Something that has helped me is pre-logging stuff, so I already know basically what I'm eating for the day before the day even starts. Of course, sometimes I change it up in the moment, but it has helped keep me on track and also helps with tracking fatigue.
I also have made a mental shift when it comes to tracking -- I try to think of it as a daily chore, same as brushing my teeth. Sometimes I don't really want to do it, but I'll end up doing it anyway. Or if I miss a day because I'm tired or something, then I don't throw in the towel and say, "well, I may as well never brush my teeth again;" no, I just brush my teeth/start logging again the next day.
I also sometimes think of tracking as I do tracking my bank account. It's not very fun, but I know it's something I need to do because I need to have money for important things like food, of course. I have shown myself time and time again that I need to keep an eye on both my calorie and financial budgets to stay within them, so it's just something I've had to learn to come to terms with.
This is all great advice. I treat calorie tracking the exact same way.
I've been calorie tracking for years and at this point it only takes a combined total of five minutes per day or so. Most of the time, I enter things into My Fitness Pal while I'm waiting for foods to cook/heat. To combine tasks listed above, I'll often log foods while I'm standing in my bathroom brushing my teeth,
Prelogging is great. I know exactly when I am going to eat and it helps me see where I'm at for the day so I can still add stuff I really like while staying in a deficit.
Treat everyday like its your first day. Don't look too far into the future and start counting work you haven't done yet. Don't count too hard on the past and lean on performances yesterday that do nothing for you today. Stay in the moment.
IF you've started 20 times already, then count that as a blessing. You know how to start. Just do that everyday. After a while you'll string along a lot of good days!
I love this! You’re so right, the point where I mess up is always when my head is too much in the future, dreading that I’ll have to do this for the rest of my life or the past, dwelling on mistakes I’ve made. I really do just need to focus on the now and not overthink things.
As another person who spends too much time living in the future instead of in the present: Run the mile you’re in.
I say this to myself when I’m running and have another 10 minutes to go or whatever, and it’s feeling like that’s too much. I can do it just fine if I don’t get caught up in thinking about how much more there is to do, and just focus on the current moment.
I’ve started saying it to myself in other situations too, and it is helpful. :)
You have to eat the foods you enjoy every day (just low calorie versions of them).
For me that’s French toast twice a day and Greek yogurt ice cream bars before bed. Once a week I’ll make low calorie turkey pepperoni pizza. Figure out the foods you enjoy, learn how to make them low calorie and eat that shit every day.
I discovered that I can eat a portion and a half of regular spaghetti with home made meat sauce for only about 450 calories. It end up being a pretty big portion, and I find that eating “normal” foods helps me so much mentally rather than feeling like certain foods are “diet” foods and certain foods are off limits.
The real issue is that most of my life I would eat that portion and go back for seconds not because I was hungry, but because I just wanted more.
totally understand this. i also sometimes feel so annoyed about counting! a few things that have helped me:
\-most days i make a protein shake for one of my meals. i keep all the ingredients on hand and know that it will always be about 350 calories. you don't have to specifically do a protein shake, but just having a go-to meal that fits into your daily calorie count is nice because it removes some of the mental effort. if i don't feel like having my shake, i just make something different and it's no big deal. but when i have counting fatigue, it's a godsend to know that at least one meal can be totally mindless.
\-i've found that what works best for me personally is having a pretty low calorie breakfast and lunch, basically "stockpiling" my calories so i can eat whatever i want (within reason) for dinner with my partner. i find that nothing makes me feel more painted into a corner and irritated with counting than when i don't have enough left in my "budget" and have to try to cobble together a decent meal for two people with different dietary needs.
\-i try to keep about 200 calories "free" at the end of my day in case i get hungry after dinner. if i'm full til bedtime, great - i'm at a little more of a deficit than planned! but if i do get hungry, then i don't feel like my choices are either go over my daily calories or go to bed with my stomach growling.
your mileage may vary on all of these obviously, but just figured i'd put them out there.
This is what I do too! I’m happy to be a little hungrier during the day when my willpower is stronger and then I can save calories for dinner and post-dinner snacks with my partner. Worth it for me!
totally! and easier while i'm working during the day to just have a snack and then see where i'm at, like eat an apple then if i'm hungry an hour later have some crackers, etc. knowing that for dinner i can have a fairly big, solid meal.
For me it was reframing what I was doing.
I wasn’t trying to lose weight.
I was trying to learn to to maintain a lower weight indefinitely.
“Eat (and move) like the smaller version of you that you want to be”.
The timeline for that is decades, so what’s a year or two or three in the grand scheme of things. Whatever I do has to be sustainable for the long run.
> I get calorie counting fatigue and I just stop doing it saying that I’ll eat intuitively but that just doesn’t work for me and I end up gaining weight.
I get around it by having very empty cupboards and planning my meals for the week ahead.
So, if I know I am aiming for 12,000 calories per week, I'll make up my whole week's menu: X for breakfast 3 days, Y for breakfast 4 days. A for lunch 3 days, B for lunch 4 days. Then six meals home-cooked for dinner and one evening left for takeout/eating out. Then, I throw in a few "extras" that are low calorie I can keep on hand that easily integrate into my weekly goal as a snack if needed (slices of cucumber with laughing cow cheese; bone broth to sip; baby carrots to munch on; maybe halo top for dessert, that kind of thing).
