So for the first couple of weeks that I started trying to lose weight, I was eating 1200 calories a day. I lost great for a bit, but stalled out very quickly. I was advised to eat closer to 1800 calories a day, leaving me lots of room to drop calories if I plateau.

Well I have been eating 1600-1800 calories a day, but I have a problem, I struggle to actually eat all those calories without having a pack of thinsations, and usually 1 other thing (such as popcorn) that's kind of "treat" food. So, here is today's food intake so far:

Breakfast: a hard boiled egg, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast, coffee (with light hot chocolate mix in it).
Lunch: Ham sandwich with processed, low fat cheese (on whole wheat bread), 1 cup of homemade mixed bean soup.
Snack: 200g strawberries, 1 container low fat yogurt, 1 pack Oreo Thinsations
Dinner: 75g (cooked) boneless skinless chicken breast, 2 tablespoons of salsa, 1/2 cup (cooked) white rice and 160g spinach salad with 3 tbsp full fat salad dressing.

Total so far today: 1311

I still have like 300 calories for my snack this evening....MINIMUM.

There are a lot of raw fruits and veggies I can't eat because they upset my stomach, so it's mostly cooked veggies (aside from salad), and only some fruits I can eat.

I honestly struggle every day to get all my calories in. How can I make it less of a struggle without lowering my caloric intake?

I have the same problem - I find that, because I'm eating healthier foods I feel full without hitting my calorie budget. I started adding little things into what I was already eating. A half-tablespoon of butter on my toast in the morning, a small handful of almonds, sunflower seeds or peanuts on my salads, sauteeing bell peppers with onions in a half tablespoon of olive oil to go with dinner. We tend to restrict fats when on a calorie-counting diet, because they add up quick! But adding a few here and there and not going overboard helps by upping your calorie count a little but not stuffing you full.

Nuts, butter, peanut butter, real cheese vs the processed kind, whole-milk yogurt or greek yogurt.

I guess I should have mentioned, I sort of have a pathological fear of "whole fat" foods. As I think about my future, and having to reduce calories (therefor needing to reduce full fat foods), I am trying to change my lifestyle so that I never have a sense of deprivation, and I worry if I get too used to peanut butter, or cheese (mmmm cheese) that I will end up feeling like I am depriving myself later on.

Honestly, I think I am just too afraid to eat full fat food. The only reason I had full fat salad dressing tonight was because it was all I had! Usually I use Tzatziki instead because of it's low calories!

Full-fat food is not the enemy!

On the contrary, we need about two tablespoons of fat daily to be healthy. Fat keeps your hair and skin looking good. Fat keeps your digestive system in good working order.

Most importantly, fat tastes great.

Honestly I don't try to cut fat, when I go shopping I shop for lower calories, rather than lower fat. It just so happens that things that are lower calories often have lower fat too.

Basically I am afraid that I will change my life (like I have) and be used to it, be happy with where I am, lose weight and all is good...then will have to change it all again, and feel deprived when I do. Right now I don't feel deprived at all, I can eat almost as much as I want (depending on what it is), I am always full, and I feel good over all. I am scared of losing that later on!

Get over it, seriously. Full fat is way better than the processed low fat crap that typically has more sugar in it. If you afraid of the future don't be. You can always decrease portion size or increase exercise so you don't have to drop your cals.

Other things that will give you a calorie boost - avocados, olive oil, dark chocolate instead of thinsations.

I eat full fat cheese, low fat milk or 2%, you aren't going to "lose" those things as you lose weight.

If you are trying to get in more calories, add full fat dairy, butter on your toast (or nut butter) and a little extra rice.

It's understandable that you're concerned. But you said it yourself, you're adjusting to a new lifestyle and you've made great changes already, and now you need to make some more changes.

I know it's scary, trust me, the same thing is happening to me. I've been at 1200 calories and stopped losing weight. I'm scared to eat more, actually more like paranoid. But I need to do it if I want the scale to move. I'm nowhere near my goal weight and I can't be stuck with 1200 calories and not losing more.

Our bodies are trying to say something. I think we better listen.

I know we all went through that phase of society where fat was bad! low-fat/fat-free is the holy grail! (Remember Snackwell's??) It's so ingrained that it's hard to get past it. It's just all about portion size. I would rather have 1/2 oz of real cheese than 1 oz of processed "cheese" any day. When you are restricting calories, those calories really have to count and be full of nutrition rather than chemicals.

The thing I like best about calorie counting is that nothing is off limits, and that is why I think this plan can work for me for the long term and into maintenance. (The bonus is, when you are in maintenance you get to eat MORE calories, so why would you have to give anything up?)

I aim for 1800 calories and I eat regular cheese, low fat milk, I eat regular fat foods/snacks. But I do the low cal/froyo since I like quantity.

I have been doing well while eating 1800 calories. Although yesterday I did only 1330, which surprised me.

Can you add some nuts (maybe pinenuts), crumbled cheese (feta?) and sliced fruit to your salad? One of my favorite salads is baby spinach, sliced strawberries and a handful of blueberries, feta cheese, pine nuts, and a flavorful vinaigrette. It's delicious and super healthy but you feel like you're treating yourself. Or spread some pb or butter on your toast in the morning? Maybe instead of yogurt, have some 2% cottage cheese with sliced fruit.

Then you're adding in lots of protein, yes some fat, but the calories are still coming from foods rich in nutrients, but full in flavor.

You don't have to get 1600 calories exactly every day, you need it to average out. So one day you might not be as hungry and can have 1550 if that feels right, and another day you might be more hungry and end up with 1850 and that's okay too! Remember to add in extras when you work out too, you want to net 1500-1800. See how that feels for ya!

Yes!! Exactly!!!

What are you putting on the toast, anything? Personally I would change that to two hard boiled eggs and one piece of toast with butter (or nut butter).

I'd put real cheese on the sandwich. Actually, I would remove something there because you're eating four pieces of bread a day plus beans all by lunch. Maybe eat an open sandwich with just one piece of bread?

For snacks I would eat regular yogurt and dark chocolate (if you like it).

That's just what I see from what you've posted. That may or may not suit you.

Actually it's not very often that I have 2 pieces of toast at breakfast, it just so happened that I did that day.

What I eat has a lot to do with what's in the cupboard/fridge. We're a little tight on cash right now, and I feel like I am a drain on the household income because "my" food costs quite a bit more.

I find that having 1 package of Thinsations a day keeps me from binging. When I first went on plan I was "cheating" quite a bit. Now I've been on plan for a few weeks, and I think allowing myself to have 1 one pack of cookies a day makes all the difference in my "deprived" feelings.

I love the idea of putting feta on my salads, and will pick some up the next time I go shopping.

I have found that I have had an easier time keeping my calories up the last couple of days. Mostly I was just calorie hoarding. Not sure what was going to be for supper, not wanting to cook an entirely separate meal, and wanting to be sure that I had calories for whatever I was making for the rest of the family. I have since given that up, and am just making myself chicken breast or turkey breast, or using ground turkey for myself now. It leads to more dishes (none of my family likes white meat), and more work, but it's easier for me to stay on track, and some things are just worth the effort.