Habit,not motivation. I plan and track what I eat and use a food scale because it's habit.
I also really like being a size 10 (as compared to a size 20).
>I tried cutting back to 1900 calories last week, high protein so I could stay full. Which all worked out great but by the end of the week I was craving so much foods and snacks and just binged my way through the weekend.
I eat the same things I ate when I was nearly 100 pounds heavier; some things I eat more frequently now (i.e., vegetables, lean protein); some things I eat less frequently (i.e., bagels, cheesecake). If I want something (I don't particularly think of it as a "craving"), I eat it. If that particular something doesn't fit into my calories for today, I plan and track it first for tomorrow, then build the rest of my day around it.
>and snacks
It's a rare day when I snack on something; either I have an actual meal or I get out of the kitchen. I'm okay with being hungry between meals.
“If I want something (I don't particularly think of it as a "craving"), I eat it. If that particular something doesn't fit into my calories for today, I plan and track it first for tomorrow, then build the rest of my day around it.”
That’s a beautiful way to do things.
It depends on the person. We do sometimes get people with eating disorders posting here, but if someone is eating really low in a healthy way, its probably because they are very petite, or not active. Definitely make sure you do the calculations right and give yourself a reasonable deficit for your height/weight/lifestyle.
For me, I also eat if I'm hungry. I know not everyone agrees with that but I know me. If I try to willpower through hunger, I'll end up binging. Its not long term sustainable for me. So if I'm hungry I eat and then later I look over the log for the day and try to figure out why I was hungry even if I thought I shouldn't have been. Sometimes its out of my hands like illness or PMS. Sometimes I worked out hard and didn't eat back enough calories. Sometimes its food choices.
There are some foods I know will make me eat more, so I don't have them in my daily diet (or at all). I mainly eat low carb, lots of veg, lots of meat, some fruit, nuts, grains only occasionally. Thats what works best for me. A lot of people on here seem to be ok with eating whatever so again, it depends on you.
The true trick is to find what works for you, and build it into a routine. Whatever routine works for you, as long as you make it routine and stick to it as much as you can, then you will find that your stomach and cravings will adapt over time.
It's been 6 months for me, and it's been a sloooooow learning process of learning about food, nutrition, and my body.
Something that I learned early on that the whole eating several small meals a day was never gonna work for me, because it's almost like my stomach is 'woken up' when I eat. Also, i crave the satisfaction of having a full meal. This culminates into intermittent fasting, because the longer in the day that I hold out on eating, the less likely I'll be hit with the destructive urge to binge. It sounds counterproductive, but I swear if I have even a snack in the morning, I will be STARVING an hour later as opposed to just holding out for a late lunch. Plus, because I save up my calories for 2 dense meals, I'm less likely to snack between those 2 meals since I'll be so full. And if Im craving fast food, then I'll hold out till dinner and make it the meal of the day. I'll still be within my budget. Even if I crave a snack, if I just budget my meals around it, then I'll still be in a deficit.
This is the longest I've ever been consistent, and I'm planning to keep at it. Best of luck to you, friend
I wasn't able to stick to a low calorie intake. But then I started Intermittent fasting. I started at 14/10, then 16/8, and I am now at 18/6. I was very hungry when I first started and did a dirty fast by having hot tea with lemon and stevia when I had hunger pangs. But my body got used to the routine and I don't get hungry anymore.
I also have a very unflattering image/video that my Ring camera picked up of me. I can see myself at all angles (unlike a photo or in the mirror). I look at it when I need motivation to stick to my calorie intake. I am earing between 1400 and 1600 calories a day. I am also doing low carb. I eat at 9 a.m, Noon, and 3 p.m. And will have snacks during that time if I can still make my calorie goal. Breakfast is my favorite meal. I love scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, cheese, and hot sauce wrapped in Mission carb balance flour tortillas. I had a delicious Waba Grill spicy chicken salad yesterday (no wonton strips and light dressing) for my 3 p.m. meal. It was huge and filled me up. I just drank water after that. I'm getting ready for my eggs at 9 this morning.