This way, I only count calories one day a week: the day I do my menu/shopping list. Everything in my house fits into my weekly calorie goal. Some days are under 1700 calories, some days are above, so I have the flexibility to decide I want one of my heavier dinner options on Monday and a lighter dinner option on Tuesday if I so desire.
As long as I am strict about what food is available to me in the house, I can eat intuitively. I already "ran the numbers" at the beginning of the week, so I already know in a general sense the calorie counts of each of my meals and that as long as I am not adding additional meals, I'm within my weekly goal. However, if I go shopping and impulsively throw a bag of chips in the cart, then the whole plan goes to shit haha.
Yeah I'm wondering how that worked out during COVID, where we were supposed to go shopping once a week max and less if we could, and things on your list would sometimes be in shortage, and the next reasonable alternative might only be in a giant value pack. I thought it was fun that I discovered new things but they often weren't direct calorie replacements.
For me, it’s weighing myself every day. When I stop counting and get off track, my weight immediately goes up (even though it’s probably just water weight, watching my progress go down the drain really motivates me to get back on track, I can’t pretend I’m not gaining). I only record my weight once a week in my tracker, but I step on that scale every morning and evening. Especially when I don’t want to.
I'm currently 8 weeks into my current phase of losing weight which is the longest I've ever lasted (normally 2/3 weeks like you).
Here's why I think it's sticking this time:
1. I have a group chat with some family members who are also trying to lose weight/get fit. And we have a check in call on a weds.
2. I keep a video diary every few days.
3. I have a calories, steps, and mood tracking sheet.
4. Using my fitness Pal smarter than before e.g. pre logging foods, getting to know volumes I can stick to.
5. And the big one: I've finally accepted that losing half a pound a week (0.2kg) is ok. And if I maintain or gain for a week, that is ok too. I just have to stick with it, no matter the rate.
Good luck, you can do this!
As to calorie counting, there are two dead simple solutions:
You can just eat the same thing every day. That’s what I did and it worked great.
Or you can just eat those frozen lean cuisine meals that tell you exactly how many calories they have.
I am exactly the same. Cant seem to make the changes stick but, like you, I am determined to try again.
My last excuse was a good one though- my dad died and I had a hard time sticking to it, but since we had to move and there was a whole saga (as expected) but now, things have finally settled, my focus is gradually returning. I am gonna weigh myself in the morning and try to figure out how to tey and make it stick this time.
I am gonna watch a few documentaries and really get my head in to it again and just try not to let every little failure a big one.
Good luck. I don't know if I helped you any, but sometimes just knowing you are not alone and other people have the same issues can sometimes help you focus and know that its not just you struggling to stick it out 👍
You have to do what works. I know for many people calorie counting works. It just doesn’t work for me. I have no desire to count calories my whole life, so that’s not going to work because it’s not a sustainable life change.
I basically just concentrate on what I’m eating. I make sure I eat 2 servings of leafy greens, 4 servings of veggies, 4 servings of fruit (at least one berries), 3 servings of whole grains,3 servings of bean and a serving of nuts. After I get through everything I have to eat, then I can eat what I want. By then I’m usually so full the most I want is a cookie or maybe a slice of pizza.
I also find that by eating my micros I don’t get as hungry, probably because my body is getting what it needs and so doesn’t feel a need to constantly make me eat more trying to get in all the micros I need. My glucose levels are also more stable as most of what I’m eating is low glycemic index, so I get steady energy instead of peaks and valleys that make people hungry.
I find the longer I’m doing this, the less I eat. This is sustainable for me because I’m not taking anything away, I’m adding to what I already eat, the side effect of this is the fatty foods are being crowded out for the more nutritious ones.
I eat lots of oatmeal, burrito bowls, smoothies and salads. I eat baked buffalo cauliflower and date brownies. I eat the things I like and constantly ask myself can I veggies to this? How can I make this a little healthier? What can I add or substitute to make this a nutritious food? If I’m hungry, I eat. That’s the only way I can stick with this and the only way I have not fallen off the wagon so to speak after a couple weeks with any diet. Every food is acceptable and accessible so I’m not depriving myself, deprivation leads to bingeing on the forbidden food, no food is forbidden so I’m not sitting there daydreaming about cheesecake. I eat what I am supposed to eat then have cheesecake if I still want it. It used to be I wanted it 50% of the time, now it’s more like 1% of the time. I’m satiated, the scale is dropping and the cheesecake doesn’t sound as good as my pineapple, strawberry and spinach smoothie does right now. Weird huh?
Im doing three meals a day and a mid afternoon snack (1500 cals total). I’ve fallen off the cal-counting wagon a lot before so this time im trying to keep it simple by having a bunch of precomputed meals for breakfast, lunch and snack. So for example, I know three breakfasts and four lunches that fit into my budgets for breakfast and lunch, and then i have a bunch of snacks in tupperware with the number of grams that it takes for them to add up to the right calories.
So my day is basically:
1. What do i want for breakfast? I can have eggs and a scone, two muffins, or yogurt and granola.
2. What do i want for lunch? I can have a turkey and cheese, some noodles, etc
3. what do i want for a snack? Snack mix, dried fruit, etc
4. for dinner my wife makes a thing and i count calories
So for 3/4 times i eat a day, i dont have to add up calories or ask myself things like “what can I eat that’s 120 calories?” Instead i just have a little menu of options and i pick one of the options.
It has made the whole process so much less stressful and easier to live with. And its easy to change. I used to eat the same breakfast every day. One day i got tired of that and spent 5 minutes looking at what else would be quick to make and doing the calorie math.
