[AprilRose]

Hello!
This is my first post so please bare with me.
I've been trying to lose weight and generally be healthier for a few weeks now with some success but I've hit a block in the road. I've been using an app to count my calories and exercise daily and trying to stick to 1200 calories a day. However my shifts at work have somewhat changed which is throwing up a challenge for me. Just to give some idea of how the day currently pans out.
4am up and get ready I'll have a fairly large healthy breakfast
6am start work I work in a food shop where I tend to be running about sweating it out for at least two hours purging out the produce (heavy fruit and veg)
11am I will have a break and eat a salad with some added meat chicken for example and potato's ect to try and keep me going. The break time is not changeable.
2pm I'm still at work for another two hours and the hunger sets in I can't eat anymore while I am there as I only have a 30 minute break which is when I had my lunch.
4pm I'm starving and because of the large breakfast and lunch that have kept me going I'm stuck with few calories left in my daily quota after figuring out what I am having for dinner roughly an hour later.
What can I do? I've ended up grabbing something quick which is pushing me over the edge of what I'm allowing myself.
Any ideas how to combat this? I'm already drinking excess of 2 liters of water by this point (shelf stacking is thirsty work!

[happynottsgirl]

Perhaps you can afford to eat more calories since you seem to be burning quite a bit while working?

Do you have an activity tracker (like Fitbit etc) to get an estimate of how much you are actually burning?

The composition of your breakfast might be something to look at as well. I have heard from some people that they get hungrier faster if they have carbs in their breakfast.

I have also noticed in my case that if I have a smaller breakfast the stomach stays sort of more 'closed' throughout the day, that is an easy way for me to quickly reduce the calories I need to stay satisfied.

[AprilRose]

Thank you for your reply! I'm not working today but I'm going to try having a smaller breakfast today and see how I go.
No I haven't got one yet I'm saving for one (single mummy money's a little tight).
Thank you again!

[Treasa]

Hi AprilRose! I would recommend trying to include more fat in your lunch. Avocados or some of those wholly guac singles would do it. I dip pieces of chicken breast (like Purdue shortcuts) in them. Or maybe in addition to chicken if you could add some ham to your salad. I think increasing your fat and to some degree your protein would make a big difference as far as keeping hunger away.

I have found that rethinking nutrition has been key for me in keeping hunger down and therefore the weight off. In the old days I thought of fat as bad. Now I think of fat and protein as good. Veggies like broccoli and asparagus are good. I eat as much fat, protein and veggies as I want and I don't count calories. What I've noticed is that when I add bread, even if it makes a meal higher in calories, will make me hungrier faster, i.e. three eggs no bread will last me longer than two eggs with two pieces of toast. The same holds true for me for sweets (like cookies) and most sweet fruit (like cantaloupe).

[AprilRose]

Thank you very much I'll try that too! Thanks again for your support!

[nationalparker]

Good luck, AprilRose - I read your schedule and WOW - that's tight. If you're able to get a five-minute break in there, I'd add in some raw nuts, too - the protein/healthy fat combo could help as well. (Supposedly roasted nuts alters the fat molecules and enables the fat to be more easily absorbed instead of burned off...at least that's what my eating plan is saying.)

[kiwi1222]

Maybe try to keep a zip loc baggie of high protein snack in your pocket...nuts or low fat protein bar. Protein will keep you the most full throughout the day without slowing you down too much. Throw maybe some dried fruit in that baggie too like some raisins or craisins to give you a gentle sugar boost. With that said, maybe add 2 hardboiled egg whites to your salad along with the chicken. It'll add a ton of protein for only about 30 cals. I'm allergic to nuts so my protein snacks are yogurt and egg whites. Hope those ideas help.

[happynottsgirl]

Hey AprilRose, how did it go?

Did having a smaller breakfast work? Did you change the macros?

[stellarj]

Calorie-wise, fats mean more than twice the number of protein or carb calories. So, if you want to have more calorie space for your dinner, you can try cutting some fats from your big breakfast maybe?
Protein would also keep you full, so I'd go with max. amount of protein and min. amount of carbs and fats but I wouldn't keep doing this for long as restricting the carbs and fats wouldn't mean a balanced diet and this can mess up the metabolism.

[AprilRose]

Hey ladies!
Thanks again for all your advise!
I've cut the bread from my breakfast and instead am having an egg white omelette with veggies.
I've put more meat into my salads and the odd hard boiled egg and it seems to be keeping the hunger at bay at work now. Thank you so much it's really helped! I'm no longer having to chose between going over my calorie allowance or going to bed hungry and I've got the energy to keep going! I weighed myself yesterday and still managed to lose a steady pound this week. Which km happy with its all about losing the weight and keeping it off.
Thanks again!

[happynottsgirl]

Wow great to 'hear' that! Keep it up!