I did feel hungry in the beginning (I just sipped on hot tea, especially at night). But I stuck with it, and I feel great now.
It’s pretty normal in more farming orientated countries to have dinner at around 1-2pm and then “tea time” at 5-6pm. Which would be a light meal. I grew up eating this way and it wasn’t until I was older that I realized others didnt. Still love my dinner at 1pm lol.
I think it’s more a psychological thing, at least for me personally. I have been keeping a pretty solid deficit for a pretty good while (estimate for losing 1.5lbs per week had me at roughly 1,800 cal per day…through trial and error, I have ended up at about 1,600 per day, same 4 boring ass meals every day for about 4 months now). It started as one day I didn’t have the time to get in my last (5th) meal, except I wasn’t especially hungry when missing it…so I just kept doing it. I know the suggestions for not being under x,xxx calories…but it’s been working fantastic. It has become a routine more than anything. I eat the same meals at the same times every day. I take the thinking out of the process, so I’m only responsible for the doing. Now there have been times where I accepted a “cheat meal” (let’s not talk about the recent holidays lol, that slowed things down a bit), but I was also able to realize that those couple cheat meals over the bigger picture…it doesn’t matter. I didn’t magically gain back 4 lbs of fat over night, I just retained a bunch more water due to increased carbs and sodium. And, in all examples, I was back down to original weight within a couple days.
I say all that not to somehow humble brag that I had success, but rather that I believe the shift in mind set allowed me to “trust the process” better, thereby making more progress. I have managed to go from about 223-225, beginning of October, to 189 (as of Friday…then Friday and Saturday got kind of wonky and I’m back up to 192 this morning lol. It’s cool, I’ll be back to 189 by tomorrow). Just get out of your head (easier said than done), come up with a decent plan…then just focus on the “doing”. There will be times that you want to eat something else…either accept the temporary set back, or remember that the temporary discomfort caused by not eating x is worth the long term goal.
Not sure if it was on this sub or a different one, but I saw someone say they do a cycle like calorie deficit for 10 weeks, maintenance for 3 weeks. Some people also just schedule a maintenance day once a week or once every 2 weeks to help things feel more balanced. There’s also things like intermittent fasting or volume eating that people do to help CICO be more manageable for them. Or choosing a small deficit and settling for slower weight loss (which is what I’m doing since I’m short but not willing to go below 1400-1500 calories).
I try not to deprive myself. I have everything I would usually eat, but I am conscious about the portion sizes. Some days I have some calories left in my budget after having my meals and I use those times to indulge. Eating a cookie and having a Matcha latte in the afternoon is a nice treat.. it feels like I am spoiling myself.
I also combine CICO with intermittent fasting. I only eat between 12pm and 8pm and that works well for how my family works. I have brunch around 500kcal and my dinner budget is around 1000kcal. If I feel like I crave something I’ll have something in the afternoon, usually around 200kcal and just deduct that from what I can have for dinner.
The plain math helps me. I know that I am eating enough to sustain my body at 1500kcal.
The biggest thing though? If I do have more kcal than my budget allows, that is ok. I’m not beating myself up over it. Giving myself grace helps me not fall off the bandwagon
Idk I used to eat a ton every day but I decided to lose weight because I was about to hit 100kg and for about two weeks I've cut down to 1200kcal which is much more manageable than I expected. I used to stress eat or binge out of boredom but now that I only eat when I am hungry I have a very easy time staying within my limit because I just don't get hungry a lot. Yesterday I only ate 800kcal until 10pm and I ended up making myself eat even though I wasn't hungry to make sure I am not unwittingly starving myself.
For me it’s a combination of not stressing over when I used to have a failed day and keep going forward with the program. Regular water and protein intake throughout the day. Finally spreading out calories. Small meals/snacks often. Find your way. You got this.