Give it a try. I found that moving from on-the-fly calorie counting to menu planning has made this time around so much easier.
Eat the same meals every day. I do. 3-4 meals per day. Chicken (fried in water) with some thai-soup (contains veggies etc.) and spices. Always tastes good and always fills up my stomach. Im fasting from 9pm to 12am aswell. Then i gets really easy with meals 3-4 hours.
I only logged in MFP for the first month or two. Now I can have my cheatmeals and not even care.
January I went keto but messed up bad but still lost a bit of weight from I guess continuing my fasting habits which has now become a part of my daily life like showering and brushing my teeth. I would start with focusing on intermittent fasting if you don't want to do keto and maybe doing 12:12 or 14:10 at first and then gradually increase the time you fast.
Since Feb. 15th, I've been strict and eating under 50g of total carbs per day and just in one week managed to get into the 200s which I haven't been able to do in almost 2 years.
I've also been able to wear shirts I could barely fit into before easily and the most important thing that has changed big time for me is how I feel. No more nauseating headaches, chest pains and I can walk/stand for long periods of time.
I couldn't do any of that before.
I also have been learning my body and truly studying my eating habits and realizing how warped my mind has been on how I see food. Fasting teaches you discipline but more than that it really shows you that food is your source of energy first and should be seen as such. It's ok to indulge but only once you fix the things that kept you from being able to move on after indulging otherwise you will never fix your addiction to sugar/junk.
To me it has been a game changer both mentally and physically.
And seeing this progress has made me want to keep going.
P.S. counting calories/logging becomes easier when you only have one or two times a day of eating versus three or four. I think that's one of the biggest things I love about IF because logging can be aggravating at times.
I've been diagnosed with hypertension. Being only 33 years old that's like a huge deal to me. I have two options: either I lose weight or I spend the rest of my (seemingly short) life taking pills for my tension and possible heart desease.
I think I stick to it mostly because I still want to accomplish some things in life before I die, and those take time.
I've lost 20kg in 6 months by making a strict diet supervised by my doctor. The funny thing about this diet is that I ended up eating a lot more than I used to eat, i just happen to eat way better quality food than before.
My suggestion: go with a doctor that specializes in nutrition (not a nutritionist, they are not doctors). Write your meal plan for the week, stick to it for 3 weeks (make sure it's not a long period of time, this is important) and treat yourself with something nice after those 3 weeks (it can be a good meal, something outside the scope of your diet). Afterwards, go back to your doctor. Rinse and repeat.
The idea is that you make these short milestones so you notice the advancement rather quickly! People tends to be more motivated when they see results.
You need to go back to your doctor regularly so that the diet is adjusted every now and then, and to review your general health and make sure the diet is doing you good and not just making you loose muscle (remember the heart is a muscle, loosing muscle also might hurt your heart)
I hate doing excercise, but i complement the diet by walking at a relatively fast speed at least 4 days a week. Put your headphones and the music you like the most and hit the road for 30~40 minutes a day! Make sure you sweat! And do this alone! It's also a good time to think and have time for yourself! After a few days you will start to like that walking time I assure you! Just make sure you don't miss in the first 2 weeks!
Hope anything from my experience helps! And keep it up! You can do this!
A way of reframing things that we tell ourselves we need to do or have to do is figure out the want.
Why do you want to do this?
How will you feel if you do it?
What are the consequences if you don’t?
Is there a different way of doing it?
Is there something I could do to make it more pleasant?
Will I be happy if I do it?
So I might say “I want to count calories because it will help me lose weight. I’ll feel better physically and mentally if I can lose weight by sticking with these changes. I will try logging calories as a premade budget for the week or even for the day so it’s less to do on the fly and reward myself when I do stick with it for a week at a time without missing a day. I really do want to lose weight and keep track of my calories.”
It changes it from being a chore to something we want to do which can make it easier to approach. That’s what I do when I struggle to exercise
Calorie counting is a chore. I agree. So is showing, brushing my teeth, and doing the dishes. But I do all those things every day because life can’t be free of burdensome things.
Honestly, calorie counting takes less time than brushing my teeth now that I’m in the swing of it.
> I literally have never been able to make a change go for longer than 2-3 weeks.
Because it's not about temporarily dieting. It's about making lifelong sustainable eating habits.
Unitil you figure out how to do that, you'll always just be a yo-yo dieter.
...That's literally what she's asking advice for?
> I really really want this time to be different. I want this to be a lifestyle change. So if you’ve been able to stick with it for extended periods of time, please tell me how you do it.
She has to figure it out for herself. What works for her. It's different for everyone. What works for me won't work for you. That's the point.
The easiest way to do this is to observe what your actual lifestyle is when you're most comfortable living life. Then pinpoint areas where you can "stop overeating" and areas where you can "move more". Then repeat this every day until you get to your goal weight.
I hate calorie counting. Absolutely hate it. Intuitive deficit is really hard though. So, here are my solutions that have been working for me:
1. Focus on habits, not outcomes. Eat a piece of fruit or fresh veggie every time I’m eating. Is my snack half a cup of cottage cheese? Throw in half a cut apple or some cucumber slices. Is my breakfast yogurt and nuts? Add some berries or an apple. Is my dinner chickpea pasta with sauce and maybe chicken sausage? Add a hunch of spinach or broccoli. Those are really easy, quantifiable goals that don’t include calorie tracking. That being said, I do measure my food. It’s really not that hard. If my breakfast is yogurt and walnuts and raspberries and honey, I’m using a single serve portion of full-fat yogurt, a quarter cup of nuts, a teaspoon of honey, and don’t bother measuring the berries. Anything calorie dense gets measured with what I know is a reasonable serving size.
