I've lost 30 lbs this past year, but I have 20-50 to go. I've got exercising down. I also had metabolic testing done, and I know that I burn 1450 calories a day, not including exercising. I have a HRM that tells my workout calorie burn, which is usually 500-900 calories in each of my 60-120 min workouts. I workout like this 5-6 days a week.
I'm not losing, so I must be eating more than 1800 calories a day. I've tracked my diet off and on spark people and the daily plate. This was helpful for being able to see where I could cut here and there. I don't do it religiously b/c I find it so tedious/time consuming to remember to do it a few times a day or else I forget some foods that I ate. The 2nd reason, is that it makes me obsess about food. I'll key in breakfast, lunch, snacks and my workout... and then I'll see "you have 845 calories left today"... and all I can do it think about what else I want to eat.
I tend to eat a minimally processed whole foods diet. but I usually don't measure out my portions, or measure the EVOO that I put in the pan as I am cooking for my family, etc
somehow, I have to eat less calories. tell me how you do it!
Well, I plan my days in advance pretty much -- and I have "set" things that I eat so that I know how many calories are in them. I have learned the calories in the three or four breakfasts that I eat...and I do measure the cereal when I mix up yogurt and cut up an apple or banana to put in it.
I have done the same for my snacks and for my average lunches. When possible, I take along my own sandwich and veggies or I mix up a salad with grilled chicken for lunch and take that, and I carry my snacks with me...or buy a snack I KNOW the calories in. Often I keep protein bars in my glove box or my purse that are 200 cals so I have them in a pinch.
Dinner is more difficult, but even that is not impossible. I do tend to look up the calorie values in dinner food the most -- but one meal a day is not that hard to do -- especially when I know what I am going to be having the day before or even a few days before.
I find that planning my day in advance allows me to think about food less because I am not "gaming" my calories or spending time estimating them in my head all the time during the day. I keep a small notebook in my purse and just write down what I've eaten...so I don't forget anything.
Calorie Counting does take work, but it also allows a lot of freedom. For me, the trade off is well worth it.
Tracking is a lot more work at the beginning...once you have the stuff you eat most of the time set up it goes faster.
Like Schumeany said - doing it ahead of time will ensure that you don't end up at the end of the day with 800 calories to figure out on the fly.
Maybe online isn't the way to go for you - a notebook might be easier to carry with you? I do like online for the reporting tho. And figuring out percentages of calories from carbs/fat/protein.
Oh, if I were to make only one suggestion, it would be--measure your portions and oil! Especially the oil... Calories add up like mad if you guesstimate with oil.
Same with portions. It is not hard at all to measure or weigh your foods. After awhile, you'll be able to judge amounts more closely, but most people really do need practice.
You have no idea how many calories you are eating if you don't weigh and measure things. What exercise are you doing that burns 900 calories in an hour? Most monitors are not accurate.
One is that you cannot NOT measure and say that you're pretty sure you're eating within your calorie range. The difference between 1T and 1.5T of olive oil, for instance, is 60 or 70 calories. Do that 2x a day and you've added 120 or so calories. Same with all your other foods. Most Americans have VERY skewed ideas of what a real portion size is - we've been fooled by years of eating out, super-sizing things, and even TV commercials. A real single serving of something is often much, much smaller than you would expect it to be. Even an apple - most apples that you buy in the grocery store are 2 servings, not one. That means the apple you ate could easily be 160 calories, not 80 or 90.
Ok, measuring is the first thing - the next is planning. If you leave it up to chance, it's harder to not think about "what can I eat". I plan out my whole day - actually my whole week - at one time. I don't have to think about "what can I eat" because I know what I'm eating. There's no question or obsessing or anything. I know that tomorrow morning I will get up and have yogurt with blueberries. I'll have an apple and cheese for a snack. I'll have a turkey sandwich on rye with spicy mustard and baby spinach leaves for lunch. I'll have veggies and hummus for a snack. I'll go to the gym and have a protein shake after. Then for dinner I'll have pork roast and a baked sweet potato and probably a spinach salad for dinner. I know that becuase I decided last Sunday what I was going to have. I also know that if I'm hungry in the middle of the day I can have a boiled egg or 2 clementines or a handful of almonds (18 of them, to be exact). And I know that if I don't have any of those snacks and I want it, after dinner I can have a whole fruit popsicle.
There's no obsessing there, there's no thinking about "what can I eat now". There's no stress about dinner or snacks or standing in front of hte pantry going "what should I eat". I eat what's on the list. If it doesn't sound good, then I'm obviously not hungry ... I'm just eating to eat.
Final thing is exercise: One is that 900 cals in an exercise session is a lot to burn. You said that your HRM shows a lower calorie burn and I'd tend to believe that more than anything else. Seriously on the days I workout HARD ... weights followed by cardio, I'm lucky if I burn 600 cals in an hour and a half of working. I just really question 900 cals a day burn.
HOWEVER, if you ARE burning 900 cals, then I'm concerned that eating at 1500 calories you might not be eating enough to sustain the amount of exercise you're doing, and that might also be stalling your weight loss. Given all the other information you've given, I don't think this is the problem. I do suspect you're eating more and burning less than you think you are. But if you're not, then you need to bump up your food intake to make up for the number of calories you're burning. It's possible to put your body into a kind of shock/survival mode when you don't give it enough calories and that will stall you out as well.
Those are my thoughts ... as I said, I really don't think the last thing is the problem. I think you just need to start planning and measuring your foods better ... because I think you're probably eating more than you think you are.
help me track, please