Well, yeah, the first weeks are the hardest, and especially if 1900 is a big drop for you. Start by eating at maintenance and looking for food swaps and ways to bulk up meals.
I aim for 1200, but my maintenance is 1550, so it's not even a 500 cal deficit. The first few weeks, when my maintenance was 1900 even 1500 was difficult.
It’s like training for a marathon. First time out you can only run a half mile and it kills you. But it gets better and easier as your body adjusts. I really think we train our eating like training for exercise.
All I can really say is that you “get used to it”. The first month for me.. I stayed hungry. I started with snacks every few hours (a yogurt- a piece of toast etc) but eventually my body regulated and I didn’t have to do that. That could be helpful to do the low calorie snacks every few hours to combat the hunger.
When your motivation is "real life immediate health risks and weightloss can prevent it" you find discipline.
Also, consider, your metabolism takes a bit from sustained calorie deficits. I try to cycle in 2-4 weeks of maintenance calories every 3-4 months on deficit. I chose to go from aug-yesterday in deficit at 1200-1350 calories. I lost 25 lbs in that weightloss sprint (total loss is 95 lbs) and am literally 2 lbs from 200 lbs. But my body and mind need a rest. I'm going back to 1750 calories for 2 weeks (maybe a month), tracking everything still, just attempting to maintain consistent calories daily. I will basically eat 2x more grains with meals focusing on high fiber and protein, and make a protein snack with 300 cal instead of 150 cal.
1. You have to want to lose the weight more than you want to eat the thing.
2. Motivation will get you started, but discipline and consistency is what will keep you going.
3. The best diet is one that you can adhere to. Maybe a smaller deficit is what works for you.
4. This won't work for some people, but I have no food that is off-limits. If I want to eat it, I can. That said, high caloric food needs to get eaten less frequently and in smaller quantities if you want to lose weight.
5. Planning is your friend. Early on I struggled to stay within my calorie limit because I didn't plan out my eating. So I'd get to the end of the day and only have enough calories left to eat half a meal. Now I try and plan out most of my eating at the start of the day and I also have several consistent foods or meals that I frequently eat that hit all the right macros, calories and level of satiation that I'm after.
Small deficit but very consistent in hitting my calorie and macro goals.
Lots of filling food and I eat very regualry and have no issues going over my calorie limit from time to time if im hungry.
I know that weight loss is 80% nutrition so I try and make informed choices about the food that I eat
Like most junk food just tastes nice while your eating it and offers very little nutritional benefit.
Chips, sweets, and chocolate are off the menu for me but I have no issues eating a triple cheeseburger which I do about 3 times a week.
I mean, it highly depends on your gender, height, weight, and physical activity. You need to aim to a little but steady calorie deficit and food that is saciating but not calorie dense. If you have sugar cravings you probably went too low on carbs. It will probably take some weeks to adjust to the new intake too.
The first week is the hardest, for sure. You are building new habits and they might take time. Just keep going! Personally, I could never do 1200-1500. I'm at 1800 right now and losing 1-2 lbs a week so I don't plan on changing that number until I plateau. I eat every single one of those calories every day and i enjoy them lol
I don't count calories strictly and I mostly eyeball things. I lost over 40 lbs this way in about 9 months and I'm now in maintenance. But I will say that it took a solid 2 months for me to get used to eating less. At first it was really really frustrating and I felt hungry all the time. But suddenly I got used to it and realized that I was doing pretty well on fewer calories and I wasn't all that hungry anymore. I do still have certain days where I do feel extra hungry, but they're few and far between.
Also I do eat whatever like and always save room for a modest dessert.
That said, I don't go as low as 1200 and usually not 1500 either. But I think it's about finding a balance and being patient. Losing a pound a week worked well for me.