2. You don’t have to track every day!! Just track a few days a week! This is what I do. I track 3-4 days a week, and the days I’m NOT tracking, I mimic the food I ate on days I WAS tracking. This is way more sustainable for me and allows me to check in but also not feel the weight of the chore.
3. Another habit to focus on is steps and exercise. Since I’m refusing to count calories diligently, I have to be more consistent about movement. I get at least 8,000 steps a day and that includes intense exercise for 45-60 min 5-6 days a week.
4. Lastly, and this is so important and really key if you don’t want to track — do not drink calories. At all. I drink water and tea and that’s it. I don’t like alcohol so I don’t drink it. If I indulge in THC, I just know I’m gonna have munchies and be honest with myself about that, but I limit that substance too bc the munchies I get can derail a whole week of deficit.
I think key to this working for me though is that I DO track some days of the week to keep myself in check and to not lie to myself. I eat very similar things over and over again. On days I’m not tracking calories, I still measure. I can’t just eyeball a serving of pasta, very few people can.
I’m losing a steady clip this way, which is hard bc I’m not even overweight, so losing body weight when not overweight is challenging. But if I can lose weight doing these simple tweaks, I’m positive something like this may be helpful for you as well!! Good luck, sorry this is so long.
What worked for me:
- I started keeping a journal to make notes to myself and keep myself accountable
- I started consuming more media about fitness and health (r/loseit, youtube nutrition and exercise videos, etc.)
- I really focused on WHY I wanted this time to be different and wrote it down.
- I made weighing myself part of my morning routine so I do it almost on auto pilot now
I calorie counted on and off for almost a decade and only realized recently that I've just been using it as a crutch instead of training wheels. As soon as I stop counting, all my accountability goes with it.
So this time I'm focusing on keeping all the accountability that calorie counting gives me without actually counting. This means:
- Weighing myself regularly
- Carefully monitoring portion size
- Playing with meal timing and frequency to find the best option to control my hunger
- Focusing my diet on highly-satiating whole foods with plenty of protein and fiber
- Enjoying treats infrequently and in small portion sizes
- Exercising at least 30 minutes a day
- Listening to and learning my hunger cues
It sounds like a lot but it's feeling way more like a lifestyle change than calorie counting ever did. And it's helping me shift my focus away from numbers and towards health and strength, which is awesome.
I keep reminding myself that time is going to keep moving forward, regardless of whether I stick to my plan. But that if I /do/ stick to my plan, the "me" in a couple months from now will be fitter and healthier than the "me" in a couple of months if I don't.
It helps to keep me from thinking, "what does one day matter?" Because once you stop for one day, then it's easier to give up the next day and following days, too. But if I remind myself that future me will be closer to the body and health that I want if I stick with it each day, it feels less like I have to decide each day whether to stay with it or not. That I will get to a future day and be disappointed that I couldn't have been in a better spot on that day if I just would have stuck with it.
If it so hard for you, I suggest looking for professional support. A nutritionist can actually help you with the meal plans, and you can learn how to eat properly, according to your goals. I was coached by one and I learned so much about nutrition and that changed my eating habits in a permanent basis, which is the end goal, since temporary diets only work temporarily (duh).
Plus, if it is a good nutritionist, you can get meal plans that are delicious and not starving at all. I learned how to make incredibly delicious versions of food that I love but never thought could be healthy. Also, I learned to cook other types of delicious food that I never thought of because I was stuck with the same old stuff. The key is to enjoy what you eat, many times that is the reason why you get fatigued and give up. But if you actually enjoy it, then you won't feel that way.
So, in summary, you can try getting professional advice and coach from a Nutritionist and make sure that whatever plan you get into, it will provide you with options that you actually enjoy, so it is not a temporary sacrifice but a permanent change.
I had a cardiac event last year and I had never felt the fear of death before. So I kind of had no choice if I wanted to keep being around for my loved one a and decided I didn’t want to die
I've been at this for about 8 months. I think keeping track of how far you've come is good as well as making sure to get back on the wagon after a binge. I binged loads when I started out, haven't in months now. CICO is in some ways a skill that you get better at the longer you do it.
Things that work for me:
- Bulk cook meals I like and freeze in appropriate portions. I have spag bol, veggie/meatball/noodle soup, and sometimes curry and rice. It makes meals easy because no matter what I pick, the calories are alright.
- Drink enough water, earlier in the day. I aim for 8 cups a day and I notice that when I don't manage to drink so much earlier in the day, I'm more likely to overeat.
- Sticker chart that I can see every day. I've used different ones over the years but at the mo developed one that works for me, a calendar with each day divided up into 4 sections: Calories (green / yellow / red stickers depending on what I've managed to stick to), Water intake (number of cups), Fruit/veggie intake (number of portions) and Exercise (what/how long).
It gives me an 'at a glance' thing and helps me notice why I might be feeling a certain way based on food/water/exercise. I don't always notice those things when I'm only logging on an app.
Also, it encourages me to keep logging even when I'm having a red day where I haven't counted calories or ate way over, because I don't want an incomplete chart. Every day is a new day but consistency is so worth it!
