Hi everyone. I've been hanging around for a while now and finally registered to start posting! My question is, does it get easier to eat low-cal over time? I weigh about 145 and am 5' 6" tall. That puts me at a normal bmi but I do want to lose about 5-10 more pounds and get my bf % down a bit more. I exercise 3-4 days a week.

For the last 2 days I've been eating 1500 (very healthy) calories a day and it's been really difficult. I've been very hungry and a bit headache-y. Will that go away if I keep eating at this level? I feel like I won't be able to keep it up long term if it will stay this way... I guess I'm just looking for some hope that things will get easier. )

Thanks in advance for any insights!

it will...if you are eating healthy (and filling) foods, you're body will adjust and actually CRAVE the good stuff (sounds crazy huh LOL). Hang in there.

Maybe more protein? it just depends on your body, some people don't do well on really low calorie, some people do. If it's not working for you and isn't something that you feel you can maintain, certainly explore other options.

Yes--it will get easier. However, it will still require restraint from time to time, and you may feel hungry now and then. Plan, plan, plan! Make sure you have snacks on hand that are within your calorie budget, so that if you feel really ravenous you can eat something without "blowing it."

The headachy feeling will settle out... be sure to drink enough water--easy to get dehydrated... hang in there!

Jay

When I drop my calories, I usually find that the first couple of days are difficult. After a week or so, my body usually adjusts to the new calorie level and it gets easier.

I echo what ShannanA said about getting enough protein. Even when I am only eating 1200 calories, I still shoot for 90 to 100g of protein per day. When you are eating that few calories, it's important to make sure you are giving your body enough fuel. A lot of times people think eating healthy means just eating a lot of veggies and, while veggies are an important part of a low calorie diet, you need sources of protein and fat too.

Another strategy that really helps me is to really limit the calories in my main meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) so that I can have a lot of snacks during the day. At 1500 calories per day, for me breakfast is 200 calories, lunch is 300-350 calories, and dinner is 400-500 calories. That leaves 450-600 calories for snacks!

I would say yes it does get easier. I know that for me it means getting the required amounts of ALL the four basic food groups. For some reason people think you only need lots of veggies. I get headaches if I don't take enough carbs in.

It does get easier! Makes sure you are drinking enough water. Dehydration can cause headaches. I also find it helpful to spread out my calories throughout the day by eating 3 moderate meals and have 2-3 small snacks. I get a headache if my blood sugar drops, so I eat frequently.

1500 calories sounds like a great level! I would try to balance out your fat/carb/protein as much as you can without getting to crazy about it. All are important for healthy weight loss. From what I've read a good range is 20-35% from fat, 45-65% from carbs, and 10-35% from protein.

zenor
I agree. I was told I should never have less than 23% fats and no more than 12% sat fats. I try to keep my carbs about 50% to 55% if they go over that they have to be from fruits.

Thanks, everyone for all your advice and encouragement! I will certainly try to get more protein in... That is not something I had thought of. I do spread my calories throughout the day so I have more like 5-6 mini meals rather than 3 bigger meals. I find that if I go more than 4 hours without eating I am liable to bite somebody's head off! I also think I need to be drinking more water. Thanks for the reminder, JayEll!

A little bit more about my history... 4 years ago I weighed about 175lbs. I lost 25lbs on the Atkins diet before my wedding and felt fantastic! I switched over to South Beach just before I got pregnant. After having my daughter 3 years ago I lost all my baby weight plus 5lbs while doing South Beach. Since then I've been trying to lose these last 5-10lbs that just don't want to budge. I felt like I needed to try calorie counting because just eating a "healthy" diet isn't doing it for me anymore. I feel like I need to start having more control of how much healthy food I eat.

Anyway, I really appreciate your help and I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon.

almonds make a wonderful snack if you can control the amount you eat. THey are loaded with healthy fat and protien and fiber.(i have a problem not eating more than one serving)
debi

When I did South Beach I had horrible headaches and what helped me get through that was BEANS (urp).

They have lots of protein and good carbs but are low in cals!
A miracle food if there ever was one!

Yes! Beans are fantastic. I love minestrone soup with big red kidney beans... or carrots and hummus. Yum!