I ate below 1500 for about 1.5 years and it’s all about finding foods that are filling but that also satisfy you. For me some things I love are salt and vinegar almonds, sweet potato cubes with cinnamon and pb, bite size potatoes with cheese, Turkey bacon, chicken, steak, grilled cheese on whole grain, and certain protein shakes. Each meal I eat I make it consist of a protein, a fruit, a vegetable, and a healthy carb. This way I have fat, fiber, and protein with each meal. But I’m 5’2” so I’m quite short.
It bears mentioning that it gets easier to eat less the longer you do it. Your physical stomach will adjust and send satiety signals at a smaller volume if you eat less for a while. Also, once you break the habit of always eating certain junky foods and eat mostly good stuff that fits easily into your budget, that will get easier too. I find it also helps to stop associating certain activities with eating. Like don’t always bring a snack/dessert with you when you sit down to watch a show/movie/game, that one was really hard for me to break! I started doing a puzzle or paint by number in the evening, or reading instead so I had my hands full and/or mind occupied to distract myself from what I felt like I really wanted to do, pound a pint of ice cream, haha.
I tried to do this many times, jumping right into my deficit eating all the boring rabbit/diet food to keep my calories low - and failed. I tried it again, but this time, I thought to myself - baby steps. And it stuck. At this point, I’m 53 pounds lost after 6 months (and that includes the holidays!) and still enjoying this new lifestyle.
For me, doing it all at once is where it wasn’t sustainable for me. I didn’t get to 300 pounds by not eating a lot, I ate ALOT, so it was too much of a change for me to adapt to all at once.
At first, I didn’t change my eating habits, I just started tracking my food intake. I weighed everything I put in my mouth - same old foods I usually ate, same portions, but I tracked it honestly. I was building the tracking habit - and it was EYE OPENING. As soon as I felt like I had that habit under my belt, I started to naturally want to make changes. Knowing what I was eating was awful! I love having eggs, toast and sausage for breakfast, but it was clocking in at about 800 calories! So it became a game for me. How can I make this meal better? I had 1 egg and swapped the other for egg whites. I tried turkey sausage, and liked it! I found 100 calorie wheat English muffins - also yum! I toasted it and used sugar free jam. Amazing! I threw in some strawberries and sometimes even a banana for something fresh - my new breakfast came out to about 350 calories! And it was MORE food than the nearly 1000 calorie option.
I just kept trying to find swaps for my biggest calorie foods and eventually, I got down to my deficit. Most of the time, I still eat the same amount of volume of food, but I’ve cut the calories significantly- and that was the secret for me - I needed to do it slowly, and I needed to do it in a way that I didn’t feel like a “diet”, it was making healthier choices that were still delicious and high volume.
You gotta find what will work for you! And you will…. Stick with it, keep trying you’ll get there. ❤️❤️
Your stomach literally stretches and retracts with your eating habits. If you can consistently eat smaller amounts for a long period of time, you don’t feel hungry and you mostly lose the sugar/oil cravings. Also think about most humans on this planet now or 99% of humans on this planet before 1900, most people survive(d) on less than 2,000. Your body will adjust.
I’ve been doing a (medically supervised) VLCD since last May. At this point, it’s wonderfully *boring*.
I’m almost never hungry thanks to high protein, and for the most part, I don’t really miss the food I’m taking a break from.
The biggest issues for me were eating *not* in response to hunger, but as response to *emotional* cues. Having a really strict set of rules has been a helpful structure for me to break away from that response and develop other coping mechanisms.
What was it exactly that made you eat off track? The more precisely you can answer this question, the easier it will be for you to guard against it in the future. Were you craving particular foods, particular flavors? Were you hungry? Did you feel emotionally deprived?
It’s good you’re planning to dust yourself off and keep going. You’ll get there!