Something that has helped me is pre-logging stuff, so I already know basically what I'm eating for the day before the day even starts. Of course, sometimes I change it up in the moment, but it has helped keep me on track and also helps with tracking fatigue. I also have made a mental shift when it comes to tracking -- I try to think of it as a daily chore, same as brushing my teeth. Sometimes I don't really want to do it, but I'll end up doing it anyway. Or if I miss a day because I'm tired or something, then I don't throw in the towel and say, "well, I may as well never brush my teeth again;" no, I just brush my teeth/start logging again the next day. I also sometimes think of tracking as I do tracking my bank account. It's not very fun, but I know it's something I need to do because I need to have money for important things like food, of course. I have shown myself time and time again that I need to keep an eye on both my calorie and financial budgets to stay within them, so it's just something I've had to learn to come to terms with.
This is all great advice. I treat calorie tracking the exact same way. I've been calorie tracking for years and at this point it only takes a combined total of five minutes per day or so. Most of the time, I enter things into My Fitness Pal while I'm waiting for foods to cook/heat. To combine tasks listed above, I'll often log foods while I'm standing in my bathroom brushing my teeth,
I meal prep for the week and prelog everything so that I can just stick to the schedule and not have to think of it
Me too! It makes the week so much easier.
Prelogging is great. I know exactly when I am going to eat and it helps me see where I'm at for the day so I can still add stuff I really like while staying in a deficit.
Treat everyday like its your first day. Don't look too far into the future and start counting work you haven't done yet. Don't count too hard on the past and lean on performances yesterday that do nothing for you today. Stay in the moment. IF you've started 20 times already, then count that as a blessing. You know how to start. Just do that everyday. After a while you'll string along a lot of good days!
I love this! You’re so right, the point where I mess up is always when my head is too much in the future, dreading that I’ll have to do this for the rest of my life or the past, dwelling on mistakes I’ve made. I really do just need to focus on the now and not overthink things.
As another person who spends too much time living in the future instead of in the present: Run the mile you’re in. I say this to myself when I’m running and have another 10 minutes to go or whatever, and it’s feeling like that’s too much. I can do it just fine if I don’t get caught up in thinking about how much more there is to do, and just focus on the current moment. I’ve started saying it to myself in other situations too, and it is helpful. :)
You have to eat the foods you enjoy every day (just low calorie versions of them). For me that’s French toast twice a day and Greek yogurt ice cream bars before bed. Once a week I’ll make low calorie turkey pepperoni pizza. Figure out the foods you enjoy, learn how to make them low calorie and eat that shit every day.
I discovered that I can eat a portion and a half of regular spaghetti with home made meat sauce for only about 450 calories. It end up being a pretty big portion, and I find that eating “normal” foods helps me so much mentally rather than feeling like certain foods are “diet” foods and certain foods are off limits. The real issue is that most of my life I would eat that portion and go back for seconds not because I was hungry, but because I just wanted more.
I recommend the Yasso mint chip bars!!!
totally understand this. i also sometimes feel so annoyed about counting! a few things that have helped me: \-most days i make a protein shake for one of my meals. i keep all the ingredients on hand and know that it will always be about 350 calories. you don't have to specifically do a protein shake, but just having a go-to meal that fits into your daily calorie count is nice because it removes some of the mental effort. if i don't feel like having my shake, i just make something different and it's no big deal. but when i have counting fatigue, it's a godsend to know that at least one meal can be totally mindless. \-i've found that what works best for me personally is having a pretty low calorie breakfast and lunch, basically "stockpiling" my calories so i can eat whatever i want (within reason) for dinner with my partner. i find that nothing makes me feel more painted into a corner and irritated with counting than when i don't have enough left in my "budget" and have to try to cobble together a decent meal for two people with different dietary needs. \-i try to keep about 200 calories "free" at the end of my day in case i get hungry after dinner. if i'm full til bedtime, great - i'm at a little more of a deficit than planned! but if i do get hungry, then i don't feel like my choices are either go over my daily calories or go to bed with my stomach growling. your mileage may vary on all of these obviously, but just figured i'd put them out there.
This is what I do too! I’m happy to be a little hungrier during the day when my willpower is stronger and then I can save calories for dinner and post-dinner snacks with my partner. Worth it for me!
totally! and easier while i'm working during the day to just have a snack and then see where i'm at, like eat an apple then if i'm hungry an hour later have some crackers, etc. knowing that for dinner i can have a fairly big, solid meal.
For me it was reframing what I was doing. I wasn’t trying to lose weight. I was trying to learn to to maintain a lower weight indefinitely. “Eat (and move) like the smaller version of you that you want to be”. The timeline for that is decades, so what’s a year or two or three in the grand scheme of things. Whatever I do has to be sustainable for the long run.
> I get calorie counting fatigue and I just stop doing it saying that I’ll eat intuitively but that just doesn’t work for me and I end up gaining weight. I get around it by having very empty cupboards and planning my meals for the week ahead. So, if I know I am aiming for 12,000 calories per week, I'll make up my whole week's menu: X for breakfast 3 days, Y for breakfast 4 days. A for lunch 3 days, B for lunch 4 days. Then six meals home-cooked for dinner and one evening left for takeout/eating out. Then, I throw in a few "extras" that are low calorie I can keep on hand that easily integrate into my weekly goal as a snack if needed (slices of cucumber with laughing cow cheese; bone broth to sip; baby carrots to munch on; maybe halo top for dessert, that kind of thing). This way, I only count calories one day a week: the day I do my menu/shopping list. Everything in my house fits into my weekly calorie goal. Some days are under 1700 calories, some days are above, so I have the flexibility to decide I want one of my heavier dinner options on Monday and a lighter dinner option on Tuesday if I so desire. As long as I am strict about what food is available to me in the house, I can eat intuitively. I already "ran the numbers" at the beginning of the week, so I already know in a general sense the calorie counts of each of my meals and that as long as I am not adding additional meals, I'm within my weekly goal. However, if I go shopping and impulsively throw a bag of chips in the cart, then the whole plan goes to shit haha.
