticking to the 1500-1600 intake.. trying to up my protein and trying to eat healthy carbs.. man its hard! specially to get to that much food!!! but since i started a week and half ago i've lost 3 lbs.. it takes my body a bit to get used to
Food Tracking on SparkPeople including meals that are higher calorie.
I use a kitchen scale to measure my food at home and pay very close attention to portion size and calorie counting.
I like being spontaneous so I don't plan most of my meals, but I keep a good variety of healthy, low calorie ingredients at home to cook with.
Lower calorie breakfasts (300 calories or less) to give me a buffer for my spontaneity and my tendency to eat more at night.
Healthy foods - whole wheat vs. white, lean proteins, lots of veggies, fruits, low calorie dairy, lean protein. I don't consider "junk" food completely off plan, but when I try eating them I find I don't enjoy it.
Three meals a day and very infrequent snacking based on true hunger and sometimes craving. (But I always try to eat a healthy snack!)
If I start eating something "higher" in calories and don't enjoy the taste I throw the rest away.
1,100/day average calories in the past month. I don't plan ahead for this low, but I don't force myself to eat more when I'm not hungry.
Everyweek before I go shopping I plan out my meals for the next week. Usually just dinners because breakfast are usually the same 3 meals rotated depending on my calorie alotment for the day (I zag zig, as low as 1300 as high as 2000, most days are around 1600) and lunches are usually dinner from the night before. Then every morning I log everything into my LoseIt app and decide what snacks I'm going to have for the day. I eat 6xs a day, 3 "meals" and 3 snacks. This works VERY well for me and I plan to continue at this calorie level until I reach 150 lbs then slowly up my calories to my maintance calories for my goal of 138 and lose the final 10 or so lbs very slowly to ease into maintenance.
I cycle my calories so my only real rule is to stick to the calories. I do try and avoid low fat foods tho, and try to have protein in at least 2 of my meals each day...i also focus on having a variety of foods. I also dont deny myself i have a small piece of chocolate most days. I keep track of my foods in calorie king (only real site i have found that has australian brand foods in their database)