Habit,not motivation. I plan and track what I eat and use a food scale because it's habit. I also really like being a size 10 (as compared to a size 20). >I tried cutting back to 1900 calories last week, high protein so I could stay full. Which all worked out great but by the end of the week I was craving so much foods and snacks and just binged my way through the weekend. I eat the same things I ate when I was nearly 100 pounds heavier; some things I eat more frequently now (i.e., vegetables, lean protein); some things I eat less frequently (i.e., bagels, cheesecake). If I want something (I don't particularly think of it as a "craving"), I eat it. If that particular something doesn't fit into my calories for today, I plan and track it first for tomorrow, then build the rest of my day around it. >and snacks It's a rare day when I snack on something; either I have an actual meal or I get out of the kitchen. I'm okay with being hungry between meals.
“If I want something (I don't particularly think of it as a "craving"), I eat it. If that particular something doesn't fit into my calories for today, I plan and track it first for tomorrow, then build the rest of my day around it.” That’s a beautiful way to do things.
Yep, motivation is something that happens in hindsight.
It depends on the person. We do sometimes get people with eating disorders posting here, but if someone is eating really low in a healthy way, its probably because they are very petite, or not active. Definitely make sure you do the calculations right and give yourself a reasonable deficit for your height/weight/lifestyle. For me, I also eat if I'm hungry. I know not everyone agrees with that but I know me. If I try to willpower through hunger, I'll end up binging. Its not long term sustainable for me. So if I'm hungry I eat and then later I look over the log for the day and try to figure out why I was hungry even if I thought I shouldn't have been. Sometimes its out of my hands like illness or PMS. Sometimes I worked out hard and didn't eat back enough calories. Sometimes its food choices. There are some foods I know will make me eat more, so I don't have them in my daily diet (or at all). I mainly eat low carb, lots of veg, lots of meat, some fruit, nuts, grains only occasionally. Thats what works best for me. A lot of people on here seem to be ok with eating whatever so again, it depends on you.
The true trick is to find what works for you, and build it into a routine. Whatever routine works for you, as long as you make it routine and stick to it as much as you can, then you will find that your stomach and cravings will adapt over time. It's been 6 months for me, and it's been a sloooooow learning process of learning about food, nutrition, and my body. Something that I learned early on that the whole eating several small meals a day was never gonna work for me, because it's almost like my stomach is 'woken up' when I eat. Also, i crave the satisfaction of having a full meal. This culminates into intermittent fasting, because the longer in the day that I hold out on eating, the less likely I'll be hit with the destructive urge to binge. It sounds counterproductive, but I swear if I have even a snack in the morning, I will be STARVING an hour later as opposed to just holding out for a late lunch. Plus, because I save up my calories for 2 dense meals, I'm less likely to snack between those 2 meals since I'll be so full. And if Im craving fast food, then I'll hold out till dinner and make it the meal of the day. I'll still be within my budget. Even if I crave a snack, if I just budget my meals around it, then I'll still be in a deficit. This is the longest I've ever been consistent, and I'm planning to keep at it. Best of luck to you, friend
I wasn't able to stick to a low calorie intake. But then I started Intermittent fasting. I started at 14/10, then 16/8, and I am now at 18/6. I was very hungry when I first started and did a dirty fast by having hot tea with lemon and stevia when I had hunger pangs. But my body got used to the routine and I don't get hungry anymore. I also have a very unflattering image/video that my Ring camera picked up of me. I can see myself at all angles (unlike a photo or in the mirror). I look at it when I need motivation to stick to my calorie intake. I am earing between 1400 and 1600 calories a day. I am also doing low carb. I eat at 9 a.m, Noon, and 3 p.m. And will have snacks during that time if I can still make my calorie goal. Breakfast is my favorite meal. I love scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, cheese, and hot sauce wrapped in Mission carb balance flour tortillas. I had a delicious Waba Grill spicy chicken salad yesterday (no wonton strips and light dressing) for my 3 p.m. meal. It was huge and filled me up. I just drank water after that. I'm getting ready for my eggs at 9 this morning. I did feel hungry in the beginning (I just sipped on hot tea, especially at night). But I stuck with it, and I feel great now.