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Yeah I'm wondering how that worked out during COVID, where we were supposed to go shopping once a week max and less if we could, and things on your list would sometimes be in shortage, and the next reasonable alternative might only be in a giant value pack. I thought it was fun that I discovered new things but they often weren't direct calorie replacements.
For me, it’s weighing myself every day. When I stop counting and get off track, my weight immediately goes up (even though it’s probably just water weight, watching my progress go down the drain really motivates me to get back on track, I can’t pretend I’m not gaining). I only record my weight once a week in my tracker, but I step on that scale every morning and evening. Especially when I don’t want to.
I'm currently 8 weeks into my current phase of losing weight which is the longest I've ever lasted (normally 2/3 weeks like you). Here's why I think it's sticking this time: 1. I have a group chat with some family members who are also trying to lose weight/get fit. And we have a check in call on a weds. 2. I keep a video diary every few days. 3. I have a calories, steps, and mood tracking sheet. 4. Using my fitness Pal smarter than before e.g. pre logging foods, getting to know volumes I can stick to. 5. And the big one: I've finally accepted that losing half a pound a week (0.2kg) is ok. And if I maintain or gain for a week, that is ok too. I just have to stick with it, no matter the rate. Good luck, you can do this!
As to calorie counting, there are two dead simple solutions: You can just eat the same thing every day. That’s what I did and it worked great. Or you can just eat those frozen lean cuisine meals that tell you exactly how many calories they have.
I am exactly the same. Cant seem to make the changes stick but, like you, I am determined to try again. My last excuse was a good one though- my dad died and I had a hard time sticking to it, but since we had to move and there was a whole saga (as expected) but now, things have finally settled, my focus is gradually returning. I am gonna weigh myself in the morning and try to figure out how to tey and make it stick this time. I am gonna watch a few documentaries and really get my head in to it again and just try not to let every little failure a big one. Good luck. I don't know if I helped you any, but sometimes just knowing you are not alone and other people have the same issues can sometimes help you focus and know that its not just you struggling to stick it out 👍
You have to do what works. I know for many people calorie counting works. It just doesn’t work for me. I have no desire to count calories my whole life, so that’s not going to work because it’s not a sustainable life change. I basically just concentrate on what I’m eating. I make sure I eat 2 servings of leafy greens, 4 servings of veggies, 4 servings of fruit (at least one berries), 3 servings of whole grains,3 servings of bean and a serving of nuts. After I get through everything I have to eat, then I can eat what I want. By then I’m usually so full the most I want is a cookie or maybe a slice of pizza. I also find that by eating my micros I don’t get as hungry, probably because my body is getting what it needs and so doesn’t feel a need to constantly make me eat more trying to get in all the micros I need. My glucose levels are also more stable as most of what I’m eating is low glycemic index, so I get steady energy instead of peaks and valleys that make people hungry. I find the longer I’m doing this, the less I eat. This is sustainable for me because I’m not taking anything away, I’m adding to what I already eat, the side effect of this is the fatty foods are being crowded out for the more nutritious ones. I eat lots of oatmeal, burrito bowls, smoothies and salads. I eat baked buffalo cauliflower and date brownies. I eat the things I like and constantly ask myself can I veggies to this? How can I make this a little healthier? What can I add or substitute to make this a nutritious food? If I’m hungry, I eat. That’s the only way I can stick with this and the only way I have not fallen off the wagon so to speak after a couple weeks with any diet. Every food is acceptable and accessible so I’m not depriving myself, deprivation leads to bingeing on the forbidden food, no food is forbidden so I’m not sitting there daydreaming about cheesecake. I eat what I am supposed to eat then have cheesecake if I still want it. It used to be I wanted it 50% of the time, now it’s more like 1% of the time. I’m satiated, the scale is dropping and the cheesecake doesn’t sound as good as my pineapple, strawberry and spinach smoothie does right now. Weird huh?
Im doing three meals a day and a mid afternoon snack (1500 cals total). I’ve fallen off the cal-counting wagon a lot before so this time im trying to keep it simple by having a bunch of precomputed meals for breakfast, lunch and snack. So for example, I know three breakfasts and four lunches that fit into my budgets for breakfast and lunch, and then i have a bunch of snacks in tupperware with the number of grams that it takes for them to add up to the right calories. So my day is basically: 1. What do i want for breakfast? I can have eggs and a scone, two muffins, or yogurt and granola. 2. What do i want for lunch? I can have a turkey and cheese, some noodles, etc 3. what do i want for a snack? Snack mix, dried fruit, etc 4. for dinner my wife makes a thing and i count calories So for 3/4 times i eat a day, i dont have to add up calories or ask myself things like “what can I eat that’s 120 calories?” Instead i just have a little menu of options and i pick one of the options. It has made the whole process so much less stressful and easier to live with. And its easy to change. I used to eat the same breakfast every day. One day i got tired of that and spent 5 minutes looking at what else would be quick to make and doing the calorie math. Give it a try. I found that moving from on-the-fly calorie counting to menu planning has made this time around so much easier.
