Eating Strategies

K

kristi

Cathlete
So I've finally faced up to the fact that I have to start tracking calories again and lower my caloric intake in order to lose weight, no matter how much I would like to believe otherwise. I like calorie zigzagging to keep my body guessing. My question is, on lower calorie days, what kind of strategies do you use to keep your calories in check? I've tried drinking more water, which helps. How about if you are still hungry? Do you keep low calories snacks such as celery and popcorn on hand?
 
I don't typically calorie zigzag, but when I'm cutting my calories I find that making sure I spread them evenly over the day helps. One time I made the mistake of eating most of my calories before 6pm. Those hours between 6-10pm were terrible!! I try to make sure I have at least 200 calories left for the day at around 8pm. And whatever I am having, I try to make it something that takes a bit of time to eat(like pretzels or carrots). It seems that when I have something that takes some time to chew, I feel like I'm not restricting myself so much.
 
The only strategy that's worked for me in terms of monitoring what I eat is to track my calories on MyFitnessPal. I know this isn't exactly what you're asking for, but tracking everything I put in my mouth is the only thing that keeps me accountable and on track. I've gotten GREAT results by doing so.

Not keeping "unhealthy" food in the house has also helped a lot. If there are no chips in the pantry and only fresh fruit and veggies in the fridge, well, guess I'm snacking on the fruit and veggies. :)

Good luck!!
 
I also find I have to physically get out of the kitchen to keep from eating more than I should. I try to go do something else until that longing for something else to eat goes away. I'll drink a glass of water or brush my teeth -- whatever it takes. Sometimes I even will have an Altoid mint. The strength of the flavor reduces my desire to eat too much. Hope this helps. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the suggestions! I'll be using them! I track my calories two ways, one with notebook and the other with Fitday. It is easier for me to keep the notebook handy throughout the day than it is to log onto Fitday every time I eat something.

Thanks again!!
 
I prefer eating more of my calories earlier in the day, tapering off calories/carbs, and I drink caffeine free herbal tea in the evening to keep me full. But, basically, yes, I do get hungry. Its easier if you have some healthy fat (coconut oil is the best at this.) with the lunch time meal and dinner meal. So, on a lower calorie day, I would workout, either with a 100 cal. snack before or not, then have 500 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch, and the remainder at dinner. I don't like snacks, they are just not big enough to really make me feel full. Also, the best way to prevent getting too hungry too soon is to eat plenty of leafy greens. Those have so few calories and really do slow down the rate at which you get hungry. They are almost a freebie. What I like to do is just get a bag of prewashed and for most meals, just put whatever it was (soup, stew, stir fry, grilled meat/veggies, legumes, fruit, nuts.) on top. I go with spinach if its soup, but mostly its just a great filler. Be sure to add in those calories too.

My favorite video on the topic of counting calories is Leigh Peele's youtube.
 
Did you watch the video? I really hope so. I weigh my pbj now by the gram. I put on the bread, tare it out, then switch to grams mode, add my jelly (I go for half size. which is 9.5 grams.) then tare that out and add the pb (32 grams for a serving or 16 grams for 1/2 a serving.) on one slice of bread. Its actually quite filling. I don't feel deprived with a little less pb but man, I feel empowered!!! :cool:
 
Thank you RapidBreath for sharing that youtube site! It was eye-opening. Who would have thought measuring in grams as opposed to measuring cup would make such a difference. I'm a believer. Thanks also for the tips!
 
I count WW Points - I find smaller numbers to be easier to keep in my head throughout the day if I can't track it right away.

I think a major component is also figuring out what low cal foods (low point foods) keep you most satisfied between meals. There are too many foods that are low cal that just leave me wanting more, so I have to stick with my healthy, filling foods.

Also, I'm working on definitely start - stop times for my meals and snacks. not like a stop watch sort of thing, but when I'm done; I'm done until the next meal time... no "lingering" around my "bites" of food. Little bites add up fast!
 
As for the night time snacking..... I brush my teeth, and then you don't want to eat. Sounds kinda crazy....but it works! :D
 
Interesting video

So, the girl in the video seems to have a pretty fancy food scale. I have a basic digital one that picked up at Walmart. What food scales do you all use?





RapidBreath said:
I prefer eating more of my calories earlier in the day, tapering off calories/carbs, and I drink caffeine free herbal tea in the evening to keep me full. But, basically, yes, I do get hungry. Its easier if you have some healthy fat (coconut oil is the best at this.) with the lunch time meal and dinner meal. So, on a lower calorie day, I would workout, either with a 100 cal. snack before or not, then have 500 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch, and the remainder at dinner. I don't like snacks, they are just not big enough to really make me feel full. Also, the best way to prevent getting too hungry too soon is to eat plenty of leafy greens. Those have so few calories and really do slow down the rate at which you get hungry. They are almost a freebie. What I like to do is just get a bag of prewashed and for most meals, just put whatever it was (soup, stew, stir fry, grilled meat/veggies, legumes, fruit, nuts.) on top. I go with spinach if its soup, but mostly its just a great filler. Be sure to add in those calories too.

My favorite video on the topic of counting calories is Leigh Peele's youtube.
Click to expand...
 
Food Scale

sunsdaughter said:
So, the girl in the video seems to have a pretty fancy food scale. I have a basic digital one that picked up at Walmart. What food scales do you all use?
Click to expand...

I have a Kitrics scale that I got on Woot.com during one of their daily specials. I couldn't pass on the price of $20. I've had it for 3 years and really like it. I can weigh in grams or ounces. I can use their food manual to punch in the "food codes" that tell you the nutirional values of the foods in addition to the number of calories. And if I'm "building" something like a salad, I can keep a running total of all the ingredients as I add them to the scale.

It has served me well, and I use it to weigh mail to calculate postage, too. :D

Bonnie
 
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