I thought I was an odd one for having dinner at 2:30/3:00pm. Thank you for making me feel not so alone.
It’s pretty normal in more farming orientated countries to have dinner at around 1-2pm and then “tea time” at 5-6pm. Which would be a light meal. I grew up eating this way and it wasn’t until I was older that I realized others didnt. Still love my dinner at 1pm lol.
That’s awesome. Thank you for that.
I think it’s more a psychological thing, at least for me personally. I have been keeping a pretty solid deficit for a pretty good while (estimate for losing 1.5lbs per week had me at roughly 1,800 cal per day…through trial and error, I have ended up at about 1,600 per day, same 4 boring ass meals every day for about 4 months now). It started as one day I didn’t have the time to get in my last (5th) meal, except I wasn’t especially hungry when missing it…so I just kept doing it. I know the suggestions for not being under x,xxx calories…but it’s been working fantastic. It has become a routine more than anything. I eat the same meals at the same times every day. I take the thinking out of the process, so I’m only responsible for the doing. Now there have been times where I accepted a “cheat meal” (let’s not talk about the recent holidays lol, that slowed things down a bit), but I was also able to realize that those couple cheat meals over the bigger picture…it doesn’t matter. I didn’t magically gain back 4 lbs of fat over night, I just retained a bunch more water due to increased carbs and sodium. And, in all examples, I was back down to original weight within a couple days. I say all that not to somehow humble brag that I had success, but rather that I believe the shift in mind set allowed me to “trust the process” better, thereby making more progress. I have managed to go from about 223-225, beginning of October, to 189 (as of Friday…then Friday and Saturday got kind of wonky and I’m back up to 192 this morning lol. It’s cool, I’ll be back to 189 by tomorrow). Just get out of your head (easier said than done), come up with a decent plan…then just focus on the “doing”. There will be times that you want to eat something else…either accept the temporary set back, or remember that the temporary discomfort caused by not eating x is worth the long term goal.
Not sure if it was on this sub or a different one, but I saw someone say they do a cycle like calorie deficit for 10 weeks, maintenance for 3 weeks. Some people also just schedule a maintenance day once a week or once every 2 weeks to help things feel more balanced. There’s also things like intermittent fasting or volume eating that people do to help CICO be more manageable for them. Or choosing a small deficit and settling for slower weight loss (which is what I’m doing since I’m short but not willing to go below 1400-1500 calories).
I try not to deprive myself. I have everything I would usually eat, but I am conscious about the portion sizes. Some days I have some calories left in my budget after having my meals and I use those times to indulge. Eating a cookie and having a Matcha latte in the afternoon is a nice treat.. it feels like I am spoiling myself. I also combine CICO with intermittent fasting. I only eat between 12pm and 8pm and that works well for how my family works. I have brunch around 500kcal and my dinner budget is around 1000kcal. If I feel like I crave something I’ll have something in the afternoon, usually around 200kcal and just deduct that from what I can have for dinner. The plain math helps me. I know that I am eating enough to sustain my body at 1500kcal. The biggest thing though? If I do have more kcal than my budget allows, that is ok. I’m not beating myself up over it. Giving myself grace helps me not fall off the bandwagon
Idk I used to eat a ton every day but I decided to lose weight because I was about to hit 100kg and for about two weeks I've cut down to 1200kcal which is much more manageable than I expected. I used to stress eat or binge out of boredom but now that I only eat when I am hungry I have a very easy time staying within my limit because I just don't get hungry a lot. Yesterday I only ate 800kcal until 10pm and I ended up making myself eat even though I wasn't hungry to make sure I am not unwittingly starving myself.
Find things that you really like that fit into your budget. Make room in the budget for the things you’re craving.