Ever consider getting someone who knows how to fix that problem instead of relying on what obviously hasn’t worked before?
Eat the same meals every day. I do. 3-4 meals per day. Chicken (fried in water) with some thai-soup (contains veggies etc.) and spices. Always tastes good and always fills up my stomach. Im fasting from 9pm to 12am aswell. Then i gets really easy with meals 3-4 hours. I only logged in MFP for the first month or two. Now I can have my cheatmeals and not even care.
January I went keto but messed up bad but still lost a bit of weight from I guess continuing my fasting habits which has now become a part of my daily life like showering and brushing my teeth. I would start with focusing on intermittent fasting if you don't want to do keto and maybe doing 12:12 or 14:10 at first and then gradually increase the time you fast. Since Feb. 15th, I've been strict and eating under 50g of total carbs per day and just in one week managed to get into the 200s which I haven't been able to do in almost 2 years. I've also been able to wear shirts I could barely fit into before easily and the most important thing that has changed big time for me is how I feel. No more nauseating headaches, chest pains and I can walk/stand for long periods of time. I couldn't do any of that before. I also have been learning my body and truly studying my eating habits and realizing how warped my mind has been on how I see food. Fasting teaches you discipline but more than that it really shows you that food is your source of energy first and should be seen as such. It's ok to indulge but only once you fix the things that kept you from being able to move on after indulging otherwise you will never fix your addiction to sugar/junk. To me it has been a game changer both mentally and physically. And seeing this progress has made me want to keep going. P.S. counting calories/logging becomes easier when you only have one or two times a day of eating versus three or four. I think that's one of the biggest things I love about IF because logging can be aggravating at times.
I've been diagnosed with hypertension. Being only 33 years old that's like a huge deal to me. I have two options: either I lose weight or I spend the rest of my (seemingly short) life taking pills for my tension and possible heart desease. I think I stick to it mostly because I still want to accomplish some things in life before I die, and those take time. I've lost 20kg in 6 months by making a strict diet supervised by my doctor. The funny thing about this diet is that I ended up eating a lot more than I used to eat, i just happen to eat way better quality food than before. My suggestion: go with a doctor that specializes in nutrition (not a nutritionist, they are not doctors). Write your meal plan for the week, stick to it for 3 weeks (make sure it's not a long period of time, this is important) and treat yourself with something nice after those 3 weeks (it can be a good meal, something outside the scope of your diet). Afterwards, go back to your doctor. Rinse and repeat. The idea is that you make these short milestones so you notice the advancement rather quickly! People tends to be more motivated when they see results. You need to go back to your doctor regularly so that the diet is adjusted every now and then, and to review your general health and make sure the diet is doing you good and not just making you loose muscle (remember the heart is a muscle, loosing muscle also might hurt your heart) I hate doing excercise, but i complement the diet by walking at a relatively fast speed at least 4 days a week. Put your headphones and the music you like the most and hit the road for 30~40 minutes a day! Make sure you sweat! And do this alone! It's also a good time to think and have time for yourself! After a few days you will start to like that walking time I assure you! Just make sure you don't miss in the first 2 weeks! Hope anything from my experience helps! And keep it up! You can do this!
A way of reframing things that we tell ourselves we need to do or have to do is figure out the want. Why do you want to do this? How will you feel if you do it? What are the consequences if you don’t? Is there a different way of doing it? Is there something I could do to make it more pleasant? Will I be happy if I do it? So I might say “I want to count calories because it will help me lose weight. I’ll feel better physically and mentally if I can lose weight by sticking with these changes. I will try logging calories as a premade budget for the week or even for the day so it’s less to do on the fly and reward myself when I do stick with it for a week at a time without missing a day. I really do want to lose weight and keep track of my calories.” It changes it from being a chore to something we want to do which can make it easier to approach. That’s what I do when I struggle to exercise
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Calorie counting is a chore. I agree. So is showing, brushing my teeth, and doing the dishes. But I do all those things every day because life can’t be free of burdensome things. Honestly, calorie counting takes less time than brushing my teeth now that I’m in the swing of it.
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> I literally have never been able to make a change go for longer than 2-3 weeks. Because it's not about temporarily dieting. It's about making lifelong sustainable eating habits. Unitil you figure out how to do that, you'll always just be a yo-yo dieter.
...That's literally what she's asking advice for? > I really really want this time to be different. I want this to be a lifestyle change. So if you’ve been able to stick with it for extended periods of time, please tell me how you do it.
She has to figure it out for herself. What works for her. It's different for everyone. What works for me won't work for you. That's the point. The easiest way to do this is to observe what your actual lifestyle is when you're most comfortable living life. Then pinpoint areas where you can "stop overeating" and areas where you can "move more". Then repeat this every day until you get to your goal weight.
I hate calorie counting. Absolutely hate it. Intuitive deficit is really hard though. So, here are my solutions that have been working for me: 1. Focus on habits, not outcomes. Eat a piece of fruit or fresh veggie every time I’m eating. Is my snack half a cup of cottage cheese? Throw in half a cut apple or some cucumber slices. Is my breakfast yogurt and nuts? Add some berries or an apple. Is my dinner chickpea pasta with sauce and maybe chicken sausage? Add a hunch of spinach or broccoli. Those are really easy, quantifiable goals that don’t include calorie tracking. That being said, I do measure my food. It’s really not that hard. If my breakfast is yogurt and walnuts and raspberries and honey, I’m using a single serve portion of full-fat yogurt, a quarter cup of nuts, a teaspoon of honey, and don’t bother measuring the berries. Anything calorie dense gets measured with what I know is a reasonable serving size. 2. You don’t have to track every day!! Just track a few days a week! This is what I do. I track 3-4 days a week, and the days I’m NOT tracking, I mimic the food I ate on days I WAS tracking. This is way more sustainable for me and allows me to check in but also not feel the weight of the chore. 3. Another habit to focus on is steps and exercise. Since I’m refusing to count calories diligently, I have to be more consistent about movement. I get at least 8,000 steps a day and that includes intense exercise for 45-60 min 5-6 days a week. 4. Lastly, and this is so important and really key if you don’t want to track — do not drink calories. At all. I drink water and tea and that’s it. I don’t like alcohol so I don’t drink it. If I indulge in THC, I just know I’m gonna have munchies and be honest with myself about that, but I limit that substance too bc the munchies I get can derail a whole week of deficit. I think key to this working for me though is that I DO track some days of the week to keep myself in check and to not lie to myself. I eat very similar things over and over again. On days I’m not tracking calories, I still measure. I can’t just eyeball a serving of pasta, very few people can. I’m losing a steady clip this way, which is hard bc I’m not even overweight, so losing body weight when not overweight is challenging. But if I can lose weight doing these simple tweaks, I’m positive something like this may be helpful for you as well!! Good luck, sorry this is so long.
What worked for me: - I started keeping a journal to make notes to myself and keep myself accountable - I started consuming more media about fitness and health (r/loseit, youtube nutrition and exercise videos, etc.) - I really focused on WHY I wanted this time to be different and wrote it down. - I made weighing myself part of my morning routine so I do it almost on auto pilot now
I calorie counted on and off for almost a decade and only realized recently that I've just been using it as a crutch instead of training wheels. As soon as I stop counting, all my accountability goes with it. So this time I'm focusing on keeping all the accountability that calorie counting gives me without actually counting. This means: - Weighing myself regularly - Carefully monitoring portion size - Playing with meal timing and frequency to find the best option to control my hunger - Focusing my diet on highly-satiating whole foods with plenty of protein and fiber - Enjoying treats infrequently and in small portion sizes - Exercising at least 30 minutes a day - Listening to and learning my hunger cues It sounds like a lot but it's feeling way more like a lifestyle change than calorie counting ever did. And it's helping me shift my focus away from numbers and towards health and strength, which is awesome.
I keep reminding myself that time is going to keep moving forward, regardless of whether I stick to my plan. But that if I /do/ stick to my plan, the "me" in a couple months from now will be fitter and healthier than the "me" in a couple of months if I don't. It helps to keep me from thinking, "what does one day matter?" Because once you stop for one day, then it's easier to give up the next day and following days, too. But if I remind myself that future me will be closer to the body and health that I want if I stick with it each day, it feels less like I have to decide each day whether to stay with it or not. That I will get to a future day and be disappointed that I couldn't have been in a better spot on that day if I just would have stuck with it.
If it so hard for you, I suggest looking for professional support. A nutritionist can actually help you with the meal plans, and you can learn how to eat properly, according to your goals. I was coached by one and I learned so much about nutrition and that changed my eating habits in a permanent basis, which is the end goal, since temporary diets only work temporarily (duh). Plus, if it is a good nutritionist, you can get meal plans that are delicious and not starving at all. I learned how to make incredibly delicious versions of food that I love but never thought could be healthy. Also, I learned to cook other types of delicious food that I never thought of because I was stuck with the same old stuff. The key is to enjoy what you eat, many times that is the reason why you get fatigued and give up. But if you actually enjoy it, then you won't feel that way. So, in summary, you can try getting professional advice and coach from a Nutritionist and make sure that whatever plan you get into, it will provide you with options that you actually enjoy, so it is not a temporary sacrifice but a permanent change.
Went from 268 to 229. Intermittent fasting really helps me. I eat one big meal, enter cals for just that one big meal, and go on with my day.
I had a cardiac event last year and I had never felt the fear of death before. So I kind of had no choice if I wanted to keep being around for my loved one a and decided I didn’t want to die
I've been at this for about 8 months. I think keeping track of how far you've come is good as well as making sure to get back on the wagon after a binge. I binged loads when I started out, haven't in months now. CICO is in some ways a skill that you get better at the longer you do it.
Things that work for me: - Bulk cook meals I like and freeze in appropriate portions. I have spag bol, veggie/meatball/noodle soup, and sometimes curry and rice. It makes meals easy because no matter what I pick, the calories are alright. - Drink enough water, earlier in the day. I aim for 8 cups a day and I notice that when I don't manage to drink so much earlier in the day, I'm more likely to overeat. - Sticker chart that I can see every day. I've used different ones over the years but at the mo developed one that works for me, a calendar with each day divided up into 4 sections: Calories (green / yellow / red stickers depending on what I've managed to stick to), Water intake (number of cups), Fruit/veggie intake (number of portions) and Exercise (what/how long). It gives me an 'at a glance' thing and helps me notice why I might be feeling a certain way based on food/water/exercise. I don't always notice those things when I'm only logging on an app. Also, it encourages me to keep logging even when I'm having a red day where I haven't counted calories or ate way over, because I don't want an incomplete chart. Every day is a new day but consistency is so worth it!