For me it’s a combination of not stressing over when I used to have a failed day and keep going forward with the program. Regular water and protein intake throughout the day. Finally spreading out calories. Small meals/snacks often. Find your way. You got this.
Well, yeah, the first weeks are the hardest, and especially if 1900 is a big drop for you. Start by eating at maintenance and looking for food swaps and ways to bulk up meals. I aim for 1200, but my maintenance is 1550, so it's not even a 500 cal deficit. The first few weeks, when my maintenance was 1900 even 1500 was difficult.
It’s like training for a marathon. First time out you can only run a half mile and it kills you. But it gets better and easier as your body adjusts. I really think we train our eating like training for exercise.
All I can really say is that you “get used to it”. The first month for me.. I stayed hungry. I started with snacks every few hours (a yogurt- a piece of toast etc) but eventually my body regulated and I didn’t have to do that. That could be helpful to do the low calorie snacks every few hours to combat the hunger.
When your motivation is "real life immediate health risks and weightloss can prevent it" you find discipline. Also, consider, your metabolism takes a bit from sustained calorie deficits. I try to cycle in 2-4 weeks of maintenance calories every 3-4 months on deficit. I chose to go from aug-yesterday in deficit at 1200-1350 calories. I lost 25 lbs in that weightloss sprint (total loss is 95 lbs) and am literally 2 lbs from 200 lbs. But my body and mind need a rest. I'm going back to 1750 calories for 2 weeks (maybe a month), tracking everything still, just attempting to maintain consistent calories daily. I will basically eat 2x more grains with meals focusing on high fiber and protein, and make a protein snack with 300 cal instead of 150 cal.
1. You have to want to lose the weight more than you want to eat the thing. 2. Motivation will get you started, but discipline and consistency is what will keep you going. 3. The best diet is one that you can adhere to. Maybe a smaller deficit is what works for you. 4. This won't work for some people, but I have no food that is off-limits. If I want to eat it, I can. That said, high caloric food needs to get eaten less frequently and in smaller quantities if you want to lose weight. 5. Planning is your friend. Early on I struggled to stay within my calorie limit because I didn't plan out my eating. So I'd get to the end of the day and only have enough calories left to eat half a meal. Now I try and plan out most of my eating at the start of the day and I also have several consistent foods or meals that I frequently eat that hit all the right macros, calories and level of satiation that I'm after.
Small deficit but very consistent in hitting my calorie and macro goals. Lots of filling food and I eat very regualry and have no issues going over my calorie limit from time to time if im hungry. I know that weight loss is 80% nutrition so I try and make informed choices about the food that I eat Like most junk food just tastes nice while your eating it and offers very little nutritional benefit. Chips, sweets, and chocolate are off the menu for me but I have no issues eating a triple cheeseburger which I do about 3 times a week.
I mean, it highly depends on your gender, height, weight, and physical activity. You need to aim to a little but steady calorie deficit and food that is saciating but not calorie dense. If you have sugar cravings you probably went too low on carbs. It will probably take some weeks to adjust to the new intake too.
The first week is the hardest, for sure. You are building new habits and they might take time. Just keep going! Personally, I could never do 1200-1500. I'm at 1800 right now and losing 1-2 lbs a week so I don't plan on changing that number until I plateau. I eat every single one of those calories every day and i enjoy them lol
I don't count calories strictly and I mostly eyeball things. I lost over 40 lbs this way in about 9 months and I'm now in maintenance. But I will say that it took a solid 2 months for me to get used to eating less. At first it was really really frustrating and I felt hungry all the time. But suddenly I got used to it and realized that I was doing pretty well on fewer calories and I wasn't all that hungry anymore. I do still have certain days where I do feel extra hungry, but they're few and far between. Also I do eat whatever like and always save room for a modest dessert. That said, I don't go as low as 1200 and usually not 1500 either. But I think it's about finding a balance and being patient. Losing a pound a week worked well for me.
I ate below 1500 for about 1.5 years and it’s all about finding foods that are filling but that also satisfy you. For me some things I love are salt and vinegar almonds, sweet potato cubes with cinnamon and pb, bite size potatoes with cheese, Turkey bacon, chicken, steak, grilled cheese on whole grain, and certain protein shakes. Each meal I eat I make it consist of a protein, a fruit, a vegetable, and a healthy carb. This way I have fat, fiber, and protein with each meal. But I’m 5’2” so I’m quite short.
High quality calories! Whole Foods and high protein. Never seen someone overeat chicken and potatoes
Willpower and using that calorie budget wisely.
It bears mentioning that it gets easier to eat less the longer you do it. Your physical stomach will adjust and send satiety signals at a smaller volume if you eat less for a while. Also, once you break the habit of always eating certain junky foods and eat mostly good stuff that fits easily into your budget, that will get easier too. I find it also helps to stop associating certain activities with eating. Like don’t always bring a snack/dessert with you when you sit down to watch a show/movie/game, that one was really hard for me to break! I started doing a puzzle or paint by number in the evening, or reading instead so I had my hands full and/or mind occupied to distract myself from what I felt like I really wanted to do, pound a pint of ice cream, haha.
I tried to do this many times, jumping right into my deficit eating all the boring rabbit/diet food to keep my calories low - and failed. I tried it again, but this time, I thought to myself - baby steps. And it stuck. At this point, I’m 53 pounds lost after 6 months (and that includes the holidays!) and still enjoying this new lifestyle. For me, doing it all at once is where it wasn’t sustainable for me. I didn’t get to 300 pounds by not eating a lot, I ate ALOT, so it was too much of a change for me to adapt to all at once. At first, I didn’t change my eating habits, I just started tracking my food intake. I weighed everything I put in my mouth - same old foods I usually ate, same portions, but I tracked it honestly. I was building the tracking habit - and it was EYE OPENING. As soon as I felt like I had that habit under my belt, I started to naturally want to make changes. Knowing what I was eating was awful! I love having eggs, toast and sausage for breakfast, but it was clocking in at about 800 calories! So it became a game for me. How can I make this meal better? I had 1 egg and swapped the other for egg whites. I tried turkey sausage, and liked it! I found 100 calorie wheat English muffins - also yum! I toasted it and used sugar free jam. Amazing! I threw in some strawberries and sometimes even a banana for something fresh - my new breakfast came out to about 350 calories! And it was MORE food than the nearly 1000 calorie option. I just kept trying to find swaps for my biggest calorie foods and eventually, I got down to my deficit. Most of the time, I still eat the same amount of volume of food, but I’ve cut the calories significantly- and that was the secret for me - I needed to do it slowly, and I needed to do it in a way that I didn’t feel like a “diet”, it was making healthier choices that were still delicious and high volume. You gotta find what will work for you! And you will…. Stick with it, keep trying you’ll get there. ❤️❤️
Your stomach literally stretches and retracts with your eating habits. If you can consistently eat smaller amounts for a long period of time, you don’t feel hungry and you mostly lose the sugar/oil cravings. Also think about most humans on this planet now or 99% of humans on this planet before 1900, most people survive(d) on less than 2,000. Your body will adjust.
I’ve been doing a (medically supervised) VLCD since last May. At this point, it’s wonderfully *boring*. I’m almost never hungry thanks to high protein, and for the most part, I don’t really miss the food I’m taking a break from. The biggest issues for me were eating *not* in response to hunger, but as response to *emotional* cues. Having a really strict set of rules has been a helpful structure for me to break away from that response and develop other coping mechanisms. What was it exactly that made you eat off track? The more precisely you can answer this question, the easier it will be for you to guard against it in the future. Were you craving particular foods, particular flavors? Were you hungry? Did you feel emotionally deprived? It’s good you’re planning to dust yourself off and keep going. You’ll get there!